Have you heard of poison mango?

canadandy

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Apr 17, 2008
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Growing up in Canada I suffered badly from Poison Ivy allergic reactions. I know it doesn't exist in this form here in the DR. But 3 times in the last year I have had an allergic reaction reminding me of my youth. I have a small garden here with some trees. Just realized the only one I touched before this last breakout was the mango tree. Look out wikipedia, yep, same urushiol. Now I have to get someone to cut the tree down. And I love mangos!
 
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Trainman33

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Dec 11, 2009
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You might brush into it accidentally. Some people like me react bad enough to even from that, that I need to get cortizone shots.
 

puryear270

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Aug 26, 2009
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Before you cut the tree, you might consider a visit to an allergy specialist. Perhaps others on the forum could recommend an allergist in your area.
 

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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this wild flower is a more likely cause- lantana

Lantana01.jpg
 

canadandy

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Apr 17, 2008
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I haven't seen this one in my garden. Does "Lantana" give the same allergic reaction as urushiol?
 
May 29, 2006
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Pencil tree sap can also cause some bad reactions. It has a toxic white latex sap can cause skin irritation. I know a guy who went blind on one side for three days because he rubbed his eye after breaking a branch of it and a dog that needed to go to a vet because her skin got infected where it got on her.

pencil_tree_x.jpg


In short, there are a lot of nasty plants in the DR.
 

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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it bring me out in a rash from the leaves - i beleive every part is poisonous thats why they machete them down on pasture land - there is also a purple version
 

canadandy

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Apr 17, 2008
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I don't have a pencil tree in my garden either.
Has anyone else had a reaction to mango trees?
 

las2137

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Sep 1, 2008
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I don't have a pencil tree in my garden either.
Has anyone else had a reaction to mango trees?

I am allergic to mango sap, but not the fruit itself. If I come into contact with the sap, I break out in blisters and rashes and suffer. I can only eat mango if it is cleaned properly first.

I've never lived close enough to a mango tree to find out if I have other reactions to the tree itself.
 

belgiank

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Jun 13, 2009
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We've trimmed a lot of trees. You just can't cut it down completely, or to a stump.

AE

ask any Dominican, they have a way to circumvent that... I believe it ignites itself by mistake, right after a thunderstorm... :bunny:

they also have a special hedge here... if you break of a branch trying to break through it releases some kind of milky white fluid, which will burn you badly...

why not put a circle of chicken-wire around the mango tree, and still enjoy the fruits?
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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ask any Dominican, they have a way to circumvent that... I believe it ignites itself by mistake, right after a thunderstorm... :bunny:

Well, if you live in the campo, have a lot of privacy, get along very well with all your neighbors, and don't plan to use the wood to build anything, anything is possible. We know people who were caught because someone ratted them out. There's always someone who doesn't like someone else, is jealous of them, or in the case of gringos cutting trees, well, that's just another story.

In our case, we want to build furniture with our mahogany and mango trees, so we have to do it the legal way. We'd be in BIG trouble if we didn't have a permit with the tree on the way to the sawmill.

AE
 

TravelHippo

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Mar 24, 2008
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I too am allergic to mango sap and have broken out quite badly about 3 or 4 times in the past two years... first few because I didn't know the cause and the last time because I too now have a mango tree (two acutally) in my yard which I got the reaction from trimming the tree, rather than touching mangoes this time... but that was really my own silly fault!

If I were you, I certainly wouldn't cut down the tree. Just try to be careful and avoid touching the sap as much as possible. If you do touch it accidentally, quickly wash your hands with soap and water before touching any other part of your body or face. I've been careful since the last time, and haven't had any problems, even with two huge mango trees and loads of fallen mangoes in my yard!

The mango sap contains the same thing that makes poison ivy and poison oak poisonous, just in a lower dose, therefore it only affects about 4% of people (usually the same people who get really bad reactions to poison ivy). The fruit itself is harmless.... which is good because this way I can still drink mango smoothies, but have someone else to all the work of peeling and cutting up the fruit! ;)