Alpha-gal syndrome: Man's painful allergy caught on video during tick season; ‘can’t eat meat…'
A video has gone viral showing a man claiming to have fallen victim to the Alpha-gal syndrome. In the alleged clip, the man can be heard complaining that he cannot consume meat products due to the condition.
The video shows an allergic reaction on his face. The caption reads “A man has become one of the 450,000 Americans affected by alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne meat allergy that triggers painful allergic reactions to animal products,” the post notes.
The man in the video says “Look at my face and my neck. I can’t eat meat anymore. I can’t have any animal products. It’s in everything.” See video here.
Here’s all you need to know about the Alpha-gal syndrome and possible ways to prevent it.
What is Alpha-gal syndrome?
With the summer season here, ticks are starting to come out and hence one must be careful about tick-borne diseases. One of these is Alpha-gal syndrome or AGS. Dr. Teri Stapleton, based out of Paducah, Kentucky, told WPSD Local 6 that she was primarily seeing AGS among patients.
This is an allergy to the Alpha-gal molecule – galactose-\(\alpha \)-1,3-galactose – which is naturally produced in most mammals, but not humans. This Alpha-gal molecule can be found in several red meats like beef, pork and lamb. It also appears in milk and milk products; and other animal products as well. This includes gelatin which is made from beef or pork or products that are made from or cooked with mammal fat.
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As per the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Alpha-gal syndrome usually occurs when a tick bites and it transfers its saliva into the person’s blood. Then, the body’s immune system can identify Alpha-gal as a threat and trigger the allergic reaction. AGS is also known as red meat allergy or tick bite meat allergy, as per CDC.
In the US, most AGS cases rise from the bite of a lone star tick, and less commonly by the bite of a blacklegged tick or a western blacklegged tick, the CDC noted. It also noted that as many as 450,000 people may be affected across the US. While AGS can happen across ages, it mostly impacts adults, as per the CDC.
The CDC also said that the ‘best’ way to protect oneself from AGS is to prevent tick bits.
How to prevent tick bites?
The CDC has a set of rules on how to try and prevent tick bites. They include knowing where to expect ticks – which are ‘grassy, brushy, or wooded areas’ or on animals.
They also noted that one must treat gear and clothing with products containing 0.5% permethrin. The CDC also suggested avoiding contact with ticks by staying away from woody or brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter, and walking in the center of the trails. They also recommend using ‘Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.’
However, those who get Alpha-gal syndrome have to live with it. One such person shared their experience with the local news outlet. “It is super life-altering. I try to stick more with single whole foods instead of things that have a lot of different ingredients,” said Allison Mangrum, who used to be an avid hunter.
“I was actually really involved in the hunting industry, and I was actually on a TV show. I quit all of that because I was like, if I can’t eat, then I’m definitely not going to be harvesting animals for the fun of it. Then, the fear of being bitten again, because it can actually make your reactions a lot worse if you get bitten again,” they added.