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Mother Of Two Undergoes Two-Hour Surgery After E-Cigarette Explosion, Causing Eyelid To Split In Two

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 07:15 PST, Jan 24, 2016

A mother of two underwent a two-hour eye surgery after an e-cigarette exploded in her face, causing her eyelid to split in two, according to the Daily Mail. Last Wednesday, 24-year-old Kirby Sheen of Salford was spending the afternoon at her home with her boyfriend, Adam Burgess, 27, and two daughters — Aymaris, 2, and 5-month-old Ayviarna — when she decided to check the battery of her e-cigarette as it had stopped working.

However, Sheen was in for a shock when her e-cigarette exploded in her face shortly after putting another battery in. She stated that “All I can remember is a puff of smoke and a bang, I knew something had hit me because I had blood pouring from my face. I looked down and my hands were black and there was a deep hole in my thumb from where I’d pressed the button.”

Paramedics were notified after the e-cigarette explosion, and she was immediately rushed to Salford Royal, but due to the “severity of the injuries to her eye,” she was later transferred to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where she underwent eye surgery the following morning.

After Sheen’s eye surgery, she stated that she “didn’t want to look at it but I had to take my dressing off when I got home. In my eyes it was a mess. I’m a girl and I like to wear make-up and that’s not going to be happening for a long time. We’re supposed to be getting married as well next year so I really hope it has healed by then.”

According to the Manchester Evening News, when the e-cigarette exploded in Sheen’s face, her two daughters were there to witness the tragedy. She said, “I was at home with my children when it happened and had to try and stay calm as not to scare them — but it was scary.” And since the e-cigarette explosion, both Sheen and her boyfriend stated that they will not go anywhere near e-cigarettes again, as they claimed “They’re more dangerous than smoking,” and the outcome could have been far worse than a two-hour operation. The e-cigarette explosion “could’ve taken my life or eyesight,” said Sheen.

Sheen stated that after the e-cigarette explosion, she stated that she “Wants to raise awareness of how dangerous they can be, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”

The couple are now trying to contact the manufacturer EFEST Power, who are based in China, to find out why it exploded. Burgess stated that he “Wants to know the reason behind what happened. If it’s a fault with the battery, people need to be made aware, Kirby was just millimeters from losing her sight, next time someone might not be so lucky.”

Experts say that “Aside from the fact that they can get pretty hot with extended use, the main risk associated with cartomizers and clearomizers is that they contain e-liquid. Nicotine is highly toxic, and the fact that it’s a component of most e-liquids effectively renders them poisons.”

However, according to EFEST’s website, they warn their customers about the risks of an e-cigarette explosion if their customers aren’t aware of the following.

  • “Do not put the battery into a microwave oven, nor high pressure container
  • Do not expose or dispose of the battery in fire or immerse in wate
  • Do not use or assemble the battery with other different make, type, or model batteries
  • Do not use the battery if the battery becomes abnormally hot, order, discoloration, deformation, or abnormal conditions is detected during use, charge, or storage.”

EFEST also warned e-cigarette users that battery leakage can lead to an explosion or fire. However, after the couple contacted the company about their e-cigarette exploding in Kirby Sheen’s face, causing her eyelid to split in two, they have yet to respond.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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