Sydney mum Brigitte Bond almost dies from meat allergy after being bitten by ticks

THIS Sydney mum had eaten meat pies her whole life without any problems. But when she ate one after being bitten by ticks she found herself fighting for her life.

Northern Beaches Mum Brigitte Bond ate a meat pie and had an allergic reaction. Picture: Braden Fastier

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A MUM who unwittingly developed a meat allergy after she was bitten by ticks was left fighting for her life after eating a meat pie for dinner.

Brigitte Bond, 45, of Balgowlah Heights, who has eaten meat all her life without any problems, picked up dozens of ticks the size of “pin pricks” while weeding in a schoolyard in April.

An image of a tick, which can cause Lyme disease. Picture: AFP

She said she only realised hours later, when her skin became itchy. Her husband Jason scraped them off with a knife.

After that she suffered three allergic reactions but was baffled as to what was triggering them. Then, after having two portions of a homemade meat pie, she said she woke in the middle of the night with her most severe reaction yet.

“I woke about 2am with a rash all over me, my throat was tight and constricted and I was having trouble breathing,” said Mrs Bond, whose husband was away.

“This was worse than any of the other reactions.

“I managed to stumble into the bathroom and rip open a box of antihistamine and throw some tablets into my mouth before collapsing on the bathroom floor.”

The 'Wart Off' pen, which is a modern tool against ticks. Picture: Braden Fastier

Northern Beaches Mum Brigitte Bond with the 'Wart Off' pen. Picture: Braden Fastier

Mrs Bond’s sons Kyle, 10, and Adam, 9, were asleep, unaware their mother was in peril. After passing out on the floor for around an hour, she said she came around with a painful, “clenched” stomach.

“I crawled out of the bathroom back to bed,” she said.

When she woke in the morning she still had a sore throat but was able to breathe easily. She phoned a friend who told her about a story in the Manly Daily about a Warriewood family who had meat allergies caused by ticks.

There are more than 1000 people on the northern beaches living with a meat allergy from tick bites, according to allergy specialist Sheryl van Nunen who first discovered the association between anaphylaxis to meat from mammals after a person has been bitten by ticks.

Dr Sheryl van Nunen. Picture supplied.

A blood test confirmed Mrs Bond had developed an allergy to meat as a result of the tick bite and she now carries an EpiPen in case she has another­ reaction.

“I’m in your debt — the story probably saved my life,” said Mrs Bond, who is keen to raise awareness of how to remove ticks safely.

She said she would not want a child to go through such a scary experience.

Dr van Nunen said by removing ticks safely you could avoid the allergen passing from the tick to the human. “Freeze it, don’t squeeze it,” she said

Sheryl van Nunen’s tick removal advice:

1. For adult ticks, use a freezing agent, containing ether, such as Wart-Off. Apply five presses of the treatment half a centimetre above the tick and wait for the tick to fall off. If it doesn’t, reapply. Do not pull off a tick even if it is dead, as when the tick’s body is squeezed it can cause the allergen to be released. Seek medical help if a tick, dead or alive, doesn’t drop off.

2. For tiny ticks, such as larvae and nymphs, use a permethrin-based cream such as Lyeclear. Leave on for one to three hours and they should fall off.

3. For more information on how to prevent and remove ticks go to tiara.org.au.