A woman suffered horrific 'margarita burns' when a cocktail spilled over her on a boat trip, leaving her with an injured foot and huge blisters.
Meegan Clancy was drinking with friends on Sydney harbour last October, when a vodka, lime and soda was spilled on her foot.
Although the 44-year-old dried it off and thought nothing of it, two days later she started to blister.
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She was forced to go to A&E where she was diagnosed with photosynthesis dermatitis, though medics admitted they had no idea what might have caused it.
Property manager Meegan posted a photo of her foot on social media, where her friends told her she had 'margarita burn'. It's caused when acid from limes in drinks reacts with the sun.
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Meegan, from Sydney, Australia, said: "It was very dramatically ugly. My calves were the size of my thighs. It was nasty.
"It took three months until the discoloration was completely gone. You have that wine stain, like a birthmark children get, on your foot for months.
"The issue when the burn comes up is that you don't realise what created it.
"On the Sunday evening, I'd just gone to bed, and I got up to go to the bathroom and I said to my other half, 'my foot is really hot and quite sore'.
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"I turned on the light and went 'oh, my goodness'. It had swollen up to my knee and it was absolutely burning."
The next morning, Meegan's partner urged her to see a doctor.
She continued: "The doctor said he didn't know what that is. He had no idea, but thought maybe it was an infection. He told me to take antibiotics and if it hadn't settled down by the morning, to go to the emergency department.
"Then I was sitting in the emergency for six hours and they were asking 'did you step on an oyster shell? Did your dog scratch you or bite you?' I was going through department after department.
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"The only thing that gave it away was there was a tiny burn on my other foot. It made it look like there was a splash that had gone over my foot and splashed on to the other foot.
"Finally, they said 'we think it's called contact dermatitis'. It's a reaction, but they couldn't say what the reaction was from."
Baffled by her diagnosis and what might have caused it, Meegan posted an Instagram story showing her bright red, swollen foot and asking for advice. Other users identified the blisters as 'margarita burn'.
Now Meegan has explained she will be extra cautious as summer approaches, taking baby wipes with her to avoid finding herself in the agonising situation again.
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Meegan said: "With the sensitivity of the raw fresh baby skin I couldn't put it out in the sun. I couldn't wear tight shoes.
"For the swelling to reduce and the foot to peel, it took at least a good month.
"All they said was 'put this cream on, keep it raised, keep it cool and let it be'.
"My foot's pretty normal now. I'm still very cautious when I'm out in the sun because I still think there's a little bit of staining."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and MediaTopics: Alcohol, Australia, Health