Your Margarita Might Give You Lime Disease

Of the many ways that margaritas can hurt you—brain freezes, blender mishaps, or even a slow slide into Leaving Las Vegas-style alcoholism—limes almost never enter the picture. Sure, you can always spot an experienced barback by their mangled fingertips, lopped off and hastily bandaged during the course of each night's citrus-slicing like some kind of tequila-soaked Sisyphus.

But the limes themselves? They can be an instrument of pain, too.

Just ask the Florida man—obviously—who found himself with second-degree burns after a routine evening of margaritas.

Aaron Peers, a newly married Jacksonville resident who decided to mix up some citrusy cocktails in his backyard over Memorial Day weekend, woke up to blisters on his hand so extreme that they sent him to the ER. Doctors there were initially puzzled, but after treating his burns, they eventually settled on the cause.

Phytophotodermatitis—variously nicknamed "margarita dermatitis" and "lime disease"—isn't all that rare, but it's still a shock for its victims. The combination of lime juice's citric acid and sunlight can cause red, painful blisters and burning, as the juice essentially causes skin to become hypersensitive to UV light. Unfortunately, the onset of symptoms typically takes place 24 hours after sun exposure, and the damage is already done by then.

Limes aren't the only culprit, either. Phytophotodermatitis can be cause by parsnips, celery, parsley, carrots, and other citrus fruits. Oh, and everyone's favorite herb: rue.

Luckily for Peers, the condition is treatable, if exquisitely painful and disfiguring. Still, he plans to put his Hawaiian honeymoon plans on ice, as his doctors have advised him to avoid UV rays. "So the blistering is gone and now I'm left with really bright pink skin," Peers told a local CBS affiliate. "If you can imagine when I was actually squeezing the limes how the juice might run over and it got up my arm. The most normal reaction is that's gross, which I agree, it's super gross."

Peers—who says that his wedding photos will now require some creative Photoshopping—is hardly alone. In 2013, collective hearts melted over the story of five young California girls who found themselves in agony and suffering from second-degree burns after playing with limes in the sun.

"It felt like there was a hundred needles just going in one spot," said 11-year-old Jewels at the time.

Just remember that image of screaming Jewels the next time you're sipping on a margarita, and remember your SPF 30.