Mangoes vs. Laura

First of all, I should clarify that my complaint letter was a work of fiction. But next time my flight is delayed, the staff won't listen to me, and I miss an important meeting because of it, I know exactly what to write.

And now to the bad news. I think I may have an allergy to mangoes. I've had a weird chapped lip and itchy feeling around my mouth before, but I only connected it to my love of that beautiful fruit when my first mango in a while produced an itchiness that went all the way down my chin and neck and lingered.

It only takes one Google search for "mango allergy" to supply you with all the horror stories and paranoia you need, gruesome pictures included. Turns out mangoes produce a chemical similar to the irritant in poison oak and poison ivy. Poison ivy and I have already had a long and turbulent history, so I was starting to think that my beautiful relationship with mangoes would have to come to an unwilling end.

Two things give me hope. First, I learned that the allergen is mostly in the skin, so I'm hoping that if I'm more careful about that, I'll be in good shape. Also, I read at least one anecdote that said that unripe mangoes are worse, and the one I ate most recently was on the sour side.

In the meantime, I'm a bit wary of the last mango ripening on my counter. If I believe everything the Internet says, I should be treating it like a chemical weapon, if not evacuating my now contaminated apartment. Instead, I'm going to eat that sucker. Just as long as I know where the Benadryl and anti-itch cream are.