Monday, June 28, 2010

Mango: The forbidden fruit

About the mango.


Not many pictures, but so many people shared their stories and I found some good info. It turns out that mango sap contains urushoil wich is also a substance found in poison ivy.
It causes a severe rash, mango allergies are often noticed soon after eating a mango. Typical mango allergy symptoms are blisters around the mouth and severe itching. This usually takes from several hours to days to develop.

In June 2009, while visiting my mother in Florida I had my first mango rash. Back when I was a child in my country I used to indulge with tangy green mangoes and salt whenever I could and never experienced this reaction to it. Several years passed since I last ate one but Florida is full of mango trees, every where I look there's a tree calling me, tempting me to take one. They're in full view and within reach, after a brief rain you can collect the ones that fall on the ground around the neighborhood, who could resist that, I couldn't heck I still can't. Well I took a few off the trees, green ones just like I like them. One mango dripped a white,milky substance on my hand,didn't think anything of it. I briefly rinsed my hands and mango with water and started to chow down on my mango with salt, enjoyed it all by myself since no one else liked it this way.

Fast Forward 2 days: I woke up with a weird sensation on my lips, looked at it and noticed small bumps all around the edge of one side of my lips. I was alarmed, I immediately thought it was HERPES. Unlike love, Herpes lasts forever, I began to apply ointments to relieve the itching but ended up making it worse. By night time it had spread all over my lips and it was clear then that this was not Herpes.
Oh the pain, the swelling and the itching were annoying. Well I, figured the mango had all to do with this, so I googled and found a lot of info describing symptoms and length of reaction. I read that it usually takes 10 days to clear. Yellow liquid will ooze out of the bumps and crust over.

I ended up going to the Emergency Room, as you can see on the pictures my lips where huge. The Doctor said mangoes cannot cause this reaction, instead he considered it to be Impetigo (an acute contagious staphylococcal or streptococcal skin disease characterized by vesicles, pustules, and yellowish crusts, most common in infants and children). They gave me a prednisone( a very strong anti-inflammatory steroid) while at the emergency room, and a prescription for two, that's right, just two(2) prednisone pills and a bactroban(mupirocin topical ointment used to eradicate the bacteria that causes Impetigo.

I applied the ointment and 5 seconds later, the ointment began to make my lips burn even more.This was excruciating. From the start of the reaction I had tried anything and everything. Antibacterial ointments, lip balms, Neosporin, Tylenol, Benadryl, Caladryl, warm towels, ice,Oatmeal and so on. In the morning my lips were fused together with the yellow ooze, it would take me about 5 minutes to rinse them open. Brushing, eating,talking or simply being was a hard task. The sun would exacerbate the symptoms. It took 10 days and NO patience from my part till i was completely cured.

Pictures below are in order from beginning to end.































































































































29 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. WOW!!! I just went through the exact SAME Thing! My blisters were so scary.. never had a blister in my life on my face and was soo freaked and grossed out! I went to the ER and found that I had a severe mango allergy by touching the rhine to my mouth.. it also spread to my neck and chest and my left ear is huge! IT was so scary not knowing what I had for a few days until I went to the ER and found out I was allergic to mangos... a situation I wouldn't wish on anyone! I will never be near another mango!

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  3. I have an allergy to mangoes too but I recently just tried marinating it in either lemon juice or orange juice and voila! no allergy. I got the idea from ceviche dishes where raw meat is "cooked" with lime or lemon juice. With ceviche, the citic acid in the juice causes the protein in meat to become denatured, similar to cooking. I loved mango so much that I would buy jams and salsas with mango in it and never had a reaction and I thought it was because it had been cooked. So I thought "Maybe the citric acid would also denature the oils in the skin of the mango". It does! At least for me it does. I generally had a mild reaction in comparison to your photos but my lips felt just as bad. Give it a try. Cut the flesh from the skin and pour some oj or lemon juice over it and give 5 or so minutes.

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  4. i have had the same reaction. i have also developed a severe reaction to poison oak/ivy. I also suffer from stress related psoriasis. i have discovered that Tamu Oil relieves this skin condition within hours. check it out!

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  5. I had the same allergic and mental reaction as you did. I blamed my wife (gf at the time) just like you did. And i was miserable googling everything imaginable. I thought i had 3 different types of std's and even got prescribed herpe medicine.. ughhhh... how embarassing. It took me some time to realize when the outbreak happened again that i had just eaten mangoes at the chinese buffet. Being that i dont eat that shit alot i tried ot think of the last time i had it..sure enough about 6 monhts prior and i had mangoes as well. I then googled it like you did and low and behold. I havent touched it since.. but god dang do i miss them

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  6. Kelly that is a good idea to denature the oils. I'll build up some courage and try it sometime. I will also take Holly's advice about the tamu oil and have it nearby, benadryl doesn't do much to relieve the pain and reactions. I'm afraid of what will happen next time I have an encounter with mangoes, I had a reaction from dicing a few mangoes for my sons school event. Dbart you are hilarious. You made me laugh so hard. I too miss the mangoes especially now when all the trees are full.

