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<\/p>\nA nan was left blind for two days after a horrific reaction to hair dye caused her face to swell up 'like a chipmunk'. <\/p>\n
Saffron Veal, 49, from Southampton, ended up in hospital following an allergic reaction to a semi-permanent box dye last month. Despite having dyed her hair a black cherry shade with L'Oreal Paris Casting Creme Gloss 'hundreds of times' before, this time it went horribly wrong. <\/p>\n
She had previously had a reaction to the dye, but doctors thought it was due to medication she was taking at the time. Three years on from her previous reaction, the grandma-of-three decided to freshen up her look for a family gathering and bought the dye from her local Superdrug. <\/p>\n
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However, just hours later, she had to rush to hospital after losing vision in one eye. Shocking photos show Saffron's face swollen, leaving her unable to see. Saffron admits she didn't do a patch test before applying the dye, which is recommended on the packet. Now, she's urging others to take this vital precaution.<\/p>\n
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Saffron shared: "I looked like a chipmunk or a bowling ball. I didn't expect it to get it as bad as it did. As soon as I felt the burning and itching I knew it was an allergic reaction. It all happened quite quickly. When I'd dyed my hair with semi-permanent in the past I'd never had this reaction. The last time I came out in a reaction it was a permanent colour and this was semi-permanent with no ammonia so I assumed it would be fine."<\/p>\n
"I've dyed it hundreds of times in the past since I was 16\/17, not always this shade but always L'Oreal. I was completely blind for two days. The skin around my eyes swelled up so big, it stretched the skin, and they've only just healed now. I'm never ever going to do it again."<\/p>\n
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Saffron shared: "I started swelling and my head was itching. By the next morning I looked a bit like an American football \u2013<\/span> I was swollen on each side of the temples."<\/p>\n Worried, Saffron's family rang 111 and paramedics applied a medicinal hair ointment to treat the blisters which had broken out on her scalp. But three hours later Saffron's condition worsened and she was unable to see out of both her eyes due to the severe facial swelling.<\/p>\n Saffron added: "The ambulance came out at 10am and by 1pm I couldn't see out of both eyes, they were completely closed. We went straight to A&E at Lymington and they sent us to the general hospital in Southampton. The hospital took me straight through. I couldn't see anything and had a terrible headache."<\/p>\n She spent two days in hospital where she needed help with basic tasks due to her poor vision.<\/p>\n * This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up Daily Star's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to starletters@dailystar.co.uk <\/b><\/p>\n