Watch out for ticks and the reactions they cause

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield resident Moni Hayne wants to educate the public about how they can avoid tick bites, and to be mindful of their symptoms following a tick bite, which could indicate a bigger problem.

Hayne is an entomologist who has hosted many programs on insects at Jefferson County Park. She’s also an avid gardener, and loves spending time outdoors. She loves collecting insects that she finds on the trail, which she uses in her insect programs. She also knows that she has to protect herself from harmful insects, especially ticks, since they can carry Lyme disease.

“In the summer, I wear an insect shield shirt treated with permethrin, and pull my socks over my pants anytime I know I am going out into anything taller than lawn grass,” Hayne said. “Most ticks, especially dog and black legged ticks, will climb up on a blade of grass and wait for a mammal to come by.”

This past summer, Hayne was bitten two or three times by Lone Star ticks. At the time, she didn’t think much about it. She was able to remove the ticks, and the bites itched a little, but nothing out of the ordinary, at least at first.

In August, she developed a rash on her hands. She was holding her grandson, and noticed that her hands had become very itchy all of a sudden. She said the itch was unbearable.

“I wanted to dip them in ice water. They itched terribly,” she said.

The rash spread all over her body. She took a Benadryl tablet, hoping that would help. No relief. She took a second one half an hour later, but that was not enough. She had no choice but to seek medical help at the Jefferson County Health Center’s walk-in clinic later that day.

Hayne was seen by a nurse practitioner, who gave her a shot of prednisone in her hip. That gave her relief immediately, and she received prednisone for five more days. The nurse practitioner told her she’d need to have blood drawn to get to the bottom of the rash.

Due to her training as an entomologist, Hayne was familiar with a rare type of reaction to tick bites called alpha-gal syndrome. It is a type of allergic reaction caused by bites from a Lone Star tick, which manifests after a person eats red meat or products derived from such animals and can include beef broth, dairy products and even certain pills and creams. Hayne suspected that this is what caused her rash because she had eaten a hamburger earlier that day, but she wouldn’t know for sure until her blood work came back.

After meeting with an allergist in Iowa City and having her blood analyzed, Hayne’s results came back on Sept. 18, confirming that she was positive for alpha-gal syndrome.

Hayne said it felt good to know for certain the cause of her rash, but it came with a startling realization. Her allergist told her to get an auto injector, commonly known as an EpiPen, to inject epinephrine in her body in case she goes into anaphylactic shock. For now, Hayne is avoiding all red meat to ensure she doesn’t have another reaction.

“We eat vegetarian at home, but I grew up on a dairy farm, and occasionally need a burger,” she said. “So no more burgers anymore.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a press release in July about alpha-gal syndrome, and found that between 2010 and 2022, more than 110,000 cases of alpha-gal syndrome had been identified. However, due to the fact that not everyone with alpha-gal gets tested, the CDC estimates that the actual prevalence of alpha-gal syndrome is closer to 450,000 individuals.

Though Hayne suffered from a serious rash, other people with alpha-gal syndrome suffer different symptoms including nausea, vomiting, heartburn, difficulty breathing and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eyes. According to the CDC, symptoms commonly appear two to six hours after eating red meat or products derived from red meat.

Hayne said there is a chance that her alpha-gal syndrome will subside and she can go back to eating red meat, but only provided she does not get bitten by another Lone Star tick.

“You’re not going to keep my inside,” Hayne said. “I will be more careful about making sure I have treated clothing from head to toe.”

Hayne said her advice to the public is to enjoys the outdoors as much as possible, but to be aware of ticks and the reactions a tick bite can cause.

“If you know that you’ve been bitten by a tick, be aware of your body, especially after eating red meat,” she said.

Hayne said the best way to avoid tick bites is to wear your pants inside your socks, to avoid long, unmowed grass, and to check your body for ticks (and your pets) upon coming inside. To remove a tick that is still on your body, grab it with clean, fine-tipped tweezers as close to your skin’s surface as possible, and pull upward with steady, even pressure to prevent its mouth-parts from breaking off and remaining in your skin.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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