Mango- Beauty and the Beast-Urushiol Induced Contact Dermatitis
Posted by Dr. Cason on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
I was 22 when I first had a Mango. It was ripe and juicy but a little difficult if not messy to peel. I cut and sliced and then just picked the whole thing up and sucked the sweet orange flesh from the peel. My teeth were excellent tools to get at the embedded fruit. I was pretty proud of myself. I laughed when I was teased for the mess I created. I didn’t care. Juice dripped off my chin and I wiped it away sloppily. I had found a new fruit and I was in heaven. Until the next day.
A fine erythematous papular rash slowly erupted. First over my lips and cheeks and finally over my forehead. I scratched and scratched and took shower after shower. I called the doctor and then stayed home. I drowned my troubles in even more Mango. Still sweet and rich I kept eating. I was a little slow at putting the pieces together.
It turns out that Mango is in the same plant family-Anacardiaceae-as poison sumac. It’s peel contains the oil, urushiol, which can elicit a skin rash called “Urushiol-Induced Contact Dermatitis”. Who knew!!
I still eat Mango. I usually just make an exaggerated bite to get the mango fruit in my mouth without touching the peel. But the other day, I don’t know what came over me. God help me I could see the flesh still stuck on the pit and it looked so good and a little won’t hurt that much right?
Wrong. I’m sporting some “Angelena Jolie” lips right now and they don’t as good as I ever imagined they would!
Filed in Everything Medicine, My Life |
Sarahon 22 Jun 2008 at 3:56 pm 1Maybe I didn’t run into you that week, but I had a really annoyingly itchy and swollen eyelid from apparently rubbing it while I was eating a mango at the beginning of 3rd year residency. Hydrocortisone cream took care of it pretty well. Since then, I’m careful to cut the peel off first, wash my hands, rinse the mango and knife. Then I’m OK. I haven’t run into any problems from biting it off the seed, because there’s no peel there. . .
Dr. Casonon 22 Jun 2008 at 5:03 pm 2That was my thought as well. “Pit” is not “Peel” right?
Wrong! Must be some Urushiol in the seed as well. I’m proof positive.
(smiling through itchy swollen lips)
Audreyon 23 Jun 2008 at 2:11 am 3Hmm you could always leave it on the floor of your car and see what develops?
Hmm looking left you’ve asked “should you let your child watch television?” Can I ask back….how would moms ever keep their little bit of sanity without a television? The only reason we don’t have one in the car is because I never owned a van ROFL.
Audreys last blog post..Chinese Casserole
Dr. Casonon 23 Jun 2008 at 6:17 am 4They wouldn’t.
which is why my kids are watching Chicken Little as I write this and the baby is scavenging for food in the kitchen!
My life as a pediatrician is a little different from my life at home- as you can see from my blog. BUT as a doctor I feel obligated to let you know that (and pardon me for yelling) BABY EINSTEIN IS NOT MAKING YOUR KID SMARTER!!
Mary Aliceon 23 Jun 2008 at 9:38 am 5Don’t the leaves make you itchy too? I vaguely remember one of my kids getting a rash climbing in the mango tree when we lived in Hawaii.
Mary Alices last blog post..Catch and Release
White Hot Magikon 23 Jun 2008 at 1:12 pm 6Good to know in case that happens, I have eaten mango fresh before but it has been a while. I am more worried about cutting myself, trying to get around the seed. Now I am going to have to go buy one at the store tomorrow.
White Hot Magiks last blog post..The Art of being Crafty
Barbara Swaffordon 23 Jun 2008 at 4:03 pm 7Oh My Gosh, Dr. Cason,
I didn’t know that about mangos. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hopefully your husband finds those “Angelena Jolie” lips sexy.
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..You’re Only As Good As Your Current Post
Ambre Hodgeon 24 Jun 2008 at 2:49 am 8Thanks for the info, sorry about your lip situation.
Ambre Hodges last blog post..Maybe an Old Woman Can Learn New Tricks
Mad goat ladyon 24 Jun 2008 at 2:12 pm 9Oh what a shame! I just luuuurrrvvvve mangoes and buy them by the tray load when they are in season here in Australia (around Xmas time)
They are so messy to eat and I have been informed that the best place to eat a mango is in the bath tub…naked!
Apparently it is quite common to have a reaction if you actually suck on the large seed but less common from just consuming the delicious, golden flesh.
Thanks for dropping by Mad Goat Lady….am enjoying exploring your site and will be back for more
Mad goat ladys last blog post..What do you mean move over?
Dr. Casonon 24 Jun 2008 at 3:13 pm 10Mary Alice- Seems reasonable to assume the leaves would make you itchy as well.
White Hot- Did you get that mango?
Barbara- He thinks my lips look like her lips a little already. God Bless him! Why do you think I keep him around? But now he keeps looking at me and shaking his head and saying, “What did you expect Sheila?”
Ambre- No problem. If anyone can benefit, I’m happy to share!
Mad Goat Lady- We went to Cairns in January and the Mangoes were amazing. Ruined it entirely for me. Now I get the ones from the Commissary and John keeps saying, “Not quite the same is it??”
“Um, No.”
Mangomanon 23 Aug 2008 at 11:12 am 11Yep-
Ran away from home in 1977 and lived in Jamaica and ate “the mos’ mangoes outa ebry white bwoy”.
Gatey, John Finnegan, Number, Stringy, Black, Kidney, Strawberry, Water, East Indian, Green Gage, Red, Beeswax, Beefy - I got the rash pretty good especially during April when there was lots of green ones oozing that white sap. Never had problem pealing with teeth if they are absolutely and perfectly ripe.
I currently have a urushiol rash all over my face, eyes, ears, neck - very sensitive to poison ivy. Don’t know how it got there. I had been eating two sliced oranges after dinner for the past couple nights and got quite a bit of that of that orange rind oil around my mouth- was wondering if that might have the urushiol in it -couldn’t confirm. Otherwise, it must have either been that dead vine I was pulling off the tree in the park or that “different” mango I ate the other day- come to think of it - it was different. Hmmmmmmmmm.
saglikon 09 Oct 2008 at 12:00 am 12Thank you.
Amaryllison 10 Dec 2008 at 11:24 pm 13I currently also have a urushiol rash all over my face, lips, neck and ears. Didn’t know about mangos and poison ivy - found out the hard way! Just couldn’t think what caused it until I remembered the three organic mangos I bought - three for the price of two. First tried to remove peel a la Hercule Poirot -no success. Then bit into one - if only I’d known! It was so juicy and ripe I have never tasted such a delicious mango - I just had to have another. It was really sticky though- don’t think I did a very good clean up job..and it seems that urushiol stuff is really difficult to get off…and I don’t think I’ll be eating one again in a hurry. …
Mangomonon 11 Dec 2008 at 12:28 am 14Following up on my earlier post:
It turns out that the vine WAS Poison Ivy and the cause of my rash. I unsuccessfully tried to treat this with Calamine, Caladryl and tons of cleaning of every possible place I touched in my house. This was the worst case of Poison Ivy I’ve every had i.e severe.
Finally a friend reccomended Olux Foam (Clobetasol Propionate). This is prescription that contains the steroid Prednisone. One application and the unbearable itching was completely gone and the rash immediately began to recede and was gone in a few days. I’ve been doing natural healing for more than three decades, even teaching it and I hate drugs of all kinds. On this one I concede; it was a miracle for me.
A co-worker took Prednisone internally only to see his rash return. I see no point in exposing every cell in my body to a potentially dangerous drug when you can apply it locally only where it is needed.