A few weeks back I had a tick on me, it had been there awhile, it was pretty deep. A couple days later I started noticing that my stomach starting cramping up after I ate. One night I even broke out in hives. I couldn't figure what was causing it. Now two weeks later, I have narrowed it down to BEEF!! I have heard about the Lonestar Tick and how it can make one allergic to beef and always said "I hope to God that don't ever happen to me". Well I am headed to the doctor in the morning to see if that is in fact what has happened. I can't imagine never eating a steak again.
OT: Tick Bite
- Thread starter Wizard.sixpack
- Start date
Coworker of mine had the same thing happen to him a couple years ago. Hasn't been able to eat red meat again without breaking into hives.
Man, I hate to hear that.
I can only pray that advances in research will catch up to your condition.
As a side note, you may try marinating portabella mushrooms as you would a steak.
My wife orders the portabella salad at Amerigos and every time I'm amazed that it tastes just like steak to me.
Hope you can adjust.
Have a friend this happened to. He can't eat any mammal meat. It has something to do with breaking down a certain protein in mammal meat. The reaction happens several hours later. I've heard it has varying affects of different people.
2 positives out of all this:
1) if you eat what your doc says...it won't affect your health in any other way
2) you can now tell the waitress "if it sucks a teat, I can not eat"
Hope this isn't the case and you get a good report at the doc.
2 positives out of all this:
1) if you eat what your doc says...it won't affect your health in any other way
2) you can now tell the waitress "if it sucks a teat, I can not eat"
Hope this isn't the case and you get a good report at the doc.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that you got bit by a radioactive tick and you'll be in the next Avengers movie. If not, this gives you a good excuse to eat the **** out of bacon for the rest of your life.
Heard of it in an article by a guy that can't eat venison anymore. Seems like other meats were ok. He and his dad got it.
Bowhunters really beware because most won't use Off because of scent reasons. I've had 3 on me this year just working my place. Stupid me forgets the Off each time.
Bacon is off the list too. If this is what he has then it's chicken and fish from now on.
This would be my own personal hell on earth.
Damn, I hope you get a good report and it's not this.
Damn, I hope you get a good report and it's not this.
Well I have to wait to find out..Doctor can't see me today. Thanks for the input guys. This has actually gotten me pretty damn scared. I am a huge meat lover! I thought at first I had all of a sudden become lactose intolerant. I even went and bought Lactaid milk. I stayed off of dairy for a few days, nothing. I then tried a small glass of milk for a test, nothing. So I was relieved that it wasn't the dairy. Then on the way home from work, I stopped and got a Baconator at Wendys. This was after going 4 or 5 days without any beef at all. Within minutes I started getting stuffy like I get during pollen season. An hour later, I start itching all over and a burning/crampy feeling in stomach. 2 hours later I have broken out in hives on my forehead, back, and legs. I take a Benadryl, wake up the next morning like nothing ever happened. I didn't have beef again for 4 days, then I came home from work and my wife had made tacos. 2 hours later, stomach/burning but no hives. I am pretty confident that beef is the problem, I just want to know from a doctor. I have read that just getting bit once may lessen the severity and longevity of it. I also read that the longer the tick is on you makes a difference as well.
I have this allergy. Its called alpha-gal. I got bit by a lonestar tick in may of last year and broke out in hives after I ate beef. I went to the ER early one morning after I awoke with hives all over my back and arms with my lips swollen badly. There is no cure-just have to have blood drawn every six months to check my levels. This allergy is spreading like wild fire especially all across the southeast and to the northeast. The female lone star has a white dot on its back. The good news is that if you're only bit one time and contact this allergy that its a good possibility that it will go away over time which is usually a year or two. I was bitten again back in february but it did'nt seem to make it worse as not all lone star ticks carry this allergy. These particular ticks are very aggresive. Its not all mammalian meat that this reacts to as I can still eat pork with no problems. My levels did go way down from twenty one times above normal last year to two times above normal in january. Checked again in june and it went back up to four times above normal. Go back again in december. It sucks but things can always be worse,like having cancer.
If this doesn't scare the hell out of hunters I do not know what does. Is there a stronger and easily accessible insect repellent other than deet?
They claim permethrin will kill ticks if they come in contact with it. Its supposed to last several washings.
Spray your clothes in permethrin. It actually kills the ticks, not just repels them. It works up to 6 washes which means you can go scent free. They claim it is already scent free but I like to wash my clothes anyway. Put your thermacell out for the skeeters on the stand because I don't think it repels them enough for me.
I've gotten home from hunting and had upwards of ten dead ticks on my pant legs and boots when using this stuff.
As a Forester, the number 1 advice I can give is don't give them an easy entrance. Tuck your pants leg into your boots (lace'em tight) and wear a long sleeved shirt and tuck it into your pants. I once removed 37 of the blood suckers on a turkey hunt in S. Missouri.
