Mango Allergy

Just thought I'd post a couple pics of the babies. One is Rahma, whose smile brightens my days. This girl is ADORABLE. She giggles so much! She's the baby who will laugh when someone else is being tickled! I love her and often carry her around or hold her while I'm doing office work. I just can't get enough of her...except maybe when she's occasionally cranky. :) The other picture is of Grace and Jackson. I haven't quite figured out Grace yet. Sometimes she cries and I'm not sure why. Jackson is just a normal little baby...cute like all our babies at Cradle of Love!

I titled this post "Mango Allergy" because, well, I've had a run-in with mangoes. I love mango! Back home I've often reacted to the skin of the mango, but I wasn't sure if it was actually the fruit or the pesticides on it, since it was only the outside. Unfortunately I made an unwise decision here and assumed it was pesticides and that I wouldn't react to Tanzanian mango. Boy, was I wrong! I've had the worst mango reaction I've ever had! My lips and chin broke out into a very itchy rash the next day. Over the next week the rash moved across my chin to my jawline and onto my eyelids! Then on Sabbath it migrated to my forearms, my hands, and my feet! Not fun!

The good news is that I have researched mango allergies and discovered that it IS only the skin I'm allergic to. My allergy is caused by the sap from the tree, which gets onto the skin. The sap has an oil in it that is similar to poison oak. I've always been very allergic to poison oak!

My roommates have graciously offered to peel mangoes for me from now on. If they're not around, I do have a good supply of latex gloves. :)

The rash on my face is almost gone (it's been just over a week). My hands and feet are still definitely broken out. I'm expecting that to fade away by the end of the week.

In other news, 2 new volunteers from Norway arrived yesterday. They're fun and friendly and I'm excited about spending the next few months with them.