Tick bite in British woodland leaves man with potentially deadly meat allergy
A part-time dog walker who was bitten by a tick has been left housebound with a serious allergy to red meat
Wiki Common images/ John Tann
A part-time dog walker who was bitten by a tick has been left housebound with a serious allergy to red meat.
Christopher Goldman now suffers from alpha-gal syndrome - a tickborne illness which can cause anaphylaxis if he eats mammal meat such as beef, pork or lamb.
The 28-year-old claims any exposure, including airborne transmission, to any mammal by-product including wool, diary and leather will trigger a reaction.
Following the incident, he now only wears vegan approved clothing and uses household products that are guaranteed animal free.
Christopher Goldman now suffers from alpha-gal syndrome - a tickborne illness which can cause anaphylaxis
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Goldman also carries an epi-pen everywhere he goes and wears an emergency contact bracelet.
Products that he suspects might contain mammal products have been piled up in a room at the front of the house.
The part-time dog walker said he was bitten by the parasite in a wooded area near his home in Woking in Surrey.
He claims that he been bitten at least four times since December and has since suffered eight fainting episodes, including five on the same day.
"I woke up with intense itching and I was very hot. I did not want to wake up my girlfriend so I went to the bathroom," Goldman told Sky News.
"My skin was crimson red and I had hives all over my body. I noticed a strange sensation in my hands, my face and my tongue began to swell.
"As my throat began to constrict I stood up and felt a 'wash' down to my feet."
The business production manager said his most serious episode was on 28 June.
The part-time dog walker said he was bitten by the parasite in a wooded area near his home in Woking in Surrey (stock image)
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He added: "I just spent the time looking up at the ceiling, just waiting to either die or see what happened to me. It was definitely the most traumatic experience ever."
Goldman said he had eaten red meat several hours before his anaphylaxis and suspected that could have been the trigger.
Despite his local hospital saying they were unaware of any related conditions, a private blood test confirmed his tick bites had developed into alpha-gal syndrome.
He said: "Doctors are telling people that it is psychosomatic, that it is anxiety or stress induced, and they're not getting help.
"But what I'm here to speak up about the debilitating side of this, leaving people housebound and with my life completely torn up, more research needs to be done because we're getting absolutely no help."
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