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Woman Ends Up In Wheelchair After Using Friend’s Make-Up Brush To Cover Her Spots

Jo Gilchrist developed a staph infection in her spine, meaning she’ll never be able to walk again after using an infected make-up brush

Imagine you’re getting ready to go out, you notice a blemish on your chin but you’re totally out of concealer.

You borrow your friend’s but realise it looks cakey - so you pinch her make-up brush to blend, blend, blend, until the spot is totally covered.

Sounds totally normal, right? Something any of us would do on a Saturday night over a glass of Pinot Grigio.

But the reality of the situation is that make-up brushes are a breeding ground for bacteria. So much so that a mother-of-one was left fighting for her life after borrowing a friend’s make-up brush to cover a pimple.  

Jo Gilchrist was left wheelchair-bound after picking up an infection from a friend's make-up brush [Facebook]
Jo Gilchrist was left wheelchair-bound after picking up an infection from a friend's make-up brush [Facebook]

Australian Jo Gilchrist, 27, contracted a staph infection in her spine, caused by the Staphylococcus or ‘staph’ bacteria, passed on through the dirty brush.

Her friend also had a staph infection (aka bacteria on her face), but the friend didn’t realise until she lent Jo her make-up brush to cover her spots.

By that point, it was too late and the bacteria had already spread.

Jo first realised something was wrong when she started experiencing back-ache, which felt ‘worse than childbirth’ and became worse than childbirth, she said.

Australian mum Jo Gilchrist, seen here with her son, developed a staph infection in her spine [Facebook]
Australian mum Jo Gilchrist, seen here with her son, developed a staph infection in her spine [Facebook]

She was rushed to hospital, where she learnt her spine had been damaged beyond repair, and she’s been in Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital ever since.

Doctors struggled to understand the reason for Jo’s pain, before her whole body went numb and she lost the feeling from below her belly-button.

“They said (the numbness) would go all the way up my arms and into my chest and when that happened I'd have to be put in an induced coma and learn to breathe again,” she told the Daily Mail Australia.

After she awoke from her coma, she learned she’d contracted MRSA - and soon realised is was due to her friend’s dirty brush.

Jo, from Warwick in Oz, will spend the next three months in hospital [Facebook]
Jo, from Warwick in Oz, will spend the next three months in hospital [Facebook]

“The only thing we can put it down to is the make up brush. My friend did have a staph infection on her face and I was using her brush just before. I had no idea that could even happen, I used to share with my friends all the time,” she said.

“My best friend feels horrible, but it's not her fault at all. I just had a low immune system and it was the perfect breeding ground for the bacteria.”

She was told she’d never be able to walk again, she’d be wheelchair-bound for life and she’d never have control over her bowels or bladder.  

Heartbreakingly, she has a two-year-old son, Tommy, to look after – but she says at the moment, he is too young to understand.

The mother-of-one insists she was lucky that the infection didn't spread to her brain [Facbook]
The mother-of-one insists she was lucky that the infection didn't spread to her brain [Facbook]

Jo is currently on antibiotics in hospital to rid her body of the infection before she is able to return home.

But she’s staying positive, even admitting she feels LUCKY that it infected her spine, because she could have died if it had infected her brain.

“I was so lucky it went to my spine... if it went to my brain I would have died and if it went to my limbs they would have been amputated,” she said.

“I feel like I have a second chance at life. Everything happens for a reason, I've definitely got my fight back for life.”

Jo Gilchrist, 27, has to face a future with her son Tommy - without being able to walk [Facebook]
Jo Gilchrist, 27, has to face a future with her son Tommy - without being able to walk [Facebook]

How To Wash Your Make-Up Brushes

The first thing to take from Jo’s story is to NOT share your make-up brushes with others, but it’s also worth noting that they need to be cleaned regularly to avoid spreading bacteria.

You should try and wash your brushes at least once a fortnight (I try and clean mine every Sunday).

Depending on how many make-up brushes I’m cleaning, I tend to mix a few drops of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo into the palm of my hand, along with some warm water.

I then press the head of the brush into the mixture and push it around in my palm until it starts to go frothy, before running the brush under warm water.

I leave my brushes to dry on a clean, dry flannel and go make-up less on a Sunday while I wait for them to dry.

[How clean is your make-up bag?]

[Why you need to wash out your make-up bag RIGHT NOW]