About forty years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, itching. Now, it wasn’t a normal itch, it was taking over my entire body. When I turned on the lights, I discovered I was covered with whelps or hives. It was in my scalp, inside my ears and even under my eyelids. I looked like the skin of a strawberry. It continued to get worse and lasted about two hours before subsiding.
I told a friend about it. Being light skinned and tending toward red hair, John had sensitive skin and was always peeling or raw somewhere because of the sun. The life of the surveyor. John said when things got bad with him, he would take two Benadryl. So, it appeared I had a cure but still no idea what the origin or the cause was.
I finally found one thing that was sometimes common with the reaction. I ate steak or burgers for years and had no reactions. On the job one day, I ate an angus burger at McDonald’s. About three or four hours later, hello to the Hive family. I took the Benadryl and within one hour it disappeared. Ah-ha, it wasn’t the beef. It was an additive. Pork or lamb never caused a reaction. I love cooking and eating a butt, steaks, or ribs for everyone. I lived with this dilemma for those forty years.
I was invited to a Christmas party last December (Thank you Tonya). It was at Rodizio Grille. I ate my weight in every kind of steak imaginable. It was so good. I went home and slept like a baby. Then, about three weeks later, I went to Buddy’s and had a big old pulled-pork plate with trimmings. Three or four hours later, I had a case of the hives like none other. Even with the Benadryl, it lasted well over an hour. I took photos. My first reaction to pork.
On a subsequent visit to my dermatologist, I showed them the pictures and explained about the beef/pork issue. She took blood. Three days later, I got a phone call. I had Alpha Gal Syndrome. I could no longer eat any four leg mammals, including rabbit, goat, or venison. (I wondered if there were any two leg mammals that I could get by with.)
AGS — what is it? One bite of a Lone Star tick can put it in your bloodstream forever. One tick bite? Over a 48-year career in land surveying, I’ve pulled hundreds of ticks off my body. There’s a pretty good chance that one or two were lone stars. They’re the ones with one small white dot on their back. Other ticks can also contain the threat.
AGS can be bad. It can cause one to asphyxiate. It is not limited to meat but can branch out to any dairy product of a mammal. I’m talking milk, butter, yogurt, gelatin, and cheese. Some folks cannot consume any of these items. Eating in restaurants can be tricky because of cross-contamination in cooking oil and prep stations. Basically, a vegan diet is the best bet. I’m fortunate that, at this time, it is only the consumption of meat products that affect me. Salads have always been enjoyable. I still get to savor shrimp, catfish, oysters, and lobster. What about pintos, navy beans, or collards without ham hock? There’s a reason the good Lord made smoked turkey legs and wings. You can find pretty good eats without the meats.
Again, what is it? Simply put, Alpha Gal is a sugar molecule found in many mammals other than humans. It is also in certain ticks’ saliva. A tick bite causes you to become sensitive to this molecule. Introduction of the Alpha Gall into the bloodstream causes your immune system to kick in, triggering an allergic reaction, i.e., hives, shortness of breath, etc.
What you can do. Wear long sleeves, even taping all openings when in high tick areas. Use a good insect spray. Continually check yourself for ticks as well as the other guys on your crew. If a tick bites, pull him with tweezers, concentrating on the head, swab a little alcohol and wash well with soap and water. All the while, imagine being told you can no longer eat a steak or burger, cheese, or butter. You’ll be more cautious.