A mum was hospitalised and left bandaged ‘like a mummy’ after a poached egg made in the microwave exploded – shooting a jet of scalding steam onto her face.
Diane Cobb was making lunch last month and decided to poach an egg in a mug filled with water by blasting it in the microwave for 60 seconds after being inspired by a foodie hack she’d spotted online.
But as she placed her spoon in the mug to get the cooked snack out of the mug on March 19 the egg ‘blew’ firing a scalding spray onto her face, neck and chest and the corner of her eye.

The horrified mum-of-four was rushed to hospital and was then transferred to a specialist burns unit where she spent four days receiving treatment.
Now home, the 55-year-old gran-of-five has shared painful-looking pictures of the injuries she sustained to warn others not to cook eggs in this way.
‘When I looked in the mirror and saw my face I just thought ‘oh God, what a mess’,’ Diane, from the UK, said. ‘I looked like I’d done ten rounds with Mike Tyson, I looked horrendous.
‘It looked that bad I wondered how my face would ever recover.’
Full-time carer Diane, who had fancied a bacon and egg sandwich for lunch, said she had cooked eggs in exactly the same way at least 20 times before without any problem.

‘It was 100 times worse than an iron burn. I felt as though my skin was on fire, it was so intense.
‘In a matter of seconds the skin peeled off my face and chest, the burning was horrendous.
‘I ran to the sink throwing cold water on myself like no tomorrow. I then got a tea towel soaked in water and rang my daughter Sam who lives two streets away and drove me to hospital.
Diane was treated at Blackburn Royal Infirmary where she was given pain relief and her face was covered in a freezing cold gel to soothe the burns.
After doctors examined her scorched skin and right eye they decided to transfer her to a specialist burns unit.

There, her tender skin was regularly cleaned with water and a burn cream gently applied to the 15 per cent burns before being swaddled in dry dressings and bandages.
After four days she was discharged and allowed to go home, but was forced to wear the mummy-like dressings on her head 24 hours a day for a week and used eye drops four times a day.
‘It was awful having all those bandages on, I hated it. I didn’t go anywhere during that time I just stayed at home,’ Diane said.
‘I didn’t think I would look normal again. I was amazed at how quickly my skin started to heal – but it was due to the amazing care I was given.
‘The doctors also said that by putting cold water onto the burns so quickly it probably saved me from scarring.’
Two weeks on from her ordeal Diane’s skin is still very sensitive and she will have to wear Factor 50 sunscreen daily for two years.

‘I now wear a thick moisturiser and then put Factor 50 cream on top of that and will need to do that for two years.
‘Even though the skin is healed it’s still going through the process of growing back to what it was before I burned it.
‘I was shocked by that, I didn’t realise it would take such a long time. I thought around four months not two years.’
Diane is now urging other foodies to be careful when following online food hacks and hopes that by sharing the graphic images it will prevent anyone else going through the trauma she has.
‘Cooking hacks like the one I followed are all over the internet. I thought it was a brilliant idea until it went wrong. I’ll never do it again.
‘I would urge anyone thinking about cooking eggs in this way to think again – to look at the damage to my face and what happened to me.’