Many children play outside in the summer time. They often pick fruits from trees, play in the pool and do other normal activities. Five girls were playing normally like this a few days ago when suddenly they all fell ill.
Five young girls were playing in the pool at one of the girl’s houses when suddenly they all became sick. Fox News reports here, “The five had spent the day in the pool, splashing around and having fun. What at first seemed to be overexposure to the sun blossomed into soft-ball sized blisters and second degree burns.” The girls are between the ages of twelve and nine.
All the girls were admitted to the intensive care unit for numerous days. The youngsters were in so much pain from the burns that the hospital was regularly administering morphine to them. Doctors said the girls are not allowed back in the sun for at least six months or perhaps longer. The parents of the young girls were distraught about what caused this. Doctors were perplexed as well.
After hearing that the girls had been playing with limes from a neighbor’s tree the doctors decided to research whether the juice from the limes may have played a part in the burns.
After much research doctors came to this conclusion, “The girls were diagnosed with phytophotodermatitis described as a chemical reaction to the lime juice that makes bare skin hypersensitive to ultraviolet light. It’s caused by contact with photosensitizing compounds which occur naturally in some fruits and vegetables- like limes.” The parents of the young girls were astonished to learn that something as innocuous as a neighbor’s limes could cause such serious burns to their daughters. They are urging other parents and neighbors to be careful with what items are open in their yards when children are playing outside.
