Getting a henna tattoo on holiday is a common experience for many kids - but one mum has given a warning after her daughter's agonising ordeal. Henna tatoos are not widely available in the UK, so many kids love to get the temporary ink on their skin while enjoying a bit of summer sun abroad.
However, one girl suffered chemical burns from her henna tattoo, which left her skin smelling like "rotting flesh", while on holiday in Turkey this month. Terrified mum Alisha Evans said her daughter, Amora Evans, complained about a painful and itchy arm - and within 10 days the wound became 'angry looking' with bubbling blisters that turned bright red and oozed yellow pus.
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After two trips to the pharmacist and a doctor's visit where she was prescribed antibiotics, Amora, 10, is now finally on the mend.
But Alisha wants to raise awareness of the dangers of black henna tattoos in a bid to prevent another child going through the same ordeal.
It's believed that the burn was caused by Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) - a chemical commonly found in black henna and dark hair dyes.
Alisha, of Alsager, Cheshire, said: "It smelt like rotting flesh, it was awful.
"I'd say to other parents to not let their children have these black henna tattoos, I had no idea that this PPD existed.
"It sounds really silly to let your child have them, but everybody had them and I didn't even think it could cause something like this.
"To be honest, I was really scared at first because I didn't know what it was and what was happening, which is why I started researching it so thoroughly.
"Then I realised that it was actually really common.
"Thankfully a more severe reaction hasn't happened and it hasn't got any worse. It's just worrying."
Amora had been 'over the moon' with a temporary wolf tattoo she had on their final day of their fortnight break in Turkey earlier this month.
The 10-year-old felt fine that evening and they followed all the guidance, washing it off after an hour, but things changed when they got back home.
Alisha said: "We flew home on Saturday and it wasn't until the next day [August 7th] when I collected her from a birthday party that she said 'Mummy, my arm's been hurting and itching. I can't stop scratching'.
"I had a look and saw the state of it."
The next day, Amora was given antihistamines and cream at a pharmacy and advised to keep the wound clean, which initially started to make things better.
However, angry looking blisters started forming and another trip to the pharmacist saw them advised to go to a doctor.
"The doctor said that it's likely chemical burns and that they see it quite a lot and it's usually because PPD had been put in, and that matches what I'd read on my research," explained the concerned mum.
"When speaking to the doctor and how concerned they sounded after seeing all the pictures, it was just really worrying."
Amora was given a course of antibiotics and the doctor advised that if she starts to feel unwell, to take her to A&E as there's a risk that she could develop sepsis.
Luckily, the antibiotics kicked in shortly after and she's now finally on the road to recovery.
Alisha said: "We went to a children's festival at the weekend and she couldn't go on the Sunday as she was fed up with itching.
"She had to stay at the holiday bungalow with my partner as she couldn't cope with it.
"If she touches it, when she's putting the cream on or if she knocks it on anything, she's really teary.
"She's well in herself and thinks it's hilarious that she'll probably have a wolf-shaped scar, which I suppose is a nice way of looking at it in the eyes of a ten-year-old. It looks awful still but it's on the mend."
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