If you thought the biggest risk of a margarita on a hot summer day was a horrific hangover, then think again — a cocktail in (or on) the wrong hands could result in severe burns.
TikTok-user Shana, who goes by the handle @theglutenfreetravelagent, posted a video warning lime-based cocktail lovers about the hidden dangers behind the popular garnish.
“PSA, don’t cut limes then go into the sun,” Shana cautions in the five-second clip, which has been viewed more than 380,000 times.
“I now have second and third degree burns and blisters on my hands,” she wrote, showing video of her bandaged hands.
Shana posted a follow up TikTok a few days later, showing her hands red and peeling and some “burn” marks on her stomach as a result from the lime juice splattering, saying she’s “never making mojitos at the beach again.”
The TikToker said the combination of lime juice and the sun caused a chemical reaction on her skin.
Shana said lime juice burned her skin after making beach cocktails.
Several days later, Shana’s hand was red and peeling.
“I rinsed my hands, I washed them with soap and water but unfortunately with this it can still happen,” Shana said, adding the condition is called phytophotodermatitis.
Phytophotodermatitis is a surprisingly common skin reaction that ranges from a painless pigmentation to excruciating blisters, Clarissa Yang, MD, chair of dermatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, previously told The Post.
Yang said some reactions look like streaks, because lime juice may have run down the arm, or just brown spots, where some juice may have splattered. Lime reactions are the most publicized food to cause the reaction, but other foods that can cause a reaction include parsley, carrots, celery and mango peels.
“When you get a substance on the skin that’s photo- or UV-sensitive, it creates a phototoxic reaction after sun exposure, the severity of which will be proportionate to how much of the agent touched the skin,” Yang said.
