A tourist was left with third-degree burns on his face after biting into an exotic fruit at a market in Mexico. <br /><br />Thomas Harold Watson, 28, says he experienced a burning feeling like "fire" going across his mouth immediately after biting into the wrong part of the fruit. <br /><br />He had unwittingly bitten into the outer shell of a cashew nut – two layers of hard shell which contain cardol and anacardic acid - which can cause vicious burns. <br /><br />Cashew nuts grow on cashew trees, with the nut encased in a hard shell, attached to an edible fruit known as cashew apple. <br /><br />Thomas said he’d heard cashew apples were edible and was keen to try one – but had no idea about the dangers of biting into the cashew nut casing. <br /><br />Despite biting into the fruit at a market in Campeche, in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, last Wednesday 1 May, he says his injuries have still not healed. <br /><br />And Thomas says he’s concerned he may be left with permanent scarring across his face. <br /><br />Thomas, a construction site manager and travel influencer, from Luton, Bedfordshire, said: “You can eat the cashew apple fruit, it’s meant to be a bit bitter. <br /><br />“I’d heard about it but never tried it in the flesh, so I bought it, went for a walk and started eating a few different fruits. <br /><br />“The cashew nut grows on the side of the apple, so I thought I’d open it up – it felt like a passion fruit, and I bit into this sac which exploded straight away. <br /><br />“Instantly it felt like fire, I could feel this fire going across my mouth. <br /><br />“The next day when I woke up, my whole face was completely burnt. <br /><br />“I could not believe the pain just from biting into one case - even my hands have gone discoloured from where the acid burnt them so badly.” <br /><br />Thomas - who posts his adventures on Instagram at @thomaswatson1995 - said he’d ventured out to Mexico with friends for a trip away, and decided to go for a solo adventure while there. <br /><br />He says he was keen to visit the Yucatan peninsula and, while walking through the market, he noticed the range of exotic fruits. <br /><br />Aware the cashew apple was edible and keen to try some local produce, he took the plunge and bought some of the unusual fruit. <br /><br />But he says he had no idea of the dangers of biting the hard casing of the cashew nut – and only discovered after a Google search that workers who shell cashews can suffer from severe burns to their hands and arms. <br /><br />He was advised to go to the hospital but said he didn't go as he was concerned he'd be left with a hefty bill.<br /><br />Thomas says it’s not put him off eating local foods but thinks some local knowledge would have proved useful. <br /><br />“It’s always good to eat local foods but I guess it’s also good to have a bit of knowledge about them, it was instant regret,” Thomas said. <br /><br />“The next morning when I woke up my whole face was scabby and really bad. <br /><br />“When my lips were all burnt they literally felt like they’d be dissolved, it felt like my lip had gone like baking paper for three or four days. <br /><br />“A couple of days ago I was able to peel off my whole lip, it was a couple of inches wide – they're still quite burnt up and not great but way better than they were. <br /><br />“I’m very surprised no one else seems to have same story, I thought someone else would have done the same thing, you naturally use your teeth if you don't have a knife on you. <br /><br />“It feels like I'm the first which was biggest surprise – I'd rather laugh about it and tell other people to avoid it.”
