Hooray! It’s not herpes!
The Discovery
A few months ago my friend John mumbled a seemingly-random comment under his breath that started a long journey for the two of us:
My lips have had this weird chappiness for like a week now
What he didn’t expect was my reaction. I had been experiencing the same thing!
In the ensuing days, little tiny bumps appeared, and the chapping expanded out into the corners of my mouth, a good half-a-centimeter beyond my lips. What the crap was going on? Johno and I both took our usual approaches: mine was to simply ignore it in hopes that it would go away (hey, I lasted almost 10 years with my “slow-pee.” A few weeks with weird lip-chapping is nothing). Johno dove immediately into late-night Googling, and emerged with some terrible news:
I think we have lip-herpes
“lerpes,” as we began to call it, seemed the closest fit to our strange condition. But how was that possible? We couldn’t even think of a meal we had shared recently. And at least one of us has been completely monogomous his whole life.
After a few weeks it finally went away. Every week or so one of us would casually ask the other:
So, any lerpies lately?
The answer was always negatory, followed by assurances to each other that it must have been some fish we ate (which did in fact cause some other discomforts for the both of us).
A Breakthrough
While Johno was visiting his brother Harrison and Harrison’s wife Betsy, it was somehow revealed that whenever Betsy eats a mango, her lips break out if she comes in contact with the skin. It all clicked. Johno had been given a box of mangos, which he described eating like some kind of ravenous dog. Completely coincidently, I had also bought a few mangos around that same time and must have been a little too resourceful about getting all the innards out of the skin. So that was it! All settled. It wasn’t lerpes, it was in fact merpes. (or murps for short).
When a Mango, Let it Be
Do a google search for “mango allergy reaction” and you find some fascinating stuff. The mango tree is in the sumac family, with poison ivy as a relative. So if you happen to have particularly strong reaction to poison ivy, your body senses the oleoresin from the mango skin, thinks it’s poison ivy, says “we’ve seen this before, and this time we’re ready- send in the white blood cell reinforcements” which then go to town on your skin and you’re in for an itchy rash.
Proper Science
But we had to be sure. I mean, this is herpes we’re talking about. Against his druthers, Johno agreed to give it the full test. We at mangos every day for 5 days. On day 3, I convinced Johno to really get messy with it. By day 5 his lips were in for trouble. But as we all know, to really prove something you need a sample size of at least two. On day 5, just before tossing the skin I fiercely smeared it all over my mouth. Bingo! 3 days later, I’m in for 10 days worth of lip rash.
Aftermath
But there’s one sad ending to this otherwise fantastic adventure. Somehow in all the mango madness, and despite now wearing rubber gloves when preparing the delicious poison globes, I’ve managed to break out near my eye and on my cheek, and it itches like a hundred mosquito bites. So tomorrow I’m off to the nurse practitioner for some steroids and for the next week I’ll probably have Chelsey tie my hands behind my back when I sleep.
Just to show I’m not crazy for needing the proof, this lady had a much worse mango experience than I did, and carried out her own experiment. Anyway, if my face gets bad enough I’ll be sure to post a photo or something. But of course the big question on your mind is whether I’m going to eat mangos from now on. Sadly, yes. I’m drawn to them like Homer to the Forbidden Donut, or the spoiled giant sandwich. “Oh Mango, I could never stay mad at you!”
August 25th, 2005 at 1:29 am
okay, so i’m reading this an i’m all ready to make jokes about you and john-o making out or something equally un-funny, but then i get to the “Proper Science” part of this post and all I can think is, “What?! This is what you did to see if you were allergic (or whatever)? You decided to smear mango all over your body and see if you broke out in hives?!” You are crazy. That’s really it. I mean, I could go on and on but, no. Can’t. You smeared mango all over your face.
May 14th, 2006 at 8:04 am
Thank goodness you posted this site. I got it too!
June 25th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
my girlfriend’s got the hermangopes as well. thanks for the fun site.
August 7th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Your piece was very helpful. Thank you so much!
I am experiencing a relevation: It WAS the mangoes I ate for the first time last week.
I have the exact same symptoms: itchy, scaly, rash around the mouth, along the rim of my lips, even seeping onto my lips, some bumpiness now on my chin. Same texture and itchiness as poison oak, which I have a strong reaction to as well. This started about 1 1/2 days after the messy consumption.
Thanks so much!
Theresa
October 17th, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Could this be true for peaches and nectarines as well?
November 28th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
i have it too!! i think i got mine from chapstick but the other night i ate a package of dried mangos…. could it be????
its so itchy!!
December 18th, 2006 at 11:21 am
my cheeks are sooo itchy!! but im glad i found this post last week….im not freaking out anymore. Mangos were on sale 3 for a dollar…who could resist??? i went crazy.
January 15th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Wow, glad I found your website. I made a mango salsa for dinner, over tilapia. That night I put on lip balm, as I usually do but woke up the next morning with the worst case of burning chapped lips Could not figure out which of the foods, or lip balm caused the reaction. During the day I applied Burt’s beeswax, then I got bumps around my mouth, burning and itching. After reading your site, I have a 3 fold problem. I am highly susceptible to poison ivy, am allergic to bees and now probably mangos as well. If this does not clear, then I guess it’s steroids for me.
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:39 am
Halleluiah!!! Amen!!! I believe I have found the problem! I broke out in a rash as you all have described around my eyes and mouth back in Nov ’05. It was mysterious. Doctor had no idea what it was. He called it “Dermatitis of an unknown ideology†(didn’t know). I also had this rash appear in my “nether regionâ€. I thought, “Crap, now what?â€. It went away after time and some steroid creams…Then in Oct of ’06 SAME thing happens. No rhyme or reason. Doctor says the same thing…â€Dunno..?â€. Went away again after time and creams…Then just two days ago (1/19), “bam, its baa—aack!â€â€¦ rash is in the same locations and same mysterious itchy red bumpy patches. I thought that this has to be environmental or a food allergy…but what was it? I sat down and listed everything that I ate over the past 3 days. I wrote down tons of stuff. Then in a moment of enlightenment I remembered that I bought fresh mangoes for my sick wife (she really likes ‘em). I then went back and looked at store receipts from back the other two times (yeah, I still had the receipts from back then) and BINGO! I had purchased mangoes (and now recall eating them) 2 days prior to the outbreaks! This was too definitive to be a mere coincidence. The symptoms described here and on other sites is EXACTLY what I was experiencing!
Thanks!
BTW, I too am sensitive to poison ivy!
February 3rd, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I have a similar experience but somewhat different. I love fruit but I am very lazy about washing fruit. I had grapes and I had an apple. Within a couple of hours my mouth broke out in bumps and was very itchy. I have had blood test and they say I dont have antibodies against herpes indicating I dont have the virus. But I was wondering where you got your science information. I have always had very sensitive skin but worry anyway.
Sheri
February 7th, 2007 at 3:11 am
I have had approximately 10 mango smoothies in the past 2 weeks. And I have been suffering nightly with hives and almost incontrolable itching. Thank you for this website. I can leave mangoes alone. I am also allergic to latex, penicillin and nickel. Thanks for my Eureka moment.
February 9th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Thanks so much for the relief and laughs! I am currently suffering from Merpes. It just so happens that mangoes have been on sale for the last two weeks (if you call a buck apiece a sale). Earlier this week my lips started to swell, turn red and become covered with a thousand tiny blisters. They are currently converting to the peeling stage. I asked a fellow co-worker who suffers from coldsores if she thought what I have is herpes and she asked if it hurt. No. Apparently they hurt like the dickens. So then what the heck is this???!!!
I’m so glad I found your site! I now realize the other times in my life that this has occured I had been eating a lot of mangoes.
Now the question is what do I do about the 4 mangoes I have left? I can’t resist the forbidden fruit!
By the way I am also highly allergic to poison oak.
Thanks!
Cory
April 5th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
OMG!!! I ate some dried mangoes and couldn’t figure out where this tiny itchy red patch at the left corner of my top lip came from. I was even eating some mangoes today! And now I notice the red patch has duplicated itself on the right corner of my lips. Now I know who the culprit is. No more mango for me. What a huge miracle that I found your random site. Thank you.
April 5th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
I just got back from an excursion in Nicaragua and have the same symptoms as everyone else: itcy blisters on my lips and some major stress about it being herpes. I have been Googling stuff like crazy and I am so happy that I found your site. What a relief. I never thought I would be so happy to have merpes in my life!
I had been eating mangos like they were apples for a week straight. Now I know that I need to peel them first. Thanks so much!
April 6th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
This site is an excellent source of relevant information, answering my lingering suspicions.
A week after making a delicious mango salsa to accompany halibut dinner, I am just now starting to recover from the merpes. I’ve noticed the reaction before, and learned not to recover the last tasty bits off the skin…
This last reaction was bad enough to give up
mangoes permanently -especially with my wedding coming up shortly.
Very interesting the sumac/ poison ivy connection. While defending the herpes accusations, I’ve compared the affliction to my severe reaction to poison ivy as a kid in central Texas. I could be affected just by petting a cat that walked through the brush.
On one occasion while playing with friends in the woods, I must have stopped to relieve myself (without washing my hands -first). That led to a severe reaction, and most unpleasant swelling of the genitals. The nurse who dealt with me did little to ease the embarrassment, and seem to infer inappropriate conduct with shrubbery.
After years of (also) acting as lab rat, I noticed the delicious little yellow mangoes hit hardest.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
Thanks for this website, you guys are awesome. Oh yeah, and I second the opinion that the yellow mangoes are the worst. I always eat mangoes with the skin, but a few days ago I took only one bite of the skin of a yellow mango and now I have some serious merpes!
April 12th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
For years now I have had the exact same experience after eating mango. I realized early on what was causing me to have itchy lips, and I’ve chosen to suck it up and enjoy the poison passion fruit. Thanks for the reassurance.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:51 am
I’ve had severe poison ivy as a kid. My 1st Mango dripped down my chin & neck. A few hours later I was in the ER with my face swelling. The next day I had clear/yellow blisters neck to eyebrows ITCHY! Steroids, benedryl and ~7 days to resolve.
This is URUSHIOL ALLERGY from ANACARDIACEAE family. (650 species, 76 genera, at least 25 poisonous!!!)
Beware of common future reactions to: CASHEWS(FRUIT, NUT, & TREE); SUMAC; POISON OAK/IVY; GINGKO FRUIT; PISTACHIOS; SMOKE TREE; & more.
*** DANGER ***
Avoid brush fires!!! Inhaling smoke from burning poison ivy/oak can cause acute respiratory distress and possibly DEATH in sensitive persons. Seek medical help if you suspect you’ve been exposed!
April 19th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I am so glad to see this. I really thought I was nuts. I had a TERRIBLE reaction in my teens to cold mango soup a family friend prepared. It was so wonderful. Then I broke out in horrible welts. Itchy, itchy welts. I’ve stayed away from it sense. But everyone thought I was crazy. In fact, so did I. “A MANGO allergy? I’ve never heard of that,” they’d say. But recently (and some 20+ years later), I took a sip of the hubby’s fruity ‘cocktail’ at a restaurant… and that night and the next day… welts. I’m convinced it had to have had mango juice in it… although there was no mention of it on the menu description. Oh my gosh. Misery! Thank goodness for Benadryl.
April 24th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
God Bless!
I have been wondering what the hell has been going on with my lips. itchy red and swollen. Now I know!
Thanks!!!!
April 25th, 2007 at 7:10 am
My reaction to mangoes in any form, skin or pulp …my hands swell up so my wedding ring nearly dissappeared, lips swelled up like a Ubangi tribesman, and a ridge of severe bumps on me arse, that resembled …well nevermind.
