A mom has issued a warning to parents after her son suffered a serious burn after playing with a piece of fruit.
Tiny Hearts Education (THE) - an Australian company that provides health training for parents online - recently shared some upsetting photos that showed a young toddler with some serious red burns on his skin.
In a five-photo carousel post on Instagram, the company recalled one mom's story about her son, Otis, emphasizing that everyone should be aware of injuries that can be caused by seemingly harmless everyday things.
Talking about what is known as a "margarita burn", the post starts off by stating the trauma was caused by a piece of lime.
Check the photos out below (Warning - graphic images)"My son Otis was playing with a whole lime off our lime tree earlier that afternoon," the mom recalled. "...As parents, we thought nothing of it. How often do you see citrus fruits involved in parts of sensory play... And as an Occupational Therapist, I'm all for fun sensory activities!"
She then went on to say that while she didn't notice anything unusual on that day, the next afternoon, she saw a rash start appearing on her son's chest.
"What we thought was an allergic reaction to a juice he had that morning was actually the start of a not widely known reaction called a "Margarita burn" (also known as phytophotodermatitis)," she said. "[It] is a burn that results when a chemical called furocoumarin reacts with sunlight. This chemical is found in limes and other citrus fruit."
After rushing him to the doctors, the mom was disappointed when they had "no real answers" for her, so instead, she started doing her own research into the matter.
"I started doing more of my own research and was able to put two and two together… the small lime he had been innocently playing with on Friday had now burnt his skin horrifically!"
She later added that thankfully there would be no long-term scarring or any further health implications and that the family were going to regular appointments to ensure the best treatment is given to Otis.
At the end of the post, Tiny Hearts Education offered some more advice on how to avoid this happening to any other children as well as tips on how to look out for warning signs that they could be experiencing a "margarita burn".
"If your skin comes into contact with the chemical and the chemical becomes activated, a reaction can occur," they wrote. "Your little one may be at a greater risk if you have a history of contact dermatitis with other substances, such as metals and cleaning agents."
"I hope by sharing my story I can raise some awareness about phytophotodermatitis and the importance of watching little ones around any citrus fruits. If our story can help raise awareness into phytophotodermatitis at least something good has come out of our horrific experience," the mom added.
We're glad to see that Otis is doing fine now!
If you're looking for further information on the injury, head over to Healthline.com.
