A mum is warning parents about the dangers of black henna tattoos after her daughter was left smelling 'like rotting flesh' after suffering from an infected chemical burn.
Alisha Evans, 31, from Cheshire, said her daughter Amora, 10, was over the moon when she had a black henna tattoo on the last day of their holiday in Turkey.
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But the 10-year-old was left in agony after the family returned to the UK and the tattoo became 'angry looking' with blisters and yellow pus.
It's believed that the burn was caused by Paraphenylenediamine (PPD), found in black henna and dark hair dyes.
"When it was at its worst it had gone bright red, started blistering and then started oozing yellow pus," says Alisha.
"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.
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"When speaking to the doctor and how concerned they sounded after seeing all the pictures, it was just really worrying."
Alisha is keen to warn other parents about the dangers, explaining she had no idea the tattoos could cause such a reaction.
"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," she continues.
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"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."
Amora is now on the mend after a course of antibiotics. However, she was advised by doctors that if she does start to feel unwell, she should go to A&E as there's a risk she could develop sepsis.
"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," says Alisha.
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"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 10-year-old.
"It looks awful still but it's on the mend."
Topics: Health
Lucy Devine