The doctor gave me a shot of something to mitigate the symptoms and the benedryl or somophilin helped my body return to normal in about 48 hours…but it was very uncomfortable.
April 25th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Oh boy do I have good story. Years ago I went to visit a friend who was in the Peace Corps (bless his heart) stationed near the west coast of Africa (Mauritania) near the sub-Sahara desert. In the interior of Africa, in spring, there is little to no fresh fruit, except for….mangos. Everything else is cooked to the dickens (probably because of food poisioning). My only source of fiber is…mangos. 1 week into my trip, merpes. I don’t know what’s causing it. I had it so bad that in the morning, my mouth was fused closed from the dried blister ooze. I get up, add water to my swollen dried lips to moisten them so I can open my mouth. Then the first thing into my mouth for breakfast…mangos. Finally, my buddy says, “dude, you don’t look so good.” Also, my “backdoor opening” itched like crazy too. I remeber it itched so bad that scratching it was like heavenly relief, but of course, only made it worse when I stopped itching. I’m wondering what’s going on while speaking through sore lips while trying to be sly about scratching my “backdoor.” Finally, we took a 48hour road trip to see the nearest Peace Corps doctor. One look and the doc says… mangos!
April 25th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Oh, thank you for this! I’ve had this twice and I assumed it was just weird chapping due to extreme weather changes we’ve been experiencing lately. But when you said Mango, I realized that I had also eaten fresh mango, right out of the skin, about three days before the chapping showed up.
Well, I’ll never be making that mistake again! ‘Cause damn, these are bloody painful and annoying.
April 27th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Thanks SO MUCH! If it weren’t for the internet, I still would have no idea what’s wrong with me. Who would’ve guessed mangos and poison ivy were related? I still would be thinking I got sun poisoning from riding in the MS150. LOL!!!
Excuse me while I go back to scratching myself…
April 29th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Hey there. Ive been having itchy lips for about a week and finally descended to the great trough of information known as the internet to find out what it might be. Well, among the pages and pages of “medical” message boards of other people complaining about their symptoms (“OMG, my lips hurt!” “Really? mine too!” “naw, dude, mine are much worse than that…”) I clicked on your entry here. Reading it made it all click. I had noticed that the rash bares more than a passing resemblance to the poison oak rashes I get. I had thought it was a reaction to this really strong kaffir lime i was chewing on a week ago, but then i realized: our grocery store got in a load of honey manila mangos from the phillipines and ive been eating them like theyre going out of style (Seriously, if you think green mexican mangos are delicious globes of death, theyre like dry crusty fruitcake compared to these things). The scientist in me shall investigate this relationship between mangos and the infamous Toxicodendron family further, but for now, the hypochondriac in me can stop being afraid of The Lerpes.
May 1st, 2007 at 10:42 am
Yesssss!
The health people at my school also tried to tell me that I had herpes. I do have type 1, but I know the feeling and this blistery, swollen mess did not fit the bill. They tried to tell me that I have type 2. ridickable!! my clue was when it appeared near my eyes and ears (where I probably absent mindedly touched), which also happened with the more common poison oak. my question is, how come I dont get blisters in my tummy?
May 6th, 2007 at 10:06 am
oh my goodness…it all makes sense now. i have been losing my mind about this for four days now. i thought it was my chapstick, which i’ve used before so i was confused as to how it could cause such a reaction. i’ve eaten three of those danagerous little fruits since wednesday, today is sunday. i’ve been googling like crazy trying to come up with an answer. here we are…MANGOS?!?! but they taste so good. i’m sad.
ps. what is everyone doing to get rid of this itchy, dry, and terrible feeling on their lips?
May 6th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I was teaching English in the middle of China when I developed the same symptoms you have described. When the symptoms didn’t go away for a week–because I was eating mangos daily–I went to the hospital. I thought I had mysteriously contracted an STD and their first question was “have you been eating mangos?” Too bad these things are really delicious, I probably won’t stop eating them even though I’m allergic. Added caution to folks reading this, make sure to wash your hands before going to the bathroom
May 10th, 2007 at 8:24 am
I had a severe case of poison ivy at about age 11. 2 weeks ago I was exposed to it again.It took 3 days to appear. Exactly 7 days after it appeared I got a red rash on abdomen&thighs. It ITCHED & spread.(but not my arms).I took a Medroldose pak (steroids) for allergic rash.2 days later,accidently drank Naked juice MANGO! 5 days later mango rash to arms!& other rash back! Thank God for Atarax. MANGOS, I can give ‘em up !!!
May 11th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Oh My. I am amazed. I have been having the same symptoms for 2 days now (rough, bumpy, itchy lip rash in corners and along top…not fun!) and I thought that I had acquired a lip virus of sorts. But I also have been eating mangoes all week (on sale, what can you do!) I’ll have to conduct an experiment and call it quits for a bit.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Well guys, look on the bright side… Goldie and Meg pay big bucks to get their lips this puffy.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I just bought a house on the water in sw florida and two mango trees in my back yard. one of my trees is 40 feet tall and produces thousands of all yellow mango’s. they are always falling in my yard and attract mice and rats. I thought it would be fun to practice my golf swing and have been launching the fruit into the air. Big mistake. now i am covered from head to toe with welts and blisters i think i am going to loose my mind because i can’t find anything to ease this horrific itch. does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of the rash? Its been 5 days and its just spreading and getting worse.
May 13th, 2007 at 3:38 am
Thank you so much for this, I was going to go into the doctors office and end up having to pay who knows how much money since I have no insurance to get this looked at and perhaps treated, but now I don’t!
Thanks you’re a life saver. 
May 13th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Thank God. It was only that mango… I bought one at the grocery store a couple of days ago because I had never eaten one before. I thought you were supposed to eat the skin, but after the first bite, I realized not, and just ate the inside. I used to get poison ivy a lot as a kid, so I guess this makes me allergic to… mangoes. Man, I’ve got to go to school tomorrow, and I look like I’ve got herpes. Who’s going to believe in an allergy to mangoes?
Is there anyway to make it go away? I thought those days of pink calomine lotion were gone…
May 15th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Holy crap, I couldn’t believe someone could describe the symptoms so precisely, then I saw the mango, and wallah. Thanks for this site!! It has been driving me nuts, and I have been going through tons of chaptstick, with no relief.
May 16th, 2007 at 7:31 am
I know I’m echoing everyone else on here, but… am *so glad* I found this. Thought I was crazy when my top lip swelled up and got all itchy. Couldn’t think of anything out of the ordinary I had eaten. However, I just got one of those new “champagne” mangos and ate it yesterday. Anyone know if the reaction is worse with this type? I’ve never had a problem with normal mangos… . Thanks for the info!
May 17th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Mango allergy is a worldwide “emerging allergy”. I ate a few of them about 10 years back, and had such terrible dermatitis on my lips, mouth, and chin that burned deep and blistered. Unfortunately it was so deep and severe (was like acid on my skin) that it became nighrmarishly infected. Yuck and ouch! I had to stay at home for 2 weeks as it itched, oozed, and hurt. My lips and the skin in the affected areas have never been the same (really sensitive). I hadn’t notice the other reactions I had had having (dizziness; low blood pressure). I now have to carry an Epi-Pen. This allergy, stemming from a bad childhood case of poison ivy, has led to others including cashews, pistachios, eucalyptus, and strangely: guava, papaya, and advocado (and probably others). I found out my allergy to guava the hard way, by having a sip of guava juice. Ten minutes later I’m on the floor in a high-end coffee shop having an anaphalactic (spelling?) seizure because my blood pressure had dropped so low and so rapidly. All because I went to camp (infested with poison ivy) as a child! Very bad reactions to poison ivy (esp. as children) can mean very bad reactions to eating mangoes (et al.) I still remember eating those mangoes – they were so good. Darn!
May 21st, 2007 at 5:04 am
Mango Allergy Update:
I went to the doctor about my rash, and he prescribed me a few Clarinex pills to stop the itching and some cream to put on the rash to make it go away (I think people usually use the cream for eczema). Within a couple of days, my rash was gone; so all in all, it took a little over a week for the rash to come and go. I think I may have a little red scar left, but it’ll probably go away soon. I’m never eating mangoes again.
By the way, I think the rash gets worse before it gets better. Mine really really itched in the two or three days. Then I woke up, and it was almost completely gone.
And… despite what your heart might remind you about, from all those poison ivy episodes as a child, chalomine lotion does not make it feel better. I drove like a crazed woman to Walgreens to get some, and when I put it on, it felt good for a second, and then it burned very bad. Maybe that’s where the scarring comes in?
May 21st, 2007 at 8:51 pm
I have had the bumbs for about 4 days now and and they hurt and itch, it seems like it is staying the same, it all started when i use blistex or chapstick, i guess im allergic to it, but right now im using vaseline to take the pain away.
May 24th, 2007 at 11:26 am
I work for a great doctor and when I broke out she said Mango allergy reaction… But it was very uncomfortable and thank goodness I am not dating anyone..what would they of thought. I have eaten mangos before but never the skin. First and last time I take a bite of the skin. How long does the rash last, it seems like forever and you really can’t put anything on it because it burns or itches.
My daughter found all this info for me great kid.
Gayle
Good luck to anyone else in this reaction.
May 24th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
I have suspected that I was allergic to mangoes before because once I ate 3 honey mangoes in a row and later broke out. But sometimes I would eat them and nothing would happen. I’ve never had problems with smooties or mango lassies at the Indian restaurant, but I last week I thought I would try eating a regular mango (not the yellow honey kind) to see what would happen. I washed it carefully and spooned out the flesh. There was some of the precious meat left on the inside of the skin and I scraped it off with my teeth, getting the juice on my lips and chin. Two days later my lips started to burn and itch. Three days later they were swollen, burning and itching. That night, I worked out at the gym. Almost immediately, the rash on my lips spread to a 1″ area around my mouth, my chin and my forehead. Four days after eating and full blown, tiny blistery rash on my lips, inside my mouth, around my mouth, chin, and forehead. Pain, itching hell. I tried 25mg of Benadryl. Nothing. Cortizone cream didn’t do much. 50mg of Benadryl reduced itchiness by about 50%. Later, 75mg of Benadryl helped reduce itchiness but put me in zombie zone. I love mangoes like no other, but sadly, I’ll have to stop eating them. Oh yeah, I also had a terrible poison ivy rash as a kid. I appreciate this site and all the user contributions. Misery loves company. Thanks all.
Todd
May 25th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Yup…it’s the yummy mangoes and I have had the itchy chapped lips for a week now, but when they get really itchy I apply some which hazel on them and at night I put vitamen E or soothing oil like coconut oil on them and it helps. So freakin’ annoying though, but hey at least we know now. Thank god it’s not the lerpes…lol.
Wish me luck on quick recovery!
May 28th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Since I was little I have broken out in hive when eating peaches, cherries, nectarines, plums and other stone fruit. Peaches are the worst though, the fuzzy skin makes me break out all over! My body does not seem to like kiwi, latex or apple skin either.
I love mango and I should have thought twice before munching on the leftovers on the skin last Friday. Alas, now I have merpes. I also have blisters on my arm and fingers. Mango is now on my allergy list
This is what an allergic person gets for denying their allergies!
P.S. I will not give up mango, hubby gets to touch them from now on!
