Severe burn on 81% of body surface after sun tanning

Abstract

We report herein the case of a 42-year-old woman who presented to the Burns Unit with 81% of her body surface severely burned following sun bathing, after applying fig leaf tea as a tanning agent. The patient was hospitalized for 13 days in a Burns Intensive Care Unit, and was discharged for an ambulatory follow-up. The treatment of such burns does not differ from any conventional treatment for heatinduced second-degree burns. The physiopathology of the phytophotodermatitis induced by such homemade tanning solutions rich in psoralen is discussed in detail.