An increasingly common allergy caused by tick bites continues to sweep across parts of the South and Mid-Atlantic, including Virginia, causing everything from rashes and hives to crippling gastro-intestinal upset, and, in rare cases, death. But some with the so-called “red meat allergy” are getting symptom relief with acupuncture. WMRA’s Christine Kueter reports.
It was the scariest steak supper Travis Brown ever ate.
TRAVIS BROWN: I’m either cured, or I’m going to the hospital. Fork in one hand and an EpiPen in the other.
The 40-year-old Culpeper native had been diagnosed with an alpha-gal allergy in 2012 after enduring mysterious episodes of crippling stomach upset, swelling, and hives for nearly a year. Brown spent the next decade avoiding red meat, dairy, and certain animal byproducts, like gummy bears and Jell-o. He stopped going to cookouts, rarely ate in restaurants, and downed a lot of chicken and fish.
TRAVIS BROWN: Well, years ago, I’d heard of acupuncture being a potential cure for the condition, but, back then, I guess I was naive, and I was like, “No way. There’s no way.” A friend of mine had told me he was going to try this out with a doctor in Charlottesville. And I was, like, you know, wishing him the best, like, I hope it works, but, at the back of my brain, I was like, “impossible.” He sent me a picture one day of him eating a steak, and I was like, “OK, sign me up. I’m in.’”
Brown booked an appointment with Charlottesville acupuncturist Michael Jabalee in 2023 who inserted an eyelash-sized needle (a procedure called the Soliman Auricular Allergy Treatment, or SAAT) into the concha of his left ear, and covered it with a tiny bandage. One month later, Jabalee removed the needle, and Brown fired up his grill.
TRAVIS BROWN: I went home and immediately grilled a T-bone, and I cut a piece about the size of my fist. And it was the scariest meal of my life. That day, I only ate the fist-sized portion. And, I waited. . . . No stomach issues. I tried it again the next day, just, like a doublecheck. And nothing. I’ve been eating red meat every day since.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that nearly a half-million Americans have alpha-gal syndrome, though another study asserted that 30% of Americans had it, even as many clinicians still haven’t heard of it. Scientist Thomas Platts-Mills, at the University of Virginia – the first to identify the link between the allergy and the bite of a lone star tick – believes at least 5% of central Virginians (which includes eight counties – Albemarle, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Orange) have it. That’s more than 17,000 people.
Alpha-gal syndrome is characterized by an allergic reaction three to six hours after eating red meat, and sometimes dairy, with symptoms that can range from mild to seismic: itching, hives, swelling, debilitating gastrointestinal distress, and even full-on anaphylaxis. But some who test positive for the alpha-gal allergy may never develop allergic reactions, though they remain at risk of developing one. It can even be a killer.
Platts-Mills stops short of recommending acupuncture, but he doesn’t discount it.
THOMAS PLATTS-MILLS: I think if you have a syndrome like this where you can have the antibodies and you don’t get symptoms, and you can be changed from being in the symptomatic class to the non-symptomatic class, I think that’s great. I’m in favor of that. I don’t recommend it because, you know, we’re trained so thoroughly not to recommend alternative medicine, but the truth is some alternative medicine works. I think they actually have a treatment that works, doesn’t work permanently, doesn’t work for everybody, but then that’s true of every other medicine we’ve got. Hopelessly true.
While there is no known cure for alpha-gal syndrome, there is some evidence acupuncture may help. A 2021 study found that 96% of patients who had acupuncture for alpha-gal allergies reported that their symptoms went into remission. While the study lacked lab values and didn’t include a control group, some, including nurse Rebecca Smith, are nevertheless convinced.
Smith, of Dilwyn, was diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome in 2018 after getting a tick bite while camping.
REBECCA SMITH: You know, I’m a good old country girl, so we have meat with pretty much every meal, so. I ate fish, turkey, and chicken a lot. That part kind of sucked, I missed steak a lot.
It went on that way until late 2025 when acupuncturist Jessica Dodds put six needles in Smith’s right ear for five weeks. By Christmas, Smith was eating ham.
REBECCA SMITH: I had never tried anything like that before. Being in medicine, you tend to think those theories are better, like doing the antihistamine medications to treat stuff, but it didn’t work for alpha-gal, really. So, I just figured I’d have to modify my diet and go on about myself. Now, I don’t have to worry about what’s in a meal at a cookout, or how food’s cooked at a restaurant, or any of that, which is really nice.
Acupuncturist Mila Zimmerman got SAAT-certified this spring and gets daily phone calls about alpha gal.
MILA ZIMMERMAN: I’m not a person who frowns upon Western medicine at all. We need it, and I think it can be very diagnostic. I’m noticing people are running out of solutions, or the doctors are running out of solutions for some of the things they’re coming across. That’s where people are seeking alternative care because they’re getting frustrated.
Jabalee, the acupuncturist who treated Travis Brown, estimates that one-third of his clients are looking for allergy relief.
MICHAEL JABALEE: You know, the birdwatchers’ proverb: when the bird and the book disagree, always believe the bird. Don’t dismiss your experience.
He urges everyone to keep an open mind.
