More than 34,000 people in the United States have tested positive for alpha-gal syndrome, according to an article from 2021 . A publicly ...
More than 34,000 people in the United States have tested positive for alpha-gal syndrome, according to an article from 2021. A publicly generated map by people who say they have the disease indicates that the syndrome may have spread as far as Washington and Hawaii, although it does not mean that people with the disease were bitten by ticks in those states.
Although the conditions are mild for some, others experience hives, swelling, wheezing, diarrhea, or even anaphylaxis, which can be fatal. Unlike many other allergic conditions, symptoms may take several hours to appear after eating meat products, making the syndrome difficult to diagnose.
“It’s never predictable,” said Jennifer Platt, adjunct professor of public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-founder of the nonprofit. Tick-borne diseases. “I know people who spend the night in the emergency parking lot, waiting for a reaction,” she said, adding, “I think of alpha-gal syndrome as Lyme 2.0.”
“There are so many parallels between patients being told by their providers that it’s all in their head,” Dr. Platt said.
Even after treatment, some Lyme disease symptoms, including pain and fatigue, may persist for months. According to the CDC But some medical experts remain skeptical of this chronic version of the disease, disagreement about its presentation, diagnosis, and treatment.
Some alpha-gal sufferers — particularly in states where ticks were considered less common — described the frustration of seeking a diagnosis and encountering disbelief from medical professionals.
In Ms. Fleshman’s case, it took more than seven years and about a dozen emergency room visits before she finally died. found out what was wrong. At one point, an infectious disease doctor told her that she couldn’t have alpha-gal syndrome because there were no lone ticks in the state of Delaware.
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