'Mexican Beer Dermatitis' From Lime Juice

Photo Credit: NYdailynews

It's a well known fact that lime juice is known to cause phytophotodermatitis amongst some sensitive/reactive skin types. Its phototoxic coumarin elements absorb UVA light causing adverse reactions in the skin which affect melanin production.

I just ran across this story in the news which directly relates to the phototoxic reactions caused by lime juice. It sounds absolutely outrageous, but it is real. It is now being called 'Mexican Beer Dermatitis':

Official News Story  Link: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20101020/beer-lime-dermatitis-101020/

"The well-loved combination of a cold beer with a lime wedge on a hot sunny day can lead, in rare cases, to an odd skin reaction being dubbed "Mexican beer dermatitis," one doctor warns.

Dr. Scott Flugman, a dermatologist at Huntington Hospital in New York state, describes the condition this week in a short report in the journal Archives of Dermatology.

What dermatologists have known for years, but that many beer lovers don't realize, is that when lime juice touches the skin and that skin is exposed to sunlight, it can cause a reaction that leaves the skin discoloured for weeks.

The process is called phytophotodermatitis. (If that term sounds familiar, it's because it's the same skin reaction that can occur after contact with the dreaded hogweed.)

Flugman reports that he has recently seen a number of cases of lime phytophotodermatitis in which all the patients were exposed to lime after drinking a popular Mexican beer.

Flugman notes that when people drink beers with a wedge of lime, they typically press the lime into the bottle, then hold their thumbs over the bottle's mouth as they turn over the bottle to mix in the juice.

As anyone who has done this knows, if the thumb isn't released carefully, the beer can spray all over.

"This common drinking practice may result in lime juice being sprayed over a wide area of skin, especially in a patient who is shirtless by a beach or pool," Flugman writes.

In one case he recently documented, a 24-year-old woman reported being splashed on the neck by lime juice and then touching her neck with her hand, which had also been splashed with lime juice. She then developed a rash which turned into brown markings which lasted for six weeks.

Flugman notes that most cases aren't severe and the markings usually clear up on their own. Still, patients and their doctors are often left puzzled, which is why he's putting out the warning to other skin doctors.

‘Dermatologists should be aware of the contemporary ritual associated with Mexican beer drinking," he writes. "Although the small amounts of lime sprayed across the skin of affected patients do not result in a severe phototoxic reaction, the prolonged erythema [skin reddening] and hyperpigmentation [discolouration] may cause substantial concern for these individuals."

"Prompt recognition of this unique phototoxic reaction and an understanding of its cause will help physicians counsel patients to avoid repeated episodes."