If Margaritaville were a real place, it would definitely have several dermatologists on staff.
In an example of the often overlooked risks of food preparation, a 40-year-old man presented to an allergy clinic in Texas with a severe burning rash on his hands that had been occurring for two days. A few days later I developed a blister. After a few weeks, the skin became dark and scaly. After several months, the skin on his hands finally returned to normal.
The culprits are lime juice and sunlight.
It turns out that right before he developed the severe skin rash, the man had squeezed a dozen limes into his hands and headed to an outdoor soccer game without sunscreen. Doctors diagnosed the man’s rash as a typical case of phytophotodermatitis, according to a case report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
This condition is caused by toxic substances found in plants (plants) that react to ultraviolet light (pictured), causing a burning sensation, blistering, scaling, and a pigmented skin condition (dermatitis).
Specifically, the toxic chemical is furocoumarin, which is also found in some weeds and various plants used in food. These include celery, carrots, parsley, fennel, parsnips, limes, bitter oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and sweet oranges. Furocoumarins include chemicals with linear structures, psoralen, and angular structures called angelicins, but not all of them are toxic.
