Remember to check for ticks after your next stroll through the woods or long grasses.
  • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zipEnglish
    15·
    5 days ago

    Because people don’t read the source anymore:

    that nickname is misleading, because alpha-gal syndrome can cause strong reactions to many products, beyond just red meat.

    The alpha-gal sugar molecule exists in the tissues of most mammals, including cows, pigs, deer, and rabbits. But it’s absent in humans.

    the allergy also can be set off by exposure to a range of other animal-based products, including dairy products, gelatin (think Jell-O or gummy bears), medications, and even some personal care items.

    it’s possible to get over the allergy if you can modify your diet enough to avoid triggering another reaction for a few years and also avoid more tick bites.

    • TheSaddestMan@lemmy.zipEnglish
      3·
      5 days ago

      Yes. Tl;dr: avoid (more) tick bites

      I find it disturbing people have forgotten about parasites because we got rid of most of them. Ticks are not “just like mosquitos”, ticks have seriously dangerous pathogens, and even mosquitos transfer Malaria. Malaria. Which is - if I’m remembering correctly - killing more people in Africa per year than all other causes of death globally combined. That’s including coal mining deaths (deadliest job), human war and murder (second-deadliest “animal” for humans is ourselves) and attacks by wild/domesticated animals, and heart attacks and strokes (most common death for the elderly).

      I’m going to have to admit I don’t know the death toll of Malaria for sure, but it IS or WAS the reason mosquitos are/were the deadliest predator for humans. Either way, I’d rather die than have my life turn into an episode of Monsters Inside Me.