Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Public Safety Announcement: Mango Poisoning

Well who could have guessed that something so lush and sweet, the very essence of "tropical beauty" itself could leave in its wake an dermatological disaster? Chrissy, Abby and I certainly didn't as we slurped it in our delicious smoothies... nor did I the next few days as I had a daily mango, even though small and menacing bumps began to appear around my lips. However, when Sunday brought hampered speech and the complete inability to smile, it was apparent that something was up. I did a little research, the findings weren't terribly encouraging...

So here are the facts for you. Mangos are in the same family as poison sumacs, poison oak and poison ivy. Apparently it's the mango skin that causes reaction, so wash your hands after preparing it, and don't eat it!

Still, I'm thankful for frank friends and relatives who don't bother to soften the truth with tact "Have you gotten a lip job? Botox or collagen?" but cast it all in a humorous light "Circus makeup? You missed the upper half of your face!"

8 comments:

Daniel and Joyce said...

OH RUTH!!!!!! that's awful!!!
i hope it gets better for you soon and yikes! thanks for the warning.

(maybe i'll get to see it friday??? hehe)

Michele said...

Ruth,
I had no idea this could happen. Who would ever have thought, such a delicious fruit? I too hope to see this on Friday :)

Kristi said...

oh wow...and I adore mangos! I'm going to think twice before I touch one again.
Hope you feel better soon girl!

Ruth said...

Awww, thanks for all the sympathy. I feel like an online whiner now :) But don't ditch mangos permanently: I think it's just the skin that the causes problems... Joyce and Michele, I'm hoping it'll be a thing of the past by Friday --you missed the best part anyways :)

Anonymous said...

About 18 months ago I had a terrible rash all over the place, from picking three mangoes from a tree. My eyes swelled shut and I couldn't sleep because the itching was so unbearable. I've found since that I can still eat mangoes but have most recently found that I shouldn't eat it from the pit, since it tends to be messy and I now have a rash around my mouth.
I have also found the same reaction from the small tropical fruit ginep, or kinep.
It's a horrible fate to be allergic to such a delicious fruit, especially when they're hanging all around me.

Anonymous said...

omg, me n my bf just ate mango skin today cuz we wanted to see what it tastes like. Then my mom talkd to me about mango poisoning...is the rash definately gonna happen?

Ruth said...

Anonymous... it's not "definitely" going to happen. Since my own disaster with mangoes, I've had a few, and have not had any breakout. The point is to avoid ANY contact with (or eating) the skin of the mango. LOL, if you've got a bit of time to kill, type "mango poisoning" into google images and you'll see why :)

gap said...

Costco had mangoes at a price I couldn't refuse. I only wanted one. I bought 10 and then proceeded to committ glutony for the next several days, allowing my face to come in contact with the skin. If there was a single drop of juice or pulp still on the skin, my mouth was there like a cleanup crew.

2 days later it happened. You know what. It was horrible. Thankfully the worst seems to have passed.

It was enough to stop me to pause to ask myself whether I have the guts to ever go near a mango as long as I live.