A woman left with burns after pressing lime to make margaritas

A health worker suffered serious burns after pressing "hundreds of limes" to prepare badtails for a party.

Courtney Fallon has prepared the margaritas and is lying down for sunbathing in Florida, USA.

But when she woke up, she said that her skin seemed to be "on fire" and that her hands were covered with large blisters.

The doctors diagnosed the woman with a "margarita blight", known as phytophotodermatitis, a common skin reaction aggravated when the skin has been in contact with UV sensitive substances, such as lime.

It is understood that Courtney, of New York, thought she had sunburned and was surprised to hear the diagnosis.

But Clarissa Yang, MD, head of the department of dermatology at Boston's Tufts Medical Center, told the New York Post: "When you detect a photo-sensitive substance or UV light on the skin, it causes a phototoxic reaction after dark. Exposure to the sun, which will be proportional to the amount of the agent touched the skin ".

She explained that symptoms can take up to three days to manifest.

Lime juice is believed to have flowed into Courtney's arm and, when exposed to ultraviolet light, the chemicals caused a photochemical reaction of the skin, damaging skin cells and killing them. .

"Just wash your hands," continued Dr. Yang.

She also suggested wearing gloves while preparing badtails in the sun this summer.

But the doctor warned against picking up or peeling hardened skin, as this could cause scarring.

Sunscreen is also very important, she said.