Contents:
- Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Rise in Tick-related Meat Allergy
- Why are there people who are allergic to meat?
- What are the symptoms of meat allergy?
- What meat can trigger an allergic reaction?
Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Rise in Tick-related Meat Allergy
Food allergies are one of the most common types of allergies. Usually, foods that trigger allergic reactions are milk, eggs, seafood, beans, and certain fruits or vegetables. However, have you ever heard of meat allergies?
If after eating meat, your skin starts to develop a reddish rash itching, stomach feels nauseous, even with a stuffy nose or runny, this is a sign that you may have a meat allergy. Yes, although it is rare, some people can be allergic to all types of livestock meat.
Why are there people who are allergic to meat?
Allergy is an unnatural reaction that the immune system raises against something you eat, drink, touch, or breathe that is actually harmless. Because your body considers it a danger (even though, anyway, no), the immune system releases antibodies to fight the "threat". There is a variety of allergic reactions that can affect the skin, digestive tract, to the respiratory or cardiovascular system.
Doctors don't know why some people can experience food allergies. Most allergies decrease in the family. So if you have close family members who have allergies, your risk will be greater to experience allergies.
Now every time the meat is cooked, there is a lot of protein released and can trigger allergies, especially in some people who are sensitive or susceptible to allergies. In addition, mammalian meat contains natural antibodies gAlactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, also known as alpha-gal, which can interact with carbohydrates found in meat. Interactions between the two can cause itching all over the body, coolies, rashes and swelling, and abdominal pain.
Alpha-gal is transferred to humans from Lone Star lice. Lone Star flea bites can cause a person to be allergic to red meat, including beef and pork. These fleas are found in the southeastern United States, from Texas, Lowa, to New England.
What are the symptoms of meat allergy?
Symptoms of meat allergy generally include itching, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing / shortness of breath, palpitations, to skin rashes and swelling. Meat allergic reactions can appear immediately within a few minutes after the last bite, or appear later in a few hours.
The severity of the symptoms can also vary between people. Severe allergic reactions, called anaphylactic shock, can also occur and this is an emergency medical situation because it can be life threatening.
What meat can trigger an allergic reaction?
All meat from livestock may trigger allergies in sensitive people, including beef, poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, etc.), pork, and goats and sheep.
Basically, meat allergies involve all types of meat protein. But so far, beef is the most common form of meat allergy. Meanwhile, generally people who have allergies to pork have an allergy to cat fur.
Quoted from the Very Well page, beef allergies affect up to 20% of children, especially in those who are prone to atopic dermatitis. Of these, 93 percent had milk allergies. So, children who have a history of milk allergy may also be allergic to beef.
In general, if you are allergic to one type of meat, you might also be allergic to pigs and poultry.
