Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Beware The Alpha-Gal

 From The New York Post, April 17:

New reason to fear ticks: Extreme food allergy possible from single bite 

Now there’s a new reason to fear tick bites. It’s a potentially deadly allergy that starts with the dreaded insects. Once people are exposed, they can be stuck with a horrific food allergy for years or life.

Disease-bearing ticks lurk in grasses and wooded areas across most of the US and tick-borne diseases are on the rise according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as spring warmth brings out the ticks.

“I looked like a monster when I went in there,” said Brenda Thomas of her first visit to the emergency room for the allergy. “The hives were on my scalp, they were in my ears, in between my fingers. It was the worst allergic reaction I’ve ever, ever had. But, we had no idea at the time what it was.”

Thomas suffered allergic reactions and endured ER visits for a year and a half before she finally found an allergy specialist who discovered she developed an allergy to meat from a lone star tick bite. A blood test confirmed Thomas suffered from Alpha-gal syndrome....

....MUCH MORE