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  7. Can i ask what you did to relieve your symptoms? By reading your blog I just discovered this is exactly what is happening to me. 6 weeks ago I ate 4 mangoes and 2 days later my lips started to get tingly and red and I thought I was also getting herpes, but was not sure since I had never had them. Then a couple days later my whole mouth became swollen and blistered and crusted over with yellow stuff. The doctors then told me it was impetigo, the antibiotics did not work at all. I just had to wait for it to go away. I ate 2 mangoes yesterday and now I can tell it is happening again. I'm so afraid of my mouth blistering again. Do you know what they give you to help the rash? I have a course of antibiotics (azithromycin) or Z pack at home that I might just take..

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  8. This happen to me a long time ago in college and I had forgotten about it. Just last week I was dicing up mangos for my toddler and snacking on the pieces as I handed some to him. Well, it didn't dawn on me until 7 days later that the horrendous rash that broke out in my mouth, blisters, and major headache that it was the mangos. Thank goodness my little one didn't react! I might try the lemon juice but it's going to be awhile before my mouth heals. I've been eating mango all week. This is torture!

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  9. I tried benadryll to releive the itching and also ice from time to time. benadryl Doesnt help much but it knocks me out for a while so that I dont have to deal with the pain. Dont do the antibiotics, it's not an infection, it's an allergic reaction. Some people put vaseline on their lips, I use carmex on mine it releives the burn. I also got a reaction from just cutting some up for a school event. so i decided,if I was gonna suffer might as well eat it...lol

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  10. oh man--i can't sympathize with you enough. i only recently realized my allergy about 3 years ago. three different doctors told me it was herpes even though ALL swabs came back negative and i've been married for 6 years and my hubby is herpes-free. ridiculous. after the third doctor, i set off to scour the internet and self-diagnose my now known 'mango mouth.' it would start the morning after i had eaten fresh mango. the roof of my mouth was super tight when i woke up and the ridge were ultra defined and slimy. within hours i had the little blisters and a few days later the yellow goo formed to crust and dried over the whole thing. i would pour gobs of cream and vaseline all over my lips, desperate for an ounce of relief. but it took between 6 and 9 days until my lips grew tame. meanwhile the entire week was ruined. i was super bitch who was pissy and grumpy and cried all day long. my husband didn't know why i was in this 'death-mode.' then i finally realized it was mangoes. i have tried to avoid them ever since and ALL I DO is actually encounter them. an herbal tea will have unknown dried mango in the teabag and i am doomed. my husband drinks a mango flavored tea and kisses me hours later and again--doomed. if i handle produce at the grocery store that is in the vicinity of the mangoes, i am doomed. the fruit is evil and i will spend the rest of my life ensuring that i don't so much as stand near one ever again!

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  11. wow Lindsay, that's crazy, as if it wasn't enough that you have to avoid them but you also have to make sure your husband avoids them too. Sometimes i'm afraid of walking near a tree and the wind blowing my way...lol

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  12. I know--I'm started to get frustrated with it now because I assumed that mango would be easy to avoid and once I had diagnosed myself (i like doctors and everything but they were all useless in this case) i was super relieved. but then i have had THREE breakouts in the last 7 months. (it's 7+ days of sheer misery each time!) and the worst is that for all three of these breakouts, i didn't go anywhere near a mango. they were all inadvertent instances of "oh--this product happens to contain mango extract" and "oh--this avocado that you just picked up in the grocery store must have been in the same display area as the mangoes" and things like that where it's just not fair. and there is nothing you can do after that first day--no amount of scrubbing, creams, pills--it's just a matter of putting up with death for 7-9 days until it peels off and dries up and then you can live your life again. sigh.

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  13. I feel you Lindsay. I hate how doctors are satisfied with not solving some issues. They just chalk it up to stds or whatever disease the symptoms resemble even when the tests come back negative. You might want to see an allergist and try that desensitizing treatment.

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  14. My eyes almost swelled shut, plus the itching was really terrible... (Let me step back) I am an American that moved to the Philippines, and I love it here... and I LOVE mangoes those evil, lovely, beautiful little bastards. When I was a kid I would "catch" poison ivy and get it very bad. I lived in the woods, in the streams and played outside everyday.. Fast forward, to more recent times.. I have been eating mango shakes, green mango, everything without a noticable problem when I had my maid (gotta love Philippines) cut me a mango I bought on the street. I had a bag and some had lots of black (now know that's what to really avoid). I must have touched my eyes and I know I had some of the skin when I ate them and just spit it out.. Few hours maybe a day it started the itching that drives you mad, then my eyes got huge and some around the mouth but VERY little, I didn't notice with the eyes swelling shut. First thought was Herpes, then I quickly realized that's pretty unlikely since I've been with same great girl for six years.. SO I went to the emergency room (of course being a man I waited a week till I could barely see) They gave me IV with antihistamine or some other wonder juice by vein and the swelling was going down noticeably in minutes but went down in about 24 hours or so completely. I wouldn't have connected it, again if the doctor hadn't said avoid eating, mangoes, pineapple, etc and I did little research and connected the dots, That was weeks ago I've here because I want to feed my mango addiction, but avoid the side effects. They say that I can eat, but must wash them and avoid skin area.. I hope so.. I wish I never tasted a mango before, then I would never miss the sweet sweet evil fruit.

