Brit teen scarred with Friday Night Dinner quote after getting henna tattoo in Zante and suffering bad reaction
Beth Fitzimmons was with eight pals when they decided to have the words 'Shalom Jackie' inked on them for a laugh
A BRITISH teenager has been left scarred with a quote from Friday Night Dinner after suffering a bad reaction to a henna tattoo while on holiday.
Beth Fitzimmons was with eight pals on the Greek island of Zante when they decided to have the words "Shalom Jackie" inked on them for a laugh last month.
But the 18-year-old, from Southwell, Nottinghamshire, had an allergic reaction to an ingredient in the black henna, which can contain high levels of toxic chemical paraphenylenediamine (PPD).
Doctors reckon she'll be left with the words scarred on her forearm for at least six months.
They chose the phrase from the popular Channel 4 comedy series because people on holiday kept shouting it and she and her friends found it amusing.
She said the group were on their third night out of the holiday when they decided to get the five euro henna tattoo done - but it wasn't until around a week later that it began to itch and feel like a burn.
Beth said: "We were on a night out but I don't really drink so I was sober when I did it.
"It was done by a random family in the street. The mum and dad were doing them.
"We woke up the next day and thought it was hilarious. We sent pictures to our parents and and they were like 'that better not be permanent'.
"It was absolutely fine until about eight days later then it was so itchy and it felt like it was burning.
"It was so red. It was all raised up. Now it looks a bit like eczema and is very dry."
She went to a pharmacy when she got back to the UK and was told to go to a walk-in centre.
Beth, who is taking a gap year after finishing her A-Levels this summer, added: "I thought that was a bit extreme so I went to the doctor on the Monday.
"I said to them that I was probably overreacting but I needed to know if it was going to scar permanently because when I looked it up it said you needed to be treated for chemical burns.
"I was so worried it would scar me forever.
"The doctors told me I'd had an allergic reaction to it and it would take about six months to go completely."
Beth was prescribed a steroid cream and told that due to the chemicals in black henna also being used in hair dyes, she would no longer be able to dye her hair.
She added: "She [the pharmacist] was very firm on it because she said my body would start attacking what's in the hair dye and that I could actually die.
"That was the worst thing for me - not being able to dye my hair."
Beth says everyone was shouting the phrase made popular by the character Jim on the show, which is about two brothers who return home for dinner with their parents every Friday night.
Beth said: "I love the show - it's hilarious. Friday Night Dinner seems to be the thing that young people are obsessed with at the moment.
"It was everywhere in Zante. People would shout different lines back at each other."
Warning others against the dangers, Beth said: "I would 100 per cent say do not get black henna. If I would have known before I wouldn't have done it. It was a case of blind ignorance."
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