Yes, our neighbor across the road was diagnosed several years ago and now he cannot eat red meat. We live on rural acreage as do they and he likely got it from a tick bite. They have never been ’in the woods’ much until they moved here about 8 years ago, so I don’t know if that had anything to do with his reaction at a later age or not.

Just curious, Outside, do you know if he can eat dairy products and whether store bought foods containing carrageenan set it off?

I don’t know, sorry. I can ask though. I had not heard about the connection to carrageenan but it would make sense, especially for someone who had severe reactions.

Not related to Alpha Gal, but my friend had knee replacement a few months ago snd she says she can’t drink wine now. She thinks the anesthetic affected her taste buds and now a sip of wine is like vinegar to her. Ever heard of that? She said she’ll stick to beer.

This is what AI summarizes which seems consistent with other medical articles: Anesthesia can cause temporary taste and smell changes (dysgeusia/anosmia), making foods taste metallic, bland, or different due to effects on nerves, often resolving in days or weeks, but sometimes lasting longer, affecting food enjoyment and nutrition, with specific agents like propofol linked to effects, and dental blocks affecting nerves directly. Reactions vary from mild taste dulling to heightened sensitivity, impacting quality of life and potentially leading to dietary issues, with some patients experiencing significant shifts in food tolerance post-surgery.

Yet another strange human ailment.

I hope there are scientists somewhere working on how to rid earth of ticks.

lacey, this must be horrible. Not a wise thing for T and brain wormstruck RFK, Jr. to be killing the NIH and research.

I think the ticks probably spread my animal and pet travel. I live in New England and have been bitten by deer ticks in very cold weather.

Lacey, is this condition permanent?

My husband and I hike frequently, and we treat our clothes monthly with permethrin, plus we slather on bug repellent - the Lone Star tick is very common where we live, and we really don't want to end up with Alpha Gal. There are so many foods that contain red meat, or products from animals that have red meat... it's hard for people to avoid.

Ticks are useless. Up there with mosquitoes.

This happened to my sister. Many many years later, she now can eat meat but no longer wants to!

I asked my neighbor about what her husband did and didn’t eat besides red meat and if he avoided other things like the gelatin capsules. Here is what she said….

‘All of those things can cause reactions. AGS (alpha-gal syndrome) has a sensitivity scale of 1-7. Robert is a 6, so he has to be careful. He eats a little cheese but not much other dairy. He likes Planet Oat milk & they have a big variety he enjoys. Breyers makes a good ice cream, too. Changing milk really lowered his blood pressure. All mammal meat is a no go. Fish, fowl, seafood is good. I can't cook beef or pork in the house; just reheating a slice of cooked bacon can trigger side effects. Alcohol makes it worse.

A relative of ours, with a rating of 3, underwent acupuncture while holding a pound of raw beef. It cured him completely. Sounds strange but apparently it works, at least on milder cases. Rob says he's happy not eating those things because his CBC is so much better. Cholesterol levels especially. This is a good website for info...

LINK

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://alphagalinformation.org/&ved=2ahUKEwi3k9iN_fyRAxXGnGoFHSxcBGEQFnoECBgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2qoq95XAiveNOQcJkSnyXv

eld,interesting to know your sister got over it. First I've heard that it was possible. But there really is so little known about it.

No experience with Alpha-gal but FWIW I found a (not attached or engorged) a lone star tick in central Maine. So like all ticks (and the diseases they carry) their range is spreading.

Laceyvail, I just asked my sister and for her it took 7 years.

I just came across this:

"Once someone uses a tool like TickSpotters (and) sends us a picture of a lone star tick, we can get them a serum within 72 hours before they develop an antibody," Mather said.

Has anyone heard of this?

petalique, what is the link to that statement?

Also, often people have no idea they've gotten a tick bite. Often they get them from tiny immature ticks, seed ticks, never really see them and think they've gotten the bites from chiggers.

Does Massachusetts Need to Worry About the Lone Star Tick?

🔹 https://fun107.com/lone-star-tick-massachusetts/

Thomas Mather is a professor of plant sciences and entomology at the University of Rhode Island. He is the director of the university’s Center for Vector-Borne Disease and its TickEncounter Resource Center, and he says reports of the lone star tick have increased by 300% between 1999 and 2023.

The name "lone star" comes from the distinctive white mark on the backs of female lone star ticks, and they are very aggressive once they find a host.

“They can be in swarms,” Mather said. “When they get on you, they move very fast. When they latch onto your clothing, they can be underneath your shirt before you have a chance to see them.”

The bite of a lone star tick causes alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) which is an allergy to alpha-gal, a sugar found in the tissues of all mammals except humans and other primates.

“This can trigger an individual’s immune system to respond by producing antibodies against alpha-gal, a reaction called sensitization, since the immune system is now sensitive to alpha-gal,” according to EcoRI.

In other words, the person who gets bit could become allergic to red meat, dairy, gelatin or other mammal-derived products.

Are Lone Star Ticks in Massachusetts?

Mather found that lone star ticks prefer to feed on white-tailed deer and use them as reproductive hosts.

In a recent survey, lone star ticks were found in nearly 30 Rhode Island zip codes and they continue to move northeast due to the reproductive success of white-tailed deer.

Massachusetts has no shortage of white-tailed deer, which means it is becoming likelier for humans to come in contact with lone star ticks.

According to EcoRI, Mather is working closely with the CDC, the University of Massachusetts and Martha’s Vineyard to develop an action plan for AGS.

“Once someone uses a tool like TickSpotters (and) sends us a picture of a lone star tick, we can get them a serum within 72 hours before they develop an antibody,” Mather said.

