Man Burned By Limes After Squeezing Them In The Sun

A Minnesota man obtained burns on his body after squeezing limes in the sun, as reported by CBS-affiliate WCCO Sunday.

Adam Levy was celebrating his daughter’s graduation June 2017.

“I was making a lot of food and handling a lot of things and the very last thing I did was about a dozen, squeezing those for this chimichurri sauce for this meat I was gonna grill,” he said.

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The next day, he had redness and blistering in parts of his body the lime juice had touched. His tongue also swelled. Levy’s skin reacted this way because the lime juice from the day before remained on his skin while he was in the sun.

Levy became afflicted with phytophotodermatitis, also known as the “Margarita burn” or “lime disease,” a type of burn that can range from increased pigmentation to second-degree burns. Lime juice, wild carrots and parsnip proved to contain photosensitizers, a chemical which makes human skin sensitive to sunlight. When the area with lime juice is exposed to the sun, it burns. When skin is exposed, the rash appears within 24 hours, according to Dr. Rosemary deShazo, an allergic skin disease specialist with University of Utah Healthcare.

Mayo Clinic reported that bartenders, chefs and others who regularly use citrus fruits are at a higher risk of phytophotodermatitis. In most cases, the burns occurred on people’s hands, but they can also appear on areas where the citrus juice has spilled. The condition has appeared before — in July 2016, a bartender named Justin Fehntrich obtained second-degree burns from squeezing limes in the sun, as reported by The Atlantic.

“If you are drinking a margarita or a Corona with a lime or a fruit salad that has lime, just to be aware. Don’t do it out in the sun and if you do, wash it right away,” Dr. Jamie Davis, M.D. and dermatologist at Uptown Dermatology, said. She also said she previously treated patients in her dermatology clinic with hand print-shaped marks on their skin from making margaritas in the sun.

According to Jeremy Goverman, a burn expert at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School, Margarita burn is treated as any other burn. Moisturizer and sunscreen must be applied for first-degree burns. Second-degree burns required more effort to treat: the process begins with draining the blisters, applying an antibiotic and then dressing the burn in nonstick dressing and gauze once a day until it is healed, as reported by The Atlantic July 2016.

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Levy required IV medications and steroids for his burns. He visited the doctor multiple times. His wounds were still healing two weeks after the day the lime juice touched his skin.

Dermatologists recommended people take precautions when handling citrus fruits on sunny days, such as washing hands immediately after doing so or squeezing the fruits indoors.