girl reaction henna tattoo
© SWNSMadison Gulliver was on a family break when she had a henna tattoo
Primary school pupil Madison Gulliver was on a family break to a plush hotel in Hurghada when her father Martin allowed her to have the temporary tattoo on her arm at the four-star hotel.

The floral pattern stretched from her fingers on her right hand, all the way up her arm to her elbow.

But less than a few hours after having the tattoo she complained of the design being itchy, and it quickly erupted into painful, bright red blisters.

The youngster was rushed to hospital where she had to have the chemical burns cut away in a specialist unit, leaving her with nasty scars along her arm.

Mr Gulliver, 50, a Royal Mail manager from the Isle of Wight, said: "She is potentially scarred for life after getting a black henna tattoo.

"The tattoo was done in the hotel's salon and they claim it's not the henna and that it's my daughters skin.

"She has blisters from her finger to her elbow and is in so much pain."

The NHS warns these 'black henna' tattoos can contain high levels of toxic chemical dye, which is normally illegal to use on the skin.

The paste contains an ingredient called paraphenylenediamine (PPD). - which is present in many products such as sun cream and hair dye, but is usually used in very small doses.

Mr Gulliver said: "We were entirely unaware of the dangers and I think they should warn of this in the brochures.

"I think it's partly my fault because I didn't know about it, but also the fault of the salon because they are using dangerous chemicals on children."

The post said he had been having a great holiday with wife Sylvia, 43, son Sebastian, nine, and daughter Madison, seven, until the beginning of the second week.

As a treat for being well behaved, he decided to pay for both kids to have the black henna tattoos.

But his son instantly complained of itching, so the design was wiped off his arm immediately.

But Madison continued with her tattoo - and only complained of the itching hours after returning home on July 25 when her skin began to bubble.

Doctors gave the family steroid cream to treat the area but when blisters started to form on Madison's fingers, the young girl was quickly rushed to A&E.

After five visits to St Mary's Hospital where they were given different creams and ointments, she was finally referred to burns specialists Salisbury District Hospital.

Mr Gulliver said: "We started to panic. They had never seen it before, and each time we went in they were trying different things but it was getting worse and worse.

"They decided to treat the skin by removing the blisters, so they could access the burned skin underneath.

"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.

"She wanted to see what they were doing so we couldn't get her to look away, she was really good and kept saying 'you've missed one'."

Madison has now been referred to a scar management unit and has to wear a pressure bandage for at least six months to minimise the scars covering her arm.