It’s a beautiful sunny day and Doug has gone out for an ocean paddle. I was all set to go but, realised that while the head was keen, the body was not. This latest anaphylactic episode has knocked me about a bit more than usual. It turns out, looking back through trip reports, this is the third instance of tick induced allergy I have had in the previous nine months, with each one worse than the last. The symptoms and signs are slightly different to the ones I get after wasp, bee or hornet stings and it is only in hindsight that I have been able to put the entire puzzle together. Despite having had sting allergies for 23 years, I did not realise that symptoms can be other than respiratory, and frequently include gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhoea and vomiting), and even seizures.
Below is my diary of a tick allergy, extracted from our trip database:
15 November 2024: We walked in and got Doug set up and then Sandy, after eating a couple of bites of the previous nights dinner, walked along to start trail work. I got incredibly dizzy and felt like I was going to faint. I've never had that like that before. I simply could not walk. I ended collapsed on the track, unable to find anywhere to get on a log out of the dirt as I was so sick. Vomited about 5 times and the other x 1. Lay on my side by my pack hoping for the dizziness to pass off. Eventually called Doug as I thought I should let him know. He was just finishing up and got packed up quick as he could and came along to meet me. I had begun walking out still very dizzy but holding on to trees to keep my balance, only some retching as I had emptied my stomach. I found a tick buried in my shoulder when I got home. It left a big red wheal. I went to bed when I got back.
20 November 2024:Climbed part way up route but feeling icky. Found a tick on myself and felt more icky so we walked out.
19 December 2024: Got bit by a tick and felt very unwell. Took anti-histamine, felt like I was going to pass out so lay down for a while. I had been belaying Doug up the climbing route but he came down and he managed to remove the tick but it had bitten me. We left after that as I felt quite wobbly.
There you have it. In hindsight, it is recognisable as a clear tick allergy but at no point did I have the usual difficulty breathing I have experienced with insect sting allergies. I’m not sure how I am going to manage in the future. At least with insect stings, you feel the sting and can immediately take medication. Ticks are different and frequently only found later. But, I know that in future, I’ll be reaching for the epinephrine as soon as I feel even a little bit off. Ironically, I often take anti-histamine first hopeful that I can fend off a full blown reaction because I always think “If I take the epinephrine the whole day will be shot.” As if dying doesn’t ruin your entire day! My brain is so low on oxygen and blood during these events that I surprise myself with how daft my thinking is after the event.
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