A 40-year-old Texan squeezing some limes with his bare hands developed severe burns, also known as margarita burns, when the juice was activated by a little bit of sunlight.
The details of what the man was preparing remain unclear, whether it was a delicious serving of guacamole or a batch of margaritas. All we know is the man manually squeezed a dozen limes for their juice and then attended an outdoor soccer game. He also did not apply sunscreen, which only worsened the ensuing condition.
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According to the case report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the man showed up at an allergy clinic two days later with what appeared to be a chemical burn on his hands. And then his hands started blistering. Sometime later, his skin got dark and scaly. Then, after several months of dry, crackly, scaly, swollen hands, his hands went back to normal.
Doctors eventually diagnosed the man with margarita burns, i.e. phytophotodermatitis, a reaction caused by certain plant chemicals interacting with sunlight. If you want to get super technical about it, phytophotodermatitis occurs when a toxic compound called furocoumarins found in some plants reacts to ultraviolet light.
When you hear the word “toxic,” you might assume that it’s some kind of poisonous plant like poison ivy or poison oak. But no — furocoumarins are found in a wide range of common foods including celery, parsley, fennel, lemon, grapefruit, oranges, and yes, even limes. Furocoumarins get absorbed into the skin and, when activated by UV light, can cause damage to a person’s DNA leading to cell death and inflammation.
We’ve known about this condition for centuries. Historical records from ancient Egypt describe people using plant-based substances to darken their skin, often used to treat cases of vitiligo. Nowadays, it doesn’t pop up too often. Until someone squeezes a bunch of limes and then goes outside to watch a soccer game, that is.
The condition takes months to treat successfully and usually requires an immense amount of lotion and topical steroids.
While contracting phytophotodermatitis sounds rather easy, you can make all the margaritas you want and then safely go out into the sun without fear of burning your skin to a crisp. Just make sure you wash your hands and apply some sunblock in between.
