Aside from being a painful reminder that one’s beer is practically tasteless, squeezing lime juice into a bottle of brew can apparently have some nasty physical side effects. Dr. Scott Flugman, a medical practitioner from New York state, writes in October’s issue of Archives of Dermatology that the chemicals in lime juice, when combined with ultraviolet-A rays from the sun, can produce skin lesions he calls “Mexican beer dermatitis.”
The condition has earned that particular nickname because Flugman has seen it occur in patients who “were exposed to lime after drinking a popular Mexican beer.” Presumably, they missed the bottle, squirted lime juice onto their skin and then hung out in the sun. It’s layman’s lingo for phytophotodermatitis—a skin condition characterized by brown marks, redness or blisters. Those who come into contact with giant hogweed suffer something similar.
For those looking to stay safe, the answer seems simple enough: either start drinking better beer, worse beer or start honing those lime juice–aiming skills.
• Because you don’t have enough worries: Mexican Beer Dermatitis [Toronto Star]
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