Alpha Gal

[mlh]

I wasn’t sure where to post this under the Medic or what’s cooking. Many people haven’t heard of Alpha Gal but it a tick disease caused by the Loan Star Tick. There won’t be any beef or pork or any mammal be cooking I’m allergic to them. This disease makes you allergic to anything mammal you eat including lots of things you would never think about including
Gummies
Marshmallows
Jell-O
Catgut sutures
Collagen-derived contact lenses
Shampoo
Tattoo ink
You can eat fish and chicken if it isn’t cooked close to beef. Some people can’t even smell beef being cooked.
I woke up about a month ago itching. It got worse I broke out itching with my lips and tongue swollen. I have a mild case. I’m lucky.
This disease is only in the South East for now but is spreading. So if you are in this part of the country be careful if you like a nice juicy hamburger. I’m glad my last one was a nice one cooked on the grill. I wish I would’ve had a thick slice of homegrown tomato on it. You can get meatless “hamburger” and if you don’t expect it to be hamburger it is ok but it isn’t hamburger.
Lynwood

[Carl n Susan]

Wow! I Googled Alpha Gal and now know that it is something a meat lover like me doesn't want.

[Jay & Bobbie]

I have had Alpha Gal for several years now. Mine is mild and I can occasionally eat pork bacon and ham ( no beef, lamb, wild game, etc).
I carry benadryl and eppi pen now just in case.
I remember having a break-out in Iowa a few years back, DW had to make a fast trip to the World's largest truck stop to get some benadryl.
We grind and make chicken sausage and ground chicken. It's tolerable.

[jeffba]

WHAT no bacon!! that is a nasty disease. My wife was a vegetarian. She was also a great cook. she could make meals such that I didn't care if they did not have meat in them.

[twindman]

I was lucky I guess, 5-6 years ago. Timeshare in Branson had ticks in a stuffed chair. I was a hog and no one else used the chair - lucky them. Had one tick, and got rid of it. Then next day had another. No big deal - HA.
I think a week or 2 later I took a shower before bed and got out and it was chilly. I started having uncontrollable shivers. Finally got under an electric blanket to stop them. Next day was kind of weak and didn't eat much. We drove to Denver and got in to a doctor. I don't remember much details but wife said I got some antibiotics. By then I was feeling better, so didn't take the drugs, apparently. No problems after that.
Internet says one of the things you get is a bacterial infection that is hard to spell (LOL) and starts with an E. Said you need drugs right away or it can get worse and even kill you. YIKES. My symptoms matched exactly to this disease. Like I said, I was lucky. Nasty boogers!

[mlh]

I actually get ticks off of me almost every day. I will average over one per day in the spring and summer. The key to finding them is an itchy spot. Look for a red itchy spot with a tiny black dot in it. A dot smaller than the head of a pin and that is counting its legs. The big ones are easy they are over an 1/8 inch and you can feel them crawling. The loan Star tick is a little smaller than your regular dog tick and they are the ones you haft to be worried about.
Lynwood

[Jay & Bobbie]

My wife calls me a "tick magnet".
I'm the same way. The lone star tick is really small and the one that carrys the alpha gal protein.

[Mikendebbie]

When I was a kid in East Texas I used to get ticks all the time. One time in particular (summer ‘62 I was 7 yrs old) my cousin and I were following a creek bed and I stepped on a pile of leaves and fell into a hole maybe shin deep. It must have been a tick nest - if there is such a thing. When I got home I felt itchy. My mom put me in the bathtub and picked over 100 ticks off me. That was after I had scratched a bunch off. I remember my shins were black - covered solid with little ticks. I don’t recall the aftermath and recovery being a problem. If my mom was still here I would double check the facts with her.

I suppose I should “knock on wood” that I did not get some disease from my tick bites as a kid. Maybe them old-school ticks had better dental hygiene back then. Beats me.

[DadsHemi]

OMG… that would be very hard to deal with. With all the product out their it is a constant awareness.