Alpha-gal alert: Summer safety tips with a deep dive on tick-borne illness

One tiny tick can change what you can safely eat for years, and sometimes the reaction doesn’t show up until hours after dinner. From the Speaking of Women's Health Sunflower House, host Dr. Holly Thacker walks through summer health essentials, then goes deep on tick-borne illness and the fast-growing concern of alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy that can follow a bite from the lone star tick and other species.

She covers the practical stuff first: hydration and heat safety, UV protection for skin and eyes, smart ways to keep exercising in hot weather, mosquito control, and what to do (and not do) when poison ivy shows up. She also revisits water safety rules that saves lives, especially for children, including swimming lessons, life jackets, and why alcohol and water activities do not mix.

Then she shifts to ticks: why people often never notice a bite, how ticks spread multiple pathogens, and why Lyme disease is still a major threat. She breaks down alpha-gal symptoms that can look “random” because they may appear two to six hours after eating mammalian meat or dairy, from hives and GI distress to swelling, wheezing, fainting, and anaphylaxis. 

Finally, she shares timely updates on new federal momentum to combat Lyme disease and accelerate alpha-gal research, plus intriguing early data on an unusual auricular allergy treatment approach that deserves careful study.

Transcript

Welcome And Summer Health Focus

Dr. \ 0:00

Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Holly Thacker, and I am back in this hot summer sunflower house for a new edition on our Speaking of Women's Health podcast. And today I'm going to talk about the summer and summer fun and staying healthy and especially avoiding problems related to all the summer fun. I'm going to mainly focus on some tick disease and this new Ali appreciated condition, although it's been around for well over a decade or two, this Alpha Gal syndrome of being bit by a tick, primarily the lone star tick, and then being allergic to all mammalian meat and lots of dairy. So now that it's the summertime, it's just good to go over some tips about keeping yourself and your family healthy this summer. And back in May of 2023 in season one, we did a more in-depth discussion on summer tips, and you can always go back to that podcast.

Heat Hydration Sun And Exercise

Dr. \ 1:06

Number one is stay hydrated. Heat can be deadly, and it's much more lethal in those at the advanced age spectrums, the very young and the very old. It's important to acclimate to hotter environments, and it doesn't have to be raining to use your umbrella. You can make a fashion statement and still say, stay cool. You want to protect your eyes from UV damage with really good UV blocking sunglasses. And certainly UV exposure can accelerate cataract formation. And if you didn't hear the cataract podcast with Dr. Wagenberg, most people, if they live long enough, will have to be dealing with treatment for cataracts. Number two, protect your skin. We like UV A and B sunscreen. And I have done podcasts on sunscreen. Certainly, the sun does age the skin. Now, some sun exposure is great for vitamin D, and people in northern climates a lot of times don't get enough vitamin D. That's why they love the sun and they feel great when they get sun. A lot of times that's the vitamin D. And if you didn't hear my third podcast in season one on everything vitamin D, that's a good one also to go back to listen to. Next on your summer list is don't skip your exercise routine just because it's really sultry outside. You might want to obviously avoid peak heat and humidity, but even though you're doing maybe more outdoor activity, you still need to stick with your exercise routine, stretching, strengthening activities.

Mosquitoes Poison Ivy And Water Safety

Dr. \ 2:29

Next is to watch for mosquitoes. I think that's the thing I like least about the summer. And they're more active at dusk and dawn. You want to clear out standing water, potentially use insect repellent, appropriate for age. Obviously, cover arms and legs, fix broken screens, and it's best to spray your clothes, not your skin, with permethrin. You have to be out on the lookout when you're out doing lawn work or hiking or enjoying the outdoors. Watch for poison ivy and poison sumac. So we want you to enjoy the outdoors, but it's good if you can identify that plant. And you want to see your physician or healthcare team if you get a rash that comes on quite suddenly, especially if it's extensive or if it involves the face. And do not apply Benadryl or caladrel to the skin. Plain calamine lotion and cool compresses, but putting on topical Benadryl as opposed to oral can be a skin sensitizer. Cool Dombaro compresses can reduce the weepiness of the skin. And if you do need prenosome therapy from your physician to treat an itchy dermatitis, you generally may need to take this for three weeks as opposed to just a seven-day medroll dose pack because I see rebounds. Now, this is not medical advice, this is just information and educatment to keep you healthy, strong, and in charge. Always observe water safety rules. Do not swim alone. Bring life jackets when swimming, boating, or jet skiing. And remember that water activities and alcohol do not mix. And drowning is a unfortunately very common cause of death in young children. So get those young people in your life swimming lessons and water safety lessons.

