It is extremely important for patients to respect their illness, learn their individual symptoms and identify what triggers each symptom for them.  

When mast cells degranulate, they dump a host of chemicals at once, triggering the patient's symptoms.  These chemicals include histamine, heparin, prostaglandins, neutral proteases, acid hydrolases, chemokines and cytokines, just to name a few.¹  So it is vitally important for patients to avoid triggering mast cell degranulation to lessen their suffering and preserve their quality and length of life. 

For each patient, each symptom may each have a unique trigger or a cluster of triggers.  Some patients may have only a few triggers, some may have many, and some may be susceptible to nearly all known triggers.  The best way to identify your symptoms and triggers is to keep a daily record and identify any correlations between trigger and symptom.  

When symptoms occur, it is common for patients to have difficulty thinking clearly, restricting their ability to help themselves.  Mast cells are in every organ of the body, including the brain.  When symptoms occur, many patients experience problems speaking or articulating their needs, understanding what  is happening to them, and what they need to do about it.   

Listed below are the most common triggers of mast cell degranulation.  We recommend keeping this list handy and sharing it with any health care professionals you consult with prior to undergoing any tests or treatments (i.e. family physician, specialists, dentist, optometrist/opthalmologist, nuclear medicine/x-ray technicians, paramedics).

Note:  This is not a complete list.  Also, many of these triggers may be applicable to one patient but not another.