Good Lifestyle

Despite the popularity of vegan and vegetarian diets, a majority of people in the U.S. still do makan daging. In fact, according to a 2021 survey from Ipsos, 9 in 10 Americans currently include meat aspart of their diet. With that in mind, it won't be hard for most to spot the symptoms of a concerning health condition that's becoming more and more of a problem thanks to another rising trend. Researchers are warning that the increasing prevalence of one pest across the country could have serious consequences for people's eating habits. Read on to find out what symptoms you should be looking out for.

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Researchers have recently found that the presence of one troublesome tick is growing across the U.S., The New York Times reported on May 13. According to the newspaper, the lone star tick—named as such because of the white blotch on females' back—is usually found in the southern part of the country, but experts have started to spot this pest in increasing numbers in parts of the Midwest and the Northwest. Scientists say that this expansion is largely due to global warming, as the ticks have more time to feed on hosts and reproduce when there are more hot days each year.

"What we're now seeing is a wide open door for ticks to continue expanding their range further northward; bringing more people into the fold of the arthropod-borne diseases," Michael Raupp, PhD, a professor emeritus in entomology at the University of Maryland, told The New York Times. "We're venturing into uncharted waters in so many dimensions with climate change."

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The lone star tick can spread a number of diseases and health concerns, but one of the most worrying is alpha-gal syndrome (AGS). According to the Mayo Clinic, this condition is "a recently identified type of food allergy to red meat and other products made from mammals," most commonly caused by a bite from a lone star tick. Researchers first started noticing an allergic reaction from alpha-gal in 2006, but they did not connect it to tick bites until several year later, The New York Times reported.

"The bite transmits a sugar molecule called alpha-gal into the person's body," the Mayo Clinic explains. "In some people, this triggers an immune system reaction that later produces mild to severe allergic reactions to red meat, such as beef, pork or lamb, or other mammal products."

Food allergies are not always severe, but AGS is a "serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns. According to the agency, symptoms of this condition usually arise two to six hours after eating meat or dairy and can include any of the following: hives, an itchy rash, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, indigestion, diarrhea, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, a drop in blood pressure, dizziness, faintness, severe stomach pain, and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue, or eyelids.

Deborah Fleshman, a former nurse who has been diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome, told The New York Times that her symptoms started in 2008 when she woke up to legs that had turned beetroot red and a torso covered in welts, with some being a foot wide. At the time, she said she felt like she was "dying."

"It feels like you're on fire, and then it feels like you slept with a cactus," she said. "The itching is unbearable."AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

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An AGS reaction can also look quite different from person to person, and those with the condition might not have an allergic response every single time they're exposed to meat, according to the CDC. "It's never predictable. I know people that spend the night in the emergency room parking lot, waiting for a reaction," Jennifer Platt, an adjunct professor in public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a co-founder of the nonprofit Tick-Borne Conditions United, explained to The New York Times.

Terlepas dari itu, Anda harus membahas kemungkinan AG dengan dokter Anda jika Anda mengalami gejala apa pun yang terkait dengan kondisi tersebut - terutama jika Anda tahu Anda telah digigit kutu. Menurut CDC, AGS harus dirawat dan dikelola di bawah perawatan penyedia layanan kesehatan, karena pasien mungkin harus menghindari makanan, produk, vaksin, dan obat -obatan tertentu.

"Jika Anda pikir Anda mungkin memiliki AGS, bicara dengan penyedia layanan kesehatan Anda," saran agensi tersebut. "AGS bisa parah, dan bahkan mengancam jiwa. Mencari perawatan darurat segera jika Anda mengalami reaksi alergi yang parah."

Studi 2014 diJurnal Entomologi Medis melaporkan bahwa satu -satunya tanda centang bintangsudah ditemukan di 39 negara bagian pada tahun 2012. menurutThe New York Times, beberapa peta menunjukkan bahwa kutu bintang tunggal telah maju sejauh barat ke Nebraska dan sejauh timur laut Maine, dengan kemungkinan kutu telah atau dapat menetapkan kehadiran di Washington, Oregon, dan California juga.

"Distribusi spasial spesies pasti meningkat setidaknya 30 hingga 50 persen dalam setengah abad terakhir,"Ram Raghavan, PhD, seorang asisten profesor dalam epidemiologi dan ekologi penyakit di University of Missouri yang telah memetakan spread Lone Star Tick, mengatakan kepada surat kabar itu.

Ketika kehadiran kutu bintang tunggal meningkat, demikian juga contoh sindrom alfa-gal. Pada 2018, lebih dari 34.000 orang di ASDiuji positif untuk kondisi tersebut, menurut sebuah makalah yang diterbitkan pada April 2021.Waktu New York, peta yang dihasilkan secara publik menunjukkan bahwa AGStelah memukul individu sejauh Washington dan Hawaii.

Baca ini selanjutnya:Jika Anda melihat ini di leher Anda, segera hubungi dokter Anda.