Gswitz Posted May 31 Posted May 31 I got bitten by a tick in my front yard. Now I can't eat pork, beef, lamb... and dairy is iffy. 4
Notes_Norton Posted May 31 Posted May 31 Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Is there a remedy? Will it pass in time?
Syphus Posted May 31 Posted May 31 Just read it may pass in time (5 years?). Sucks that a small bug can set off such a reaction. For those who are interested: Alpha-gal is a sugar molecule that humans don’t have in their system, but a lot of animals do. This includes cows, bison, deer, pigs, sheep, and lambs. If a person is bitten by a lone star tick and it transmits the alpha-gal molecule, the person may develop an antibody reaction. Syphus
Shane_B. Posted May 31 Posted May 31 I'm never going outside again. I'd die if I couldn't eat any of that.
Rain Posted June 1 Posted June 1 (edited) 23 hours ago, Gswitz said: I got bitten by a tick in my front yard. Now I can't eat pork, beef, lamb... and dairy is iffy. That's awful, man. I'm sorry for you. I don't eat bacon, but no beef and no dairy products either - yikes... Being Vegan voluntarily sounds awful enough, but being forced to? You don't even get to brag and act like you're better than everyone - which is apparently the only outlet for the frustration of being stuck eating grass. Hopefully, you will recover. Edited June 1 by Rain
mettelus Posted June 1 Posted June 1 That totally sucks I never really read up on Alpha-gal Syndrome (AGS) before but that can carry with it some serious allergies in addition to just the red meat part. Definitely follow up with a physician on that one, especially for the "People with AGS may also react to other products containing alpha-gal, including medications and personal care products." Says predominantly carried by Lone Star ticks, but also deer ticks (the ones that primarily carry Lyme disease)... this site has a good listing of ticks, but deer ticks I have seen are way smaller than what they show there (like 1mm in diameter). One thing I have done, more specifically for chiggers and when I am working where they like to nest, is wear long john under jeans and pull socks up over the bottom of the long johns. Even with chiggers (smaller than most ticks), they will not break that fabric barrier and stop climbing at your belt. Once back inside, all of those clothes go into the washer immediately and I take a shower before they can burrow (chiggers are one of the nastiest mites there is). After having roughly 400 chiggers burrow on my legs once, there is never going to be a repeat to that event. Although long johns are not practical when just doing things outside for fun, be cognizant of the risks in your surroundings and how to deal with them. Hopefully that will pass over time.
T Boog Posted June 1 Posted June 1 It's super ironic that I just came across this post. I was just walking in the park and something stung the hell out of me right between my fingers. I squished it instantly and it fell but I couldn't find it so I don't know what it was. I was under the trees so it may have been a caterpillar, a bee or a sandfly maybe. Anyway, it's red and it's burning. If I don't make it, I want y'all to know that I hate all of you for outliving me. 😡 2
Gswitz Posted June 2 Author Posted June 2 It sucks. Music therapy today with neighbors helped. Played for hours. Yay. I'm managing. 1
michaelhanson Posted June 2 Posted June 2 13 hours ago, T Boog said: It's super ironic that I just came across this post. I was just walking in the park and something stung the hell out of me right between my fingers. I squished it instantly and it fell but I couldn't find it so I don't know what it was. I was under the trees so it may have been a caterpillar, a bee or a sandfly maybe. Anyway, it's red and it's burning. If I don't make it, I want y'all to know that I hate all of you for outliving me. 😡 Well, it’s 13 hours later and we’ve yet to hear from T Boog. I recon he hates us all. 1
michaelhanson Posted June 2 Posted June 2 On 5/31/2025 at 6:13 AM, Gswitz said: I got bitten by a tick in my front yard. Now I can't eat pork, beef, lamb... and dairy is iffy. I’m not sure if I could survive that long without ice cream. Thats brutal and sorry to hear this.
Amberwolf Posted June 2 Posted June 2 I sympathize. My guts have become allergic to wheat (but it isn't celiac, I passed their blood tests with zero reaction). You don't realize how many many many many things have wheat in them until you can't eat them anymore. "gluten-free" or non-wheat alternatives to most of them are unnacceptable, either in taste, texture, cost, or some other "feature" of them. I've been learning to make my own bread, but so far there have been zero versions of even that that are anything like wheat bread. Noodles...none of them are like actual noodles, *especially* ramen. Biscuits for sausage and gravy...(the gravy can be made with the glutenfree flours and it's acceptable, but even that is not the same). Did you know they put wheat in campbells tomato soup? No reason for it...they just do. So many things.....
T Boog Posted June 2 Posted June 2 5 hours ago, michaelhanson said: Well, it’s 13 hours later and we’ve yet to hear from T Boog. I recon he hates us all. Good news Michael... I pulled through! I'm guessing it was a caterpillar. And although it hurt very badly, I'm proud to say that I barely cried at all. 😎 1 1
craigb Posted June 2 Posted June 2 (edited) 12 hours ago, T Boog said: Good news Michael... I pulled through! I'm guessing it was a caterpillar. And although it hurt very badly, I'm proud to say that I barely cried at all. 😎 Next time, don't p!ss one off until they've become a butterfly! They don't bite then! 😁 Edited June 2 by craigb 1
mettelus Posted 12 hours ago Posted 12 hours ago Holy crap... I saw this article "New Jersey man believed to be 1st known death from red meat allergy linked to tick bites" (of course, the click-bait doesn't say what state, so I had to click it). The guy didn't realize he had alpha-gal, and basically went into anaphylaxis from it! What's worse... they say "Researchers said that in the eastern U.S., what are sometimes referred to as "chiggers" are often larvae of lone star ticks." LOL, I got bit by about 400 chiggers about 10 years ago now unwittingly tearing up things all around their nest (mentioned that above), but those were definitely chiggers. I never even considered that baby ticks could be confused with them... but then just learned that tick larvae do not attach when they bite, so that is definitely something to keep in mind if you are in areas where lone star ticks live (red counties are worst than yellow, but they are pretty much all over the east half of the US now ).
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now