My Baby Got “Margarita Brandy” After Eating Celery: What Parents Should Know
This might start your summer off on a bitter note.
A baby developed a blistering rash after eating celery in the sun, a horrified mother claims.
Reanna Bendzak of Canada gave her then seven-month-old daughter a stick of celery to nibble on to soothe her teething gums. The family spent time outdoors soaking up some rays and figured the little one would be protected from the sun.
“It wasn’t warm by any means but it did seem sunny so she was covered in a romper from neck to toe and we had a sun hat on her so we thought she was reasonably well protected,” she said.Good morning America“She added that she was constantly wiping her child’s face with a cloth.
But when the child woke up the next morning with a rash around her mouth that later blistered, Bendzak knew something was wrong.
The little one had phytophotodermatitis — a reaction that occurs when touching certain foods outdoors, such as Examples include celery, citrus, figs, carrots, and wild dill, parsley, and parsnips.
“If a substance that is sensitive to light or UV rays gets on the skin, there will be a phototoxic reaction after exposure to the sun, the severity of which is proportional to how much of the substance has come into contact with the skin,” says Dr. Clarissa Yang, chair of dermatology at Tufts Medical Center, previously told The Post.
The painful condition is often referred to as “margarita burn” due to the frequent tendency to sip on a lip-puckering cocktail while sunbathing in the summer heat.
“As every parent out there knows, the first reaction is just, ‘Oh my god, what have I done?’ And how could I have prevented that?’ Bendzak said, adding that she washed her baby’s face with soap and water afterwards.
“But parents are only as good as the knowledge they have, and we did what we thought was best at the time.”
Her daughter, now 9 months old, suffered from blisters on her face for 10 days which later turned into hyperpigmentation and finally disappeared after 6 weeks. While the infant is now “fine,” it only took 20 minutes of direct sunlight to trigger the reaction.
Now the mother of two tells her story on Facebookand even recreated the reaction her baby experienced on her arm.
“Hopefully this story can help others learn from our experiences and continue to make better decisions about their own personal lives in the future,” said Bendzak, who had “no idea” something like this could happen.
Earlier this year, a young boy experienced the same reaction after juicing limes, and last year a TikToker suffered a similar fate.
The creator, who goes by the online name Shana, released a public service advising viewers not to cut limes in the sun — no matter how good a refreshing margin sounds.
“I now have second and third degree burns and blisters on my hands,” she wrote in a viral TikTok video to warn others.
