Have You Guys Heard Of Alpha Gal ( Allergy ? )

[michael94]

Not a serious thread but I never heard about this “illness” before, which is an allergy to all mammalian based meat? Huh? Reall strange... Supposedly caused by a tick bite. just wondering if anyone has ever heard of it

 

[Juniper]

I’ve heard of it. My hometown is a tick hotspot, and I personally know of three people who contracted the meat allergy. One has had it ongoing for years and will go into anaphylactic shock if they accidentally eat red meat. The other two have it but I think it might have been milder to start out with and/or is fading for one or both of them. My understanding is it comes from the Lone Star Tick.

Growing up we had dog ticks and deer ticks and I don’t know when the Lone Star Tick showed up (maybe a decade or so ago?) they are aggressive little buggers. The other thing you can get from the Lone Star is STARI. STARI is similar to lymes disease but supposedly without the risk of long term neurological problems. STARI causes a very angry red rash, whereas the lymes may produce a red bullseye rash, but not anywhere as painful/ itchy/noticeable as STARI.

I contracted lymes 2x and STARI 1x, but each time caught it early so no apparent long term damage and thankfully no meat allergy. I’m lucky I was in an area that has dealt with lymes for so long because the doctors are fairly well versed in treatment and testing of tick diseases. I take artemisinin occasionally to hopefully keep any possible lingering spirochetes in check.

 

[shan.alexander_]

What is alpha-gal?​

• Alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) is a sugar molecule found in most mammals.
• Alpha-gal is not found in fish, reptiles, birds, or people.
• Alpha-gal can be found in meat (pork, beef, rabbit, lamb, venison, etc.) and products made from mammals (including gelatin, cow’s milk, and milk products).

What is alpha-gal syndrome (AGS)?​

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) (also called alpha-gal allergy, red meat allergy, or tick bite meat allergy) is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic (IgE) reaction. AGS symptoms occur after people eat red meat or are exposed to other products containing alpha-gal. AGS was first "discovered" / identified in 2009, but the Lone Star tick was described as far back as the 1700s. The lone star tick is traditionally from the Northeast of USA, but has be found in DC and North Carolina and any states above this region. It's typically in areas with deer and overgrowth, like non-maintained property / fields / woods. They especially like the transition of woods to fields.

• Symptoms commonly appear 2-6 hours after eating meat or dairy products, or after exposure to products containing alpha-gal (for example, gelatin-coated medications).
• AGS reactions can be different from person-to-person. They can range from mild to severe or even life-threatening. Anaphylaxis (a potentially life-threatening reaction involving multiple organ systems) may need urgent medical care.
• People may not have an allergic reaction after every alpha-gal exposure.

Imagine that --- a longterm chronic diseases causing an allergy to the healthiest foods --- meat, milk, gelatin, etc., and only recently discovered in 2009. Seems like something invented. Of course, AGS can be explained without radical conspiracy theories, it could just be a naturally occurring allergy in which the tick's saliva is recognized by the antibody response, and those antibodies then have a memory to attack anything resembling that protein sequence.

"The α-gal antigen was discovered in the salivary glands and saliva of various tick species including, the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum)."

There's a doctor in North Carolina who specializes in Alpha-Gal patients, he started with just 5 or so patients and now has over 5,000 from what I heard.

Scott P. Commins, MD, PhD | Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology

www.med.unc.edu

Symptoms of alpha-gal syndrome may lessen or even disappear over time if you don't get any more bites from ticks that carry alpha-gal. Some people with this condition have been able to eat red meat and other mammal products again after one to two years without additional bites.

My story: I was bit by a lone star tick on the leg. It might have only stayed there 3 hours, or maybe 16 hours, I'm not sure, but certainly not enough to inflate, it was still very small and flat when I removed it. 3 or 4 days after removing the tick, an itchy red rash appeared. Very itchy and annoying. I felt aware of the rash at all times, like a constant nagging low-grade pain. I did some research and started taking an antibiotic I had on hand, doxycycline. The rash didn't fade for at least 10 days. I think a piece of the jaws/head must have been stuck in me, because it was very difficult to remove tick, and a raised pimple formed where the bite was (even after the rash disappeared) as if my body was trying to push out something. Or maybe it is just from all the antibody activity.

A person I met recently knows somebody with Lone-star tick-induced AGS. The person can't drink red wine, or eat red meat, or else their throat will swell up and face & neck gets red, like hives.

I have not had this problem, thankfully.
I also take supplemental thyroid, and 400mcg methylene blue before sleep, and I put methylene blue on the rash for a few days when it occurred (in addition to the doxycycline treatment for 2 weeks).

Ray has mentioned that taking full-dose supplemental thyroid has ended/reversed some autoimmune diseases --- so perhaps a strong thyroid function can be protective during a tick bite.

"Thyroid Hormones (THs) regulate innate and adaptive immune responses as immune cells are direct target cells of THs. Accordingly, they express different components of local TH action, such as TH transporters or receptors, but our picture of the interplay between THs and the immune system is still incomplete."
https://eje.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/eje/186/5/EJE-21-1171.xml "The interplay of thyroid hormones and the immune system – where we stand and why we need to know about it" - European Journal of Endocrinology

That's everything I know on the topic.
Hope this helps someone.