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“Red meat allergy” from tick bites is spreading both in US and globally
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2025
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I think its crazy how many people get ticks where they go unnoticed long enough for it to bury and reach your blood. I wanna say it's a full 24 hours before that happens and even then idk how much it takes before this will effect you since even things like limes disease means it needs to be in you for even longer.
Idk about others, but I have had my fair share of ticks, but thankfully, never one go unnoticed long enough that it broke through. People really should check more. Showering is a great time to discover if you may have one on you.
I got a tick bite. And I didn't even notice it. It was right on my arm. So it's not like I've just been sitting around feeding the fucker for the fun of it.
As the doctor told me. They can be very tiny, they latch on, and then you accidentally rub it off, never knowing it was there. And during that, it regurgitated and that's why you see the giant tick bite mark.
The real question. Is why people see a giant hollow red circle and just ignore it. It's a very distinctive mark, I don't know how you could miss it, unless it's on the back of your thigh or back. Go to the doctor, get penicillin. That's it.
And these days, if you know you live in a high risk area, you can get vaccinated.
I'll tell you why. Because it's fucking expensive.
I had what looked like a classic "bullseye" tick bite (several, actually). People told me "run, don't walk, to the ER". So I did.
The ER doc told me it was probably fine but I should see my doctor. $600. They had the gall to bill me $600 for telling me to go see a doctor. And that's with "good" insurance.
I still have no idea what caused those marks.
I never saw any distinctive skin signs after being bitten.
Then you probably removed it without making regurgitate. Which is good. Point is. If you see the bullseye. You need penicillin.
As a kid, I had a ticket on the top of my head just a bit back of center. Couldn't see it in a mirror, didn't feel anything weird right away. My mom noticed it at some point, but we had no idea how long it had been on there at that point. I was between 6-8 IIRC.
I've been bitten by ticks many times, sometimes at once (from playing with a family friend's dog). They're surprisingly light for such a large creature.
You haven't lived somewhere the ticks are really bad then.
There is a point especially with ticks too small to see with a negative eye that you will simply not catch them all even if you catch 99% of them.