Things started when the mother of the family, 43-year-old Sylvia Gulliver, was rushed to hospital with a gaul bladder infection. She spent two days in an Egyptian hospital, but her young children were on their best behavior.
As a way of rewarding them, their father, Martins, told the children they could have a treat. 7-year-old Madison chose to get a black henna tattoo like the ones she’d seen on other tourists about town.
She got permission from her dad and thereafter had her hands tattooed at the hotel where the family was staying. Her brother, 9-year-old Sebastian, got a henna too, though he washed his off after experiencing irritation.
Madison kept hers, only to begin to feel it itching upon the family’s return to the UK.
Situation worsens
It wasn’t long before the situation drastically deteriorated. The itch became a series of painful blisters, brought on by a chemical within the tattoo ink called paraphenylenediamine (PPD).
Things got so bad that Madison had to be taken to a specialist burns unit in hospital. She’s been left with scars that could remain for life.
Girl, 7, left with horrific chemcial burns and blistered scars after getting black henna tattoo in Egypt https://t.co/RJ6fXhgog5 pic.twitter.com/0O04XkUfQ7
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) August 16, 2017
“She is potentially scarred for life after getting a black henna tattoo,” said Martins, as per the Daily Mail.
“The tattoo was done in the hotel’s salon and they claim it’s not the henna and that it’s my daughter’s skin. She has blisters from her finger to her elbow and is in so much pain. We were entirely unaware of the dangers and I think they should warn of this in the brochures.
“I think it’s partly my fault because I didn’t know about it, but also the fault of the salon because they are using dangerous chemicals on children. We would have thought that the travel agents would have had concerns about this.
“We want to get the message out to other people.”
Madison was referred to a scar management unit and will have to wear a pressure bandage for a minimum of six months to limit the damage.
I certainly didn’t know henna tattoos could be this dangerous. I’ve seen many of them on my own holidays, and wouldn’t have considered it possible they could cause such injuries as seen in the pictures above.
Let’s help Sylvia and Martins get their message out by sharing this article. You never know, you could save someone a great deal of pain and trouble.