Tick Checks For Kids And Families

Dr. \ 4:14

And then importantly, watch out for ticks and inspect the skin for ticks. I was just reminding my older two sons, who probably don't like my reminders, but they have young children to get in the habit now that it's the summer of inspecting their children at the end of the day for ticks. Because the only time I remember ever having ticks was when I was a young child. You know, you go outside and play, I like to hike, I'd be outside for long periods of time, get dirty, and I think it's probably a little bit less likely that a child might notice a tick on their skin. So when going out in tick-infested areas, it's good to wear long sleeves or pants.

Tick Basics And Why They Spread Disease

Dr. \ 4:54

Now, ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ioxida. They're part of the mite superorder, and adult ticks are pretty tiny, like three to five millimeters in length, depending on age, sex, and species, but they can become bigger when engorged with your blood. They're external parasites, and the way they live is by feeding on the blood of mammals, humans, birds, and sometimes even reptiles and amphibians. The timing of the origin of ticks is uncertain, but there are some tic fossils that go back about a hundred million years and come from the Cretaceous period. And ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm humid climates. And I've seen, I've heard a few people in Ohio say that they've seen an uptick in the ticks that they're seeing on their animals and their land. There's two major categories, hard ticks and soft ticks. And the way they find their host and their food is by sensing odor, body heat, moisture, or vibrations in the environment. And there's four life cycle stages: the egg, the larva, the nymph, and then the adult tick. And they can go through a one-host, two-host, or even a three-host life cycle. And because they ingest blood, they act as vectors for many serious diseases that can affect humans and other animals. And they can transmit a bunch of different types of pathogens, bacteria, viruses, protozoa that infect the poor host. And a tick can harbor even more than just one pathogen, making the diagnosis even more difficult. Now, the species of the bacterial genus Rickettsia are responsible for typhus, ricketzial pox, uh, butanuse fever, an African tick bite, as well as the infamous Rocky Mountain spotted fever, as well as Flinders Island spotted fever, and Queenland's tick typhus, which is from Australia. Now, my brother and my nephew, uh Keaton, they both got a pretty bad case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. So these tick-borne illnesses can be really pretty serious and significant. Other tick-borne diseases include Lyme disease from the Borelia species, and also Q fever. There's Colorado tick fever, creme and congo hemorrhagic fever, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, uh bababiosis, which I believe is in Nantucket Island, actually. Uh, I remember a board question on my internal medicine ports on that. Erlichosis, bourbon virus. Oh, my husband likes bourbon. I'll have to tell him to look into that one. Tick-borne meningoencephalitis. You know, that's like inflammation of all the meninges in the whole entire brain. Very serious. Cows can get affected uh with anaplasmosis and the Heartland virus. In the United States, currently, it seems like the most commonly reported vector-borne disease with ticks is Lyme disease.

Major Tick-Borne Illnesses And Risks

Dr. \ 8:04

But I unfortunately it looks like Alpha Gal is really gaining.

