Holiday tattoo burns horror
THESE are the horrific burns suffered by a Sheffield teenager after he suffered a violent reaction to a temporary henna tattoo painted on his arm on holiday in Turkey.
Charlie Tyrrell, aged 13, was admitted to Rotherham Hospital as soon as he returned to South Yorkshire from his holiday in the resort of Marmaris.
Today his mum Sonya Tyrrell, 38, said: "Charlie had a henna tattoo on his arm which was done by a man using a cocktail stick. The next morning – the day we were due to fly home – it all flared up. It was covered with blisters and oozing yellow pus.
"It was horrific, he was in a lot of pain and he was vomiting. His temperature was sky high – I was so worried about him."
Sonya, of Fitzhubert Road, Manor, claims staff at the Irmak Hotel where they were staying refused to let her use the hotel first aid kit, and says the resort rep told her just to take Charlie to the doctor when they got home.
She is planning to make a complaint to the holiday company with which they travelled.
Sonya said: "We were leaving the resort that day and I didn't know what to do as he was so ill. The rep wasn't helpful at all – she just told me to wait until we got back to England.
"It was very upsetting, I would have thought they'd have more compassion with him being a child. He was in a lot of pain."
Sonya claims she spent 30 at a Marmaris chemist on bandages, cream and pain-killers for Charlie, a pupil at Springs Academy school.
She said: "As soon as we landed I drove him straight to Rotherham Hospital and he was admitted. They put him on a drip and he spent a week in a high dependency ward. He had suffered an allergic reaction to something in the dye they used and had three weeks off school."
Charlie had suffered a reaction to the chemical PPD which is sometimes added to henna tattoos to make them darker. Most professional salons in Europe use pure henna, which rarely causes allergies.
The British Allergy Foundation warned anyone with sensitive skin to avoid street-tattooists on holiday.
A spokeswoman said: "With the growing rate of allergies affecting people we would say proceed with caution and, if people think they are slightly allergic, they should not go for one at all."
Charlie is now recovering at home but still has scarring to his arm.
His mum said: "I just want to warn other parents to keep their children away from these henna tattoos."
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: -4 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -0 C to 2 C
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