It’s a common practice in to order a Mexican beer with lime on a restaurant patio or rooftop lounge. If this sounds familiar, be warned -- you may be in for a nasty case of “Mexican beer dermatitis.”
A Long Island-based dermatologist has coined the phrase to describe a rash left behind by the combination of lime, beer and sun.
Dr. Scott Flugman’s experience at Huntington Hosptial – two or three cases a month, he says – provided him with enough information to write up a case study for the Archives of Dermatology.
We won’t get too detailed but suffice it to say that the carbonation of the beer mixed with the lime and sprayed on the skin could leave some nasty marks. Flugman said the condition is caused by a substance called psoralen.
If it happens to you, Flugman advises that you wash it off and don’t sit in the sun. If you can’t get out of the sun, throw a towel over it, he suggests.
