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Have you heard of Alpha-gal syndrome? It was new for nearly all of us at Red Whale too. Kick off the year with some free CPD as Fi and Nik share what you need to know in this week’s round-up of Red Whale Pearls.

They discuss:

• What Alpha-gal syndrome is and how it affects patients
• The serious consequences of this rare, tick-borne allergy to red meat
• How it manifests as urticaria occurring 2–6 hours after ingesting mammal products
• How repeated exposure can increase sensitivity and risk of anaphylaxis.

And because we love a smile, we’ve included a best intentions story: when two should have been one!

Press play now while you have access to all the free resources!

Alpha-gal

Patients may need specific dietetic device to support them in this. Anaphylaxis UK has produced a patient information leaflet with more details:

https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/fact-sheet/alpha-gal/

UKHSA: Tips and tricks to stay safe from ticks :

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2014/03/24/tips-and-tricks-to-stay-safe-from-ticks/

Video:

https://www.redwhale.co.uk/bytes/did-you-know-alpha-gal-syndrome

(You'll need to sign in, or sign up to a free Red Whale account to view the video byte above!)

GP Trainee Essentials support package information, and the Red Whale Calendar

Send us your feedback podcast@redwhale.co.uk or send a voice message

Sign up to receive Pearls here. Pearls are available for 3 months from publish date. After this, you can get access them plus 100s more articles when you buy a one-day online course from Red Whale OR sign up to Red Whale Unlimited. Find out more here.

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Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure the information in this podcast is accurate and correct at the date of publication, but it is of necessity of a brief and general nature, and this should not replace your own good clinical judgement, or be regarded as a substitute for taking professional advice in appropriate circumstances. In particular, check drug doses, side-effects and interactions with the British National Formulary. Save insofar as any such liability cannot be excluded at law, we do not accept any liability for loss of any type caused by reliance on the information in this podcast.

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Grab your trainers, your dog lead, or even shake your jingle bells, and join us for some free CPD as we have another relaxed round up of recent Red Whale primary care Pearls of wisdom. In the second of two episodes this month, Fi and Nik discuss:

1. It’s beginning to look a lot like…flu season. There’s been a LOT of media coverage on seasonal influenza over the past few weeks. But aside from flu jabs, are you confident in where we would use antivirals? We look at the criteria for giving antivirals: for treatment, for prophylaxis, and the evidence behind it.
2. “I would like a blood test to check I am well…” What do you do with this request? We share a handy framework to help, and think about how ‘just ticking a box’ could cause a lot of work down the line!

Listen as soon as you can to ensure you have full access to all the free resources.

Useful Links

UKHSA guideline (2025): treatment and prophylaxis of influenza

GP Trainee Essentials support package information, and the Red Whale Calendar

Send us your feedback podcast@redwhale.co.uk or send a voice message

Sign up to receive Pearls here. Pearls are available for 3 months from publish date. After this, you can get access them plus 100s more articles when you buy a one-day online course from Red Whale OR sign up to Red Whale Unlimited. Find out more here.

Follow us: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure the information in this podcast is accurate and correct at the date of publication, but it is of necessity of a brief and general nature, and this should not replace your own good clinical judgement, or be regarded as a substitute for taking professional advice in appropriate circumstances. In particular, check drug doses, side-effects and interactions with the British National Formulary. Save insofar as any such liability cannot be excluded at law, we do not accept any liability for loss of any type caused by reliance on the information in this podcast.

Send us a text

Grab your trainers, your dog lead, or even shake your jingle bells, and join us for some free CPD as we have another relaxed round up of recent Red Whale primary care Pearls of wisdom. In the first of two episodes this month, Fi and Nik discuss :

1. Spotting adrenal crisis. Adrenal insufficiency and Addison’s disease can be easy to miss. We've recently updated our article on this, so we thought we’d share it as a Pearl, distilling the 2024 NICE guidance for you.
2. Recurrent bacterial vaginosis: time to consider partner treatment? Bacterial vaginosis is the commonest cause of pathological vaginal discharge in women of reproductive age. But it’s not an easy diagnosis for us to confirm – although we can suspect it clinically and manage empirically. We’ll give you a refresher on BV infection and diagnosis in primary care and then think about managing recurrent BV, where there’s a new development.

Listen as soon as you can to ensure you have full access to all the free resources.

Further Pearls from November will be covered next time.

Useful Links

Adrenal insufficiency and Addison’s disease

For professionals:

1. The Society of Endocrinology – adrenal crisis

For patients:

1. Addison’s Disease Self-help Group (include sections on emergency kits and sick day rules; there doesn’t appear to be a patient group for other forms of adrenal insufficiency)

GP Trainee Essentials support package information, and the Red Whale Calendar

Send us your feedback podcast@redwhale.co.uk or send a voice message

Sign up to receive Pearls here. Pearls are available for 3 months from publish date. After this, you can get access them plus 100s more articles when you buy a one-day online course from Red Whale OR sign up to Red Whale Unlimited. Find out more here.

Follow us: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure the information in this podcast is accurate and correct at the date of publication, but it is of necessity of a brief and general nature, and this should not replace your own good clinical judgement, or be regarded as a substitute for taking professional advice in appropriate circumstances. In particular, check drug doses, side-effects and interactions with the British National Formulary. Save insofar as any such liability cannot be excluded at law, we do not accept any liability for loss of any type caused by reliance on the information in this podcast.