Mango Allergy | Allergy

Mango Allergy

by Allergy Guy

Mango allergy problems are caused by a reaction to Urushiol. This substance is found in the sap of mangoes. It causes a severe rash, just the same as poison ivy.

This is because poison ivy also contains urushiol.

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 several hours to develop, so you many not realize that your symptoms are caused by a mango allergy.

Some time ago, I wrote an article about poison ivy on this website. It now has many comments about mango allergies, because the article mentions that urushiol is also found in mangoes.

Find out more about mango allergy and join in on the comments (or you can add comments to this article if you prefer).

Mango Allergy Management

If you have a mild mango allergy, you may be able to avoid symptoms by washing the mango with soap and water before handling them.

Do not eat the skin.

Do not scrape the flesh off of the skin.

Avoid the mango pulp near the skin.

If you continue to get mango allergy symptoms, you will have to avoid them completely. Hopefully the above tips will help you continue to enjoy mangoes without allergy symptoms.

HINT: Peel the skin with one knife, and cut the fruit with another to avoid contamination of the fruit.

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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Sel April 27, 2017 at 10:11

anyone know if you could be allergic to mango for a specific country? I had mangoes in China and i’m fine, but mangoes in UK, even if its just mango chutney in curry, as soon as i touch the plate i get a rash…i don’t know if i should lay off mangoes all together or if it’d be safe to try in other places…

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2 Julinda May 4, 2017 at 09:30

Sel, if you get a rash from mangoes in the UK, you are probably safer to just avoid them entirely. You never know…

Many here have said they’re just allergic to the substances in the skin, but my son and husband are allergic to the fruit itself and break out in hives from eating the fruit or anything that contains it.

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3 Brittney January 17, 2016 at 17:32

I was one of the earlier posters on this years back. I am also allergic to most tropical fruits. Kiwi. Pineapple. Papaya. Passion fruit. Etc in addition to mango. In all aspects. Oral. Cross contamination. Contact. And air (like breathing in a scented candle). My toung and eyes swell and throat starts to close. I have an epi pen because of it

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4 Tina January 17, 2016 at 06:47

I would recommend the steroids to tackle it. I have been extremely careful and cautious when it comes to avoiding mango. I still had reactions from salsa I ate at a barbecue that happened to have mango in it, from gummy vitamins that were made out of a variety of exotic fruits, and from a restaurant dish that had mango in a sauce on my plate. When I get these reactions, I try to let my body heal itself, I try to ignore it, I give it time to go away and I always end up at the doctor needed a script for a steroid pack, sometimes I need two rounds of it. It is uncomfortable, my lips swell as if I’ve injected them cosmetically and they develop a rash that turns sticky and then drys and peels, gums swell and are extremely tender (one reaction I had I could not tolerate anything in my mouth and I could not eat hardly anything and I lost several pounds in a few days-best weight loss plan yet), the corners of my mouth crack and my mouth is itchy. It seems like when my body is pushing it out of me I develop a final rash around the exits (on my bottom-inside and out) and oh yes there too. Its a miserable couple weeks (month). Go ahead with the meds until you find another remedy and please let us know if you do. Poor girl. Blessings.

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5 H salt January 17, 2016 at 17:34

My allergy to mango sent me to the emergency room with Anaphylactic shock. In other words my throat closed and my face swelled up. Is epinephrine a steroid ? There was no need for me to have more than one dose. They gave me one shot and told me never to even touch a mango. Funny thing I had been eating cooked mango for years in chutney and never had a problem.
My best to your daughter and to you.

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6 Jen July 8, 2015 at 11:09

We just spent a week in Florida with my sister who has a mango tree. My 12 year old daughter tried a mango and fell in love. She was constantly in the tree or eating them EVEN THE PEELING! She started breaking out around her mouth and on her inner arms after being there a few days. I told my sister E had a rash that she hadn’t had at home. My nephew was showing me where he had had a rash but didn’t know where it had come from and showed us the scars. I made the comment about allergies to mango. He googled it and yep! So….she kept eating them. (Hardheaded) and on the way home on the 9 hour drive it seemed to get even worse. The inside of her arms were covered and her sweet little face. It must be getting worse as her dad called and said he is taking her to the doctor for steroid shot. She’s been with him for 2 days so I don’t know how much worse it is BUT I DONT LIKE THE IDEA OF HER GETTING THE SHOT because it’s so hard on a body. Any natural remedies? She’s got an appt at 2:30 soooooo HELP!

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7 PC January 17, 2016 at 01:07

I highly recommend not eating them off the tree or even as fresh food in a restaurant. If they have not been handled properly, the urushiol can get on the fruit. If you do want to have them, then use the two knife method (one to peel and another to cut). My nephew has to carry an epipen because he had a bad reaction to a mango drink. (his throat swelled up). I personally just avoid them.

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8 Julinda January 19, 2016 at 08:59

My son has had several episodes of mango allergy – he breaks out in hives if he eats/drinks anything with mango and oddly seems allergic to artificial mango flavoring – and twice he had to get steroids because the hives and accompanying itching wouldn’t go away. An occasional dose of steroids doesn’t seem to have ill effects. Not like being on it for an extended period.

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9 Ken Von Der Ahe October 27, 2014 at 01:32

One mango OK. Two and the next day around my eyes and ears would swell up and itch. I thought that I would have to stop eating them (I do like them though) but I heard about the sap and I tried cutting off the skins and then washing them with clean water. Voila! I can eat them again!

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10 Carter August 3, 2013 at 00:05

I drank a can of Phillipines brand mango juice -100% juice, no additives – and ate some tortollini for dinner. By the time I finished eating I began violently throwing up for about 30 minutes – I have a severe stomach ache also – am I allergic to this juice, or does it have a component that causes this kind of reaction in some people. It was an 8 0z can and I drank it straight down because I was hot.
Thank you

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11 PC April 26, 2014 at 18:12

I have had 2 mango allergic reactions – both times in Costa Rica. One time I had a “batida” (smoothie) made out of fresh mangoes and the other time I had a bite of green mango (popular there). Both times my lips swelled up. No stomach problems though. Remember it’s the skin that’s the problem. Although it is possible that in the plant some of the skin contaminated the juice.

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