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  15. I just had this same thing happen to me! What helped for me was putting some hydrogen peroxide on a towel and then holding it to my lips/around my mouth. It seemed to dry out the rash faster and actually helped with the itching. Then I put on some Cortizone-10 Plus creme. My rash went away in a few days.

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    Replies
    1. Taylor, was this your 1st reaction? Interesting technique using the peroxide.

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  16. Hi, I have been having the same reactions you all have described for the last 9 years and even though I avoid mango like the plague, it keeps creeping up on me! I've just had another reaction from taking one sip of a mixed drink that apparently had mango in it. Past experience suggests that I may also be allergic to pineapple which causes an identical reaction to my mango allergy, but I'm too afraid to test it further because I don't want to have to go through a week of suffering just to find out. Have any of you experienced a similar reaction to pineapple, papaya, or other tropical fruits?

    Ps. I'm so sorry you all have to endure this obnoxious and painful allergy, but I must admit, it does make me feel just a tiny bit better to know that I'm not the only one going through this

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  17. I am reposting from another blog on this topic.

    I have such a bad reaction to mangoes that I carry Benadryl with me at all times. Since Mangoes have become a popular additive to tropical fruit juices/salads I always ask or read the label before I consume anything labeled "tropical" I can't even use lotions or lip balms that have mango butter in them, my allergy is that bad. :/

    I found out I was allergic in the 1970's, my Mom brought home these 'new' exotic fruits from the store one day---delicious! The next morning I woke up with an itchy mouth, and over the next few days a poison ivy like rash spread from my mouth, up to my eyes and down my neck to my upper chest. I was a MESS! Mom figured I'd gotten into Poison Ivy. No Benadryl in those days, either! The second time I ate mango I had the same reaction, this is when we figured out the allergy. I'm the only person in my family that gets this reaction (lucky me)

    I have had no problems with cashews or pistachios, but I am careful with them. I do get a milder allergic reaction to Papaya, so I don't eat those either. I have also read that eggplant can cause a similar reaction in people with this type of allergy, I have had no problems with eggplant, either, thank goodness.

    PS--I have also read that folks with this allergy need to avoid tropical places when the Mango trees are pollinating. Yikes! I can only imagine o_0

    My lips had the same swelling and my face had the same rash as yours, only worse. Ugh, it was horrible...

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  18. So I have been having the exact same reaction as to those who eat the mangoes. It started a couple of weeks ago. I was my local farmers market and my family decided to buy mangoes. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into tasteyness. I got the juice all over my face. The next couple of days I developed a rash all over my mouth area. At first I thought it was poison ivy because I have gotten it before on my face but then I realized that it was in fact on my lips. I have gotten Impetigo before but it was from the soap we use to wash our horse saddles. But I realized that this time it was from the mango. I waited a couple of weeks to test this theory so the other day I ate a mango, even washed my face with dish soap to make sure that I didn't get it all over my face. The next day I woke up with the rash. It seems as though that I may be allergic to mangoes and according to all of you you are having the exact same problem.it's every time I eat a mango. I read that I can't even touch the mango or I will have the reaction to it. Thank you everyone for your input I appreciate it!

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    1. This is the first time I am having the reaction with Mangoes. I normally have them with pineapples.

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  19. So I have been having the exact same reaction as to those who eat the mangoes. It started a couple of weeks ago. I was my local farmers market and my family decided to buy mangoes. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into tasteyness. I got the juice all over my face. The next couple of days I developed a rash all over my mouth area. At first I thought it was poison ivy because I have gotten it before on my face but then I realized that it was in fact on my lips. I have gotten Impetigo before but it was from the soap we use to wash our horse saddles. But I realized that this time it was from the mango. I waited a couple of weeks to test this theory so the other day I ate a mango, even washed my face with dish soap to make sure that I didn't get it all over my face. The next day I woke up with the rash. It seems as though that I may be allergic to mangoes and according to all of you you are having the exact same problem.it's every time I eat a mango. I read that I can't even touch the mango or I will have the reaction to it. Thank you everyone for your input I appreciate it!

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  20. I ate my first mango almost 3 weeks ago and loved it so much, I continued to eat one every night for two weeks until I woke up to lips swollen to at least double their normal size. I thought it might be herpes simplex 1, so I continued to eat a couple more mangoes. Then, I came upon this article and immediately cut them out. Since that time, my lips are back to normal, but my face and neck has a rash all over. I'm not sure why it took two weeks for the initial allergic reaction. Any thoughts?

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