Yahoo Lifestyle 
Aussie mum left blind after using out-of-date mascara
We’re all guilty of having old cosmetics lying around our beauty cupboard, but one Aussie mum has issued a warning after she says she was left blinded after using out-of-date mascara.
Adelaide mum-of-three Shirley Potter had been invited out on a rare night dancing with her young daughters, when she decided to rummage through her cosmetics – some of which she’d had for years – to get ready.
For Shirley, who had undergone a kidney transplant and renal failure a few years earlier, it was the chance to enjoy herself with her family. The 50-year-old applied blusher and mascara before heading out for a few wines, only to wake up the next morning with red, burning eyes.
‘I was born with a defect in my left eye, which meant I never had sight or feeling in it whatsoever,” Shirley told the Daily Mail.
“But the morning after our night on the town, I started to feel excruciating pain in both eyes – even then I knew something was seriously wrong.”
With the pain spreading down to her cheeks and up to her eyebrow, Shirley saw an ophthalmologist who diagnosed a mild infection.
However after months of deteriorating eyesight and itchy eyes, Shirley knew something was wrong when she began falling over objects.
After another examination, Shirley finally told her ophthalmologist how she had used mascara that was about 20-years-old, with the shocked expert explaining mascara should only be used up to six months before being thrown out.
Shirley, who has since been declared legally blind and will likely lose her vision within the next three years, admits she had no idea and is struggling with the idea of losing her independence.
“People need to be aware of how to look after their make-up and throw away anything that’s too old,” she told That’s Life.
“I hope the fact that mascara has made me blind is a wake-up call to others.”
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