A nine-year-old boy may be left ‘scarred for life’ after a henna tattoo he got while on a family holiday to Turkey left him with a huge chemical burn that caused his chest to start ‘oozing yellow liquid’.
Mother-of-two Monika Shakesheff said both of her sons – Ollie, nine, and seven-year-old Charlie – got the temporary tattoos while at the Pegasos Royal hotel in Alanya, Turkey, last month.
Ollie chose to get a 10cm wolf pattern on the left side of his chest, while Charlie went for a 10cm outline of Cristiano Ronaldo on his left leg.
While the tattoos, which were done at the TUI-managed hotel were initially fine after the boys passed patch tests, it was only when they got home that Ollie began complaining about the tattoo causing him pain.
After coming home to Bridgetown, Stratford-upon-Avon, from the £5,000 trip, Ms Shakesheff and her husband Matthew took their eldest son to a GP and a hospital after he began suffering from a red, itchy chest that started to ooze yellow liquid.
Nine-year-old Ollie (pictured) may have the massive scar on his chest for the rest of his life
He chose to get a 10cm wolf pattern emblazoned on his chest, while his younger brother wanted to get a tattoo of Cristiano Ronaldo
Ms Shakesheff, who owns a family transport and haulage business, said: ‘His clothes and the bed covers were covered in yellow-red stains so we decided to go to A&E.’
There, doctors confirmed that the young boy had suffered a chemical burn, before dressing it and prescribing antibiotics.
It is believed that the burn was caused by Paraphenylenediamine (PPD), a chemical commonly found in black henna and dark hair dyes. Doctors told her that black henna should never be used on skin.
‘They [the henna people] didn’t even say it was black henna, they said it was just a henna tattoo, which is very misleading because the customer should know it’s black henna,’ the distraught mother said.
‘They were advertising henna tattoos but they were using black henna. We had never had henna before so we didn’t think about it.’
While Ollie is feeling better, Ms Shakesheff worries that her son will be left with the wolf outline burned into his chest for the rest of his life.
‘What was supposed to be [some] holiday fun scarred my boy for life.
He and his brother got the tattoos done at a henna tattoo stand run in a TUI-operated hotel in Turkey
Monika is now warning other parents to be careful if they allow their children to get similar tattoos
‘Ollie is okay with it at the moment but they have said it could be permanent and he could be left with a white wolf outline on his chest.
‘I feel guilty as a mum. It was just a fun thing to do on holiday and I feel guilty that I let them do it.’
On top of this, she’s now worried that her youngest son will soon suffer a similar fate.
‘Charlie has some red patches on his skin where the head of the Ronaldo in henna was,’ the worried mother said.
‘Charlie’s shows a bit of reaction but it is not as bad as Ollie’s.’
Ms Shakesheff is now warning other parents of the dangers they face should they choose to get similar tattoos.
She said: ‘To other parents I would say check what product they are using and, if you don’t know do some research before they put it on your child’s skin.
‘If I knew it was black henna they were using I wouldn’t have let them have it done.
‘So, before you decide to have your child tattooed, think again. A lesson learned for us.’
A TUI spokesman said: ‘We are very sorry to hear about Monika and her family’s experience at The Pegasos Royal in Turkey.
‘Whilst black henna isn’t illegal in Turkey, we take health and safety of our customers very seriously.
‘Our health and safety teams are aware of the incident and we will be investigating thoroughly with our resort teams.’