We’ve often been told to always be extra careful when using towels or other toiletries provided by hotels as we don’t know what kind of bacteria or viruses reside on it.
A man was left with an incurable disease after he simply took a hotel towel to wipe his face and suffered immensely as a result.
Experienced pain and swollen eyes
The unfortunate man in question was 30-year-old Xiao Li (transliteration), whose troubles first began when he began experiencing pain in his eyes, reported 南宁晚报.
Aside from the pain, he also complained that his eyes had become red and watery, leading him to believe that he had conjunctivitis, an infectious eye ailment.
However, his eye condition didn’t improve after using eyedrops and washing it with water. Instead, it turned for the worse and Xiao Li was unable to open his eyes. Additionally, he also noticed that he experienced pain while urinating.
When Xiao Li finally went to the doctor, they found that there was a yellow discharge seeping out of from of his “severely swollen” eyelids.
This led doctors to believe that he was showing symptoms of gonococcal conjunctivitis, a condition where the eyes are infected with the gonorrhoea bacteria.
Xiao Li’s worst fears were confirmed when he was later diagnosed with gonorrhoea, an incurable sexually transmitted disease (STD).
China man contracts gonorrhoea after using hotel towel
This visibly left Xiao Li shocked and confused, as he had no recollection of engaging in unsafe sex.
After much recalling, he finally remembered that 10 days ago, he had gone on a business trip and used a hotel towel to wipe his face and lower body.
Following this revelation, doctors believed that the source of his gonorrhoea infection was thanks to the towel, where the bacteria can be spread via basins, towels, and bed sheets aside from sexual intercourse.
However, it must be noted that the bacteria is rather sensitive to environmental conditions like dry surroundings and extreme temperatures.
Thankfully, Xiao Li’s eyes managed to recover and eventually returned to its normal self last Tuesday (Aug 1) after seeking medical attention.
We hope Xiao Li will continue to live a normal life despite having gonorrhoea and let’s be extra careful when using hotel toiletries!
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