Woman blinded after reaction to hair dye

Her head swelled up three times its size.

A 24-year-old woman was blinded for 24 hours and had a swollen face after an allergic reaction to hair dye. Steph O'Dell, from Milton Keynes, was planning a trip to Amsterdam ahead of her sister's 18th birthday and decided to colour her hair. 
Sadly, the sales coordinator experienced agonising pain and her head swelled up three times the size. "I was lucky it wasn't worse. I'll never dye my hair again," said O'Dell who discovered she was allergic to paraphenylenediamine (PPD), a common ingredient in hair dye, when she was 15.
According to Daily Mail, prior to dyeing her hair, O'Dell had informed the hairdresser about her allergy and also showed pictures of her previous reaction. "She assured me that the dye wouldn't touch my scalp and that [the dye] was organic. She claimed that she was also allergic to hair dye and showed me the product that she used," O'Dell added.
She had done a patch test at the salon and felt happy when there was no reaction. However, after applying hair dye, the same day her neck began to itch and realised some dye had been left on her neck which she washed it off and applied anti-itching cream to soothe it. When the sisters flew out to Amsterdam the next morning, O'Dell noticed her face began to swell up. "My glasses felt tight at the side of my head, and my neck felt like it was on fire. I hoped that the swelling would go down so I left it. The next day, my head was massive and one of my eyes had swollen shut," she said. 
The same night in Amsterdam she had to get admitted to a hospital where she was given anti-histamines and eye drops. "It was so painful, my whole face and head felt itchy and tight. I was gutted that it was happening while we were abroad for my sister's birthday," O'Dell added. However, her ordeal did end there and the next morning she couldn't see anything at all because her face was so swollen her eyes had closed up.
They took a flight back to then UK where their father drove them to Milton Keynes Hospital where O'Dell was given adrenaline shots. "Nurses were worried about my breathing, as my neck was swelling. I thought I was going to die and had a panic attack," said O'Dell who was admitted to hospital for five days where doctors gave her steroids. 
After her horrifying experience, O'Dell said, "I was shocked that, even though my patch test was fine, I still reacted to the dye when it was used on my hair. Manufacturers can change the ingredients in products at any time so always make sure you do a patch test. Even if you use organic products, you never know if you'll react."