May 28th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
haha just almost like everyone who posted in this website…. i had this thing last year. I didn’t know what it was, for the first time I thought it was herpes… but I made some search on what I’ve eaten … and google for sure rocks sometimes!! I’m glad i don’t have any viruses.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
HELLO EVERYONE! Your website is a god send! Thanks to everyones comments. I am now convinced I have merpes too!. A couple weeks ago I started getting tingling at the top left of my lip. Then the next couple of days it spread to the other side. Thr funny thing about it was I didn’t really think it was anything. Then my ex ex boyfriend started coming around. He stole a kiss from me a coupld of days after i got the tiny blisters. It started going away then of course! I bought another Mango that weekend and ate it. I remembered he had regualr out breaks of cold sores all his life. I thought i was getting cold sores after he kissed me quickly on the lips. AHHH i was feelig weird. Anyway..I peeled and ate another mango this saturday and boy the tingling is even at the top corners of my top lip and started to look like it was symetrcial below today. I had a bad case of Poison Ivy a summer as a teen. Once at the beginning of the summer and once at the end. It took weeks for my legs to heal, then my hands and face. I recently was diagnosed as allergic to sulphur in medications too. I think tomatos give me a little itchyness on my arms when i eat them too. THIS IS ALL TOO WEIRD. I hope everyone is feeling better soon. No more mangos for me!!
May 30th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Oh, thank goodness!!! I have genital herpes, and for the last few days I was terrified that I had inadvertantly spread them to my mouth..how I could do that with my great handwashing habits is beyond me. Last week I decided to give mangos a try. They were five for five bucks, which seemed like a good deal. After waiting for them to ripen, I began devouring them! Who knew they were so freaking good!?! Thank goodness one seemed a bit overripe, or I would have eaten all five within five days. As it stands now, I have a bunch of tiny bumps all over my top lip only. I can only guess that this is because I vigourously tried to scrape the last bits of mango off the skin by using my bottom teeth to scrape the flesh while the skin was in contact with the top lip. I guess next time I should be more careful with skin contact, as that seems to be the largest culprit. Never will I stop eating them though…they are just too good!
May 31st, 2007 at 2:58 pm
AYE CARUMBA!! SO, 2 WEEKS AGO I WOKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WITH A BURNING, ITHCHY SENSATION ON MY TOP LIP AND CORNERS OF MY MOUTH. AS THE DAY PROGRESSED MY LIP BECAME MORE RED AND SWOLLEN. BY THE NEXT DAY IT FELT LIKE THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF TINY BLISTERS AND IT ITCHED LIKE CRAZY!! COINCIDENTALLY TWO CO-WORKERS WERE COMPLAINING OF A COLD SORE OUTBREAK AND I WAS SURE I, TOO HAD THEM. I BOUGHT NEOSPORIN LIP TREATMENT WHICH TEMPORARILY GAVE MY LIP RELIEF; HOWEVER, THE ITCHY SENSATION SPREAD DOWN TO MY THROAT, ONTO MY CHEEKS, EARS, & EVEN ON MY SCALP! IT BEGAN TO FEEL SUSPIIOUSLY LIKE POISON IVY, PLUS I DIDN’T DEVELOP THE TELLTALE COLD SORE. HMMMM?? HAD I BEEN NEAR POISOM OAK OVER THE WKND? I AM VERY ALLERGIC. ABOUT 6-7 DAYS LATER THE BLISTERS BEGAN TO DRY AND APPEARED TO BE CLEARING UP. WELL, LO & BEHOLD, THE EPISODE BEGAN ALL OVER AND I HAD SPENT THE WEEKEND @ VARIOUS BEACH SPOTS. AGAIN, I CONCLUDED IT WAS POISON OAK! IN RETROSPECT I WONDERED IF THE CULPRIT WAS SALT & VINEGAR KETTLE CHIPS, & VERY REMOTELY THOUGHT ABOUT THE MANGOES I HAD CONSUMED BEFORE THE REACTIONS. RANDOMLY I STUBLED ACROSS THIS SITE & LEARNED I CAME DOWN W/ “MANGO MOUTH”!!! THANKS FOR THE INFO!
June 1st, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Holy Mango, Batman!!!
Thanks to your site, you all can add me to the Mango-Mouth misery club! I have all the symptoms mentioned, plus the roof of my mouth feels like cotton. Also I feel randomly itchy all over my body & even feel a little feverish. I’m off to buy some Benadryll. Nope, definitely NOT worth eating another mango…I may as well roll around in poison ivy!!!!!!!!!!!! Later friends~
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Thank goodness I found your website! A couple of days ago, my boyfriend broke out in tiny white bumps all around his mouth. At first, we thought he just had chapped lips. Unfortunately, it spread all over his lips and a couple of cenimeters around the corners of his mouth! We were both freaking out…thinking it was lerpes! He’s been in pain…habitually putting on chapstick and trying not to itch them! Fortunately, I found your website! Before he got the rash, he ate a fruit salad that had mangoes in it! I only remember the mango part because he was raving about how delicious they were! Thank goodness I didn’t eat any of them! He’s at work right now…I can’t wait to tell him the good news! Thank you!!!
June 7th, 2007 at 12:22 am
Yikes, I finally figured it out. I kept telling everybody I had botox for 68 cents! I looked like Angelina Jolie x 2. The mango’s were on sale for 68 cents a piece, so I stocked up. After eating one a numbing sensation occurred on my lips after they touched the skin. At first I thought I had a reaction to a new face cleanser I was using, then after researching mango’s, I figured it out. The tiny blisters, bumps sprouted on the edge of my lips and have lasted for 5 days so far. My face looked a little swollen too. I tried putting hydrocortisone cream, Benedryl, but they stung too much. When I was young I was extremely allergic to poison ivy and had severe reactions a couple of times. I love mango’s but not sure if it is worth getting mango mouth! Thank you for the info.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
THANK YOU a million times for posting this website! I was visiting my family for several weeks and my husband didn’t come with me. I couldn’t figure out any explanation for the blisters on my lips. Googling only came up with herpes (that’s a bad thing about the internet, false alarms). Since I was living with and eating with only my family, I put my poor parents through the third degree about their cold sore history and warned my husband not to kiss me. I thought I had herpes I, the contagious lip kind, and was totally depressed about it. It didn’t help that I came down with the flu at about the same time, so the fever really made me think it was Lerpes. But there was no pain or cold sore, just the little blisters. I never would have figured it out if you hadn’t posted your site. In my last desperate attempt at searching for a different cause, I searched for lip blisters and “not herpes” and your site came up. It was like a lightbulb clicking on. We have been buying boxes of those delicious little yellow mangoes that have been in season and eating them every day for breakfast. I am afraid to eat any more, do you think it’s OK to eat just the flesh as long as I don’t touch the skin? They are totally Homer’s sandwich for me! I am so grateful your site stopped me from mistakenly scaring my whole family over Lerpes, and allowing me to kiss my husband again.
June 14th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Damn mangos. My face is so dam itchy. Arrrgggh!
June 15th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Thank You! My symptoms match EXACTLY – plus it was really 2 days after eating the (first) mango. Also, they were YELLOW mangos and, yes, I’m sensitive to poison ivy. I have had herpes simplex since I was a child and these symptoms were different – but none-the-less uncomfortable. For some reason, the green and red mangos don’t seem to bother me though. I’ve had reactions before (after eating in Tai or Burmese restaurants), thinking back then it was the chilis I ate, when all along it was the mango slices in the salad!!!
June 16th, 2007 at 10:19 am
This is so unreal. I actually ate a mango Monday night and I still have the rash on my lips at this very moment. I was wondering what it was. Thanks
June 19th, 2007 at 11:24 am
Mangoes?????????????????? AAARRGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Who would have guessed that such an innocent, wholesome delicacy could shed such MISERY??!! Oh well…a mango’s relation to poison ivy is as strange as a rose’s to an onion, no? In the meantime I, too am suffering w/ itchy burning blisters which began to occur 1 1/2 dys after consumption.
June 21st, 2007 at 3:21 pm
You have no idea how relieved I am… I ate a mango 2 days ago and now my lips are so swollen I can’t open my mouth!
I NEVER would have guessed… I’m really allergic to poison oak/ivy/sumac so I guess it could have been worse.
June 23rd, 2007 at 9:40 am
Wow! I’m so happy I’m not a freak!
I have always eaten mangoes and never had poison ivy but last week mangoes were 4/5 dollars and I picked up 4 of them after being inspired by Panera’s mango smoothie. I ate them, smoothies them, diced them for fruit salad and everything was fine. Then on Wednesday while making a smoothie I decided to just lightly rinse the mango (normally I rub vigorously) under tap and then chop. When I hedgehogged it and removed the cubes, it was so ripe and beautiful (and my last mango) that I decided to for the first time ever, eat the flesh from the inside of the rind. I was scraping it with my bottom teeth and it was delish! Well, that night all was ok- especially my smoothie! My lips felt a little tight but I thought maybe from that Sundays beach day I might have had a little chap going on so I used Burt’s Bees. At the beach I used 2 different kinds of lip sunscreen though. Well anyway, Thursday afternoon I noticed what looked like mini-pinpoint sized blisters all over my top lip. I had to look close, but it was weird, and the lip was tight. It looked like fine grit sandpaper. I normally get Herpes 1 but that is usually confined to 1 area. This was spread out. By Thursday night the corners of my mouth had it also and the lips were slightly swelling. I took 3000mg’s of L-Lysine just in case it was a mega-cold sore outbreak. Friday morning they were yellow crusty in spots and I took more Lysine (3000 again) and I was chilly and aggitated. I began wondering what it could be and made a list.
Wednesday I had bad PMS (cramps, Diarrhea, sleepy etc) so I though the lip outbreak was bad cold sores due to cramps and weekend sun exposure combined with some stress and lack of sleep. Then I remembered that I heard a few years ago that mangoes are related to a nut and some people break out. AHA!
Of course I didn’t do much ersearch but I made a list and come Saturday morning- right now- I realized that Wednesday was the first time ever that I scraped the flesh with my mouth. My lips are pretty swollen but the corners are swollen too which sucks. The crust isn’t pretty and I also have red patches on my inner eyelids (I am a chronic eye rubber). So I know what it is.
My husband wanted me to go to the dr. but I probably just did exactly if not nore than what he would do. If it gets worse I will def. go in. I have noticed that I am very tired and short-tempered btu manageable. I was letting it all air dry and that helped a lot of patches get crusty and fall off. When it got really dry/itchy I would put on carmex (the tube type goes on much easier than the tub type- it’s more of a Vaseline consistency) I rec. using your finger then washing or using a q-tip. I just read about this now so the fact that it’s not herpes 1 consoles me and I just put on Cortaid (hydrocortizone 1%). It is helping. The itch stopped and the tightness is gone. It is clear so it just looks ilke lip gloss- my eyes look shiny but it’s just the inner corners so it isn’t that bad. But I might not put it on often because I want it to dry! I won’t put it on at night because I can just sleep through it even if I wake up with my mouth crusted closed in the corners.
Well, I’m off to research poison ivy cures. If it is the same as mango, it might work, right?
Good luck all! I’m with you, this sucks but I will try my own weary experiment later on —-maybe, by not eating near the skin. I just don’t know if I can give up the mango!
June 24th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
I’ve known about the mango-poison ivy connection since I was 11 years old. We returned from a family trip to Mexico with a crate full of mangoes. I ate 3 straight out of the skin standing over the kitchen sink, getting the juice all over my chin and neck and mouth.
Living in Central Texas, I’d already had several severe poison ivy reactions by then. The mango reaction was outrageously worse, though, with my eyes almost completely swollen shut and my mouth so rashy that it was difficult to eat because if I opened my mouth too much the corners of my lips would crack. Ouch! BTW, this very chic look is immortalized forevermore in my camp portrait from that summer.
My parents took me to an allergy doctor which is where we learned about mango being part of the sumac family & the skin having the same oleoresin that causes allergic reactions in people allergic to poison ivy. As a few other posters have noted I haven’t managed to completely give them up. If only they didn’t taste so damn good! I had a couple of other reactions to eating the fresh raw fruit in my teens which ended up with getting a cortisone shot and prescription strength hydrocortisone cream for the merpes.
