A mother claims that her son became a ‘real-life Simpsons character’ with yellow skin after eating too many ORANGES.
Charlotte Travers, 32, noticed her son Thomas’s skin was turning yellow and rushed him to the doctor for tests.
The problem was discovered to be caused by the six-year-passion old’s of eating oranges and satsumas – often a bag a day.
Medical tests revealed nothing worrisome, but they did reveal exceptionally high levels of beta carotene, a nutrient found in orange-colored foods.
Charlotte said the family now refers to him jokingly as ‘Thomas Simpson,’ a reference to the popular cartoon and the characters’ yellow skin.
‘He started turning yellow, which alarmed me because it may be an indication of renal or liver failure,’ she explained. ‘I decided to take him to the doctor just in case, because you never know.’
‘During the initial visit, the doctor stated that the main indicator of kidney failure was yellow eyes, which Thomas did not have.’
‘She stated that sometimes children develop stained skin from playing in the mud or sand, but this was more than that, so we ran blood tests to rule out anything, but they all came back normal.’
The doctor was then alerted about Thomas’ abnormal eating habits by Charlotte, a domestic abuse support worker from Paignton, Devon, England.
Her doctor then confirmed that the child’s skin hue was merely due to his love of oranges.
‘I did inform the doctor about his overall diet, such as how much fruit and vegetables he eats and how much cheese he enjoys,’ she explained.
‘I would never have guessed that was what was causing his skin to turn yellow.’Carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and even dried apricots can have this effect in addition to oranges.
‘I have a rule in our family that if it’s in the fruit bowl, you can have as much as you want – and that hasn’t changed, ‘Charlotte stated.
‘It’s harmless thankfully, people drink beta carotene shots to tan more – but luckily for him, he still eats just as many oranges.’
‘We both thought it was extremely humorous when the doctor told us what the cause was.’‘We now make fun of him and call him Thomas Simpson.’