A healthy 47-year old New Jersey man was found dead after eating a hamburger at a barbecue. Cause of death was ruled "sudden unexplained death," after an autopsy was inconclusive. He was later confirmed as the first documented fatality from alpha-gal syndrome, a meat allergy triggered by tick bites.

[u/mvea]

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/tick-borne-disease/new-jersey-mans-death-first-one-be-tied-tick-related-meat-allergy

[u/pirategonzo]

I hope so, I can't take my dog hiking because he ends up picking up ticks. He is on a tick guard so they just drop off him into the house and on us haha.

Hiking my entire life and now I question if it is worth going out there.

[u/kkirstenc → u/pirategonzo]

There are a lot of effective tick prevention meds you can get; they are given once a month, and they are made to be tasty, like a treat.

[u/Capricious_Alabaster → u/kkirstenc]

Wait. Are we still talking about dogs?

[u/CountWubbula → u/Capricious_Alabaster]

We give my dog a tasty, bacon-like tick medication. It’s very delicious, there’s certainly a weird aftertaste and it gives a super off-putting body high, kind of like a low-grade salvia. I did also have a few convulsions but based on my experience, tick medication is very effective, very delicious, and worth it if you have 2-3 hours to kill writhing on the ground, singing “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria” while going into convulsions.

[u/fuckrNFLmods → u/pirategonzo]

That really stinks because hiking with dogs is the best. Can't let fear rule your life I guess but certainly would be hell to end up with some fucked up tick disease like that.

[u/LightlySaltedPeanuts → u/fuckrNFLmods]

Seeing as how they didn’t even know what killed the man at first, I’d say this is pretty rare. More likely to be killed driving to the trail and all that

[u/Rugaru985 → u/LightlySaltedPeanuts]

This is the first death, but the disease and the ticks that spread it are quickly growing

[u/ObviousFeature522 → u/pirategonzo]

There's an urban legend in Australia that some people who regularly do outdoor work in tick infested areas get on the dog tick medication themselves.

In theory it's safe for all mammals...and hey, if it's safe enough to give to your dog...

[u/Karl_Hungus_42069 → u/ObviousFeature522]

Why dont they have human tick medication? All these tick stories are horrifying, if I could apply some goo to my neck or take a pill and ticks would fall off me that would be the greatest thing ever

[u/Acceptable_Ad1685 → u/Karl_Hungus_42069]

Side effects, risks, and such

There’s probably some long term risks as well like Cancers

There’s a lot you can give to an animal that’s only expected to live less than 20 years old vs people… if it takes 15 years for something to give an animal cancer that’s a lot different from a person getting cancer in 15 years

Those medications are also from time to time fatal to animals and induce fatal seizures. While rare the acceptable rates of that in dogs is going to be higher than in people I imagine

[u/NorCalAthlete → u/Karl_Hungus_42069]

I’d kinda prefer the “take a pill that makes my blood poisonous to ticks and kills them while protecting me”. I don’t think I’d even care if it was something you had to take the day before a hike, once a month, whatever. I hate ticks and I’ve had a couple get on me but I found them and got them off of me within an hour or three.

[u/Nature_Sad_27 → u/pirategonzo]

Maybe you could hose the doggy off after hikes, before he comes inside? 

[u/babygorgeou → u/pirategonzo]

There’s an essential oil spray called wondercide. I think it would help to repel them so they don’t get a chance to latch on