Now, 21 years later, I’ve figured out pretty much how to eat them without having a horrible reaction. I never handle the fruit myself–I let my husband do that. After I eat it I wash my hands and face well. Also, when it is in a dish or a smoothie or otherwise pre-made in some way it doesn’t adversely affect me. Reading some of the other comments though I realize that I’m lucky, it could be a lot worse, and maybe I’m playing with fire by continuing to eat them.
I’m also allergic to pacific lobster which causes exactly the same reaction as the mango. I think both are related to latex allergies so maybe I shouldn’t be eating something that could cause me to go into anaphylactic shock.
Lastly, I find it interesting that you posted this in april 2005 but almost all of the almost 60 comments have been from 2007 which seems to lend credence to the idea that it is an emerging worldwide allergy with more and more people having reactions.
June 25th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I just got over a case of the ‘merpes’. Ewwww! After breaking out all over my upper lip in what looked and felt exactly like poison oak, I started taking digital photos of the progress of my condition as I mentally backtracked over what I had contacted that might have been the cause. Luckily, I traced it to some delicious mangoes imported from Mexico that I had eaten a day and a half before. It took me a little bit longer to figure out how exactly these were connected to my pathetically swollen, crusty and itchy lips, and then to wander randomly across your site in search of some confirmation of my diagnosis.
In reading many of the posts above, there were some great points made. Here’s my two cents…
First off, as has been stated before in various ways, ‘merpes’ is the result of what is known to us science geeks as acute allergic contact dermatitis. Urushiol is the chemical (3′5′-pentadecylcatechol for those interested in the chemistry side of it), that is responsible for the resultant rash. This compound is present in the skin, bark, stems and leaves of the mango. So, what does this mean? Several things: 1) Watch out for anything with sap on it! 2)Since the interior of the fruit, the meaty part, does not contain urushiol, as long as you don’t contaminate the flesh with the sap/resin stuff during preparation you should be fine! 3)If you experience an allergic reaction after eating mango that is not poison oak-like, then your reaction is not from urushiol! Although you might be ‘allergic’ to mangoes for an entirely different reason (i.e. compound) – don’t confuse it with the urushiol response!
Urushiol derives its name from the Japanese word for the sap found in the Japanese lacquer tree, kiurushi (T. verniciflua). Yup, the sap from this tree is the varnish that you see on laquered furniture…
During harvesting of the mango, sap from the cut stem may contaminate the peel, forming bleached, varnished or blackened patches on the fruit. This occurs because urushiol is self-melanizing (which means that it turns black on contact with the air). Look out for these areas when picking and cleaning your mangoes. My recent reaction occurred because I happened to pick a pair of mangoes at the store that had a lot of sap that had oozed from the stems and all over the fruit. And, well, I just didn’t peel it before chowing down! D’oh!
A generalized account of how the reaction works:
In anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours after exposure to, say, the sap of the mango, the urushiol that is present in the sap penetrates the surface layer of your skin and binds (covalently) to proteins in your skins lower layers. Your body views the resulting protein-urushiol complex as as foreign material and your immune system steps in to attack it. Your body’s T-cells destroy the offending cells and surrounding cells causing your skin to erupt in blisters.
Mangoes are seen as an ‘emerging’ allergy issue in the sense that more people are likely having reactions to mango as more mangoes are available and marketed to areas and populations that have not had as much access to them.
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Co-pay to see the doc: $20
Prescription for steriods: $50
Missing a day of work: $150
Total Cost from eating 1 mango:_$220_
Most expensive damn fruit EVER!@!@!
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 pm
I had a similar experience during my freshman year of college (about 11 years ago). I’m violently allergic to poison ivy, and had never encountered mangoes before then. I often by a “specimen” of an unfamiliar fruit on a trip to the grocery store, and I bought one mango. I ate it that night and loved it so much that I went to the store and bought two more, eating them using the teeth-scraping and juice-dripping-down-the-chin method. Ooops! Shortly thereafter I was covered from cheeks to collarbone in flaming, oozing, agonizingly painful and particularly unattractive “poison ivy rash”. I think that this occured on a Sunday, because the Student Health center wasn’t open and I had to beg my RA to drive me to an off-campus clinic. Despite her initial reluctance at my roommate’s request, after taking one brief look at me she agreed. I clearly remember encountering a young girl in the waiting room who looked at me as I entered, fled for cover behind her mother’s legs, and whispered that a monster had just come in through the door. I had to take washcloth baths for days because even the brief touch of falling water on my skin was unbearably painful. ARG. Unpleasant memories.
Interestingly, like many other folks have mentioned, I’ve never had problems from drinking a mango lassi.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:24 am
does anyone have any remedies or treatments that will speed up the healing process?
July 7th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Mango and I had a passionate love affair… I, too, contracted her herpes. Sad thing is, I have a funny feeling that I will be back for more!
July 7th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Thanks so much, I’m glad I read this. I, too, am highly allergic to poison oak and have gotten it once before on my lips. Now, from the mango, I have it once again. It is so lame to have it on my face and itches like crazy, but atleast I know what it is.
July 8th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I think is is not just the mango! I have had this mouth thing several times and did not eat mangos. But, I live where it is humid, lots of trees, and lots of poison ivy. Believe it or not, I do not have herpes but got this thing from kissing my horses. They eat poison ivy and brush their noses in it all the time. This year in central KS even the horses are having allergic reactions to poison ivy due to heavy rains making that stuff grow like crazy.
Plus, let us beware of these imported fruits, and even coffee, which are treated heavily with pesticides and other chemicals. I had a serious breakout after drinking a pot of coffee from Nicaragua–and it was supposed to be organic fair trade! We are being poisoned by goods from other countries and just because something says it is natural or organic does not mean that it is.
Thanks everyone for helping me get to the bottom of this. People look at you as if you are someone with the plague and to be avoided. But, the tautness, itchiness, and type of blistering reminded me of poison ivy, AND I had it on my legs from cleaning the horses hooves. I have seen myself and others end up having to take a steroid because the stuff got into our blood system. So, BEWARE! Bless You All!
July 8th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
CLAY IS A GOOD REMEDY. I USE CALCIUM BENTONITE FROM A CERAMIC SUPPLY FOR MANY THINGS. YOU CAN ALSO BUY CALCIUM BENTONITE OR A GREEN OR ROSE CLAY IN A HEALTH FOOD MARKET. MAKE A PASTE AND PUT IT ON YOUR LIPS AND LET IT DRY. REPEAT THIS MANY TIMES UNTIL IT DRAWS OUT THE POISON IVY OIL AND DRIES UP THE SORES. I ALSO BATHE IN HOT WATER WITH A CUP OF CALCIUM BENTONITE OR CLAY AND IT SOOTHES THE WHOLE SKIN AND DRAWS TOXINS OUT OF THE BODY!
July 12th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I figured out that I had an allergy to mangoes when I had the same symptoms that you all describe above. I still continue to dabble in dried Mangoes, but wonder if the reaction can go from my usual mild lip swelling and bumps to an anaphylactic reaction? Anyone know?
July 15th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Phew….I had had a reaction several years ago to mango and had avoided them somewhat…but I cannot resist the Thai treat mango and sticky rice…I only have it once in awhile, and hadn’t had a reaction….but I am not the one peeling the fruit. It hadn’t occured to me that the skin was the culprit…..Mangoes are on sale for 50c apiece and I threw caution to the wind.
Unfortunately,the skin was sappy and of course it got on my fingers which then got to my face lips and eye area esp. I’ve noticed though that my legs are itchy..SHEESH…….no more peeling for me….and yes of course, I scraped the goodness off the inside of the skin to not waste any delicious morsel…..
July 24th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
SOOOO glad to find info. on this at an allergy website and then find your blog! WHO KNEW?! I just recently fell in love with mangos (even registered for a mango-cutter from BB&B for our upcoming wedding!)… never realized it would cause such an embarrassing outbreak! I totally missed 2 days of work for this (thankfully I got to telework today)… and the doctor had no clue! Glad to know I’m not the only one who contracted merpes!
P
August 19th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I have had the same problem, i have been depressed the past few days thinking i had the worst case of cold sores ever but starting freaking out when they spread all over my lips and never developed into what cold sores look like. I dug into a mango two days before this started and i recall when eating the mango and smushing it against my lips to clean the inside fruit off the skina prickly feeling that i payed no attention too. But it does feel exactly like poison ivy. swollen itchy and burning small bumps all over my lips and corners of my mouth.. sorry mango no more eating you.
September 10th, 2007 at 12:25 am
Wow, I can’t believe there’s a bunch of people with the same problem as me. A few days ago my lips suddenly got rough and itchy and then it started chapping. It was hell! It fell like my lips were on fire! I used Vaseline to ease the pain and slowly the chapping and the pain disappeared but when I woke up yesterday, my upper lip was swollen and the chapping was worse than ever! And so was the pain! I put on some antibiotic cream but nothing happened. What really kills me is that, I have the exact same symptoms as you guys but I didn’t eat mangoes. We don’t even have mangoes at home. So I couldn’t figure out what could have possibly caused this. Please help! Is there any other cause?
September 12th, 2007 at 10:21 am
I too have this same reaction, however it is when I eat chocolate. I actually thought I was losing my mind until I found this website. Peaches with skin do the same thing. Heading to the doctor right now to see if they will prescibe some type of steroid cream to help the pain!
September 13th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
The first few times this happened I had no Idea what was going on. I was pretty sure it was poison oak, because I’m extremely allergic, but I didn’t have it anywhere else. I seem to get the same chapped, rough lips as well as a bumpy tongue and swollen/ bumpy throat. It is a hellacious 2 weeks to recovery, and I think I might be starting into that 2 weeks right now – I had some mango salso on some fish for lunch a half hour ago…
I found that POISON IVY / OAK HOMEOPATHIC REMEDY WILL REDUCE MY TIME OF RECOVERY GREATLY!!!!
I highly suggest taking something like that – the clay suggestion seems good to. Dang this mango mouth!!!!
September 17th, 2007 at 12:22 am
i kissed a girl yesterday for less than 3 seconds and today my lips gradually got swollen can anyone tell me what it is
September 17th, 2007 at 3:20 am
me again i already had a busted lip & a part of your lips on the top lip that has a webbing was already swollen but its looks a little suspect but i had it before the kiss way before from a fight so is my mind just messing with me or do i need to worry
September 21st, 2007 at 8:05 pm
This happened twice before and I have it again. I remember eating fish to cure – I don’t remember what type of fish (yet) – cooked it with water, vinegar, and onions. I have the water and vinegar for another batch but still waiting on the fish and onions.
IF it works again I will return..might have been time that was the cure before.
September 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Thank you for this informative posting! For the third time, I’m experiencing these blistery/itchy lips, but have only just made the connection that the culprit must be mangoes. I was so excited to find this page and find out that I’m not the only one!
So, do the blisters only happen when the mangoes actually touch your lips, or can you still eat them with a fork without breaking out? I love mangoes, and am a bit sad to think of never eating them again… but I’d rather forfeit my mangoes than have all these itchy, unsightly blisters to deal with!
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:51 am
I too have a severe mango allergy, and I myself cannot justify continual consumption of the delicious fruit, even though I love it so much. I must say how much courage you must have to brave the mango still. Kudos to you.
October 27th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Let me add my thanks to the crowd of people who have left a message here. For the last five or so years, I have suffered an outbreak of an itchy rash and chapped lips two or three times a year … thankfully it has never blistered or been as bad as some people on the site have experienced, but it was severely annoying. I figured I had some kind of recurring viral infection. When it happened several months ago, I racked my brain to think about what had caused it and remember thinking maybe it was the fresh mango I ate a few days before. Two days ago, I ate a mango right from the peel and BAM, here it is again. I personally have no reaction if I eat dried mango or even fresh mango as long as I avoid contact with the skin. THANK YOU for this blog, this is a big load of my mind and will help me avoid another outbreak.