Alpha-Gal Explained And Core Symptoms

Dr. \ 8:08

So Alpha Gal syndrome is a type of food allergy that develops in people after they get bit by a tick. And it causes an allergic reaction to red meat and products made with red meat, including dairy. And you can get it from a number of different ticks, but the classic tick is the lone star, uh, which has like a characteristic dot. And thankfully, not everybody bitten by a tick will get alpha gal. But repeated tick bites certainly make it worse and more likely. So, what is Alpha Gal syndrome? And you have been listening to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Holly Thacker, and the hot summer Sunflower House for a new edition on summer issues to be concerned about, to stay safe, to enjoy your summer. And we're really kind of diving into tick disease and this alpha gal uh syndrome. Now, some of the symptoms of alpha gal include joint pains. Now, I certainly see people with lots of joint pain from degenerative arthritis, inflammatory arthritis, sometimes menopausal symptoms, and low estrogen could cause joint pain. So usually it's more than just that. There can be swelling of the lips, the eyelids, the tongue, the face, causing anaphylaxis. There can be lung involvement with cough and wheezing and shortness of breath from the allergic reaction. Sometimes allergies are manifested by abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, hives, or just skin itching and flushing, as well as potentially dizziness and fainting. So symptoms of Alpha Gal can start right away or a few hours after ingesting something that has alpha gal in it. So Alpha Gal syndrome is an allergy to red meat, meat products, and even dairy after getting bit by a tip. And I've taken a lot of this information from our Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials site, which is a great source of lay health education. Also, I've taken some information from our speaking of women's health.com site where we've done a lot about summer safety. So meat from mammals. So that would include beef from cows, pork from pigs, and lamb as well, or any food or products made from animal fat. And that includes certain medications, even cow's milk and products made with milk, which is legion. I actually had to give up any milk protein when I was breastfeeding my youngest son Grayson. I made four ice cream cakes for his older four-year-old brother Emerson. And I'm not really too much of a sweeter ice cream eater, but with all these ice cream cakes, they all weren't eaten. So I had a bowl of ice cream. And the next time I changed the three-month-old's diaper, I saw these little flecks of blood. And so some babies, even if they're completely breastfed, if the cow's milk protein gets into the mom's breast milk, which can if you eat a lot of dairy. So I had to strictly avoid all milk products, including butter, even. And it was very difficult to even eat out. I remember that. So when you have such huge classes of foods that you have to avoid so that you don't have an allergic reaction, it just goes to show how serious it is. Now, obviously, eventually my child weaned, so I could liberalize my own diet and he's able to have milk, thankfully, and milk proteins. So Alpha Gal, it's a carbohydrate, which is a sugar molecule that it's found in most mammals other than humans. It's also found in the ticks saliva. So not everybody who gets a tick bite gets the Alpha-Gal syndrome. And those that have it, it's unlikely that they get reactions to every single product, but they certainly can. And these symptoms can range from mild symptoms like itching or flushing to more severe or life-threatening. If you start getting swelling

