Allergy to hair dye can leave you 'elephant faced'

London, June 18 (ANI): A woman was left fighting for her breath after her face ballooned like an "elephant woman" following a horrible allergic reaction to hair dye.

Paula Pratt had to be treated with steroids and antihistamine tablets after her head and neck began to swell tremendously.

The 38-year-old said she followed the instructions on the 5 pound Clairol Nice 'n Easy kit and carried out an allergy test before trying to turn her greying hair into a chocolate brown.

Though she faced no obvious problems then, her head, face and neck began swelling while her eyelids were forced shut the next evening.

"The swelling started travelling down my throat and it was hard to breathe," The Sun quoted her as saying.

She added: "I went straight to see my GP. When I got there I looked like an alien with one side of my face going out like a rugby ball.

"He took one look at me and sent me straight to A and E. By the time I got there the other side of my face had swelled up too.

"I couldn't see my ears. The swelling must have gone out about three inches on either side. It was terrifying. I looked like the elephant woman."

Paula, a production manager from Bognor Regis, West Sussex, said she had no intentions of suing the brand but wanted "to make people aware of the reactions you can get."

A Clairol spokeswoman said: "Allergic reactions are very rare. However, we recommend all consumers conduct a 48-hour test before each use of our colourant products." (ANI)