November 25th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I just want to point out how much trouble a damned piece of fruit can cause. To anybody currently suffering, the rash will go away very soon, and you probably think it looks worse than it is. I was freaking out and went to the doctor, but it really didn’t look as bad as it felt.
The worst part of it all was telling the doctor my theory about a mango allergy…
“Well, I ate a mango for the first time.”
“… A mango?”
“Yes, and I heard it can cause an allergy.”
“Mhm. And when did you eat the mango?”
It was like some Seinfeld police interrogation, and I heard the doctor outside the office door after he left, laughing with a nurse. But cheer up! My lips are back to normal, and yours will be too. [though I still can't bring myself to eat anything with mangoes]
November 30th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
2-time merpe survivor here, too. Worst 10 days (x2) of my life. I always broke out within 2 days of contact. Yes, the first time I ate it, the second time, I just peeled it for someone else and still came down with the rash. Had a lot of bad run-ins with poison ivy as a child, too.
Also experienced the confused-doctor syndrome. “Food allergies don’t look like this.” or “Food allergies don’t come up two days later.” Yes they do (x2). I only wish more people knew about this allergy. My symptoms were so painful and itchy, and because my doctors didn’t know about this, one gave me hand cream to rub on my face and the other told me to take benadryl. At least the benadryl helped me sleep! I never was able to find anything topical that gave me relief.
Now I cringe when I see mango. I know I can’t even touch the stuff!
December 13th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Thank heavens for finding this post!
All summer i was eating mangos from the corner market outside my office in Manhattan. And i spent all summer with a terrible rash all over my mouth. I am insanely allergic to poison ivy and recognized the blisters from my bouts with poison ivy as a child in the country. But i live in New York City now, the only greenery i see everyday is on the mold in the office fridge.
Much internet research and advice from friends had me convinced it was herpes. My doctor said it didn’t look like the herp and my blood tested negative for both type 1 and 2. But he gave me a perscription for Valtrex anyways. I was popping pills nonstop whilst vowing never to makeout with anyone ever again.
Well, cold weather came and the mangos got more expensive so i stopped buying them, and the rash went away for months. Until two days ago i was at the grocery store and my roommate and i were in an exotic fruit frenzy (mangos, pomogranate, coconut). This morning i wake up with dry itchy swollen blistered lips. Instead of popping two Valtrex and cursing my bad luck, i jumped online and did one last internet search for “itchy blisters on mouth” and up comes Slient Rant.
Thank you so so much! Now i know to stay away from those delicious poison devils.
January 18th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Thank you all for alerting me to this problem. My 8 year old kid has been eating Fruity Pebbles and Bam-Bam Pebbles every day this week. She’s never had them before but thinks they are delicious. Her lips have had a nasty rash and today she said her throat itched inside. I checked; she has the throat bumps. Are these fruity cereals flavored with mango? I’ve tried Post’s website, but it won’t tell you and it offers no means of contacting them (“Contact Us” just gets you stuck in an FAQ loop). So you might want to avoid this cereal until you know it doesn’t have mango flavoring in it. Ours is going in the trash right now. By the way, she is allergic to arythromyacin (Zithromax).
January 18th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Wow… I thought I had some crazy skin condition. What a relief! I just gave my two remaining on-sale-merpes-mangoes to my bf with a harsh warning. I super sad about my new sans mango life… but it’s better than crocodile lips.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Wow. I thought I had some crazy skin condition!
It all makes so much sense now! I just gave my two remaining on-sale-merpes-mangos to my boyfriend with a harsh warning, of course. I will miss you my sweet and sour friend, but I won’t miss my crocodile lips, no sir.
Cheers to a life sans mango!
February 4th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Least I know I’m not going completetly ouuta my mind. This feels like I’ve ate a whole bag of salt and vinegar chips…chapped, burning and starting to blister. Feels rough to the touch. SUCKS… Glad I’m not the only mad mango lover. Ten days,huh?
February 9th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
[...] To all my friends, and even to you anonymous strangers who end up on this site by pure accident (or because you’re searching for a cure to your Merpes)– I say this only because I love you: [...]
February 12th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Thank you so much!!!!! This describes me to a T. I had googled my reaction so many times but couldnt figure out what was wrong with me since it was only my lips with the allergic reaction.
February 17th, 2008 at 12:01 am
This has been very enlightening. I have had this lip problem about 10 times in the past two years. Had no clue what it could be but considered mango allergy. (I saw my ENT this week and asked him about the possibility of a mango allergy. A PA assisting him informed us both that poison ivy/oak are the same family as mango. The ENT said that my lips did look like an allergic reaction and that was a good possibility. But A WARNING – I saw my primary physician 1 1/2 years ago when I had my worst reaction with swollen and pealing lips, and she prescribed cold sore medicine (even though she was pretty certain that wasn’t the problem) and the medicine caused the top layers of my lip to peel off and I had a big bloody scab that kept cracking and took weeks to heal – DON’T TAKE COLD SORE MEDICINE FOR THIS PROBLEM.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I too am experiencing this problem! I had a similar “outbreak” last summer when driving to a job interview in Dallas. A couple of days prior to it, I went to a farmer’s market and got some mangoes. well i decided to eat them in the car and that required biting off chunks of skin and spitting them out. needless to say, at the interview i looked like a crazy person with a cold sore-esque series of bumps all the way around my mouth.
This time, I was trying to get off the last bit of juicy goodness from the seed and my whole face is itchy. can it transfer to my face from the residue on my hands? what’s the best way to treat it now that we know the cause?
I am also allergic to wheat, sugar, and dairy but NOT allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumac. weird.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Thank the Maker that you described the progression of the rash and itching so well. I am EXTREMELY allergic to poison ivy, oak, sumac, etc and I was on the verge of napalming my backyard because I was convinced that this was something I got off our dogs.
Well this won’t deter me from the sweet sweet goodness that are called MANGO.
April 4th, 2008 at 5:12 am
[...] But I still love learning about details, random knowledge that I have no desire to be tested on *shudder*. (Among the many things I got out of grad school was an exam phobia.) And a few random bits have managed to stick in my flea-like memory. They’re fun to pull out at parties and social situations. They give me something to talk about, although they’re not always easy to work into a conversation. For example, how many opportunities are there to seamlessly bring up that mangos are related to poison ivy? Some people who are very sensitive break out in an allergic rash if they touch the skin of the fruit. [...]
April 6th, 2008 at 10:41 am
THAT’S IT!!! IT’S THE **** MANGOES!!!! Ok, sorry for almost using bad language. But I’m so excited to find out what my **** problem is. Although I’m also depressed to find that I’m allergic to the best fruit in history. Just when I finally thought I’d found a healthy substitute for chocolate, now I have to go back to it. If only I could be allergic to chocolate…
April 9th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Wow, some great info on here. have the exact same symptoms as everyone else on here. Tiny blisters all around my lips that itch like crazy. I also had them on the roof of my mouth and started to get hives on my face as well. I thought it was an allergic reaction to chapstick, but now am convinced it was the mango I ate 2-3 days ago. Since I never eat mangoes and probably have not eaten them in at least a year.
I found benadryl helps alot. But I went to the doctor and he prescribed some steriods, allegra, and zantec (guess it’s also a histamine blocker). I am seeing it vanish rapidly now. Thank goodness!
I also had a horrible reaction to poison ivy a few years ago(makes sense they are connected) where my whole face was swollen and almost my whole body was coverd in the rash.
No more mangoes for me!!
April 17th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Hi,
Every year when the mango season begins I used to get itchy rashes on my face and chest. This time I had it after 2-3 days of ripe mangoes. Red itchy rashes appeared on my lower right abdomen accompanied by swelling and gradually spread out to 5 inch diam. I had to take anti-allergic tabs, anti-inflammatory and a calamine lotion.Still it took a week to cure fully.
April 17th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
WOW!!! This is all so helpful information,because I too had experienced this crazy outbreak all around my lips especially including the corners, and ouch it hurt! Blistered up after a few days of eating one of my favorite exotic fruits the MANGO. The first time I broke out I had a dentist appointment and thought that I had contracted some kind of virus…My mind was racing at that time. I thought I had herpes…so glad to find out I didn’t. What a relief! It wasn’t until a second breakout after eating mango, that I realized I was allergic to mango. Thanks for all your insight and great stories!!
April 20th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Wow! Finally I know I’m not alone. I first discovered I had the mango allergy as an exchange student in Costa Rica in the 80s. I’d been warned that some gringos has allergies to mangoes, but never having been allergic to anything,(other than my foot swelling up to a big sting) I didn’t really worry. Well, one day they made a drink for me (they call them batidas)and my lip (upper) swelled up. I immediately suspected mango. So I asked my host family never to give me anything else with it. They thought I was a crazy gringa so they paid me no mind. Well it happened again. This time lower lip. I don’t recall that I got a rash but hey this way over 25 years ago. Anyhow I’m going to Costa Rica on vacation this summer and I’ll be on mango lookout patrol.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Thank goodness I figured out what it is! I went to bed on Friday with my lips tingling and I knew my lips were about to break out as I’ve had this reaction before. On Saturday I woke up with the full blown thing and my lips have been itching/burning like crazy. I’ve been sucking ice cubes to stop the pain. They are swollen, cracked, and feel like very fine sandpaper. I realized that right before bed on Friday I had eaten a mango. I won’t be having anymore of those!
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Must be on a roll here…
Me too! Thanks for this post. I was FREAKING out the last two days. Thinking I somehow, by some freak, touching-the-toilet-seat-accident, contracted “lerpes” (LOL).
Instead, I ate a f’n mango – and this post explained the rest. What a relief.
Now, if just weren’t for this crazy itch in my lower extremities…
April 25th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I noticed we’re all talking about our mango problems, but not about how to cope. We need a mango support group. I had a tough upbringing with a very abusive mangoholic father. I have a mango addiction and an allergy at the same time. How does one cope with having to give up the most heavenly thing on earth?
And just why is it that I have to find out about my mango problems on a blog? It’s clear that the American media and the government are in the pockets of the mango growers. Otherwise there would be a surgeon general warning on mango stickers. Are there mango reserves in Iraq? I bet that’s the real reason we are there.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Ok, so the bad thing is I *knew* I get this weird reaction to Mango, so when our friend brought over a bad of nice, ripe, yummy mangos, I said – great – someone just peel them for me! Of course, I didn’t bother to watch him, or rinse the devil fruit before I ate it, so here I am…for not the first time…with a bumpy, icky face. .
Anyway, I was just feeding my 11-month-old son lunch and thinking about how to get to the drug store for some cortisone cream that I just read about without anyone looking at me…and I’m staring at him with his lunch all over his face..and staring at the yogurt on the counter…and staring at the baby…and then for some reason, I thought – of course, YOGURT! I put yogurt over the itchy spots on my face, and…INSTANT RELIEF. The itchiness is GONE. Of course, I’m sitting her with yogurt on my face, but I don’t care. Ahhhhh Finally. No need to go out now.
We buy plain, low-fat organic yogurt. I’m not sure if that makes a difference, but try it! It was nice and cool from the refrigerator too…ahhhhhhhh.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
This is so refreshing. I love mango and I have been eating them in large numbers the last couple of months. I suddenly developed this chappy, blistering thing on my mouth. I too thought it was herpes, and was concerned someone was dipping his pen into someone else’s inkwell. When I went to the dermatologist today after trying to wait it out, the first question was “eaten any mangos recently”? Once this had been established, I decided that when I got home tonight, I was going to eat a mango and rub the skin on my lips. Now, I can go home knowing that this was the cause and will not be rubbing it on my lips.
