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Post by ferris1248 on Apr 9, 2024 12:57:14 GMT -5
A friend of mine has been diagnosed with Alpha-Gal. Changed his life pretty dramatically. "For many, the arrival of warmer weather means a return to hiking trails, state parks and nature reserves. "But Georgians eager to strap on their hiking boots should take steps to protect themselves against ticks and the health problems they can cause. That’s especially true for hikers around metro Atlanta, a region with a likely outsized concentration of lone star ticks, according to a newly published study by a team of Emory University researchers. A wily biter of humans, the lone star tick can spread a slew of pathogens, and even trigger a potentially deadly allergy to red meat and dairy products, known as alpha-gal syndrome.""Published in the journal Parasites & Vectors, the Emory study sought to map the distribution of the lone star tick across the state. Aside from metro Atlanta, the areas with the highest probability for the presence of lone star ticks include the southern and middle portions of Georgia." “We found that these regions contain sweet spots for the lone star tick,” said Stephanie Bellman, first author of the study and an MD/PhD student in Emory’s School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health, in a statement. “They tend to be more prevalent in forested areas of mid-elevation – not too high or too low – and in soils that retain moisture but are not swampy.” In their paper, the team of Emory researchers described the lone star tick as “aggressive.” “They really are very good at grabbing onto hosts, particularly humans, and staying with them,” Vazquez-Prokopec said. “When you go the forest [and step] outside a path or trail, it’s one of those ticks that is basically waiting for you on the tip of branches, different types of vegetation. As soon as you touch that vegetation, they’re going to latch and grab onto your clothes and then climb onto your body.” Native to the Southeastern U.S., the lone star tick is the most common tick found on humans in Georgia. www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/heres-where-the-tick-that-causes-meat-allergy-is-found-in-georgia/CTQJTPXF7VFGDJ6P5NRRUAPQ3Q/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TodaysTop5(TT5)&utm_content=6389749 |
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Post by ferris1248 on Apr 9, 2024 13:00:36 GMT -5
What are the symptoms of AGS? AGS reactions can include: Hives or itchy rash Nausea or vomiting Heartburn or indigestion Diarrhea Cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing Drop in blood pressure Swelling of the lips, throat, tongue, or eye lids Dizziness or faintness Severe stomach pain 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. If you think you may have AGS go talk to your healthcare provider. www.cdc.gov/ticks/alpha-gal/index.htmlFoods that can cause a reaction include: Red meat, such as beef, pork or lamb. Organ meats. Products made from mammals, such as gelatins or dairy products. www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alpha-gal-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20428608 |
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Post by tankered on Apr 9, 2024 13:14:09 GMT -5
I hike in the woods all the time around here...well until the heat of summer sets in. Only had 1 tick in the last year.
I do not wear shorts into the woods.
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Post by olmucky on Apr 9, 2024 13:22:47 GMT -5
My boss isn’t really the outdoorsy type guy.
The hike on the public trail with a squirt water bottle for 45 minutes type
He got bit. Didn’t know it. Went undiagnosed
He has a “hyperbaric” chamber in his house for daily use now.
Extreme pain from his tick.
I get bit everytime I go in the woods. Every. Stinking. Time.
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Post by ferris1248 on Apr 9, 2024 13:29:19 GMT -5
If you're outdoorsy or even just occasionally and have these symptoms, see your doctor and mention Alpha Gal.
It took my buddy months of really bad symptoms before he found a Doctor who recognized it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2024 13:34:49 GMT -5
A local friend went out of state shopping for a retirement home recently. Walked a property in shorts and sandals. He said he had about a hundred ticks on him when he got back to the car. Everywhere. Including his privates.
Needless to say he passed on the property.
We used to collect fossils in the Mason Creek area south of Chicago. I was warned by a Field Museum professor to be careful about the ticks in the area. She quit exploring the area because of the ticks. I guess it’s one of the most tick infested areas in the United States.
Those little things are dangerous
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Post by cadman on Apr 9, 2024 14:00:00 GMT -5
I was told many years ago to freeze the tick that bites you and keep it for a few months in case any symptoms develop, it can help with diagnoses later on. Include the date, time, location, and where on the body you were bitten.