Do the larval "seed ticks" carry it that you know of? I got absolutely worn out by them a few weeks ago. Not showing any symptoms or anything, but it's definitely concerning because my line of work finds me regularly picking seed ticks off of me this time of year.
I dont think seed ticks are a problem. The main thing to keep in mind is how quick you get the tick off off you once it bites you. Unfortunately I didnt take a shower that night after going to put a game camera out. I was in the woods maybe 10 minutes. I slept with it attached overnight.
Yes. Walmart, Dick's, Academy, Cabela's, and it is on Amazon and is Prime eligible. I buy it on amazon for that reason and the price.
It is expensive but the multiple washes help on that a lot.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001...nt+clothes&dpPl=1&dpID=51sMNFe6SiL&ref=plSrch
ETA: read the directions on it. You don't spray this on like Off products. Spray it on your clothes before putting them on and let it dry. It's not good to spray it on your skin. No idea how it's safe after drying in your clothes but I'd rather take that risk than tick diseases.
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Not sure about seed ticks. There is also the male lone star tick which has no marking on its back. This allergy is for real and I've tried to tell everyone I can about it. Guess I should have mentioned it on this site. A friend of mine got bit by one a while back but so far hasn't had any symptoms. You can get bit by one and it could take two months for it to show up. Mine was two weeks. Thing is, I was sodding my yard when one bit me.
WIKI SEZ
The allergy was first formally identified as originating from tick bites in a 2009 paper by Dr Sheryl van Nunen. Prior to the paper's publication, Thomas Platts-Millsand Scott Commins, were attempting to discover why some patients were reacting negatively to the carbohydrate in the cancer drug Cetuximab.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP] They had previously hypothesized that a fungal infection or parasite could lead to the allergy.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][8][/SUP] It wasn't until Platts-Mills was bitten by a tick and developed alpha-gal allergies that his team also came to the conclusion that there was a link between tick bites and the allergy.[SUP][8][/SUP]
Alpha-gal allergies are very similar to Pork-Cat Syndrome and hence misidentification can occur. Pork-cat syndrome usually elicits an immediate allergic response, while a true alpha-gal allergy typically features a delayed allergic reaction of 3 to 8 hours after ingestion of the allergen. [SUP][9][/SUP]
[h=3]Cause[edit][/h]Alpha-gal allergies develop after a person has been bitten by the Lone Star Tick in the United States, the European Castor Bean Tick, and the Paralysis Tick inAustralia.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP] Alpha-gal is not naturally present in apes and humans, but is in all other mammals. If a tick feeds on another mammal, the alpha-gal will remain in itsalimentary tract.[SUP][2][/SUP] The tick will then inject the alpha-gal into a person's skin, which in turn will cause the immune system to release a flood of immunoglobulin E antibodies (a.k.a. IgE) to fight off the foreign carbohydrate.[SUP][2][/SUP][SUP][6][/SUP] Researchers still do not know which specific component of tick saliva causes the reaction.[SUP][10][/SUP]
A 2012 preliminary study found unexpectedly high rates of alpha-gal allergies in the Western and North Central parts of the United States, which suggests that the allergy may be spread by unknown tick species.[SUP][4][/SUP] Examples of alpha-gal allergies were even present in Hawaii, where none of the ticks identified with the allergies live.[SUP][10][/SUP] Human factors were suggested but no specific examples were provided.[SUP][4][/SUP]
[h=3]Symptoms[edit][/h]A typical allergic reaction to alpha gal has a delayed onset, occurring 3–8 hours after the consumption of mammalian meat products, instead of the typical rapid onset with most food allergies. After the delayed onset, the allergic response is typical of most food allergies, and especially an IgE mediated allergy, including severe whole-body itching, hives, angioedema, gastrointestinal upset, and possible anaphylaxis.[SUP][11][/SUP] These symptoms are caused by too many IgE antibodies attacking the allergen, in this case the alpha-gal.[SUP][6][/SUP] In 70% of cases the reaction is accompanied by respiratory distress and as such is particularly harmful to those with asthma.[SUP][12][/SUP]
Alpha-gal allergies are the first food allergies to come with the possibility of delayed anaphylaxis.[SUP][12][/SUP][SUP][13][/SUP] It is also the first food-related allergy to be associated with a carbohydrate, rather than a protein.[SUP][13][/SUP][SUP][14][/SUP]
[h=3]Treatment and medical issues[edit][/h]Blood tests for IgE response indicating alpha gal allergy have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and must usually be purchased by private individuals, but are available and are in use.[SUP][5][/SUP]
Alpha-gal is present in the anti-cancer drug Cetuximab, as well as the IV fluid replacements Gelofusine and Haemaccel. Blood thinners derived from porcine intestine and replacement heart valves derived from porcine tissue may also contain alpha-gal.[SUP][6][/SUP]
There has been at least one instance of a man with an alpha-gal allergy going into anaphylaxis after receiving a heart-valve.[SUP][6][/SUP] Some researchers have suggested that the alpha-gal which is prevalent in pig's tissue, and used for xenografts, may contribute to organ rejection.[SUP][15][/SUP]