Anaphylaxis EpiPen Timing And Preparedness

Dr. \ 12:06

of your lips and eyelids and throat and angiodema, that's life-threatening and can go to anaphylaxis and death if not treated right away. The respiratory symptoms like shortness of breath or wheezing or cough. One of my dear friend's son carried an epipen for an allergy and he started to get an allergic reaction. But he thought he had to wait until he had wheezing to take his epi pen. Even though he was getting swelling of his lips and mouth, and luckily he called 911, but he didn't think to use his EpiPen because he was waiting for wheezing. But by then it was very serious, life-threatening, intubated in the intensive care unit, high-dose steroids, luckily came out of it, but he was just following the instructions that he was given. And so if you have an EpiPen, you've been instructed on how to use it, you have a serious reaction. If you think you need it, it's better to take it sooner rather than later. That's for sure. But again, this is not medical advice. Anyone with any serious food, medication, or other allergies that can be life-threatening, should see their physician and see potentially an allergist. As many of our listeners know, my oldest granddaughter, Artemis, and she made a guest appearance along with her sister Beatrice on our Mother's Day special. Artemis had life-threatening cashew allergy. And she thankfully was able to be desensitized to it and now can eat cashews and actually has to regularly get exposed to it. And she and her sister have a cute little brother, my second grandson, Caspian, and their father, Stetson, has been very particular about them if they eat cashews or nuts or other allergenic things to not touch his skin, because getting exposed to it via the skin as opposed to the GI tract, the GI tract helps to, you know, inform your immune system. And because things are ingested, especially food, obviously through the GI tract, belly pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, heartburn could also be allergic symptoms. And if the blood pressure drops, there can be dizziness or fainting, so-called vasovagal syncope, joint pain can happen because of inflammation. And so some folks might just have GI symptoms or skin symptoms, or others might have all of them, including the most severe allergic reaction, which is anaphylaxis. So anaphylaxis makes it difficult to breathe. It can cause death, it can cause a drop in blood pressure. It can be fatal. So call 911 or go to the emergency room. It's best to call 911 and then take your epipen or some sort of antihistamine. I think I've told the story about my brother who had an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting when he was a little boy, and my father, a physician, gave him an epi injection, and I just dramatically witnessed saving of his life right in front of me. And that's how I decided to be a physician myself at that young age. And my brother always has to carry epi pens with him. And I make the joke that the last time he needed it, he didn't have his reading glass on him. He was having trouble reading the instructions. So some of these epi pens can be difficult to administer. I think they've made them better. I had one of my colleagues accidentally inject her own thumb with an epi pen when she wanted to give it to a patient who is in our center having an allergic reaction. So it's really good to periodically go through emergency practices, whether it's with your EpiPen, whether it's with fire safety, whether it's recounting water safety with your young children or grandchildren every time you go to the pool to remind them. And so part of being strong and being healthy and being in charge is being prepared for emergencies. So how long after eating meat, if you have alpha gal syndrome, might you get it? Well, it can happen right away in some people with severe allergies. It can happen two to six hours after eating meat or dairy. And medications that contain alpha gal in it can cause immediate reactions. Now, most of it is from, we think, the lone star tick, but apparently bites from black-legged deer ticks and other species can also cause it. So if you see a tick, and it's very important that you take it off appropriately right at the base and get it off as soon as you can, just because it's not an identifiable lone star tick doesn't mean that you might not have gotten exposed. And it's because ticks have this molecule that we humans don't have alpha-gal in their saliva. And it's a carbohydrate in most mammals, but not in humans. So when that tick bites you, you can become sensitized to it and develop an allergy, similar to other types of allergy. And we still don't know exactly why some people get this after a tick bite and others don't. But it has been exponentially increasing in society. Well, it appears that AGS Alpha Gal syndrome is most common in the South, the East, and the central parts of the United States, because that's where there's the most lone star ticks. And we're up in Northeast Ohio, but it still can be present anywhere there's ticks. So your healthcare clinician could diagnose this with allergy tests, skin testing, but it can be a tricky diagnosis to make. Some people don't know they had ticks because the bite can be painless, not leaving a mark. And a lot of people with tick-borne illnesses don't even remember being bitten or taking a tick off their skin. And as with other food allergies, it can be delayed. And people don't always notice that. Whenever I deal with anyone who's got some sort of allergic type symptom, I recommend they keep a journal of what they're eating, what they're doing, what kind of toothpaste, mouthwash, skin cream, medicines, supplements. I mean, a lot of times you have to be a sleuth to figure these things out.

