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Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
Approximately 20% of people with HIT also have MCAS. They will not respond totally to restricting histamine in their diet and the antihistamines and will need to have a Mast Cell stabilising medication as well.
The Mast Cells make and store granules of histamine and heparin (and many other chemicals), ready for the body to use when reacting to an intruder-a bacteria or virus or other ‘foreign’ chemical. They release these chemicals whenever the body is ‘under attack.’ Unfortunately, in some patients, whenever the histamine is super-high, their mast cells become over reactive and release even more excessive histamine into the blood stream. This, of course, worsens the symptoms of the condition even more and some of the other chemicals can have detrimental effects on the body.
A Mast Cell Stabiliser can really help in these cases. It takes 6 months to replace the mast cells completely and so one has to be patient. Some of the patients can then start to reintroduce some occasional higher histamine foods into their diets and still feel well.
There are various apps available which can help with identifying the histamine content of foods and drinks - these can help you make choices in the supermarket and when eating out. Search Histamine Intolerance on your app store.
If you have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance, it’s important to avoid certain General Anaesthetics. Please download this brochure to give to Anaesthetists whenever you need a General Anaesthetic.