Unlike most food allergies, the alpha-gal allergy can recede with time, as long as the person is not bitten by another tick. The recovery period can take anywhere from eight months to five years.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][8][/SUP][SUP][10][/SUP] This recovery potential is not confirmed, and some patients have had this allergy for several years. More research needs to be conducted to determine why some patients seem to recover and some do not
The allergy was first formally identified as originating from tick bites in a 2009 paper by Dr Sheryl van Nunen. Prior to the paper's publication, Thomas Platts-Millsand Scott Commins, were attempting to discover why some patients were reacting negatively to the carbohydrate in the cancer drug Cetuximab.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP] They had previously hypothesized that a fungal infection or parasite could lead to the allergy.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][8][/SUP] It wasn't until Platts-Mills was bitten by a tick and developed alpha-gal allergies that his team also came to the conclusion that there was a link between tick bites and the allergy.[SUP][8][/SUP]
Alpha-gal allergies are very similar to Pork-Cat Syndrome and hence misidentification can occur. Pork-cat syndrome usually elicits an immediate allergic response, while a true alpha-gal allergy typically features a delayed allergic reaction of 3 to 8 hours after ingestion of the allergen. [SUP][9][/SUP]
[h=3]Cause[edit][/h]Alpha-gal allergies develop after a person has been bitten by the Lone Star Tick in the United States, the European Castor Bean Tick, and the Paralysis Tick inAustralia.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP] Alpha-gal is not naturally present in apes and humans, but is in all other mammals. If a tick feeds on another mammal, the alpha-gal will remain in itsalimentary tract.[SUP][2][/SUP] The tick will then inject the alpha-gal into a person's skin, which in turn will cause the immune system to release a flood of immunoglobulin E antibodies (a.k.a. IgE) to fight off the foreign carbohydrate.[SUP][2][/SUP][SUP][6][/SUP] Researchers still do not know which specific component of tick saliva causes the reaction.[SUP][10][/SUP]
A 2012 preliminary study found unexpectedly high rates of alpha-gal allergies in the Western and North Central parts of the United States, which suggests that the allergy may be spread by unknown tick species.[SUP][4][/SUP] Examples of alpha-gal allergies were even present in Hawaii, where none of the ticks identified with the allergies live.[SUP][10][/SUP] Human factors were suggested but no specific examples were provided.[SUP][4][/SUP]
[h=3]Symptoms[edit][/h]A typical allergic reaction to alpha gal has a delayed onset, occurring 3–8 hours after the consumption of mammalian meat products, instead of the typical rapid onset with most food allergies. After the delayed onset, the allergic response is typical of most food allergies, and especially an IgE mediated allergy, including severe whole-body itching, hives, angioedema, gastrointestinal upset, and possible anaphylaxis.[SUP][11][/SUP] These symptoms are caused by too many IgE antibodies attacking the allergen, in this case the alpha-gal.[SUP][6][/SUP] In 70% of cases the reaction is accompanied by respiratory distress and as such is particularly harmful to those with asthma.[SUP][12][/SUP]
Alpha-gal allergies are the first food allergies to come with the possibility of delayed anaphylaxis.[SUP][12][/SUP][SUP][13][/SUP] It is also the first food-related allergy to be associated with a carbohydrate, rather than a protein.[SUP][13][/SUP][SUP][14][/SUP]
[h=3]Treatment and medical issues[edit][/h]Blood tests for IgE response indicating alpha gal allergy have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and must usually be purchased by private individuals, but are available and are in use.[SUP][5][/SUP]
Alpha-gal is present in the anti-cancer drug Cetuximab, as well as the IV fluid replacements Gelofusine and Haemaccel. Blood thinners derived from porcine intestine and replacement heart valves derived from porcine tissue may also contain alpha-gal.[SUP][6][/SUP]
There has been at least one instance of a man with an alpha-gal allergy going into anaphylaxis after receiving a heart-valve.[SUP][6][/SUP] Some researchers have suggested that the alpha-gal which is prevalent in pig's tissue, and used for xenografts, may contribute to organ rejection.[SUP][15][/SUP]
Unlike most food allergies, the alpha-gal allergy can recede with time, as long as the person is not bitten by another tick. The recovery period can take anywhere from eight months to five years.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][8][/SUP][SUP][10][/SUP] This recovery potential is not confirmed, and some patients have had this allergy for several years. More research needs to be conducted to determine why some patients seem to recover and some do not
Unfortunately, yes. I have this allergy and it came a few weeks after I had gotten eaten up with what I thought were chiggers. Turned out that they were probably seed ticks. My allergist provided me with the journal article on this alpha-gal and I call the MD in Virginia who was lead on the study. He absolutely said that it could have been seed ticks that gave it to me. BTW, John Grisham also has this allergy. Not usually an SPS poster or troll. I do enjoy reading some and I thought I had something to add to this. It sucks but it could be worse. I could be allergic to craft beer.