Thank you!
May 5th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Merpies! That is hilarious! I have know for some years that the swollen chapped itchy duck lips were from mangos. I eat them on occasion anyway. I am allergic to most anitbiotics, poison ivy, poison oak, nickel, lipstick, hair dye (even the color enhancing shampoo), anti-perspirant, deoderant, most dyes and perfumes in cleaning products. I think that somehow they are all related. I was a military brat and lived on base most of my childhood. Planes would fly over the residential areas and spray DDT for mosquitoes. Being a stupid kid, I didn’t know any better and did not go inside when they sprayed. Probably got a lot of exposure to some pretty toxic stuff.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:20 am
It has been several days since my last post. I have never had merpies this bad before. The rash has spread over most of my face. It starts under my chin and is this bright red strip of bumpy fire going up to the middle of my forehead. Yesterday I had 3 eyelids on each eye, this morning my eyes are nearly swollen shut. I have developed fissures in my lips and they are oozing blood and most of the skin has sloughed off. The swelling has gone down on my lips. I have been taking antihistimens but they aren’t doing that much good. I will get to the pharmacy today to find a more effective kind. A cool wet cloth on my face is soothing. I am hoping this clears up soon, as I can’t leave my house except to go to the pharmacy. I will never, EVER eat any of the dreaded devil orbs again.
May 10th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I’m experiencing my second outbreak right now. The first time it was terrible – I picked three mangoes directly from a tree and was covered with blisters with my eyes swollen shut. This second time it’s not so bad – but I’m only on day three and I’m a bit worried that I haven’t seen the end of it. As of now however, I have the itchy bumpy mouth and chin, and a line down my leg which I can oly imagine is from a drip during the mango love-fest I had about four days ago.
It’s mango season here, so I’ve had a few recently and only experienced an outbreak after eating one that had been picked fresh. I didn’t cut it, but some of the sap must’ve made it to the fruit during preparation. Yikes, I hope it doesn’t get any worse.
Oh, I suppose that I did experience a minor version of this after eating Ginep, a small tropical berry that you eat directly out of the rind. I think for me, the fresh picked thing is the problem.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I’ve just read through all 104 posts and I have to say this is funny. The fella that had a Merpies breakout all summer really had me rolling. My 15 year old daughter has Merpies. I think this is the third time she has had a breakout. The funny thing is, we know how she gets it. She seems to have this love for the Mango that overcomes her fear of the breakout. Dried Mangos don’t cause a breakout but they can only satisfy for so long. I think she believes Merpies will go away someday. Has anyone been cured yet?
I have never had a Mango that I know of and now I am a little leary of them.
Good luck to you all.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I ate a mango about 4 years ago and had a minor itch, swelling on my upper lip. I discarded the possibility of mango being the culprit as I was not ready to give up this fruit. I ate 2 mangoes then 3 days ago and about 36 hours later my left cheek started itching like crazy and had a red rash which got worse after scratching. By the next morning both of my eyes were super puffy and mostly the left side of my face is red, rough and itchy. Also my chin. OK… so it might be the mango… can’t blame it on anything else.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I have a case of the merpies right now and I didn’t even eat a mango (I’ve been avoiding them like the plague since discovering this allergy a year ago). My bf, though he knew of my affliction, had a mango craving on Friday and ate one right off the skin, then kissed me goodnight. Sure enough, Sunday morning rolled around and BAM. I was not such a happy camper.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Thank you for blogging this out. I was also panicked about herpes and couldn’t figure out how I could have gotten it. After finding your site I searched and found so much more information. Whew! Thank you again for sharing the info. No more mangoes for me! Thanks for putting out there your experience in a funny way so I could get help on my terrible merpes rash! Thanks to everyone else who also posted and shared their mango demise.
May 25th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
The Remedy: Valtrex. When I first saw these bumps a few days after eating MY FIRST MANGO, the doctor thought they were herpes and prescribed Valtrex, and the bumps went away in 2 days. Why Valtrex works on these, I don’t know, but I’m not complaining. Also, Zovirax cream helps ease the itching/burning of the bumps.
I haven’t had a blood test to confirm that I don’t have herpes, BUT there is no reason why would suddenly get it. This definitely comes from mangoes as I ate them yesterday and now have extremely chapped lips but have already taken the Valtrex this morning and will be fine by tonight. Thanks for the post. Valtrex is highly recommended if you want your symptoms completely cleared in 2-3 days.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
My first mystery rash was on my left hand, on my ring finger around my wedding band. It seemed like poison ivy but I wasn’t sure. Several months later I got another rash around my ring, but this time I also had the rash around my lips. And the rash was more severe and seemed to spread for several days until it was across most of my face including my eyelids. This rash did not subside until I took Prednisone (an oral steriod medication).
During my doctor visit I could not think of anything that could have caused the allergic reaction. However, the next day I realized that before each rash appeared, I had purchased, peeled, and eaten fresh mangoes. Those were the ONLY two times in my life that I had bought mangoes. A search for “mango allergy” on the Internet confirmed my suspicion. Once I found out that mangoes are related to poison ivy (which I am highly allergic to), I knew to avoid mangoes at any cost!
I have a theory about the ring-finger rash. After peeling the juicy mangoes, I washed my hands without removing my wedding ring. Residue from the juice or skin remained under the ring and caused the rash.
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:56 am
3:53 A.M.
Day 3 of Mango Misery…I can only apply so much carmex to the entirety of my mouth before looking like i have horrible lipgloss application skills.
eyes swollen…must work in a few hours.
need sleep.
am a waitress-can’t think of anything more foul than the sight of one’s server at the Cheesecake Factory liberally smearing herself in Carmex with disturbing frequency and urgency- and smelling of camphor/menthol.
Damn i’m sexy.
HELP!!!
June 7th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Dayum. Thank you for writing this!!!
I am still not convinced I DON’T have herpes, the symptoms are just so similar. But I can’t help but notice that the first time I had a horrid breakout that consumed most of my face and two wrists with stinging, itchy mini-blisters was when I was harvesting mangos off the tree in my backyard…and the SECOND time this happened to me (not as bad this year, thank god)…was mango harvest AGAIN.
I get symptoms like this all through the year but it’s only in small areas that go away in less than a week, so I may be allergic to other things as well. This is why I was thinking it was herpes. I went to a clinic the first time it happened and was told it was herpes, even though they didn’t do any tests. But the coincidence of the 2nd Mango harvest is just too strong for me to think it’s herpes. Plus, I have never had a real “cold sore”, and this rash I get starts on my lips, moves to the chin, or nose, or eyes, and both wrists, sometimes between my breasts or on my tummy…never heard of herpes or shingles doing that.
I also notice my mouth and throat itches when I eat avocados and some nuts.
Being from the north, I have never had a mango until I came to Florida. I just didn’t even think of Mangos causing this.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I have the same problem. The first time I broke out I ate the mango like you would an apple (biting into it). A day later my lips started to burn around the edges and the second day my lips had tiny little bumps on them and had swollen to twice the regular size (I looked like I had collagen injections- cute, but my lips were so swollen I couldn’t smile). It took about a week and a half to two weeks to go away. Fast forward to two years later… I tried to eat a mango by cutting it up first, trying to avoid touching my lips with it. Didn’t work- not only did my lips break out and swell again, but I then had contact dermatitis (skin rash) on my face (cheek, eyes, chin). Needless to say, while mangos are sooo tasty, the breaking out is not worth it!
June 14th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Bingo! Thanks for the article – cause isolated!
June 15th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Wow, Thanks for the site. I ate mangos before but got one from a friend who bought too many at costco. Cut one up for the first time and got the rash around my lips. a few days later i got serious with a girl and I had to ask her a couple of day later if she has herpes. Freaked me out. It brings up laughs every time we talk about it.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Hey I was wondering if your reaction ever spread to your hands?? I had a reaction and I am assuming it was from the mangoes. I actually ate 3-4 a day EVERYDAY and then started breaking out on my face and hands. I have the merpes on my mouth, but I have a lot of blisters on my hands as well. I am on steroids right now and had a steroid/allergy shot and atarax and they seem to be drying up and not itching AS bad, but still a little. I was reading about all of this. I am VERY allergic to poison ivy. Are there any more foods I should watch out for. I am also deathly allergic to bees. I carry an eppi pen wherever I go. I read cashews have the same stuff in them, anything else anyone might know would be SOOOOOOO appreciated!! Thanks,
Korrey
korreyh@bellsouth.net
June 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Just read all 117 posts. I wanted to answer some of the questions folks asked about treatment with some of my personal merpes and poison ivy experiences.
Treat your mango reaction like you would your poison ivy reaction – they have a similar chemical cause. If a minor reaction, a steroid pack works well. If a major reaction, get a steroid shot. In addition, OTC antihistamines (e.g. Claritin) work well for me without the drowsy side-effects. The faster you can start the drugs, the better. Although, you might receive a similar reaction from your M.D. as I did the first time it happened.
Me: I think it (the reaction) might be from eating Mangos?
M.D.: What did you do? Spread the Mango all over your face? [chuckles]
Me: [silent stare]
If anyone has some specific homeopathic cures, I’d love to hear them. We only have one more year to communicate on this thread. I like the suggestions made by Steve (post 100). Perhaps there could be a book deal in this thread, Merpes: Our Love-Hate Relationship with Mangos.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
This happened to me a couple months back. At about ten mangoes in as many days when they were on. Broke out really bad.
I have a history of run-ins with poison oak and am EXTREMELY sensitive to it. This felt like the same reaction.
The best thing for this isn’t creams and lotions: Go straight to your doctor and ask for a Medrol Dose Pack. It’s a course of steroid pills that lasts seven days. It stops the outbreak and turns it around to healing immediately.
July 6th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I have it as well. Except it gets all over my entire face from my chin to my eyelids(yes on my eyelids) and into the inside of my mouth, I’m still trying to find a cure to the itch/burning, but I can’t understand why you would ever purposefully smear something that you could possibly be allergic to all over your face!
July 10th, 2008 at 6:57 am
I was very allergic to poison ivy and had some bad cases as a kid. I’ve just discovered that my recent hives and blistery rashes are due to mango. Other things that cause the same reaction(in me) are: cashews, ginkgo and pistachios–all in the same plant family, the Anarcardia family, to which poison ivy and mango also belong.
Thanks for all the info provided here!
July 13th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Boy was I glad to find this web site! Recently, I purchased some mango salsa from Costco that I served at a baby shower. Guests raved about it–and after they left, I confess I took the whole bowl along with some Tostitos, and planted myself in front of a Lifetime original movie (ready for a veggin’ out session). Little did I know that as I ate the salsa my face would explode “Nutty Professor” style. First my lips started swelling, then my eyelides, and then the roof of my mouth began blistering. Finally, my tongue and throat began swelling and I literally lost my breath. I am no allergist, but, having had these symptoms before, am pretty sure this was anaphylaxis. Luckily, having had this reaction before to other substances, my husband and I were able to act quickly.
My problem was that I did not know what in the salsa (until now) was causing the reaction. I thought it may have been some type of spice or something. I have an appointment with my allergist for tomorrow, and am glad to know that mangos, while alluring in their beauty and sweetness, can be deadly!
July 17th, 2008 at 10:25 am
[...] Also, my googling led me to this funny post about the same condition, which the author labels merpes. So yes, I have merpes. [...]
