Henna tattoo burns holes in 7-year-old girl's skin

A British family is speaking out to warn others after their 7-year-old daughter was possibly scarred for life by a henna tattoo she got while on vacation.

Madison Gulliver, 7, was visiting Egypt with her parents, Martin and Sylvia Gulliver, and her brother, 9-year-old Sebastian, when her mother fell ill with a gall bladder infection and had to be rushed to the hospital, according to Metro.

The family ended up spending two days of their trip in the hospital and, as a way to reward their children for being so well behaved during the ordeal, Martin Gulliver says he paid for Madison and Sebastian to get henna tattoos at their hotel's spa.

After the Gullivers returned home on July 25, the skin under Madison's tattoo allegedly started to bubble up.

"We noticed there was a small patch on the top of the tattoo that was raised but we couldn't see any redness," Mr. Gulliver told the outlet. "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 realized all the worrying things."

Madison's family quickly brought her to a doctor who gave them a steroid cream, but when her blisters continued to worsen, she was rushed to an emergency room.

Metro reports that after five separate visits to St. Mary's Hospital in London with no progress made, Madison was referred to burn specialists at Salisbury District Hospital, who were able to diagnose her with chemical burns.

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"They decided to treat the skin by removing the blisters, so they could access the burned skin underneath," Mr. Gulliver explained. "They thought they would be able to soak the blisters and rub them off, but that wasn't possible as they were so thick, so they had to cut them off."

It is believed that Madison's reaction was caused paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is a toxic chemical used in henna ink that is known to cause severe reactions in children.

PPD is contained in many other common products, such as hair dye, albeit in much smaller doses.

A spokesperson from the Fort Arabesque Resort, Spa & Villas, apologized to the family via email and told them that they will no longer be offering the tattoos.

But Madison's family says an apology is not enough.

They are hoping to raise awareness about the potential dangers of henna ink in order to save other children the pain and suffering their own daughter had to experience.

"She is potentially scarred for life after getting a black henna tattoo," her father said. "The message is: don't risk it."

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