Margarita Dermatitis? Man gets second-degree burns from lime juice, sun

Shelby Danielsen | First Coast News

Show Caption Hide Caption Man gets second-degree burns from lime juice A rare and painful skin reaction has left one man with second-degree burns one week before his wedding, and lime juice is to blame.

A rare and painful skin reaction has left one man with second-degree burns a week before his wedding. To blame: lime juice.

The technical name for the skin reaction is Phytophotodermatitis. It's a toxic reaction resulting from citric acid mixed with sunlight. It's often referred to as "Margarita Dermatitis" or "Lime Disease," not be confused with Lyme Disease.

It's more common in Florida, especially around summer holidays like Memorial Day Weekend, when lime juice is used for mixed drinks. That's what happened to soon-to-be newlyweds Alyse Golden and Aaron Peers.

Peers was squeezing limes to make margaritas in their backyard on May 24. He had no idea the lime juice on his hands was toxic under the sun. The next night the burns started to appear.

It wasn't until May 26 when he woke up to a huge blister on his hand. They rushed to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with second-degree burns, but the cause was still baffling to doctors.

Now, their honeymoon plans in Hawaii are on standby since he's been told to stay out of the sun.

"So the blistering is gone and now I'm left with really bright pink skin," Peers said. "If you can imagine when I was actually squeezing the limes how the juice might run over and it got up my arm. The most normal reaction is that's gross, which I agree, it's super gross."

As for their wedding photos coming up - Golden said Photoshop will come in handy. They just hope the ring just fits when it comes to their big day.

"Tried it on the other day. It barely fit," said Peers.

Douglas Robins is no stranger to this condition. The doctor gets about a dozen patients a year.

He says it can take several years to bleach the skin back to normal and there's no telling what makes one case worse than another but everyone is susceptible.

"If you've never had it before that doesn't matter," Robins said. "It's a combination of lime juice and the sun."

The solution? Robins says being cautious and keeping lime juice inside and away from the sun.