'I almost died after applying fake tan', says British woman

Lucy Fowler couldn't believe she 'almost died' after using the fake tan. Photo / Facebook

A young woman claims she nearly died after using dodgy fake tan.

Lucy Fowler, 25, struggled to breathe and suffered chest pains seconds after spraying the product on her legs, and was rushed to hospital where she needed oxygen treatment.

She later discovered that the St Tropez Instant Tan Wash Off Face and Body Spray, which she said she bought last month from a high street shop, had been recalled three years earlier.

Miss Fowler, who works in telesales, said she is so shaken by the health scare that she is now too scared even to use spray deodorant - and will not use St Tropez products again. The stepmother-of-three said: 'I was spraying the tan on my legs and arms, getting ready to go out. It was nice weather so I wanted to wear shorts and a T-shirt.

"Moments later I started feeling ill. My chest started to tighten and I thought maybe I had used too much.

"I was in the bathroom with the window open but my chest started getting really tight. I walked into my bedroom away from the fumes but it was really bad. It felt like my chest was being crushed and I couldn't breathe.

"I could taste it all in my mouth and feel it in my lungs. It was horrible. I rang 101 and they sent an ambulance straight out."

Paramedics rushed her to Nottingham University Hospital where she was given oxygen while they investigated the cause.

Miss Fowler told the doctors she blamed the £10 fake tan and when they contacted St Tropez to find out more about the ingredients, they discovered that the brand had issued a safety recall for that particular tanning spray in 2013 because women had reported experiencing severe breathing problems after unintentionally inhaling the fumes.

The product is no longer being produced or sold, but Miss Fowler claimed she bought it in the past month.

Miss Fowler, of Brinsley, Nottingham, said: "They did lots of tests and took a chest X-ray. Then they came back and said they needed to keep me in.

"After finding out about the chemicals in the product, they said I was very lucky to be alive. I'm just so shocked. I'm really paranoid about using sprays now. It was so scary.

"I was constantly coughing and it was so painful. I was really ill for a few days afterwards and I had to take a few weeks off work."

Miss Fowler added that she spent four days in bed recovering from her ordeal and was poorly on her 25th birthday as a result.

She said: "I'm scared of using anything like fake tan again. I'm even frightened of using deodorant at the moment. I can't believe that I almost died - that I was nearly killed by fake tan.

The St. Tropez wash off self-tan that had been recalled.

"I will never use St Tropez products again. I don't ever want to go through anything like that again."

She added that it would be worrying if others are able to buy the recalled spray.

St Tropez, which produces a range of self-tanning products, has told customers that Miss Fowler's experience was an isolated incident and warned fake tan fans not to use or buy the affected product.

A spokesman for the brand said: "We were very concerned to hear about Lucy Fowler's experience and have made contact with her to find out which product she used and ascertain her progress.

"We take the health and safety of our consumers very seriously, and we have begun an investigation to establish exactly how Lucy was able to purchase this product recently."