Teen Suffers Severe Burns After Lice Shampoo Catches Fire, Inspiring a Remarkable Recovery Journey

A teenager suffered third-degree burns to her face and torso after the lice shampoo she had applied to her hair caught fire

Aleema Ali, now 16, is from Bradford, England, and is currently enrolled in college as a full-time A-level student. But four years ago, a devastating incident permanently changed her life.

When Aleema returned home from boarding school in December 2016, she discovered she had head lice.

She decided to treat her hair with a medicated product called “Full Marks Solution” to get rid of the lice.

Because she needed to leave the treatment on for a set period of time, Aleema continued with normal activities and helped her mother take the trash bins outside.

While her mother prepared dinner, Aleema went into the kitchen to get a garbage bag—unaware that the solution in her hair was highly flammable.

Within moments, the top of Aleema’s head was engulfed in flames as her hair suddenly caught fire.

Aleema, who had just turned 12 at the time, was rushed into an ambulance and reached the hospital about 10 minutes after the incident.

After being taken to the hospital’s critical care unit, she was placed in a coma for two months.

Recalling the terrifying ordeal, Aleema said: “I got back from boarding school in December 2016, I had head lice, and I begged my mom to pull them out for me that same night, she placed the medicine into my hair, and then she walked to the kitchen to cook supper. I was terrified.”

Aleema suffered burns to her face, head, arms, chest, thighs, stomach, back, and hands, including severe burns across her entire back.

“I walked into the kitchen to go to the trash can, and as I was passing by the medicine cabinet, my hair caught fire since the medication was quite flammable.

“I immediately went into a state of panic and shock, and the only thing that went through my mind was, ‘I’m going to die.’”

She also described waking after the coma: “Because I had been in a coma for the previous two months, there was no instant response. They gradually increased the total length of time that I was awake.”