My skin erupted in a foot-long chemical burn oozing with blisters after having a black henna tattoo in Thailand
AS her skin erupted in a foot-long chemical burn oozing with blisters, Amanda Drish-Adolf wished she’d never got her black henna tattoo. The 30-year-old was left in crippling pain from the half-sleeve mandala-style design which she’d had inked on her left arm during a trip to Thailand. And Amanda, from Des Moines, Iowa, was left […]
AS her skin erupted in a foot-long chemical burn oozing with blisters, Amanda Drish-Adolf wished she’d never got her black henna tattoo.
The 30-year-old was left in crippling pain from the half-sleeve mandala-style design which she’d had inked on her left arm during a trip to Thailand.
And Amanda, from Des Moines, Iowa, was left fearing that she might not be able to use her arm again – and continue her career as a violinist.
Amanda, who is desperately hoping she won’t be left with a lifelong scar, is now sharing her story to urge people to avoid black henna and only get natural henna artwork.
She said: “I was pretty freaked out by it all. Everyone likes their arms, but I’m also a musician so I really need my arms to be highly functional.”
Amanda’s ordeal began while visiting Bangkok during an action-packed pre-children ‘bucket list’ trip to Thailand with her husband Nick Adolf, also 30, last month.
She decided to visit a pop-up vendor near their hotel on Friday January 2 and paid 1,000 Thai Baht (£25) for a large intricate design inked on her left arm – from the top of her shoulder down to her elbow.
The black henna took an hour to complete and Amanda admits that it felt as though her skin was “burning” as it was painted onto her skin.
Amanda said: “I’ve had large henna, both true henna and black henna, tattoos two or three other times, but I’ve never had this reaction before.
“It felt like it was burning as it was being painted on, like the gel you put on when you have a sore muscle that feels hot and cold at the same time.
“I used Google Translate on my phone to tell the person painting it on that it was burning and was told ‘that’s normal’, the tingling stopped after it dried.”
With the first 24 hours, Amanda was delighted with the dark henna tattoo as the black pigment slowly flaked off while she explored the capital.
However, two days later Amanda was left in agony as she developed a chemical burn on her arm that erupted in countless oozing blisters.
“My arm started feeling hot to touch and little blisters popped up,” Amanda said.
My arm started feeling hot to touch and little blisters popped up
Amanda Drish-Adolf
“I was concerned as I thought maybe I’d got sunburn on it, and when I popped the blisters clear liquid came out of them.
“In the evening the larger part of my arm that was coloured started to blister and that’s when I started to do my research about skin reactions to black henna.
“That’s when I realised we had a problem.”
That evening the couple visited a pharmacy and picked up saline solution, anti-itch cream and a steroid cream to treat the area.
Amanda diligently washed the area in bottled water, applied the creams and wrapped the affected areas in bandages for two days.
Despite taking care of the affected area, the couple realised Amanda needed hospital treatment on Tuesday 28 January when her hands, feet and arms started swelling up.
Amanda said: “My hands and feet were swollen and when I was letting my arm air on the Tuesday evening I looked down and on the underside of my elbow there was a grapefruit-sized swelling.
“It was massive and it had a hard core in the middle.
“Once we saw that specific localised swelling we knew we had to go to the emergency room.”
The couple went to a nearby hospital at 10.30pm where concerned medics applied antiseptic cream, bandaged the affected area and asked her to return for two follow-up hospital appointments, which in total cost £533.
The following day, Amanda’s blisters were popped and cleaned using cotton pads and antibiotic solution and then carefully wrapped in bandages.
Amanda said: “I was told the swelling was a symptom of the infection and that the blisters were going to be popped.
The pain was just awful and I was crying
Amanda Drish-Adolf
“Not only did she pop the blisters but she scrubbed all the tops of the blisters off with saline and antibiotic solution.
“It took about half an hour to do, the pain was just awful and I was crying.
“Every time she took a cotton pad off my arm it was covered in black, my body was rejecting the dye.”
After three appointments at the hospital, staff told her to keep the wound bandaged and dry until the infection had cleared up.