Testing Treatment Avoidance And Prevention

Dr. \ 18:20

So what is management and treatment? Well, unfortunately, the obvious, you know, management is simply avoiding the foods, medicines, or personal care items that contain the animal products that have alpha gal. There are some newer treatments like amylismab, which is zolar injections, also oral immunotherapy, OIT, which is what Artemis went through with the cashews. So that might help reduce the reaction of a severe reaction if the person gets exposed. Your clinician may also want you to keep antihistamines and an epi auto injector on hand, and it's called EpiPen or Or VQ. Um, and you've got to have it with you. Like it's no good if you're out camping and you have an allergic reaction and your EpiPen is at home, or it's in the vehicle, but you're camping far away. Or you kept it in one purse, but you grab the other purse to go out to eat. So uh there's also apparently a new nasal spray, Nephi, um, you know, for people that can't do the injections to squirt that up the nose. And it's very important to avoid getting ticked bites, obviously, in the first place. And not everyone reacts the exact same way. So meat from beef and pork, rabbit, goat, lamb, venison, even foods cooked in animal fat. There is a cancer treatment called cetuximab, which treats certain types of cancer that also can cause a reaction. Less likely are milk and products that contain milk, also household products like lanolin, tallow, suet are all from cows. Even food or medications or supplements made with gelatin or glycerin, which is in so many things, or magnesium sterate or bovine extracts. Glucosamine chondroit and sulfate can be from either shellfish, which can cause allergies in people with shellfill's allergies. That's used a lot to treat osteoarthritis, a type pain and symptoms. And it can also be from bovine sources. Foods made with keratinin, which is an additive used to thicken and preserve things like nut milks and meat products and yogurt. So anyone with severe allergies should probably see an allergist, a specialist in allergist. And if you've got any symptoms or you're concerned, you should seek medical attention, of course. People ask, does Alpha Gal syndrome ever go away? Well, sometimes people can reintroduce it, and avoiding additional tick bites helps a lot, but you've got to be prepared and in a controlled situation if you're going to try foods that might cause a reaction. So the best thing is prevention as in everything. So let's try not to get tick bites is like our number one goal. So try not to go off the trails in wooded and grassy areas. If you're going to be in deep wooded areas and tick-infested places, please cover up as much of your skin as possible. And even if it's hot out wearing long-sleeve clothing, tucking in your socks, in your shoes and pants, and applying this permethrin to clothing. Or you can buy pretreated clothing. But don't put the permethrin on your skin. Use the United States Environmental Protection Agency approved insect repellents. Check yourself and your pets for ticks after being outdoors. And I think it's a good idea to shower after you've been outside and to inspect young children's skin in the bathtub or shower. And certainly, if you see a tick, remove it right away. Clean the area with rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball. And then use some tweezers to grasp the tick right at the head or mouth and pull it out carefully without crushing it. Then clean the The area with soap and water. So, you know, having this syndrome isn't just about passing on burgers and steaks. Maybe you're a vegetarian. However, like all food allergies, it can affect so many different products. And while you need to be cautious, not everybody has the same reaction to every product. And for some, their symptoms get better. But for other people, this can be really quite a devastating change to their life. So thank you for joining us in the Sunflower House. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give us a five-star rating. You can forward it to your friends or family. If you want more information, you can go on speaking of woman's health.com. If you don't already subscribe, go and click the follow collect or subscribe button on your podcast app, of which there's so many. If you want to give us a donation to our nonprofit, you can go on speaking awoman's health.com and make a donation. Remember, be strong, be healthy, and be in charge.

