i ate a mango and i have all of those symptoms. it has been 3 days since i ate it and it is just getting worse and worse. i found that iceing it helps a ton. it takes the swelling down and makes it not itchy but only temporaly.
i am also taking benadryl and putting hydrocortizone cream on it but it hasnt seemed to be helping.

my wife is suffering from the same thing. She ate two mangos, some skin, 4 days ago and 2 days ago. It is not getting better after being on prednisone pill and diph. Anyone have any luck with this? or maybe have an idea when it gets better?

I also suffer from a mango allergy and only discovered it recently. I blamed all my previous reactions on fever blisters or severe chappedness. Honestly, the horrible rash is not only painful, but socially crippling. Nothing I've tried works, even icing it down for and hour at a time won't stop the swelling, no luck with benadryl either. Last time I had eruptions like this they became progressively worse over a period of 2 weeks, leaving depression in their wake.

There must be some pill or voodoo treatment out there somewhere.
Has anyone found it yet?

I've been battling a mango allergy for a few years and I've picked up a few tricks, maybe they'll help a bit.
#1. Popsicles are wonderful, especially if you can make some with sugar-free juice (personally I find sugar irritates the rash), crystal light and its ilk work well.
#2. Don't bother with vaseline or other moisturizing lip balms, the heat from the rash melts it and is gets all gross. Get a lip balm with menthol, the cooling sensation works wonders. I found a lovely one in the Philippines with menthol and camphor (this was before I realized I was allergic, THAT was an ugly flare up), I don't know what I'm going to do when my stash runs out :).
#3. When you're applying it; pat, don't rub. Rubbing the rash aggravates it further and makes it take longer to calm down.
Finally, don't let it ruin your life. The rash is ugly and painful, but if you sit at home stewing over it, it will just feel worse, and the depression that follows a week of such stewing is almost worse than the reaction itself. Don't be afraid to explain to people that you had an allergic reaction, people are quite accepting of allergies, and at least a mango is a fairly interesting thing to be allergic to ;)

Thanks everyone for posting here, it helps to know I'm not alone :)

I'm 28 now. Had allergies to these wonderful forbidden fruit since I was about 5 or so. It seems to get progressively worse with age and exposure. My dad loves them and can't even eat them any more. He goes into borderline anaphylactic shock.

We had a massive tree that produced the best in the neighborhood and he cut it out. (still angry for that)

I've learned that I can get it on calloused areas without problems. I.E palms of hands and bottom of feet.

I've found that I can eat the fruit without problems and It must be absolutely 100% tree ripe. if it's been picked green and then ripened I seem to have more problems on my skin. My skin has no problem with the ripe fruit, but the tree sap and sap from green fruit give me acid burns. If it's a skin rash, I rap it with gauze and apply plenty of antibiotic ointment. Make sure it stays moist with ointment. If it is allowed to crust, it's the devil to remove the bandages. As to the itchiness, I find a few beers or a few drinks help me. Obviously I'm not condoning pointless drinking, but alcohol is the original panacea. Sleep aid, pain killer, aphrodisiac, muscle relaxer etc.

No matter how you cut it the body has to be given the time to repair itself, two to three weeks. Some times it takes longer depending on the specific location.

There is a special wash specifically for exposure to poison ivy and poison oak. It works equally well for mango sap. As I recall it can also be used to help aid washing the rash. Look around. If you can't find it, E-mail me and I'll see if I can't find an old bottle and tell you the name.(wfduggan --at-- peoplepc --dot-- com) Other than that, know your surroundings and avoid contact to Brazilian peppers as well (also called Florida holly).

One other thing. The puss from the rash itself will cause spreading of the rash, at least mine does, so avoid rubbing the rash on other parts of your body and change wrappings regularly. If you scratch the blisters and they ruptur, wrap it ASAP and control the weeping.

I wonder if the ripeness of the fruit is directly correlated with its toxicity.

Best of luck to you new comers to the MAC (Mango Allergic Club). Hope this may be of help.

I just came back from Mexico and decided to try a bite of my daughter's mango to see if I was still allergic to it. Definately yes< and my nurse friend told me that sometimes the more you eat a food your allergic to, the worse the symptoms get. After one bite, the next day my lips started feeling numb and then the next day they swelled and looked pretty good. My sis told me I should do this every week because I looked like Angelina LOL. The next day it became uncomfortable and I looked like a fish. Now, five days later, I'm still suffering from itchy, burning blisters around my lips. It looks and feels disgusting. The blisters weep. I use tea tree ointment, and it kind of helps, I'm going to try a topical steroid to see if it helps. I'll let everyone know how it works. I'm never going to eat a mango again it's not worth it!!!!

