04/12/2025
Ashley Courtney, 37, spent over a year searching for answers to severe symptoms —painful rashes, hives, heart palpitations, and a constant feeling that ""everything"" was making her sick— that no specialist could explain. After consulting 11 doctors and enduring multiple emergencies, invasive tests, and even a pregnancy marked by an inability to eat or sleep normally, it was her hairdresser who suggested she look into alpha-gal syndrome. This allergy, caused by the bite of the Lone Star tick, triggers severe reactions when consuming or coming into contact with mammal-derived products. A test finally confirmed the diagnosis, ending a long medical odyssey. Today, Ashley lives on a strict diet free of red meats and derivatives, carefully monitors her environment, and carries emergency treatment, while lamenting that her case wasn't taken seriously from the start, despite this condition affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. and potentially causing anything from digestive issues to life-threatening reactions.
