ORANGE PARK, Fla. – An Orange Park woman said she needed surgery to help heal third-degree burns she got from her cellphone.
Kathleen Thomas told News4Jax she had to go to an emergency room at the end of April. At first, she said the cause of the burn was a mystery.
“I woke up one morning, about a month ago, and I had this blister on my back and some redness. So I was concerned because it hurt. And I couldn’t figure out what happened,” Thomas said.
Eventually, Thomas said she figured out the cause of the injury.
Thomas said she was listening to music on her phone and fell asleep. She said when she woke up, she had a blister and a long red mark.
“And I had my phone in my bed. And I really believe I didn't turn it off, and I rolled on it, and I was in such a deep sleep that it gave me a good burn,” Thomas said.
Doctors gave her 14 stitches.
“He said it was a burn, third-degree,” Thomas said.
Thomas said she could never image a cellphone could do that to her. And she hopes that others, especially parents, will take notice and take precautions.
“And I want consumers to know that this can happen to their teens or them or anyone who has one,” Thomas said. ”Be sure it's not in bed with you. And keep it on your nightstand and turned off if possible. But at all cost, turn it off.”
News4Jax has not been able to verify Thomas' claims. However, there are other cases of someone burned by a cellphone.
In February, a 13-year-old was burned on her neck while using her charging phone in Illinois.
And in January, a 9-year-old in England fell asleep on her phone, and woke up with a silhouette of it burned onto her thigh.