watermelon

My boys have food allergies, so I'm always on the lookout for hives on their faces after eating something. Lately, they've been getting red splotches around their mouth after eating watermelon. I'm not sure they're hives. Usually the hives look more like a red spot with a little raised whitish bump in the middle. This looks like it could be dry skin patches or just irritation.

Can the acid in watermelon juice irritate skin??

I'm praying they don't have yet another food allergy

Michelle

 

We've had a similar experience with our DD and DS. They do not have any known food allergies at this point (We have NOT introduced seafood/shellfish, chocolate, or nuts.) We have noticed that their faces do turn red and look irritated when large amounts of watermelon are eaten. They don't seem to be bothered by it, but it looks like it would. We typically wipe their faces immediately with water and wash the watermelon "juice" off.

 

We get this, too. I don't think it's a real allergy, just something they'll be sensitive to until they get a little older. The boys ADORE watermelon, and the skin irritation doesn't slow them down a bit, but I try to limit how often we have it just the same.

 

I have noticed that my kids get red blotches around the mouth after eating watermelon too. It doesn't seem to bother their stomachs or hurt them systemically in any way, so it's not an allergy (or even a food sensitivity) -- like you said, I think it's just something in the juice that irritates their skin. I find that it irritates my skin a little bit too, though obviously I don't drip quite as much down my chin. :icon_biggrin: