{"id":1801,"date":"2026-06-05T21:37:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801"},"modified":"2026-06-05T21:37:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:37:51","slug":"peoples-pharmacy-tick-bite-leads-to-scary-allergy-to-meat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801","title":{"rendered":"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat"},"content":{"rendered":"

When most people get bitten by a tick, they worry about Lyme disease and other infections such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Increasingly, however, people are beginning to recognize that some tick bites can lead to a delayed allergic reaction to eating meat.<\/p>\n

Read more 2 men found dead in car. NC court records say it may have been \u2018authorized\u2019 by a gang<\/a><\/p>\n

This unusual reaction was first described in the medical literature 17 years ago by a group of researchers at the University of Virginia (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Feb. 2009). It took many years for emergency physicians and other health professionals to appreciate the significance of this allergy.<\/p>\n

That is partly because the trigger is complicated and unlike other allergies. First, there is the tick bite. Originally, lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) were the only suspects. Now, scientists have linked this problem to two other species as well, black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) and western black-legged ticks (Ixodes pacificus).<\/p>\n

Days to weeks later, the person enjoys a BLT or a burger for supper, goes to bed at the usual time and awakens in distress hours later. Symptoms range from horrible hives to vomiting and diarrhea or tongue swelling and wheezing.<\/p>\n

The cause is a reaction to a sugar in mammalian meat, galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose. The treatment is to avoid eating mammals\u2013no beef, pork, lamb or other mammalian meat. Birds and fish do not carry this sugar, so people with alpha gal allergy can safely eat them.<\/p>\n

Readers describe in vivid detail what this experience is like. One person reports: \u201cSix years ago, I headed to the ER with hives and intolerable itching. While waiting in triage I went into anaphylaxis. I was given IV Benadryl and epinephrine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctors had no idea what caused these symptoms. A nurse who happened by said it was perhaps a tick bite meat allergy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy primary doctor referred me to an allergist, who had never heard of alpha gal. He looked it up and got very excited to see his first possible case! He did not have the alpha gal blood test available.<\/p>\n

Read more NC State Health Plan board approves higher costs for some retirees in 2027<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOn my own, I researched alpha gal and began meat avoidance. My primary doctor prescribed an Epipen just in case. I have had reactions to flavorings, gelatin and other hidden ingredients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worry about being hospitalized and unable to speak up for myself. After surgery two years ago with a 10-day hospital stay, the staff repeatedly delivered food I couldn\u2019t eat despite alpha gal being on my records.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is a legitimate concern. Here is what another reader told us: \u201cI recently needed an emergency appendectomy. No one at the hospital had ever heard of alpha gal\u2013not the attending doctor, not the nurses, nor the surgeon. Fortunately, they listened to me and took it seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I was rushed from the scan to pre-op, I was told to be certain that the anesthesiologist understood what this condition involved, because some of the drugs they use may have substances derived from beef! The anesthesiologist made them hold the surgery until he consulted his colleagues so that he could avoid bovine ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n

We heard from many more readers on this topic. This is one of our favorites: \u201cYou may have saved my mother\u2019s life many years ago by reporting on alpha gal allergy. Her mysterious symptoms had gradually increased over time to difficulty breathing when I learned of the tick-related allergy.\u201d<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com. Their newest book is Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them (Crown).<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Kathy Hilton’s Ups and Downs: From Iconic \u2018RHOBH’ Moments to Pride Drama<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When most people get bitten by a tick, they worry about Lyme disease and other infections such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Increasingly, however, people are beginning to recognize that some tick bites can lead to a delayed allergic reaction to eating meat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nPeople\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When most people get bitten by a tick, they worry about Lyme disease and other infections such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Increasingly, however, people are beginning to recognize that some tick bites can lead to a delayed allergic reaction to eating meat.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T21:37:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T21:37:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801\"},\"wordCount\":654,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801\",\"name\":\"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T21:37:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1801#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"When most people get bitten by a tick, they worry about Lyme disease and other infections such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Increasingly, however, people are beginning to recognize that some tick bites can lead to a delayed allergic reaction to eating meat.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-05T21:37:51+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat","datePublished":"2026-06-05T21:37:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801"},"wordCount":654,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801","name":"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-05T21:37:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/712892b9fd8f9e92df0293627780e6e7.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1801#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"People\u2019s Pharmacy | Tick bite leads to scary allergy to meat"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}