![Oh, dreaded fruit of the Philippines, how do I despise thee? Let me count the ways!
For those of you who don’t know, I have a mango allergy. To explain how much my body hates mangoes, I offer you funny yet outrageous stories of contact in my past:
I kissed my Mister at around 3am. When we woke up at noon, I was having the reaction. He had eaten mangoes at around 1pm the previous day, and drank a few pints before we saw each other.
My friend Gabe ordered a beef dish, and encouraged me to try his dipping sauce. One dip, one taste, that’s it. The next day I had a reaction. Called the restaurant. Apparently the beef had been cut on the same cutting board as a mango.
So any of you misters desiring my luscious lips, educate yourself:
The allergen in mangoes is actually in the oils of the skin, but as anyone who has ever cut open a mango knows, there is no way not to transfer oil from the knife, your hands, or otherwise onto the oh so delicious pulp.
With direct contact, the reaction is fairly immediate (<1 hr). With indirect contact, it can take as many as 24 hours to even react, at which point you wonder what you came in contact with yesterday that is making you sick today.
Little known fact: mangoes are of the same species as poison ivy, oak, and sumac. Thus, contact with mangoes produces the equivalent of poison ivy on my face. Anyone want to imagine what happens to me with contact with our three-leaf friend? Yeah, I didn’t think so. My my lips mate with mangoes, the following occurs:
swollen, bumpy, dry, flaky, itching, burning lips
pussing oozing (sometimes bleeding) postules all around the mouth
obviously: no kissing :( :( :(
…and all of this lasts for 2 WEEKS! (3-5 days if you’re lucky enough to acquire medication immediately)
[[I’ve read of people who have also gotten full-facial rashes, swollen pink bruising eyes, and itching/burning tongues.. which is exactly why I never wait more than 36 hours post-contact to seek treatment.]]
Medications that waste my time, care of doctors too lazy to waste theirs researching my allergy!:
Hydrocortisone cream (this makes it worse, actually)
Benadryl (zero resolve, neither with pills nor cream)
The only thing that works: Prednisone! I say this like “Su-per-man!” because my little corticosteroid friend, you have saved me on many an occasion. I just wish my new ignorant doctors would trust in you, as I do, to make my world a better place for all who come in contact with my lips. In time! (And lengthy chart notations..)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l39prfDwCd1qc2za4o1_500.jpg)
Oh, dreaded fruit of the Philippines, how do I despise thee? Let me count the ways!
For those of you who don’t know, I have a mango allergy. To explain how much my body hates mangoes, I offer you funny yet outrageous stories of contact in my past:
- I kissed my Mister at around 3am. When we woke up at noon, I was having the reaction. He had eaten mangoes at around 1pm the previous day, and drank a few pints before we saw each other.
- My friend Gabe ordered a beef dish, and encouraged me to try his dipping sauce. One dip, one taste, that’s it. The next day I had a reaction. Called the restaurant. Apparently the beef had been cut on the same cutting board as a mango.
So any of you misters desiring my luscious lips, educate yourself:
The allergen in mangoes is actually in the oils of the skin, but as anyone who has ever cut open a mango knows, there is no way not to transfer oil from the knife, your hands, or otherwise onto the oh so delicious pulp.
With direct contact, the reaction is fairly immediate (<1 hr). With indirect contact, it can take as many as 24 hours to even react, at which point you wonder what you came in contact with yesterday that is making you sick today.
Little known fact: mangoes are of the same species as poison ivy, oak, and sumac. Thus, contact with mangoes produces the equivalent of poison ivy on my face. Anyone want to imagine what happens to me with contact with our three-leaf friend? Yeah, I didn’t think so. My my lips mate with mangoes, the following occurs:
- swollen, bumpy, dry, flaky, itching, burning lips
- pussing oozing (sometimes bleeding) postules all around the mouth
- obviously: no kissing :( :( :(
- …and all of this lasts for 2 WEEKS! (3-5 days if you’re lucky enough to acquire medication immediately)
[[I’ve read of people who have also gotten full-facial rashes, swollen pink bruising eyes, and itching/burning tongues.. which is exactly why I never wait more than 36 hours post-contact to seek treatment.]]
Medications that waste my time, care of doctors too lazy to waste theirs researching my allergy!:
- Hydrocortisone cream (this makes it worse, actually)
- Benadryl (zero resolve, neither with pills nor cream)
The only thing that works: Prednisone! I say this like “Su-per-man!” because my little corticosteroid friend, you have saved me on many an occasion. I just wish my new ignorant doctors would trust in you, as I do, to make my world a better place for all who come in contact with my lips. In time! (And lengthy chart notations..)
