Beware: Lime Juice Can Lead to Severe Burns

Summer is the time for margaritas and boozy beach trips. However, you might want to be a bit more careful with your alcoholic drink in the hot sun because one common ingredient can give you severe burns: lime juice.

It’s a condition called phytophotodermatitis, which is an “inflammatory eruption” caused by lime and other juices reacting with the sun.

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But you won’t feel the burn right away. Symptoms may only become apparent a few days after exposure. According to Today, the symptoms can range from “mild redness to blisters and second-degree burns, depending on how long you’re in the sun and how much of the juice gets on your skin.”

However, if you’re shaking a margarita and some of the juice happens to get on your body, all is not lost. Thoroughly washing the area will prevent the chemical burn.

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Doctor Carolyn Jacob, director of Chicago Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology, told Today that the burn will likely leave weird brown spots on the skin, but that they will eventually fade or can be lightened with hydroquinone.

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Unlike most sun burns, the lesson here is to not put on more sunscreen (because that will not protect you from chemical burns) but rather wash your hands or body if you think the drink that might contain lime juice spilled anywhere on you.

Other fruit juices that cause chemical burns are carrot, parsnip, parsley, celery, fig, wild dill, lemon, bergamot orange, and some wildflowers.