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Post by serotinouscones on Apr 9, 2024 14:37:30 GMT -5
I came down with Alpha-Gal 15+ years ago. Picked it up from a tick in Etoniah Creek State Forest. Symptoms were very bad for a few years, and I had to dramatically change my eating habits. My diet is mostly back to normal now, although I still have an occasional mild reaction to fatty red meat. It seems to be pretty common in the southern Appalachians, where I now live. Many of my friends/colleagues who spend lots of time in the woods (mostly foresters, wildland firefighters, botanists) have come down with it in recent years.
I treat all of my field clothes with permethrin now.
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Post by richm on Apr 9, 2024 14:38:43 GMT -5
I've never heard to freeze it but sounds reasonable. Got into some seed ticks in 2021 - talking hundred bites, easy. Little buggers came thru a pair of lightweight breathable camo pants had on while I was scouting. Ended up pouring permethrin on my leg and scraping all the mini-ticks off and going to Dr. ticks and bites go around to the other side too. Ended up on a 2-week heavy dose of Doxycycline.   As for original post, i know of 2 folks with the meat allergy from ticks. |
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Post by stc1993 on Apr 9, 2024 15:14:40 GMT -5
FL panhandle is bad for ticks. I would get a tick Everytime I walked out to the pond in Carrabelle
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Post by ferris1248 on Apr 9, 2024 17:01:48 GMT -5
I came down with Alpha-Gal 15+ years ago. Picked it up from a tick in Etoniah Creek State Forest. Symptoms were very bad for a few years, and I had to dramatically change my eating habits. My diet is mostly back to normal now, although I still have an occasional mild reaction to fatty red meat. It seems to be pretty common in the southern Appalachians, where I now live. Many of my friends/colleagues who spend lots of time in the woods (mostly foresters, wildland firefighters, botanists) have come down with it in recent years. I treat all of my field clothes with permethrin now. Welcome aboard. My buddies biggest problem was finding a Doctor who recognized it. Nobody thought of a tick being responsible. |
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Post by garycoleco on Apr 9, 2024 18:22:56 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to be one of the first diagnosed with Lyme disease in Georgia
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Post by 4ward on Apr 9, 2024 19:12:09 GMT -5
Ticks are an almost daily occurrence for me. Decades worth.
AGS is certainly not something I want but, ticks come with the territory.
I get caught off guard sometimes when people talk about pulling ticks like it’s some rare thing that you need to protect yourself from at all costs.
I wouldn’t make it to my truck in the morning without spilling my coffee.
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Post by bswiv on Apr 9, 2024 19:35:30 GMT -5
Had this discussion today while out with FWC biologists......it's not at all uncommon.......maybe always was common.....just not understood?
Have a husband and wife who we do prescribed burns with over in Gilcrest County who both have it. He's a surgeon.....even took them a while to figure out what was going on.
As we live on fish ( cod tonight.....tomorrow salmon...... ) I'd not know if I had it.
Whoever said Permethrin was on target as it will slow/stop not just ticks but also red bugs and even repel mosquitoes.
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Post by biminitwisted on Apr 10, 2024 0:25:01 GMT -5
I ride my mountain bike in the North Georgia forest and trails North of Atlanta often. I have yet to find a tick on me, but I'm going to look into wearing long pants in the summer, and treating with permethrin. Kind of hard though considering how much one sweats when riding.
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Post by richm on Apr 10, 2024 8:53:36 GMT -5
I ride my mountain bike in the North Georgia forest and trails North of Atlanta often. I have yet to find a tick on me, but I'm going to look into wearing long pants in the summer, and treating with permethrin. Kind of hard though considering how much one sweats when riding. Permethrin will last thru several washes - sweating episodes. |
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Post by TRTerror on Apr 10, 2024 8:54:04 GMT -5
Tuck your pants inside your boots , Tuck your shirt into your pants..
Beats off 99 % of ticks and never wear your hiking clothes into the house.
I am in the woods daily and found only 2 ticks on me so far this summer
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2024 9:01:51 GMT -5
Tuck your pants inside your boots , Tuck your shirt into your pants.. Beats off 99 % of ticks and never wear your hiking clothes into the house. I am in the woods daily and found only 2 ticks on me so far this summer With the disease tick’s are now responsible for even one found would give me reason for concern. Good luck to everyone. |
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Post by richm on Apr 10, 2024 9:32:07 GMT -5
Tractor supply sells permethrin concentrate. Mix it up, spray it on. Works.
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Post by gogittum on Apr 10, 2024 9:40:49 GMT -5
Ticks were one of the reasons (there were several) I left FL and returned to NM over a year ago. I walked my dog in wooded areas and rarely went without getting at least a couple on me.