Im definitely staying away from mangoes from now on..I had to go to ER on fourth of July due to severe swelling on my face and neck...I was so shock when doctor said it was the mango that caused the reaction coz of the typical "mango lips" people get ..This is actually my fourth time within a year to have a food allergy and everytime it gets worse ,I honestly taught it was something else that causes the reaction, mango is the last thing I would consider to be the culprit since Ive have never heard anyone allergic to it , its not that common, and mango is my favorite fruit of all time, how can i be allergic to something i always eat..Then I found out that a lot of times the food you always eat are the ones that will trigger a reaction...My doctor said that each time I eat the mango I developed antigens which after some time will make itself known...well it definitely made me aware and from now on im saying goodbye to my favorite fruit... Im just glad that Im not alone :)

I had this mysterious recurring rash/hive outbreak around my lips and across my face and didn't know the cause until now. Mangoes! My doctor prescribed a topical steroid cream and a steroid pack (pills that you take, gradually lowering the dose every day). This is the best treatment by far. You can also take Benadryl and Zyrtec which even on its own subsides the itching, although at a much slower pace than the steroids. Staying in a cool room and avoiding any humidity (as this seems to cause the rash to spread for me).

After returning from Mexico a few years ago, I went to the dermatologist with what I thought was some flesh-eating disease on my face. My dermatologist said Mango's are in the same family as poison ivy/oak and I treated it as if it were poison ivy with good, but slow results. Since then I have eaten mango's several times a year with NO problems- its in the peel. You just got to put on gloves, wash the outside with soap, peel all the outside layer off, and then lightly rinse the orange-yellow fruit. Then take off the gloves and enjoy. The only problem is that this past week, I was peeling it and a huge chunk of "meat" or yellow fruit part came off with the peel. For whatever reason I bit it off the peel and now I got a rash on my lips. Resist the urge to bite anything off the peel.

this is a long story but worth reading; suggestions on how 2 cope & clear it up is in here... I have had assorted allergies for yrs now; I moved to an unindustrialised island 6 mi. off the coast of puerto rico 2 mo. ago;2 escape the rat race... 4 weeks after my arrival,I got what i thought was a heat rash, started in the croock of my arm ;iced it no relief. next day it spread, kinda looked like heat rash mixed with chicken pocks, my boyfriend got the crook in the arm thing the day after me, the 3rd. day it spread everywhere & i mean everywhere(except palms,souls & scalp) it was pink,puffy & itchy & it was unbearable so,we went to the hospital here in Vieques,Puerto rico;it just so happens the doctors here are morons: 1 st. visit i was told i was allergic to shrimp &- given benadryl & medrol iv
stopped itchin for a few hours, 2 days later(day 5) back @ hospital again ,worst than ever;swolen ears and limbs covered head 2 toe with a red/purple rash & the skin in the crook of my arm turned white & flaky on top of the rash; itlooked like fur. i was then diagnosed with Herpies zoster- because my b-friend had the rash too?Although the doctor never saw this before and was guessing. he perscribed meds said it would stop the rash/herpies from spreadin & i would see & feel relief in 3-4 days. ok thats alot to wrap ones mind around but the rash would be done okay great!
NOT!
We don't have herpies just for the record. 4 days later( day9) back again;more benadryl & an over dose of medrol- went into convulsions
& when i asked what medicine they were givn me & why am i jumping like this? the nurse replied" i dont know- i dont know ur condition"
i made him stop injecting it into my iv and ripped the iv out; and they replaced it with saline for 6 hrs. and i was to be discharged??? nothing solved; i took out the 2nd iv & ran for the ferry 2 the main island @ the E.R. (carribean hospital in Fajado,Pr.) spoke to the attending he diagnosed me with atopic dermatitis; he then said he was going to shut down my histamie production all together; now this is how he explaind it to me:
Benadryl goes to histamine receptor #1(hr1)- Tagamet ( yes for upset stomachs) goes to histamine receptor #2(hr2)- these receptors are in each cell of ur flat muscles there is one other receptor that is a back up .if the back up is working also; u will have to change ur diet(mangos however are allowed on this diet) & consume nothing that contains or produces a chemicle called histadine,well i ended up on that diet( low histamine diet-u can find it on google search) & it is not appealin in any way!
he perscribed benadryl every 2 hrs./zantac every 6 hrs/ & claratin 24- every 12 hrs!!! TOTALLY OVA DOSING ON ANTI HISTAMINES also an anti itch medicine 1 every 8 hrs i took them evry 6 /then as needed.
did this for 2 weeks mind you I still don't know what was causing my condition;and I put my self on the diet because the condition was lingering/my b-friend cleared up after a week or so, he didnt have it as bad as I did in the first place -the end of week 5-my skin was peeling off in huge pieces like how a snake sheds; looks like curtled milk & so not pretty. i still got flair upsof the rash/the itch;due to the coconut tree pollan which i believe is what started this hot mess,as I got a break out in the shape of my panties as the clothes line hung under the coconut trees while they were polinating; anyway , i read on line the fury skin & peeling was due to dehidration so **drink lots of water like 2 gallons a day**; histmine production increases when ur dehydrated and consume **lots of vitamin C it eats up histamine ** & stick to the diet ,it works great! (5 going on week 6= now 2 day)I'm still peeling but 3 days passed this week i didnt need the meds/or the diet; the pollan has gone from the coconut trees, but i ate 2 very delicious mangos yesterday & woke up with the rash again all ova my face ( around the nose lips & on my chin ,neck and spots on my arms. Ah ha!THE MANGOS! aaaargh!
I had been eatin them all month-lol didnt think twice about them cause they were allowed on the diet & never had a problem b4...my b-friend wants me to tell you he said it was the mangos for weeks now but i dismissed the notion, any way it seems the sap of a mango tree ,the skin & the flesh closest to the skin contains the same oil compound as poisin ivy- Well, Poison Ivy i know how 2 get rid of so... let me share with u that...hydrogen peroxide patted on it with a cold damp cloth... bath/shower with dawn dish detergent the greese desolver kind it eats oil. & use fresh picked aloe after you wash.
take benadryl & zantac & call the doctor for some prednison & anti itch pills, stay in the a.c. or under a fan- just keep ur body temp down th sun/heat aggravates the rash & stay away from the mangos.
as i will do from now on
note* I found that a stronger peroxide concentrate gets rid of it quicker so i use hair color developer 20 volume u can get in any hair product store or a box of hair dye, use the fresh aloe or aveno after & only leave it on 10 min.@ a time b4 u wash it off. or u will burn your skin. you can do this every 6 hrs or so you will actuall see the offendin oil bead up on your skin pat it dry with a fresh piece of papertowel for every pat ;also a cool shower gives relief and dont scratch it will spred it .sorry it took a story but i almost died from the doctors being clue less,anaphalactic shock = ur organs shuting down. allergies are a serious condition -oh ya the ambulance wouldnt come get me when i called them so don't come here unless it's in the winter & bring ur allergy meds. cause u will have to be ur own doctor & b.t.w. i'm movin back to Boston in 8 days i'll just have to embrace winter At least im not allergic to snow-lol my b-friend says this place is georgous and he don't want to leave but he loves me so he will & if u do come here check out Rana's place on the malacon in esperanza(a no mango zone)- exellent people & food! tell 'em" Titi boo-boo-ha" sent u-lol

