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PICKLEtheLOAD
08-17-2005, 09:04 AM
Got this at work today. Its kind of a long way to go to get to the point, but I thought I would share just in case SOMEBODY on here drinks CORONA with limes...... :cool: In all my years on the river/partying, I have never heard of this.
A Blistery Mystery
By LCdr. Laura Mussulman, Naval Safety Center
Two weeks ago, I found myself with a mysterious burn injury that I want to share with readers in hopes it will spare someone else the same misfortune.
The Midwest was having another summer heat wave, so I didn't hesitate when a neighborhood friend invited my daughter and me to spend the day with her boating. I jumped at the chance to explore Smithville Lake in Kansas City, Mo.
The sun was intense, with temperatures topping out in the mid-90s. Being the conscientious parent I am, I insisted my daughter wear her life jacket the entire time we were on the lake. I also spent lots of time applying SPF 50 sunscreen to her fair skin. However, I wasn't as conscientious about myself-I opted for SPF 8.
By midday, we were ready for lunch, so we anchored the boat in a cove. My friend offered me a Corona with fresh lime. "That'll be the perfect choice on this hot summer day to quench my thirst," I thought. I squirted the lime in my beer and wiped off the excess juice dripping down my right hand onto my right thigh.
After lunch, my 2-year-old daughter pretended to drive the boat and played in a big inner tube, while my friend and I went swimming in the lake. We spent the entire day on the water, and, by late afternoon, I could feel I had gotten too much sun.
I awoke Sunday morning to find my shoulders and legs were pink-not the worst sunburn I've ever had but bad enough. By Monday morning, I began to notice my right thigh had five red streaks, and my sunburn seemed more intense. As the day passed, the streaks turned to 2nd-degree burns and began to blister. My right thigh looked like I had laid a hot curling iron on it five times. Meanwhile, my left thigh had a couple of thin, long, dark streaks and one large blister. I also discovered my stomach had a small, splattered pattern of blisters.
By Monday night, I was beginning to wonder what could have caused such an intense burn; the blisters were nickel size and 1/4-inch thick. I looked through an old dermatology book from college for something to explain such a mysterious reaction, but I didn't find anything.
Because I work at a medical hospital, I consulted with two physician friends on Tuesday morning, and they said I definitely had a 2nd-degree burn from the sun. I wasn't convinced, however, that the sun alone could have caused such intense burning in this peculiar pattern. Other parts of my body that were more sunburned didn't have the same reaction.
By mid-afternoon, I was limping from the intense pain. A co-worker asked me what was wrong and, after taking one look at my burn pattern, immediately asked if I had limes while on the boat. Her question took me by surprise, but I acknowledged I had squirted some lime in my drink. Unfortunately, some of the initial squirt had gone on my stomach-I had worn a bikini that day-and I also remembered wiping my right hand on my right thigh afterward.
The co-worker then told me about a friend of hers who had experienced the same thing once while at the beach. The beach medics who treated her knew the burn was caused by lime juice, in combination with the intense sun exposure. The clinical name for the condition is phytophotodermatitis (PPD), sometimes called phototoxic dermatitis. The clinical pattern is that the blisters don't develop until 24 to 72 hours after exposure, just as mine had done.
I decided to investigate my case further and found that key clues to diagnosing PPD include "bizarre inflammatory patterns and linear streaks of hyperpigmentation. These patterns often result from brushing against a plant's stems or leaves while outdoors or from the liquid spread of lime juice over the hand or down the forearm. A handprint pattern from lime-juice contact is not uncommon."
Although the burn is extremely painful, it was interesting to solve this puzzling mystery. My advice is to be careful this summer, and always wear sun block. More importantly, always wash off any lime juice while you're at the pool, lake or beach. Lime mixes great with some things-just not with the sun.
The author is a Naval Reserve aerospace physiologist.

Vada
08-17-2005, 09:18 AM
Hmmmmm....now this makes me want to try this the next time I'm out in the sun to see if this really happens :rollside: :220v: :p

Redneck
08-17-2005, 09:22 AM
sounds like a good reason to have a corona to see if it really happens of course for the love of science right

desertbird
08-17-2005, 10:16 AM
Read the article! It's real, and it's about limes. :supp:
Phytophotodermatitis (http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic324.htm)

BarryMac
08-17-2005, 10:24 AM
As a good friend of mine once said, "A fruit in the Beer equals a fruit in the rear"...
I personally don't like Lime in my Corona, but that's just me...