Now that summer is here, many families are heading to the nearest lake, swimming pool, or beach to spend the day in the sun.
But amid all the fun and the noise, parents need to remain alert because otherwise things could get bad fast.
Recently, things turned out badly for 3-year-old Leigh from California.
After a weekend in the sun with a lot of fun, the little girl woke up with what appeared to be a severe sunburn in freaky shapes on her face.
Now her mom is warning other parents of a rarely discussed danger.
When you’re a parent, you’re constantly vigilant when it comes to keeping your children safe.
Sharp corners or objects can be a parent’s worst nightmare, while everyday household dangers like irons, knives, and chemicals are usually placed well beyond a child’s reach.
Unfortunately, it’s a harsh reality that, try as we might, we’re unable to protect them from literally everything.
She woke up with horrific burns
Sometimes we don’t even know about the potential dangers out there and that certainly was the case for one California mom, who went camping, swimming, and playing in the sun with her daughter during an early June weekend.
But when the family got home, Sabrina Miller’s daughter woke up with horrific burns on her skin.
The worried mother immediately took her daughter to the doctor, but she didn’t get the help she needed. The doctor didn’t take the burns seriously, according to Sabrina.
Sabrina and her daughter, Leigh, were sent home with a lotion to soothe the 3-year-old’s skin.
Unfortunately, the little girl suffered even more.
The next morning when Leigh woke up, her face broke out in blisters resembling second-degree burns.
“She’s like, ‘Why is this happening to me?’” Sabrina said, according to Inside Edition.
One question helped mom understand
Sabrina took her daughter to a dermatologist – the panicked mother knew something was very wrong.
“I was just kind of traumatized, I was like, crying my eyes out, [wondering], ‘What is going on with her?’” the mom said.
The dermatologist had one question for Sabrina: Did her daughter had any contact with any citrus fruits while in the sun?
“We’re like yeah, she loves limes,” Sabrina told the doctor.
The doctor then informed her about a syndrome called Phytophotodermatitis or “margarita burn.”
The juice and oil of limes contain chemicals called photosensitizers, which can make the skin extra-sensitive to sunlight.
Phytophotodermatitis is a phototoxic reaction that causes irregularly-shaped and itchy blisters. It starts to develop within 24 hours of exposure.
“It only develops in areas where the chemical touches the skin, explaining odd shapes like streaks or dots where lime juice may have dripped down the skin or splashed,” Joshua Zeichner, medical director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told Prevention.
Margarita burn – what to do
“The initial rash is fiery red and it often heals with a dark brown black,” Zeichner added.
Unfortunately, there is no method to prevent or ease the “margarita burn” once it has set in.
It may take weeks before the wounds and blisters heal, but the good news is that there is usually no permanent scarring.
I wasn’t going to post anything about my poor baby Leigh, until someone showed me this post. If anything goes wrong,…
Posted by Sabrina Miller on Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Sabrina’s daughter finally got the treatment she needed. The dermatologist popped the blisters and put a dressing on.
In a Facebook post, she gave her family and friends a update:
”He (the doctor) released the pressure of the burns, drained them, and dressed them with steroid ointment. Still being seen daily, the next week or so is just a healing process for my poor princess”, Sabrina wrote.
Be careful this summer
Generally speaking, I think it’s always a good idea to make sure you protect yourself and your children while being in the sun.
But I had no idea that limes could cause such severe injuries.
So please be careful when drinking margaritas or when you are handling any fruits or plants that contain furocoumarin.
Some plants that may cause phytophotodermatitis include:
- carrots
- celery
- citrus fruits (most commonly limes)
- figs
- wild dill
- wild parsley
- wild parsnips
Please share this article so that more parents can learn about this danger and can better protect their children.
