Common Triggers

Insect Bites & Stings

Mast cells are a key part of your immune system. They help fight infection and heal wounds. When you have MCAS, your mast cells respond to harmless triggers – foods, fragrances, stress, changes in temperatures, medicines, exercise – things that most people would not have an issue with.

Identifying patterns of triggers and symptoms is the first step to managing them. Keeping a daily diary can be a useful way to log your experiences and help identify triggers. This includes the weather conditions on that day, the foods you ate, any medications or supplements you took, and the activities you were engaged in before your symptoms began.

Unfortunately, MCAS triggers can vary and change over time, so identifying them and managing symptoms can be challenging. What didn’t bother you for a long time suddenly brings on a reaction. Because triggers come and go, it’s essential to have the courage to reintroduce them, particularly if they are medications, supplements, or foods, to ensure your overall health and well-being.

Self-management is essential, but working with an MCAS-literate healthcare provider can offer you support and guidance to overcome hurdles and achieve symptom remission. Discovering underlying conditions, such as vitamin D deficiency and Lyme Disease, to name a couple, is key to symptom remission.

Other illnesses can cause some of the same symptoms as MCAS. It’s important to talk with your healthcare provider and share your experiences so they can rule out other conditions, identify the underlying cause, and create a personalized plan to help you feel better, aiming for symptom remission and maintaining it.