How to Remove a Tick

MassDPH suggests following these steps to safely remove ticks:

• Use a fine pair of tweezers to grip the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull straight out with steady pressure.
• Do not apply kerosene, petroleum jelly, nail polish, or a hot match tip to remove the tick. These measures are not effective and may result in injury.
• Circle the calendar date and note where on the body the tick was removed. You may want to save the tick for identification.

As the warm weather approaches, more opportunities for outside activities are drawing near. Educate yourself on how to properly deal with this fast-moving tick.

Especially if you want to keep eating red meat.

@laceyvail, very true about the tiny ones. All the lone stars we have found are very small. Even though we try to spray our shoes, clothing and everywhere we can, they find their way. We’ve had them drop out of trees for sure. So when I’m working on plants around a tree I’m always wearing a hat. Once we bought a couple of bales of pine straw for mulch that must have been full of ticks. We found lots after spreading that. And we always strip our clothes in the laundry room and throw them in the washer when we come in. Still I’ve found one crawling on the bathroom floor a few times.

@eld6161, I think many become accustomed to the no red meat diet and the health benefits and don’t go back. My neighbor said the same about her husband. He has seen so many benefits, he would likely only enjoy a few things like a bit of cheese now and then.

I don't have alpha gal, and sure hope I don't get it because I like meat. That said, I don't eat much of it and almost all I eat is grass fed and grass finished. I'm able to buy it from a local specialty store that sells a wide range of locally raised grass fed meat and poultry. It's quite expensive, but worth it.

I recently learned from a People's Pharmacy show that it's believed that in pre-industrial times the ration of Omega 6 to Omega 3 was 3-1 to 1. In most Americans today it's 40 to 1--the cause of the vast inflammation we are seeing as the root cause of so many illnesses ranging from cancer to heart disease to--well you name it. The ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 in industrial raised meat is 15-25 to 1. It's about 3 to 1 in pasture raised and pasture finished meat. It has to do with the feeding of grain and it's the same reason why farmed fish are not healthy and why so many people take Omega 3 in capsule form, though it's not at all clear that taking capsules can make up for a massively heavy omega 6 intake.

Just to add, the paleo diet of mainly meat is absolutely nothing like what our early ancestors ate. (I speak here as someone with a MA from Harvard in Anthropology, specialty archaeology.) Hunter and gathering people gorged on meat--when they had it. But most of the diet was of vegetable origin and very high in fiber. Arctic peoples, of course, ate an entirely meat diet--but they and their lifestyle was highly specialized for their very extreme climate and the demands it made on their bodies.

My husband was dignosed 15 months ago. Mostly GI reaction, no respiratory distress so far. Even though he avoids all mammal products, it still does not seem to be fully controlled.

One difficulty is that reactions are highly irregular; you may react on a very different level tomorrow than you did yesterday to the same irritant. Physical exercise can worsen symptoms.

I checked with two docs - both had heard of it and both had diagnosed it in patients. Both said it's becoming better known as it becomes more prevalent.

One called to my attention a podcast in the Radiolab series from 2016 and said it was worth listening to (or reading the transcript of). There's also an update in the Radiolab library, called Return of Alpha Gal, from 2021.

Edit for PS

Be careful with People's Pharmacy stuff. They often write up unproven, uninvestigated anecdotal information. Sometimes from just a few individuals, sometimes just one, from which readers can get the wrong impression.

Not so, Elmer, about the People's Pharmacy unless it's the rare shows during with people call in home remedies. In any case, information about omega 6 and 3 connections and ratios can be found on many, many sites.

I said:

" They often write up unproven, uninvestigated anecdotal information "

Write. As in, on its website.

Your comment is directly on point. Any org whose standards stoop to allowing dissemination of "home remedies" can't hardly be seen as being credible from a medical science standpoint. In my opinion.

And yet, many of the home remedies mentioned work really well for people. The most astonishing one is the use of soy sauce for a burn. I've used it ever since I heard about it and it's efficacy is amazing; I always use it on myself and once on the face of my toddler grandchild with remarkable results. In a show after it was mentioned, a former army medic confirmed that he carried it in the field for burns. Another, the use of pickle juice or vinegar for muscle cramps, the body mechanism of which baffled the show hosts was later explained by a medical specialist.

When you have only little knowledge of a subject, Elmer, it's best to just keep quiet.

Of course the best thing is prevention of a tick bite of any type, but if you do have one that has latched on, this tool is great for removing one. Better than tweezers imo because you actually slide the metal part under the tick against the skin and gently lift out rather than trying to pull (often in an odd direction) and don’t get the entire mouth part. I bought one several years ago at Amazin.

" When you have only little knowledge of a subject, Elmer, it's best to just keep quiet. "

Here's a thought for you to consider, something maybe your parents didn't teach you or you missed learning along the way - simply disagreeing with another person's view doesn't give you the right to be rude.

You're welcome to live your life following home remedies to the ends of the earth. Most are usually bogus, the consequences of such foolishness will be yours alone. As you start this chapter of your life, try to act a bit more like adults do. Start with today's thread with "mental health" in the title to help you turn over a new leaf.

I should have known better than to reply to Fudd.

I encourage you to take a look at the Try This thread started by HU-113737678 .

Elmer, I clicked on that link and a page came up that offered me a year’s supply* of perfect fresh Maine lobster 🦞.

* Ten 2Lb lobsters weekly.

I could not locate the specific Try This thread. More specific link?

Try this. I didn't intend the comment to be evasive.

Try this today for your mental health

I'd love a year's supply of Maine lobsters, but 20 pounds a week would be too much.