Mango Allergy
A Skin Prick Test can Diagnose a Mango Allergy
A mango allergy is considered to be an emerging allergy. That means that although a mango allergy is not yet among the top big eight allergies, as consumption has been increasing so has the number of individuals reporting a mango allergy. The big eight allergens are wheat, peanut, seafood, milk, soya, egg, tree nuts, and fish.
Mangos do not belong to any fruit family, but rather to the Anacardiaceae family,which includes cashew and pistachio nuts, sweet pepper, sumac, poison oak, poison ivy, hog plum and Jamaican plum. While in Western countries mangos are most often eaten raw, in countries such as India, Thailand, and Malaysia, mangos are frequently used in cooked dishes with lentils or vegetables. Mango is also used as a meat tenderizer and in recipes for squash, pickles and chutney. A mango allergy has been reported by individuals in India, the Philippines, the East and West Indies, Japan, Argentina and the United States.
A mango allergy is experienced by those who have ingested or touched the mango fruit, the sap on the mango tree, the mango seed, or have come into contact with mango pollen. Adverse reactions that have occurred include facial erythema, periorbital oedema, rhinoconjuctivitus, angioedema, dyspnoea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, cough, rhinitis, asthma, anaphylaxis, swelling of lips, face and tongue, oral allergy syndrome, itchiness of the eyes or mouth and contact dermatitis. Contact dermatitis is thought to be caused by exposure to urushiol, a chemical present in the bark, stems, leaves, tree latex and skin of the mango. The same chemical is also in cashews and poison ivy and causes a similar reaction.
While cross-reactions to mangos and other substances do exist, hardly any occur between mangos, cashews and pistachios. Mangos do contain panallergins however, which means individuals who have an mango allergy also have an allergy to another substance. For instance, there are cross-reactions between a mango allergy and allergies to celery, carrots, birch pollen and mugwort pollen. Ten to fifteen percent of those people allergic to birch pollen are also allergic to mango, carrot, banana, litchi, pear and apple.
Another interesting fact is that people who have allergies to latex can also have allergies to mango, banana, passion fruit, kiwi, peach, melon, pineapple chestnut, avocado, tomato and papaya. More people have reported a cross-reaction making them allergic to mango and latex than have reported an allergy to just the mango.
A diagnosis of a mango allergy can be obtained from skin prick tests using mango pulp or mango juice. People are also more aware of eating a mango and then developing an allergic reaction because mangos are more often eaten alone than included in a dish with other ingredients. Treatment is avoiding eating mangos, which is pretty easy because you will rarely come into contact with mangos in other food dishes. The only real possibilities are in meat tenderizers and some Oriental recipes.