Boy suffers ‘margarita burns’ days after handling a common summer fruit
A common summertime favorite has caused a young boy horrendous burns, prompting a warning.
NSW mum Catherine posted on Sunday night after a trip to the hospital with her young son, telling others to be on the lookout for this little-known condition.
“My son was juicing limes with his cousins and then a few days later he got some really bad burns to his hands and arms,” wrote Catherine, accompanying a picture her son sitting in a hospital chair with severe blistering on his forearms.
“A night in hospital and a trip to the burns unit later … and we now know this to be margarita burn.”
Also known as phytophotodermatitis, margarita burn occurs when our skin makes contact with a light-sensitizing botanical agent, or psoralens, found in limes.
The skin irritants then make skin more susceptible to ultraviolet light. In layman’s terms, limes make you more likely to get bad sunburn.
“Every Brazilian we have shown has known about it straight away, but some of the health staff hadn’t heard of it,” wrote Catherine, who said it was identified by a nurse at Byron Bay Hospital.
“Anyway beware — limes and sun don’t mix!”
In November, Tiny Hearts Education, a company providing child first-aid, shared an Instagram post where a toddler had suffered similar burns on his chest at the hands of lime exposure.
“Your little one may be at a greater risk if you have a history of contact dermatitis with other substances, such as metals and cleaning agents,” said the page in the comments of the original post.
Another NSW woman suffered second-degree burns last summer after juicing limes for drinks on Boxing Day, having a reaction even after washing her hands multiples times.
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