About 7 yrs ago I took a piece of mango out of the fridge and had a few bites. I decided to read and about 30 minutes later my hands and feet started itching like crazy and also had red blotches. It continued onto my arms, stomach, legs and face. I took a benadryl and kept reading, hoping it would go away. Soon I started feeling really weird. At the time I was at my parents house. I told my mom and by that time my face was completely swollen. We went to the ER. By this time maybe an hour or hour 1/2 had passed. In the ER I started vomiting and my body was shaking. Soon I blacking in and out of consciousness. I stopped breathing and they put me on oxygen and an IV for anaphylactic shock. My mom was told I would have died if I didnt go to the ER.
Now I avoid everything mango...juice, salsa, popsicle, candy....everything!! I dont care if its artificial. I carry and epi-pen with me just in case. not fun! be careful out there.

Hey, I just had Mango Face in Hawaii after eating a bunch of mangoes from the trees in the tropical areas. I went to the doc and they gave me a cream slightly stronger than hydrocortisone cream. It didnt really work though, so I took my own initiative to get rid of it. I knew that alcohol dried up poison ivy, though its not good for your skin at all. It worked on this rash too though. If you use Sting Relief (from a 1st aid kit, helps with bee stings), with 6% benzacaine and 40% alcohol, it dries it up intensely and helps with the itch and pain. Any doc or nurse is going to tell you not to do that, but I was desperate to get rid of it and only two applications dried it up enough that just using a moisturizing face cream was all I really needed to make my skin look normal again. It took about a week.

My Daughter's father in law has a huge Mango tree and about a month ago we went to visit her and the Mangos were in season. They gave us a huge bag full to take home as my wife & I LOVE them. I was eating them everyday for about 1 wk first washing them off and then cutting them into strips and peeling the skin off as I had read somewhere to eat them this way because of the toxic skin & sap. I never recall having any problems before but for the last week my eyes have been very sore & itchy to the point of painful by nightfall. I do have dry eyes for yrs and use lubercating eye drops & allergy relief drops for outside oak pollen here in FL where it is abunant, but this was more than dry eyes. I was constanly using an eye wash & the allergy drops along with the lubericating ones and still by days end my eyes really were red and sore, no swelling either in my eyelids or mouth. I go to the eye doc next week for my reg checkup and I'm going to ask him what he thinks about it. My daughter gets puffy swollen eyes if she eats too many.
Tom

My husband and father-in-law have severe mango allergies, both to touch and ingestion. Our son has a moderate mango allergy as well. We have to be very cautious when dining out in the Central Florida area where we live, there can be 25% of the menu items that have some quantity of mango included. My husband develops a severe itch and rash within an hour of ingestion.

It's not always the skin. I have had anaphylaxis from eating mangoes peeled by others, and from drinking mango-apple juice. I do react strongly to poison ivy, but not to the severe, get-thee-to-a-hospital level that the fruit does. Maybe I'm just weird. But it's not always the skin, and it's better just to avoid the fruit altogether than to risk hospitalization or death. It's a small price, at least in the U.S. (Interesting to note: urushiol sensitivity rarely fades with time or exposure. Usually, it gets worse.)