Girl, seven, is ‘scarred for life’ after medics had to cut off blisters she suffered from black henna tattoo at posh hotel salon
A LITTLE girl has been left with horrific scars after suffering chemical burns from a temporary henna tattoo.
Madison Gulliver was on holiday in Egypt when she was treated to the black henna design on her forearm.
But shortly arriving home, the seven-year-old complained the pattern was itchy.
The pretty swirls soon erupted in a series of painful blisters, which had to be cut off by medics at a specialist burns unit, leaving Madison with permanent scarring.
Dad Martin, 50, from the Isle of Wight, allowed his daughter to have the tattoo at their plush hotel in Hurghada, at the in-house salon.
"She is potentially scarred for life after getting a black henna tattoo," he said.
"The tattoo was done in the hotel's salon and they claim it's not the henna and that it's my daughters skin.
"She has blisters from her finger to her elbow and is in so much pain."
A chemical called para-phenylenediamine, or PPD, is added to henna to make the tattoos darker and increase their lifespan.
While PPD is present in many products, such as hair dye, it is usually used in very small doses.
The addition of PPD into henna is now recognised as a public health issue, as this allergenic chemical often causes hypersensitivity reactions in children.
They decided to treat the skin by removing the blisters, so they could access the burned skin underneath
Martin Gulliver
Martin, a manager for Royal Mail, said he was entirely unaware of the dangers and called for more warnings from travel agents.
He said: "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 want to get the message out to other people about this."
The family's holiday was going well until the second week, when mum Sylvia, 43, had to be rushed to hospital with a gallbladder infection.
While she recovered, Madison and her brother Sebastian, nine, spent two days at their mum's hospital bedside.
As a treat for being so good, Martin paid for both the kids to have a black henna tattoo.
Sebastian instantly complained of itching so the pattern was washed from his arm.
But shortly after returning home on July 25 the skin under Madison's tattoo started to bubble.
HENNA HELL Doctors warn of dangers of black henna tattoos - and how holidaymakers are at risk of 'chemical BURNS' and allergic reactions
"We noticed there was a small patch on the top of the tattoo that was raised but we couldn't see any redness," Martin said.
"The next morning the whole tattoo was starting to get itchy, so we washed it off which revealed a rash in the outline of the tattoo.
"It started to blister so we started looking on the internet about black henna tattoos and that's when we realised all the worrying things."
Doctors gave the family steroid cream to treat the area but when blisters started to form on Madison's fingers, the young girl was quickly rushed to A&E.
The paste contains an ingredient called paraphenylenediamine (PPD). In the EU, this chemcial can legally be used in hair dyes - but not for tattoos.
Dr Chris Flower, director general of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, explained: "When applied to the skin in the form of a black henna temporary tattoo, PPD can cause chemical burns and lead to allergic reactions."
In extreme cases, black henna tattoos can lead to swelling, blistering and permanent scarring of the skin.
Black henna tattoos can also increase sensitivity to PPD, meaning you could have a serious allergic reaction to legal hair dyes.
Now, Martin wants to warn others of the danger of black henna tattoos.
He said: "We don't want compensation, the main thing is to care for Madison and minimise the scarring because we don't want her growing up with a scar for the rest of her life."
The hotel in Hurghada apologised and said it no longer offered the tattoos.
In an email to the family, Heike Moursy guest relation manager of Fort Arabesque Resort, Spa & Villas, said: ''On behalf of the owner from the Beauty Center we apologise again what is happened with your daughter.
''We don't want to have such horrible reactions to anybody in the future again.
''Therefore our general manager Mr Max Shoukry have spoken with the owner of the beauty centre to stop the offer of any henna tattoo.
''We know, this does not help your daughter but we wish her to get well soon.''
Madison's ordeal comes after a spate of similar cases.
Chloe Goodwin, 20, suffered similar horrific burns after having a temporary black henna tattoo while on holiday in Bulgaria.
And little Theo Luckett's mum issued a warning after the seven-year-old was left with burns on his arm.
The family were on holiday in Bulgaria when Theo had the temporary design on his upper arm.
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