Man Woke Up Completely Blue And Was Rushed To Hospital Before Doctors Realized The Surprising Cause

A man who woke up feeling unusually tired and discovered that his skin had turned blue said he was left completely shocked before learning what had actually happened.

Tommy Lynch, a construction worker from Castle Gresley in Derbyshire, had been sleeping in a brand-new set of bedsheets for two nights when something strange happened.

When he woke up, he realized his skin had taken on a blue tint. The 42-year-old later said he looked like “an Avatar.”

At first he simply felt tired and confused, but the situation quickly seemed serious when his friend, who works as a carer, saw him and urged him to go straight to the hospital.

Once he arrived at the hospital, staff acted quickly because of the unusual color of his skin.

Doctors admitted him almost immediately and placed him on oxygen while they tried to figure out what might be causing the strange symptoms.

After the experience, Tommy later shared the story on Facebook. He explained that he wanted to post it as a warning so other people could avoid going through the same confusing situation.

He became extremely worried when he saw his appearance Tommy Lynch / SWNS

'Staring at me like they'd seen a ghost'

The construction worker remembered taking a moment to fix his hair before heading to the hospital, even though the situation felt alarming.

His friend was worried that the blue color might mean he had a serious medical problem, possibly linked to oxygen levels or circulation.

When Tommy arrived at A&E, he noticed that people in the waiting area were looking at him in shock. He later said everyone at reception was staring at him like they had seen something unbelievable.

When he reached the desk, he struggled to explain what was going on and simply told staff that he had woken up blue.

Tommy, who said he usually sleeps nude, went to Queen's Hospital in Burton on November 15 and remembered that at one point there were about ten doctors gathered around him.

"The doctors said they'd never seen someone that colour before and still been alive," he admitted, adding: "As soon as they wiped my arm and it came off blue, it clicked."

Tommy was bright blue when he visited the hospital Tommy Lynch / SWNS

The diagnosis?

The explanation turned out to be much simpler than anyone expected.

Unwashed bedsheets were responsible.

During the examination, one of the doctors wiped Tommy’s arm with an alcohol swab. As the wipe moved across his skin, the blue color started to come off.

At that moment, Tommy realized that the dye from his brand-new sheets had transferred onto his skin while he slept.

"I was mortified but they said I'd given them a good laugh. They don't usually have funny stories in A&E."

Tommy admitted he felt deeply embarrassed once the real cause became clear and apologized to the medical staff for the confusion.

The king-size bedsheets had been a gift from a friend and cost about $50. He said they were meant to help keep him warm.

However, he had not realized that brand-new bedding should often be washed before using it, especially when the fabric dye has not yet been set.

Looking back, Tommy said he had actually noticed that his skin looked slightly blue the previous day, but he assumed it was because he had been feeling cold.

"I sent my mum a picture and she was panicking about my blood circulation while I was pretty confused as I'd just woke up from a deep sleep," Tommy explained.

When he woke up the next morning and saw that he had turned bright blue, the color transfer was likely stronger because he had become too warm while sleeping.

He said he remembered feeling very comfortable and warm in bed.

"The first thing I did when I got home was wash my sheets. I haven't gone blue since."

He has urged everyone to wash their bed sheets before using them Tommy Lynch / SWNS

Tommy, who has vitiligo, later told his mother that he had somehow managed to dye his entire body blue.

However, because of poor phone reception, she initially thought someone had told her that he had died, which caused a brief panic.

After confirming that he was perfectly fine, Tommy spent the following week trying to remove the remaining dye from his skin.

He said it took multiple baths before the color finally faded, recalling: "People were still looking at me weirdly as I had bath after bath but it took a week. The water was blue."

After the unusual experience, he now advises everyone to wash new bedsheets before using them unless they want to risk ending up in A&E themselves.