4 ms·
>There’s a complex interaction between the tick’s saliva and the human immune system that activates this allergy. "It's complicated" isn't really an explanatio
by DebtDeflation 5y ago
>There’s a complex interaction between the tick’s saliva and the human immune system that activates this allergy.
"It's complicated" isn't really an explanation. Do you have any links that explain the actual interaction? I've been googling and can't find anything.
- jagged-chisel 5y agoWikipedia[1] has footnotes for this quote: “If a tick feeds on another mammal, the alpha-gal remains in its alimentary tract. The tick then injects the alpha-gal into a person's skin, which causes the immune system to release a flood of IgE antibodies to fight the foreign carbohydrate. Researchers still do not know which specific component of tick saliva causes the reaction.” 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy?wprov=sfti1
- MadAhab 5y agoTick saliva is meant to trick your body into not identifying it as a foreign object sucking your blood. So saliva, alpha-gal, and who knows what else is injected during the tick's feeding and that mixture is different than just eating food that when breaks down in digestion is turned into alpha gal. It originates in a different place of your body (not from your gut) and has different components. That's about the simplest I can explain the difference.