I live alone and finding, then trying to remove those on my back and shoulders was very difficult. So far (knock wood) I don't seem to have contracted anything from them.
Permethrin helped but didn't eliminate the problem. I had major problems with mosquitoes, too, but they're easily repelled...tho' I really disliked having to spray myself before working out in the shop or yard.
I've been home for 16 months now - already - and haven't seen a tick or mosquito here yet and I hike in the wilderness frequently and frequently go off trail, bushwacking to some destinations.
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Post by cyclist on Apr 10, 2024 10:36:12 GMT -5
I picked off 2 ticks yesterday and three the day before. Total for the year about 70, total for last year maybe a couple of hudred (all embedded). I have 6 friends and co-workers with AG (first one to get it got it in 2000 on a mnt bike ride). Recently a co-worker was diagnosed with AG and Lyme, tell your doctor it DOES occur in Florida. The other tick disease to look out for, of many, is ehrlichliosis. www.cdc.gov/ehrlichiosis/index.htmlI know some folks that take doxycycline with every tick bite, which I think is counterproductive and stupid. To the best of my knowledge I have never had a tick disease, knock on wood. I attribute it to my cracker heritage (9th generation Floridian) and possible resistance? I don't use any repellents and I wear shorts, makes it easier to find them and pick them off, but if you are in the woods you will get ticks. |
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Post by bullfrog on Apr 10, 2024 12:01:08 GMT -5
I attribute it to my cracker heritage (9th generation Floridian) and possible resistance? I don't use any repellents and I wear shorts, makes it easier to find them and pick them off, but if you are in the woods you will get ticks. I was just about to chime in that I would bet susceptibility or lack thereof to Alpha Gal is genetic and shaped by natural selection. I’ve get bit by ticks dozens of times a year. I have had (or still have?) Lyme, which I’ve talked about in other threads. Lyme was initially a northern disease. My ancestors probably weren’t exposed. While the lone-star tick, and therefore likely alpha gal, is native to the South. I would suspect I’m immune to it. Immunity or weakness to brain-eating amoeba is also speculated to be so genetic. It is now known to be present in almost all water sources in the SE during summer. Yet so few people get it. I saw a study that suggested many fur trappers may have immunity to rabies through exposure to the weakened virus in the dead mammals they skin out. |
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Post by tampaspicer on Apr 10, 2024 12:07:12 GMT -5
I pulled 100's of ticks from my body in my life. Never done anything but pull them out and sometimes with the head still in me. Price of doing business in the outdoors. LOL
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Post by serotinouscones on Apr 10, 2024 12:18:21 GMT -5
To the best of my knowledge I have never had a tick disease, knock on wood. I attribute it to my cracker heritage (9th generation Floridian) and possible resistance? I'm also a 9th Gen Floridian -- and maybe this explains why mosquitoes don't bother me. But if there is a Cracker gene for AG resistance, apparently I didn't inherit it. |
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Post by cyclist on Apr 10, 2024 12:25:28 GMT -5
To the best of my knowledge I have never had a tick disease, knock on wood. I attribute it to my cracker heritage (9th generation Floridian) and possible resistance? I'm also a 9th Gen Floridian -- and maybe this explains why mosquitoes don't bother me. But if there is a Cracker gene for AG resistance, apparently I didn't inherit it. Uhoh! I like your forum name, are you fond of the Ocala sand pine scrub? |
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Post by biminitwisted on Apr 10, 2024 12:36:41 GMT -5
Does Deet on one's skin help at all? I guess i should have a tick puller in my saddle bag, and maybe some alcohol.
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Post by serotinouscones on Apr 10, 2024 12:39:24 GMT -5
Uhoh! I like your forum name, are you fond of the Ocala sand pine scrub? One of my favorite places (except for the ticks) and one of my favorite tree species. |
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Post by cyclist on Apr 10, 2024 12:46:32 GMT -5
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Post by TRTerror on Apr 10, 2024 13:14:12 GMT -5
I've also drank swamp water for years and never gotten sick.
Maybe E Coli is scared of me.
It's all back to licking Dumpster Lids builds Antibodies.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2024 13:43:35 GMT -5
My native Floridian friends attribute their immunity to bites to garlic. I don’t know but my wife doesn’t even like when I take my garlic pills. She says the odor comes through my skin. Perhaps they are correct.
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