Valley man gets burned by lime juice

Memorial Day fun, has turned into a painful experience for one Valley man. His hands were burned after combining lime juice and the sun.

It’s not as rare as you think, last year five girls in Fresno ended up in the hospital with three degree burns after a day of sun and playing with a lime tree

So how do you prevent this? CBS Local 2 Stands for You.

“It is painful, it’s painful especially because you use your hands all of the time, it itches a little bit. It’s pretty raw,” said Indio resident Josh Stevens.

Steven’s hands were burned after spending Memorial Day with his family in his backyard.

“We spent the day at the pool, making some drinks, so we were squeezing some limes into glasses afterward had washed my hands off then afterward came out to the pool,” said Stevens.

It was the acid in the limes combined with hours of direct sunlight that caused his burns.

“I actually thought I had a sunburn for about two days and it started getting worse and worse,” said Stevens.

It’s called called Phytophotodermatitis and it can be very severe.

“I had to go to like five different websites because I didn’t think there was any possible way that by juicing some limes I could chemically burn my skin,” said Stevens.

The Mayo Clinic suggests if you handle limes wash you hands not just with water but also soap before you go outside. Also limes aren’t the only food to watch out for. Wild parsnip, wild dill, wild parsley, buttercups and other citrus fruits can cause the same reaction.

“It makes sense thinking about people putting lemon juice on their hair to go outside to lighten their hair, it makes sense when you think about it, but when you are in the kitchen that is the last thing you are thinking about,” said Stevens.

Stevens is now the proud owner of a citrus press. “We will no longer be squeezing our citrus by hand,” said Stevens.

The Mayo Clinic also says this can happen with camp fires if you burn wild parsnip or other plants that contain the phytophotodermatitis-causing chemicals.

Those chemicals can be dispersed into the air and come in contact with any part of your body exposed, then burn your skin the next morning if you have contact with the sun before you take a shower.

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