Amanda, who is also a manager of education and community engagement manager at an orchestra, was forced to cancel plans they had to rock climb, swim, snorkel and kayak and instead sat on the beach or in their hotel room watching Netflix.
Amanda said: “Looking at all those crystal clear waters and knowing I couldn’t swim and do the things I wanted to do was heartbreaking, this was our big Asia trip we were taking before having kids.
“I was hoping to go rock climbing, snorkelling and kayaking on our trip but couldn’t.
“Nick got to go snorkelling and kayaking while I sat on the beach or in the hotel watching Netflix.”
Amanda was also plagued with “full-on anxiety” as she looked down at her arm and saw what it looked like.
She said: “It was disgusting. I’ve had anxiety in the past and luckily I had the forethought of bringing my meds with me.
“I was also having a lot of claustrophobic issues. Because my skin was so swollen I was claustrophobic in my skin and then having my arm wrapped tightly was making me very anxious.
“Also you want to have special holiday times with your husband and when you feel disgusting that doesn’t really happen.”
It’s believed that the burn was caused by Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) – a chemical commonly found in black henna and dark hair dyes.
NHS advice on black henna
If you see a shop or stall offering to paint black tattoos onto your skin, don’t be tempted to get one.
It could leave you scarred for life and put you at risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction.
Often called “black henna” or “neutral henna” tattoos, these patterns painted onto your skin are readily available abroad. They may also be available in the UK, at festivals and fairs, and to buy online.
But the black paste used in these temporary tattoos may contain high levels of a chemical dye so powerful and toxic that it is illegal to use it on the skin in this way.
The risks of black henna lie in the paste’s ingredients – specifically, a chemical called paraphenylenediamine (PPD).
Although PPD can lawfully be used in hair dyes in the EU, this use is strictly controlled.
Dr Chris Flower, director general of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, explains: “PPD is safely and legally used in permanent hair dyes where clear instructions are given, and where the maximum level is controlled by law. But black henna often contains PPD at high levels, to give a dark colour quickly.
“When applied to the skin in the form of a black henna temporary tattoo, PPD can cause chemical burns and lead to allergic reactions.”
Real henna, which is generally safe to use, is an orange colour, with a red or brown tint to it.
Dr Flower says that everyone should be suspicious of black “tattoos”.
“Real henna is never black, but is orange-brown,” he explains. “Any very dark temporary tattoo should be treated with caution.”
Source: NHS
Now home, Amanda is urging people to avoid black henna and only get natural henna artwork providing the artist can tell you the ingredients in it.
Amanda said: “Before this happened to me I didn’t know what PPD was.
“Natural henna should smell nice and you should be able to ask what ingredients are in it, if you can’t then I wouldn’t recommend getting it done on vacation.
“It’s doing amazing now. Right now it looks like the opposite of a black henna tattoo – instead of black, it’s white.
“I’ve been taking really good care of my arm by putting vitamin e oil, coconut oil and other really high quality serums and moisturisers on it.
“I’ve also been taking omega 3 fish oils and vitamin d, so I’m also doing internal stuff that’s good for my skin – it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a long-term scar.
“This story is one that will be told every time we talk about Thailand, which is a bummer.
“I felt guilty that I monopolised our time and we weren’t able to do some of our activities because of my arm.
“At the end of the day we got to see what a Thai hospital looks like – and not many people can say that.”
British Skin Foundation spokesperson Lisa Bickerstaffe said: “Tourists don’t always realise that ‘black henna’ temporary tattoos contain para-phenylenediamine (PPD) – a substance found in hair dye – which can lead to blistering, burns, scarring and even severe allergic reactions when used on the skin in this way.
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“In 2018, three quarters of people surveyed by the British Skin Foundation were not aware that ‘black henna’ contains PPD and that when used on the skin it can be dangerous, as well as drastically increasing the risk of allergic reactions to hair dye in the future.
“The British Skin Foundation strongly recommends avoiding ‘black henna’ temporary tattoos at all costs.
“It’s not worth risking your skin health now or in the future, in addition to ruining your holiday.”