Ratings Subscriptions And Listener Resources

Dr. \ 23:05

Well,

New Federal Push On Lyme

Dr. \ 23:06

as soon as I wrapped up taping of the podcast on tick issues in the summer, Lyme disease and alpha gal, wouldn't you know there was a major announcement from the United States government, HHS, announced that they're working on a cure for Alpha Gal. It's the tick disease that we discussed that can make you allergic to red meat for life. Just one bite from a lone star tick or other infected ticks could give you an allergy to meat. And uh RFK Jr., who's the secretary of HHS, announced that 50% of the population in Martha's Vineyard now has Alpha Gal. I spent my summers um on Martha's Vineyard. So it was very exciting to me to hear that there's a sweeping plan to combat both Lyme disease and advanced treatment. It was just announced at the end of May of 2026, if you're uh listening to this podcast in the future. And Lyme disease uh affected uh one of my dear mentors who got antibiotic treatment, which was appropriate, but it led to C. diffacylcolitis, uh, which caused a lot of bowel problems and uh kind of encouraged him to retire maybe a little bit earlier than he was planning to, although he's had a wonderful retirement. And I'm in contact with him uh at least on a weekly basis, all these years later, which is uh so wonderful. But Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses can really cause a lot of morbidity and even potentially mortality. So that's why I was so excited as soon as I was done taping to hear that HHS is um having a multi-million dollar pilot program focused on tick control, as well as $2.5 million in innovative challenges and funding for the National Institute of Health Researchers to combat alpha-gal, as well as encourage public-private collaborations to help patients connect with clinicians who understand how to evaluate and treat tick-borne disease. So, this press conference was just announced in New Hampshire, which is one of the states that's hardest hit by Lyme disease. There was a roundtable with state lawmakers and Lyme disease advocates. And this is part of Take Back Your Health Tour. And Secretary Kennedy said millions of Americans are battling Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. And so to launch this ambitious federal effort to combat the disease by one, accelerating research, also expanding innovation and improving care for families and patients is certainly right up our alley of be strong, be healthy, and be in charge. So looking at the disease at the source, getting faster diagnostics, new preventive strategies, and delivering urgency that Americans need. So it's almost half a million Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year. And this is based on recent data from emergency room visits for tick bites, which reached their highest springtime level in nearly a decade. Now that we're into the summer and leaving the spring, we're still in tick season. The Center for Disease Control at CDC and the HHS, in collaboration with tick control researchers, are going to deploy strategies to target and eliminate ticks on the wildlife before they can spread to us humans. It's going to begin with researchers in New England's Center of Excellence in Vector-borne disease and build on community collaboration. So reducing tick population, disrupting the breeding cycle will aim to slow the disease transmission. And the goal is to reduce Lyme disease at least by 25% in 2035 compared to 2022 levels. The NIH currently invests about $50 million annually in Lyme research and about $122 million in broader tick prevention. But they also announced some actions to combat this Alpha Gal syndrome, which is associated with potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to red meat and other mammalian products. And at least half a million Americans are currently living with Alpha Gal syndrome. And the numbers may be higher and they're going up. And there's going to be collaboration, and the NIH is going to fund some clinical research in this area. And HHS also announced three new LIMEX innovation challenges offering millions of dollars in funding to accelerate breakthroughs. And that's going to have to do with public awareness campaigns, promising frontline solutions, including novel use of existing medicines and repurposing old medications. Also looking at AI and open data sources to help patients who have Lyme disease and other tick illnesses. So this is really very exciting. You can go to HHS.gov forward slash Lyme to access the clinician tool to find someone who's expert in treating Lyme disease, helping connect people and families to experienced clinicians as well as educational resources and associated chronic conditions. And uh the senator, Secretary Kennedy reiterated his support for the reauthorization of the bipartisan K. Hagen TIC Act, which established the nation's first coordinated federal strategy for promoting and controlling vector-borne diseases. And so we want innovation, research, and we want to ensure that patients get timely treatment.

Promising Alpha-Gal Remission And Acupuncture

Dr. \ 29:27

Now there was a recent study that found a 96% remission in Alpha Gal, looking at 134 patients who were treated with this so-called SAAT, Solomon Auricular Allergy Treatment. And many who previously could not tolerate beef or pork or dairy or other mammalian foods were able to reintroduce them in their diet. And the procedure is unusual. They don't ingest or get injected with alpha gal like a lot of allergy desensitization. Instead, they simply touch a vial with the allergen, while the clinicians identify a reactive point in the ear using electrical detection. And then a tiny acupuncture needle is placed in the specific area of the auricular zone of the ear and left in place for three weeks. Even amongst people who had anaphylaxis, over 90% reported no subsequent symptoms, which is pretty amazing. Now, this was just a retrospective case series. It wasn't randomized controlled trial. But with these cases exploding and there not being clear uh treatment to reverse this allergy, uh, this significant remission rate is pretty hard to ignore. And I've always been very fascinated with acupuncture. In fact, uh, if you didn't hear the podcast that I did on acupuncture with MD PhD uh Dr. Jin Fang on acupuncture, uh a lot of treatments uh that conventional medicine doesn't necessarily have good treatments for, um, like stroke and neurologic injury, chronic pain syndromes, particularly of the back, even menstrual cramps. Uh, there's evidence that acupuncture can help. So when you're dealing with a chronic condition, uh, one that maybe you haven't found some straightforward solution, we want to be holistic, we want to look comprehensively, we want to look at ancient healing as well as the most innovative uh allopathic therapies that are available. So, on that optimistic note, hopefully uh you'll focus on prevention. Stay away from ticks, get the ticks off the body as soon as possible if you've been exposed, get early treatment and evaluation with an experienced clinician, and uh be reassured that there's resources and innovation and serious study going into studying these tick vector borne diseases. Be strong, be healthy, and be in charge.