Ticks Suck | So Does Alpha-Gal

Reprinted with permission from my friend and fellow surveyor, Danny Cahill

Oh, the joys of Land Surveying! I almost forgot after my 6-year hiatus! After winning The Biggest Loser I was smothered with so many requests to speak that it was all I could handle, so I took a “break” from Land Surveying. But after 6 years of flying 100 times per year, it got old. What would I do if I minimized my speaking opportunities? Survey, of course! It’s in my DNA.

In 1979, my father, Charlie Cahill (PLS1005) started his business. Cahill Land Surveying was part of my life at just 9-years old. Summers were no longer just riding bikes, swimming and messing around – there was work to do! I hated those times back then, except for the money in my pocket, but now I cherish those memories more than ever!

Memories surveying with my sisters and watching Charla run through the woods being chased by bees. “They’re after me! They’re after me!” Well, the 15-year old girl found out you shouldn’t put perfume on before going into the field. It doesn’t attract men, only bugs! And when my sister Cathy wore a halter-top while running the transit and the policeman driving by was so distracted that he rear-ended the car in front of him. I wonder who filled out that police report? But many of my memories are the poison ivy rashes and bug bites – from mosquitos to chiggers to ticks – I hated them! Fast forward to 2016…

While working with my crew-chief on a retracement survey along Lake Ft. Gibson, we got into some harsh brush on a steep hill leading down to the water. It was September and still hot, and although we sprayed for bugs, that evening I must have found a hundred ticks on me! The chiggers also ate me alive from my ankles to my hips. It was the worst case I’d ever had! Part of the job, right? Well, after I picked the ticks off and treated the chigger bites, it was just a part of my past, right? Well, not so fast.

About 2 weeks later I was watching my son march with the Pride of Broken Arrow. It was their first reveal of their entire show. After the performance, we stood up and left the stadium. As we were walking, my hips were itching something fierce! When we got to the car, I found my legs and hips were covered with hives. “They must have used some kind of cleaner on those chairs” was my deduction. I’d only gotten hives one other time in my life, and I had attributed it to drinking soapy water on accident. I went home and took a Benadryl and went to bed.

After that, I often found myself with very itchy palms and small hives from time to time – a real nuisance. I began looking to see if we had changed laundry detergent, were using different cleaners, or anything that might be causing it. I couldn’t figure it out.

As I was driving home from work in early November, I felt flush and felt ill. I thought I was having a heart attack, so I turned into the emergency room to get it checked out. After an EKG and several tests, they found nothing. Still feeling ill, I went home and saw my doctor the next morning. He checked me out and said everything looked fine. “Just keep a list of what you eat in case it is a food-borne allergy,” he said. I could do that…just like keeping a field book! He told me to mark when I broke out or itched, and circle everything I ate 15-30 minutes before it happened.

A few weeks later I was working on my mother’s well-house. I had just finished and while walking up to the house, my head was burning and my ear canals began itching terribly. I thought I might be having a heat stroke because of dehydration, so I ran my head under cool water. Then my palms began to itch, and it quickly spread all over my body! Then came the hives – from head to toe! When I began having trouble breathing, I had my mother rush me to emergency care. They gave me a shot of steroids, and the hives finally subsided and my throat opened back up. I was terrified.

“What did you eat today?” Well, I’d eaten nothing but a roast beef sandwich 4 hours before... “Well, it must have been a contact reaction to something you were around.”

In February, after months of constant issues, I requested to see an allergist. After a long discussion and history, he asked me, “Have you been bitten by a tick lately?” I told him I had been bitten by Lone Star Ticks and chiggers back in September. I remembered it so well as it was the first bites I’d received in 15 years since moving into the office. He then tested me for several allergies, including beef, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey. What???

The results came 2 weeks later and I was allergic to beef, pork and lamb, but not turkey or chicken. The other test came back positive, too – I had contracted Alpha-Gal (Galactose-Alpha-1, 3-galactose). You should google and read up on it. And you better get used to hearing about it, as it’s becoming more and more prevalent. What makes it so hard to diagnose is that the anaphylaxis or symptoms are delayed, happening about 4 hours after eating, causing many to rule out a food allergy.

In short, the tick had bitten a mammal (probably a deer or cow) and then bit me. When I pulled it off, it released something that hooved mammals produce that humans don’t. Thus, I can’t eat beef, pork, lamb, or any other mammal again without a severe immunoglobulin reaction in my autoimmune system that attacks my body causing the reaction, possibly even anaphylaxis or death!

Here are a few things to think about this year as we head into Tick season. “FREEZE, DON’T SQUEEZE!” Squeezing a tick to remove it is the worst thing to do. Using a wart remover spray that freezes the tick, allowing you to brush it away, is the best method. They also make ointments used to treat scabies that works on seed and nymph ticks. Never squeeze it, as you will propel the blood of the tick into your bloodstream, increasing the chance of acquiring Alpha-Gal, Lyme Disease, or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. And spray yourself well, as well as showering and removing ticks as soon as they are found.

We can’t stop going into the woods as Land Surveyors, but we can take precautions, and remove ticks properly, lowering the chance contracting a tick-borne illness.

If you have questions, contact your allergist, or email me at Danny@TheDannyCahill.com and I’ll try to answer any questions you may have about this. And if you find yourself breaking out and itching about 3-5 hours after eating beef, pork, or lamb, please get tested for Alpha-Gal!