I had a worse than usual pain flare today, and now I have to rethink all my life choices 😫
Weather is an obvious trigger, but a lil bit of rain shouldn’t cause a several day flare up like this. However, alcohol is also a symptom trigger for patients with autoimmune disorders.
Mast cells are a part of the immune system, protecting the body from parasites, viruses, ect. After they become “activated” (by things the body interprets as harmful) the mast cells release histamine into the surrounding tissue, which leads to swelling, warmth, and redness (inflammation).
Mast cell activation disorder (MCAD) is a condition where mast cells do what they please and cause all kinds of inflammation. In addition to autoimmune disease sufferers, people with the hypermobile type of EDS (hEDS) also have a very high incidence of MCAD (and Postural Tachycardia Syndrome or POTS) and EDS itself has symptoms consistent with a form of MC activation.
Of course, alcohol also triggers mast cell activity so patients with certain disorders may find that alcohol isn’t as fun as it used to be when they were 27 and should absolutely continue to keep their alcohol intake to a minimum 🍻