Mangos.
They're lovely, right? These softball sized fruits that look like a sunrise, all at once green and red and golden.
Tearing open the flesh reveals a savory sweet and delectable treat. Crimson pearls piled high on tables and spilling out of baskets amongst the fruit and vegetable stands at The Mercado.
Mango trees are plentiful here in Honduras. And while we do not have any in our yard, they can be seen reaching over the walls of our surrounding neighbors and in the gardens of many of our Embassy friends.
But there is a dark side to this sunshiney fruit. One that us norteamericanos have little knowledge of, since most of us hail from areas where the mango is considered exotic and expensive.
One that poor Hubster had to find out the hard way.
Hubby woke up one morning with open blisters on his neck surrounded by red, swollen skin. It looked like a really bad sunburn, but in such a localized area that there was no way to sunburn so horribly in such a pattern.
After checking in with friends and the Health Unit at the Embassy, Hubby discovered that the source of his angry rash was the sap of a mango tree.
Because mango sap = poison ivy.
I know, right! Who knew?
Hubster had stood under a mango tree after a run the evening before, shaking a branch so the freshly fallen raindrops would cool him off. A green mango fell and bounced to the ground, freeing up the sap to flow along with the rain.
We just didn't know!
As I discovered through a quick Google search, mangos contain the chemical urushiol, the same oil that gives poison ivy its potent power. The chemical can be found in the skin of the mangoes, as well as the sap of the tree and possibly the bark and leaves themselves.
So the next time you are in a tropical mood, and feel the need to devour a plump juicy mango, please take great care.
If a mango gives you Mango Burn, and you have to take steroids to conteract the pain and swelling, then you might end up with Roid Rage, turn into Godzilla and destroy your whole town.
Don't let mangoes destroy your whole town! Eat your mangoes with caution!
