What is a Mast Cell Disorder?
Most people at one time or another have had an allergy response. Maybe there was freshly cut grass, maybe someone’s perfume was too strong, maybe your family got a cat.
Allergy responses are the bodies way of telling you that something you have interacted with is a threat. It could be as simple as hayfever, or as serious as anaphylaxis.
Your body can identify these threats, with the help of Mast Cells, which can contain things called ‘Mediators’. These mediators (Cytokines, histamine etc) are sent out to identify and isolate the threat. In mast cell disorder such as Mast Cell Acitvation Syndrome (MCAS), every mediator hits the field ready for battle. In Mastocytosis, too MANY mast cells are in play.
Mast Cell Activation Disorders (MCAD) can cause sneezing, coughing, rashes, hives, and trouble breathing, just like regular allergies, but they can also cause gastrointestinal symptoms, rapid heatbeat, fainting, headaches, even anxiety. MCAD also causes improper reactions, so you have an allergy like reaction to things that aren’t allergens, like sunlight, water, even just eating a big meal.
MCAD are also frequently co occuring with Connective Tissue Disorders (CTD) like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD). There’s a lot of research going on on MCAD as well as the overlap with CTD, but part of the issue is that mast cells reside in connective tissue (after being created in the bone marrow). As connective tissue is lax in CTD, more mast cells are released.
If you have presistant ‘allergies’ that regular medicine just won’t seem to knock over, or if you have a CTD, it may be worth looking into MCAD.
For the record - I AM NOT A DOCTOR! This is just general advice. Check out the links below for accurate information and advice, and of course, please see a licenced medical professional for help.
I also put together a quick video on MCAD, feel free to check it out. In addition to HSD and MCAD, I have AuDHD, so my plate is pretty full, sometimes that can affect my ability to communicate effectively, such as in the video below. I kept it all in though, being disabled is nothing to be ashamed of, and struggling occasionally if not something any of us should feel like we have to hide.
Kerrie x