July 17th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Oh thank goodness. On Friday I saw a bunch of bumps come up on my upper lip…by Sunday they had spread to my lower lip. I thought lerpes for sure. Then Monday night it spread to the left side of my face, we all thought shingles…so I stayed home from work since then. This morning (Thursday), I woke up and my entire face had swollen up, and the rash had traveled to the rest of my body. Not shingles, then. I went to the dermatologist this afternoon, and since it started on my lips and spread all over, it looked like (and I think, is) classic urticaria. Due to some sort of food allergy. Joy! I thought about it…
Turns out, last Tuesday or Wednesday – I don’t remember which – I ate a whole champagne mango. I’d had one once or twice before, with no real symptoms – guess I got sensitized? But now I’m in bed with 50mg of Benadryl in the system and cortisone cream all over my face and am rather uncomfortable…not to mention this time the rash/itchiness showed up in the girly bits…
July 26th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Well – I’m THRILLED that I found this blog. I’m not the only one in the world! Sure felt like it until I googled, “Mango Allergy.” My lips have swollen 3 times their normal size & itch like there’s no tomorrow. The roof of my mouth feels like the entire area has been burned raw.My face is swollen – I look like a damn pumpkin! All of this not ideal for such a vane person!
I went to the doc thinking I had one hell of a herpes outbreak & no idea where I could have contracted that from (haven’t kissed any boys outside of my happy marriage). He took one look & said allergic reaction. I took the steroid shot & have experienced mild relief from the swelling. No relief from the pain & itching.
This happened about 8 weeks ago & I couldn’t figure out why. I put 2 & 2 together to realize that the common denominator was … mangos. My heavenly desire … eating mangos for me is almost orgasmic. Over the last 4 days, I had eaten 6 of the most juicy, delicious mangos that I can remember. 8 weeks ago, the same thing.
I’m sick that this is happening! I can’t imagine a life without mangos! I even just discovered the most amazing recipe for my new fave drink – mango mojitos!!!
I am doing everything have no relief – guess I’ll just have to wait it out.
I don’t think I have enough will power to give up mangos for the rest of my life. If mortality tables are somewhat accurate – that’s about 52 more years!!!
Glad I found that I’m not alone & am in great company.
Happy healing to you all!!!
August 6th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
This is what you do to heal mango rash, poison ivy and oak.
Apply a poultice of 2 part facial clay and 1 part sea salt mixed into a paste. When it seams dry enough, apply Y.S. Organics Royal Jelly, Propolis, and Pollen in Honey. Cover with a bandage or just dont touch it. The honey mixture will heal the skin without scaring. I know this because I model.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I’m so glad I found you! I made the most wonderful mango salsa last saturday…loved it so much I ate mango salsa like soup all week. About thursday my lips started itching, then my tongue. I swear I’ve almost chewed my own mouth off this week. After finding your blog and other references in my “itchy tongue” google search, I’m convinced this is my problem.
Thank you so much!
September 13th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
HELPPPPP!!!! Holy freaken crap this sucks! I’m pretty sure I have this mango allergic reaction aswell. I’m 20 years old right now, and the last time I had a mango was when I was around 12 in Puerto Rico. Saw one on the counter about a week ago, went to sleep woke up at about 2 in the morning with a mango craving! Came down stairs and just completely destroyed the damn thing, I even remember smearing the peel all around my mouth. 2 days later came the itch, now its about a week later and my mouth is freaken covered in a ridiculously bad itching rash. Yes, I’m allergic to poison ivy too. This blows! Thanks for the site. I got a cream, too lazy to go see what it is, but its prescribed. Can anyone tell me what has worked the best for them? If I itch it now (bout one week into the rash) can I still spread it? Thanks! Damn mango!
September 21st, 2008 at 6:37 pm
About 8 years ago I began getting an incredibly itchy rash on my face and lips. It happened every few weeks. I had been getting allergy injections and was beginning to suspect that I was having an adverse reaction to these injections. I started going for acupuncture to see if that would help but nothing did. These rashes continued on and off for about a year. Then, all of a sudden, the rash stopped.
A few years later the rash started again but this time it was on my lips and all over the inside of the roof of my mouth. It was itchy and painful.
One day, I was telling a friend of mine about it and she told me that the same type of rash used to happen to some of her friends when she was a child. She is of Indian descent and mango is often eaten right off the skin.
I stopped eating mango and the rash disappeared. That was 3 years ago and the only time I had the rash since then was when I mistakenly thought that I could eat mango if it was already peeled. This rash happens to me whether I touch the skin or not. I now realize that although it is my favorite fruit, I can never eat anything with mango again.
Last week I had fig for the first time in years. I immediately felt a weird itching in my throat but I ignored it. I ate most of the fig and now I have itchy bumps on the roof of my mouth and on the tip of my tongue.
October 30th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
It’s winter and I thought I had severely chapped lips, but I was surprised by the hives around my mouth. By pure luck I found this site and I am truly grateful. Turns out I was starving before dinner and I decided to finish off a mango that was cut for a salad. About a day later I noticed irritation around the corners of my mouth. I have applied a lot of blistex and i just popped 2 Benadryl. At least I know what happened. Thanks guys.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Thanks for all the postings. I had finally come to the sad conclusion that the glorious sublime mango has a dark side. I did a web search to find this thread. The descriptions of symptoms here are so accurate that I could have made my self diagnosis years ago with this help.
My reaction is minor compared to some of the posts; itchy bumps on swollen upper lip. I get this condition only once or twice a year and my recent close observation indicates it comes 36 to 48 hours after I have savored the wonderful fruit and not every time.
It has been difficult to connect these rare symptoms to the culprit. Now, can I give up the exquisite mango?
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
hello!
wow–so i am brand new to all of this. for the past 6 months i have been having what i thought were herpes outbreaks on my lips. they occur about once a month and last for 7-9 days. i had been plastering over-the-counter herpes meds on my lips since the bumps burned and itched like mad. i finally went to a doctor last month to get ‘tested’ since these bumps were continuing to appear and after a culture as well as a blood test, it was revealed that i do not have herpes at all. in either form. i went back to my doctor to talk again about possibilities…she said it’s not an allergic reaction and she was convinced it was herpes and didn’t know what to tell me. hm. so now i’m stumped. (and about to find a new doctor) i suppose it _could_ be a mango reaction since i’ve eaten mango probably about 5 times in the last 6 months…but i’ve had mango before 2008 and have never had this reaction in my life. also, the bumps are very tiny and only appear on my lips and never leave the lip line onto my skin. i am _def_ very allergic to poison ivy. should i diagnose myself with mango allergy or are there any other possibilities?!
thanks!
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
me again.
wow. so i just read every single comment on this entire blog and
1) i am SHOCKED at the number of idiots who still intend to eat mangoes. good lord, they don’t taste _that_ great and they are certainly NOT worth the god-awful 9 days of pure torture that follows.
2) yes–i DEFINITELY have this mango allergy. i have been writing down the dates of all my breakouts and i also keep a blog where i post recipes of certain meals that i make. i happened to post a recipe for french toast with sliced bananas and mangoes THE DAY BEFORE my most recent breakout.
HALLELUJAH! I am allergic to mangoes!! After 6 long months and hundreds of dollars to the doctors and their deer-in-the-headlights reactions, i can finally thank google and silent rant for diagnosing me
December 11th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Ok, everyone is allergic to mangoes and gets red swollen itchy lips, etc, which I have, only I’ve had my case of merpes for months now and I really rarely touch mango, and if I do, it’s usually precut & frozen. Anyone allergic to stevia? Sunflower seeds? Coconut? Pumpkin seeds? As sexy as my red swollen lips are…not to mention my swollen lumpy fingers! I don’t think mangoes are my culprit. Ideas?
December 11th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
thank god for your story. i could not figure out what was going on with my lips for the life of me. they were exactly as you guys described them. i also had a slight generalized body itch and felt feverish. it only occured to me literally while reading your story that i too had consumed a mango smoothie a day prior to this outbreak and also have a history of brisk reactions to poison ivy. who needs a doctor’s appointment when we have google at our finger tips
December 24th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Oh, if only, if only. All you people seem to have an issue with the skin of the fruit that is for me the botanical incarnation of evil. Me, I’m allergic to the whole thing. I can’t touch the skin safely. Mango-apple juice? Death in a tasty cocktail.
Mind you, I wouldn’t be able to identify a mango by taste. I’ve not eaten one of these fruits in years. I don’t dare. The last one got an emergency trip to the doctor with very little memory of what happened between the terrifying onset of anaphylaxis and the doc saying “yep, that’s definitely and allergic reaction!” I should probably carry an Epi-pen, but for now it’s an uncommon enough fruit that a little alertness can go a long way.
All of which is not to say that I begrudge you your less severe reactions. But you can at least eat the stupid things without, y’know, dying. And of that, I am insanely jealous.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I have this problem as well. I ate mangoes all the time when I was growing up, and never had a problem with them. Then when I was around 14, I had a mango binge after my mom bought a bunch of them on sale, and shortly thereafter I developed a rash around my lips that spread all over the lower half of my face. We didn’t know what it was, so I continued eating mangoes and it happened again, this time spreading all over my neck as well. So we went to the doctor, who said it was a ‘classic case of poison ivy’ and sent me on my way. It was only after overhearing someone talking about a mango allergy, and going to another doctor to ask about it, that we confirmed the source of my rashes. Haven’t eaten mangoes (once my favorite food) since then, however I have developed eczema in recent years, which is gradually becoming worse and worse. I can’t use any scented skin products, and am even allergic to some unscented ones. I get small rashes every couple weeks and have to use prescription skin creams.
As far as the lips are concerned, I have only used one brand of lip balm for the past 4 years, as I am allergic to every other brand I’ve tried (the allergy makes my lips chap, sting and swell, a bit like the mango reaction except that it doesn’t spread far). I thought everything was okay until I got this reaction again a couple days ago, and had to stop using my one precious brand of lip balm! Now my lips are huge and cracked, and I’m terrified of putting anything on them as I have no idea what ingredient might be causing the reaction. If anyone has had a similar experience, please let me know. Doctors tend to be pretty vague about what my skin allergies might be.
January 24th, 2009 at 5:17 am
I have had the same problem with my lips, same self-diagnosis of the dreaded STD herpes, same epiphany and realization that the rash I experience is . . . from Mangoes!
In 2007, during my second trip to the Philippines, I started experiencing a tingling in the corner of my mouth, which progressed to the sensation of a paper cut, then small – I mean miniscule, microscopic – little blistery patches appeared on the erogenous area of my upper lip, spreading from the corner of my mouth gradually across the top edge of my upper lip until reaching the opposite corner, then remained relatively inflamed across the ridge of my upper lip from corner to corner for about 15 days until drying up, becoming somewhat chapped, and healing. (Since I live overseas I’ve had full blood pathology tests several times and have known for years that I have positive antibodies for HSV 1 & HSV 2 – but I’ve never had a fever blister or other break out.) So, during this time of the lip inflammation, thinking I had some strange strain of HSV 1 that for some reason didn’t fully manifest itself into a full blown fever blister, I started taking max dose of acyclovir, PLUS max dose zovirax ointment on my lips – for two weeks with NO effect. I thought it must just be that like I’ve always heard about herpes, “the first reaction is the worst” . For the record, during these two weeks I ate food prepared by local ladies, which included yellow mango halves at lunch – every day I ate two whole mangoes, sliced in half, with a spoon. I didn’t have the problem for 6 months until my next trip to the Philippines and BAM! it happened again. This time it only lasted a week, and wasn’t as bad. Oh by the way I was eating mangoes off and on then as well. Again, I was certain it was a half-ass herpes outbreak, and thought even a fever blister would be less of a pain in the ass. Well, now it is my third trip to the Philippines and 11th month in this country in the last 2 years, and my lips start breaking out again. Now I bump up the meds – no more fun and games – to 1000mg famvir with topical zovirax ointment. One daily dose of famvir is supposed to knock out a fever blister in two days or less with little to no symptoms after the initial “itch” . . . no effect on my increasingly blistered and chappy lips (and the humid balmy climate here would never, ever in a million years cause chapped lips). So, completely stumped, I googled “tiny blister lip irritation” and came upon TONs of shared experiences related to mango allergies. Wow! For the last 5 days I’ve been eating two mango halves at lunch with a spoon! And that explains why the corners of my lip breaks out first, because the contact of the spoon abrades the skin there just enough that it gets irritated there first.
