The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not use certain Mighty Bliss heating pads because the devices can cause electric shocks, skin burns, rashes, or irritation. For a product that claims to treat pain, that sure is the opposite of relief, and, while we’re at it, bliss.
The agency’s warning comes the same week Whele LLC, the company which distributes the Mighty Bliss heating pads, announced a national voluntarily recall of of more than 544,000 devices due to safety concerns. The recall affects Mighty Bliss heating pads distributed between July 2021 and July 2022, the FDA’s warning stated. The products were sold online through Amazon and Walmart. The FDA stated that it was “not aware of any deaths associated with the use of this product.”
The recall affects the Mighty Bliss large blue electric heating pad (12” x 24”); the Mighty Bliss extra large blue electric heating pad (20” x 24”); and the Mighty Bliss large grey electric heating pad (12” x 24”). To confirm whether the product is included in the recall, customers must check its lot number, which is located on the heating pad itself and can be found under the instructions. The affected product lots can be found on the FDA’s website.
In its recall announcement, Whele LLC said that it had received various safety complaints from consumers about the heating pad.
“We received 286 complaints between July 2021 to September 2022 related to the product overheating, sparking, burning, or presenting other electrical problems,” the company explained. “31 of these complaints reported injuries such as mild shocks, burns, and rashes or irritation.” Whele LLC added that severe burns “may result in infection or formation of scar tissue.” The company will be reimbursing people who bought the defective heating pads.
If customers find that they’re in possession of a recalled heating pad, Whele LLC instructs them to stop using it immediately. Furthermore, it asks people to, while ensuring the product is unplugged, safely cut off the device’s cord. After doing that, consumers should take a picture to demonstrate that the heating pad “can no longer be used” and upload it to the company’s Mighty Bliss recall website.
At the time of publication, Gizmodo found that the Mighty Bliss recall website didn’t allow folks to upload photos or provide information on refunds. A message on the website told visitors to “Check back the week of October 31st to register for your reimbursement.”
Overall, that is a whole lot of heating pads, and the company will need to ensure it gets the word out about the recall effectively. Personally, I gifted my mum one of the Mighty Bliss heating pads a few years ago, so my eyes bugged out of my head when I read the FDA’s warning. Fortunately, my mum’s heating pad stopped working on its own, which left her annoyed but safe.
Not everyone will be that lucky, though, as evidenced by the nearly 300 complaints from consumers about the heating pad malfunctioning. We can only hope that there are no further injuries.