How the Midnight Sun Gave This Man 'Rotten Zombie Skin'

[Judi Lynn]

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | November 13, 2018 03:35pm ET

A midnight sun can evoke many images, including those of an endless night and a beautiful, soft light — but a really awful sunburn probably isn't one of them.

A man, a 29-year-old tourist from Australia, learned just that while hiking in Greenland for several weeks. He didn't think much of it when he squeezed two limes into his water bottle during the trip, according to a report of the man's case. But, two days later, he was surprised to find "small, purple marks on the top side of my fingers and hands," he wrote in the report, published online Nov. 8 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

The purple marks turned into pus-filled blisters that burned and itched. Soon, the wounds "were looking pretty bad, almost like rotten 'zombie' skin," the man wrote. After rushing to the hospital, he learned that his blisters were the result of a bizarre chemical reaction between the light-sensitive compounds found in limes, and ultraviolet (UV) rays from the midnight sun. [Here's a Giant List of the Strangest Medical Cases We've Covered]

The condition, known as phytophotodermatitis, means "plant" (phyto), "light" (photo) and "skin inflammation" (dermatitis) in Greek. It happens when a light-sensitive compound called psoralen, found in lime juice, gets on a person's skin, and is activated by the sun's UV light, said case report co-author Dr. Luit Penninga, a surgeon and the medical director of the Ilulissat Hospital and the Avannaa Health Region in North Greenland. And that's precisely what happened to the man.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/64079-midnight-sun-lime-burn-skin.html?utm_source=notification

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Some wild weeds can cause the same effect, especially the dreaded Giant Hogweed --

Public health and safety

The sap of the giant hogweed plant is phototoxic. Contact with the plant sap prevents the skin from protecting itself from sunlight, which leads to phytophotodermatitis, a serious skin inflammation.[25] A phototoxic reaction can begin as soon as 15 minutes after contact with the sap. Photosensitivity peaks between 30 minutes and two hours after contact but can last for several days.[12][7] Authorities advise that all humans (especially children) should stay away from giant hogweed. Protective clothing, including eye protection, should be worn when handling the plant. If you come in contact with the sap of the giant hogweed, immediately wash the affected area with soap and cold water and avoid further exposure to sunlight for at least 48 hours.[25][17][12] The giant hogweed shares this property with its Heracleum relatives, such as the cow parsnip, and hence, similar caution is advised in handling these.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleum_mantegazzianum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furanocoumarin