I’m still in the Philippines, so I won’t be seeing a specialist for a while, but as soon as I can confirm my allergy I plan to. I suffer from adult hayfever – never had an allergy as a child, but now am highly allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumac too – I even catch it through my clothes if they’re moist. (My twin brother, never allergic to anything, is developing an adult allergy to shellfish and bee stings) This also explains why the roof of my mouth becomes tender and raw feeling after I eat local bananas here – never occurred to me that it was an allergy.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! And Lindsay (from December 2nd 2008) you should definitely get a new MD, and I’d say, yes, your lip irritation is exactly like mine and 100% from mangoes or related fruit – adult onset allergies are not uncommon and effect everyone a little differently. By the way, bananas in the US don’t bother me, but the small, wild bananas here in Mindanao and the Sulu islands take the skin right off the roof of my mouth – and aesthetically there is absolutely nothing different about the fruit of the bananas here vs the States (they’re just smaller).
Hooray! It’s not herpes!
February 20th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Bethany from Jan 24th. You may want to investigate the possibility that you have a candida albicans overgrowth. I had the sporadic rash around my mouth for months…went to the doc who said I had an allergy…but after following the anti candida diet, my itchy rashy red mouth is much better…check it out.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Just for a little bit of info…..Herpes in context is ANY infection that causes blistering. so when you get cold sores on your lips, they are a form of herpes as they are a form of blister. now burning yourself and getting an infection that causes blistering is not herpes it’s just burning yourself. It more lays on the lines of random infections that happen on the body.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
I want to scream out to the world, IT IS FROM THE MANGOS!!! I have been dealing with this for many many many years. Blamming it on stress, lip balm, face lotions, strawberries (which I still think might be the case), watermelon. After reading all of these posts, I am convinced it is the mango. For me it starts with swollen eyes, and then progresses to the mouth, and in a bad case, behind the ears. But all with the same little tiny bumps and severe itching. The only things that works for me is prednisone, which i have come to self medicate with. If I take it right away, I am free and clear, with just minor redness around the eyes. But yesterday I thought I could wait it out and it would just pass, but nope, 60mgs later it is finally starting to subside.
Thanks everyone for your posts, I hate to think that I will have to stop eating them, but so happy to know what the source is!!
Now time to fire all of those GP’s and Dermatologists that gave me bogus responses!
April 14th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Thanks Silent Rant and the rest of you for the entertainment! It’s exciting to realize I have Merpes, not Herpes! Hallelujah
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:23 am
Wow. IF someone had told me yesterday that the weird rash around my mouth was from the mango I had on Tuesday night, I would have called BS. I found this after doing numerous searches on “puffy” and “tingly” lips and finally ended up here. I asked around and sure enough, it was farily common, but not well known. I have sworn off these beasts altogether and due to the swelling of my lips and the itching, I am now on prednisone and zyrtec (morning and niht respectively) to hopefully clear this up. My mouth feels terrible and I cannot believe I had never heard of this before. I have lived in fear of poison ivy/oak/sumac for years and never once ran across the mango connection. Now I know better.
May 2nd, 2009 at 8:40 am
Ack! Thank God I found this. Saved me a lot of money for an emergency Dr’s visit. Anyone have any remedies/over the counter medicine? THANKS!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I am so glad to find this site! I had a terrible reaction last time I was Haiti this time of year. April/May is mango season. After eating mangoes for several days I got tingly, puffy lips and then I broke out in tiny blisters all around my mouth, my cheeks, behind my ear. It was horrible–extremely itchy, especially in hot weather, and very unsightly. I thought it might be mangoes but maybe herpes or a reaction to the malaria medication I was taking. When I got back to the US a week later a doctor gave me steroid cream (he couldn’t figure out what it was) and it eventually went away.
Fast forward to now. I’m getting the same symptoms again after peeling and eating a mango last night. I only hope I can get some steroid cream faster this time! I will continue to eat mangoes but only if someone cuts them up for me.
May 13th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Like the others, thanks for the info given that my doctor couldn’t tell me why I broke out. I had broken out with hives on my arm, eye and other areas and it was driving me crazy and getting worse every day. I had been taking a lot of advil for some other pain and thought I was having an allergic reaction to advil. I finally went to the Dr and got the steroid pack which makes a huge difference–nothing over the counter would touch it. Even mentioned to the doctor that the only thing different over the past two weeks was the advil dose and eating half a mango every night for about 5 nights, which is more than usual–he didn’t think it was the mango. Finally started feeling better last night and decided to eat a mango and bam–itching starts again. Luckily I’m still finishing up the steroid pack so hopefully it will keep working. Found this site and immediately it made sense. My husband also got a slight rash (he had also been taking advil for his shoulder) and now I know why mine was worse. I was the one who peeled and prepared it! I had a horrible reaction to poison oak about 10 years ago–my whole body was covered so I guess the 3 mangoes we have left will go to our neighbors : (
May 20th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I freakin love google!! In a matter of minutes the answer to just about anything. Thank you bloggers!!! I really hope it is the mangos, what is weird is I have been eating them off an on for about eight months (I moved to Barbados and have a huge mango tree outside my door). So it’s strange that it’s only now that I’ve gotten this reaction. I’m going to try out the same steroid cream my doctor gave me for “dermatitis” I had on my arm a few months back (I love how that’s a diagnosis… I have an itchy rash doctor! what is it??… doctor’s response, yes, you have dermatitis (aka an itchy rash) Thank you eight years of med school!!! And yes, I do get poison ivy quite bad if exposed.
May 25th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
My lips hurt, burn and itch so badly I would like to drag my face across the carpet like a dog. I am glad to know, however, it is not somethig worse. I first had the reaction in Panama, after eating mangoes at breakfast. Oddly enough three days later….bingo. I did not put the two together. It was nearly gone, after I had returned home to the Caribbean. Last week, a dinner party, mangoe something somethig for dessert. Last night, (three days later) 2 in the morning,I am surfing the net for online will’s and “what the hell could be wrong with my lips again” info….! Thank you for the diagnosis, I will not go near another mangoe, ever, even if it is disguised as a naked George Clooney, ever…
May 25th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Bad bad mango
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:27 am
Same thing happened to me! You can get zanfel from CVS or another one of those stores, which helps ALOT! It’s a wash for poison ivy, and supposedly it binds to urushiol (the oil in poison ivy leaves and mango skin) and washes it away. I washed my lips twice with this stuff after my lips were covered in a tiny blistered rash from eating a mango the day before, and it started to dry it up immediately. I also took some benadryl, but I don’t think the antihistamines helped as much as the wash. I’m extremely allergic to poison ivy, and had never had a reaction to eating a mango before, but the other day I had eaten it right out of the skin. Maybe that’s what did it. I’ll NEVER eat a mango again. I also get cold sores, so I knew that this wasn’t it . . . particularly because I just go over a cold sore and had just taken zovirax. If you get cold sores, you definitely know the difference between them and this allergic reaction to mangos, which feels exactly like poison ivy. Thanks so much to the guy on her that had initially mentioned Zanfel!! It saved me!
June 4th, 2009 at 7:20 am
[...] was told it was common but I never heard of anyone else being allergic to mangoes. But then I did some research and realised I’m not the only one! I don’t eat mangoes any more. Screw having to eat fruit with gloves after someone else [...]
June 5th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I am also allergic to Mango. After peeling and eating a mango for the first time, I developed a rash under my wedding ring but I did not know what caused the rash. A few months later, I bought a mango for the second time and got the lip rash and also got a rash under my ring again. The rash was also on my thigh from contact with my hand. Over several days, the lip rash spread across my face and onto my eyelids. I went to the doctor and was prescribed steroids. Luckily, I realized that I had eaten mango both times before getting the rashes and found out that mango is related to poison ivy, which I am highly allergic to. So now I stay far away from mango!!! The rash under my ring was likely due to getting mango juice under the rings when I peeled the fruit, and when I washed my hands I didn’t remove my rings.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:37 am
Thank goodness, this was a great read! I have had poison ivy and had a VERY BAD reaction to it, and also a very bad reaction to MANGOS with major lip irritation (took benadryl last night). My lips are still so itchy while I type, but thank goodness it’s just an allergic reaction and not herpes, as a doctor in past has indicated (again, same reaction in past from eating mangos).
July 5th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Well this site is a relief. I was scared crapless that I had a horrid case of cold sores, then I typed Mango allergy in google and found this. The mango I ate the other day was freakin’ DeLISH! And when I was done gorging myself, my lips burned!! I mentioned it to my husband, and he suggested it was probably just the acid of the mango. Then the other day I started noticing the blisters… So now I’m taking an over the counter antihistamine, and praying that this gets better before I have to go back to work…
I’m still going to eat Mangos tho. There are 8 more in the Fridge.
July 9th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I, too, am a victim of mangos. On my second round of this hell in 3 weeks (hey the mangos were on sale & I have just figured out that they were the source of my painful, blisterly lips). I had three of them, but tossed the last one out, since I had suspected that they were the problem. I spent 20.00 on that Abreva stuff for cold sores & couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working & it stung so bad!! Anyhow, my break-outs of merpes began about a day or two after eating them. I’m so glad you shared this website & to see that I’m not the only one who thought they were crazy!
August 21st, 2009 at 11:12 pm
thk u 4 posting your experience. i bought 3 mangos, had no clue, lips are bumpy and corner of mouth is all cracked, and it hurts and looks like i have lip injections! just threw out all of my tooth paste thinking it was crap from China or something! did a search on the net and found this
ahh thank you!
September 7th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
While I like mangoes no less than the next guy, it is my little sister who came down with lerpes. I got her googling to narrow down the source of the problem, and we ended up lol -ing after reading your piece. Excellent story-telling, and helpful advice. thanks!
September 17th, 2009 at 12:31 am
I learned something today, thanks. I often wondered why my mouth always felt funky when eating a mango. Love mangos.
September 17th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Well after about 3 hours of google-ing I am so happy to hear that I don’t have herpes! I live in HI and one of my patients gave me the most amazing mango 3 days ago. I dug into the lovely fruit scraping the skin with my teeth and chewing the pulp off the pit…this morning I woke up with the tingling and little tiny bumps in the corners of my mouth. Instant paranoia!!! Could it be HERPES!?!?! After stressing all day and doing tons of research, I am confident it was the mango. Hard to accept but just happy that I won’t have a massive blister exploding on my face soon.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:52 am
Wow. I am so glad I found your site. I have always been extremely allergic to poison ivy, and I always manage to get it at least once or twice a summer. As of late, I now need steroids to get over it, because it covers every inch of my body for weeks.
And 2 summers ago, while I was in the philippines, I ate alot of mango’s the first few days I was there and I had the worst allergic reaction to them too. My lips were so swollen and blistered that I could hardly talk. It lasted for a week, and needless to say I didn’t eat mango’s again.
Now last week, I experienced the same symptoms as when I’d eaten mango’s, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. But through some research, I’ve discovered that poison ivy, mango, AND cashews go hand-in-hand and when you’re allergic to one, you’re likely to be allergic to all three. And wouldn’t you know I’d just eaten a ton of cashews last week