A mum was left allergic to the smell of meat cooking after a tiny bug bite several years.
Bernadette Jeandell, 38, had to give up virtually anything made from mammals - including her medication - after developing Alpha-gal syndrome.
It's a potentially life-threatening condition which is spread by the bite of a tick and can leave people allergic to alpha-gal sugar molecules, which are found in the majority of mammals.
Ms Jeandall now can't bear to be near the fumes from a barbecue without having an allergic reaction.
She had already given up beef and pork by choice, years before her diagnosis.
Yet following a visit to a Japanese restaurant in 2019, she discovered they were off the menu for good.
She told Pen News Limited: "Everything was cooked on the same surface in front of the customers as part of a show.
"I ordered chicken and shrimp with rice and vegetables. My children and then-partner chose steak.
"About an hour and a half later we were driving home and I began to experience tightness in my chest and throat. I called an ambulance for myself."
As the months passed, she faced increasingly regular and severe outbreaks of hives.
She had already given up beef and pork - and also quit dairy after her diagnosis - but still the reactions continued.
Bernadette, from the US state of Delaware, said: "I remember distinctly taking ibuprofen for a headache one night and I woke up to my face being swollen.
"Then I checked the ingredients and listed on the bottle was lactose.
"I also discovered that the steroid tablets I was taking to help resolve the rash contained milk."
Next on the chopping block were her regular medications for anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
"I had been taking both medications for eight years with no problem," she said.
"Yet at that time I found myself still having reactions and unable to find the source.
"It was my medication. There was gelatine in one and lactose in the other.
"That had a dramatic impact on my day-to-day life. Suddenly I found myself forced to just deal with my psychological diagnoses unmedicated."
Bernadette soon discovered even kissing could be dangerous when she suffered a reaction after locking lips with a date.
Several hours before, they had eaten chicken alfredo - a pasta dish typically made with cheese and cream.
Ms Jeandell recalled: "Fast forward to the middle of the night my face starts to swell and my lips grow huge and my gums are itchy and painful.
"At this point I become extremely frustrated with the various aspects of life that this allergy affected.
"It just kept getting worse. I kept reacting to smaller and smaller exposure levels."
Bernadette has since discovered that the mere smell of meat is now enough to trigger a reaction.
She said: "I was at my sister's house where they cooked burgers inside instead of outside on the grill because it started to rain.
"My face turned red, my mouth started to water and I felt one of the worst headaches coming on that I've ever experienced.
"Apparently I am one of the lucky ones that also reacts to fumes."
Ms Jeandell says its unclear when the tick bit her, but says it was several years before her symptoms developed.
Flare-ups can last for weeks at a time and avoiding them requires meticulous attention.
She said: "I can't just go to a restaurant and order something.
"Unfortunately there is milk, butter or cheese on pretty much every surface in almost every restaurant.
"And forget going to someone else's house to eat! Unless it's family or close friends, it's not an option."
Checking ingredients provides some protection, but it's no guarantee.
And it's not just food that can cause a reaction - everything from tattoo ink to air fresheners has to be checked.
It's exhausting having to check every single thing that I ingest or touch," said Bernadette.
"I don't think people realise how many products we use on a daily basis have animal ingredients in them.
"Did you know that sugar is run through bone char as a whitening process?
"Some juice is run through a gelatine filter as a thickening element - that's not listed on any label. Same thing for wine."
Ms Jeandell says she can at least count on supportive family and friends.
When she celebrated her birthday recently, they carved fruit into the likeness of a multi-tiered cake for her.
She can also continue to have poultry and fish.
But thanks to Alpha-gal syndrome, her life will never be the same.
She added: "It's more than just not eating steak and bacon. It takes over every part of your life."
