Humans are social creatures. We're meant to speak to one another and physically interact. Some people are less fond of "physical interaction" than others, sure! But at least in most of those cases, it's a deliberate choice. For 25-year-old Caroline Cray Quinn, however, even a kiss could be fatal. A Boston native, Quinn has MCAS -- or "Mast Cell Activation Syndrome."
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MCAS is a condition in which the body's cells incorrectly identify things as severe allergens. An immunological disease, MCAS is extremely rare. Quinn is forced to eat oats and hypoallergenic formula as those are the only foods she can reliably eat without potentially subjecting herself to horrible symptoms. MCAS causes severe allergy episodes, involving multiple parts of the body.
The worst part of it is that MCAS has no specific triggers. It doesn't even have to be food-related -- MCAS could trigger from stress to changes in the weather. Quinn told Need To Know the following about her strict romantic life. "In order for someone to kiss me, they cannot eat anything three hours prior. They also cannot eat any of my six main anaphylactic allergens -- peanuts, nuts, sesame, mustard, seafood or kiwi -- 24 hours prior to kissing me. And they have to brush their teeth before kissing me."
A Boston Woman Can't "Normally" Kiss A Person Without Potentially Fatal Results
Fortunately, Quinn has been able to maintain a lifestyle without any major MCAS lapses. "It has pretty much been smooth sailing with those rules, but I've had a handful of minor reactions while kissing somebody or after kissing somebody," Quinn said. "My mouth will get itchy, my lips and my tongue will get itchy, and as soon as I feel that I immediately stop and let them know that I'm feeling reactive."
On a positive note, though, Quinn said that her rules prevent less-than-ideal guys from entering and staying in her life. "It immediately weeds out any guys who don't really give a s--t about you. Like if they have to follow a few rules to be able to kiss you, then they obviously care, they're obviously interested, and they're willing to put in a good amount of effort."
So, you know, it's making the best of an unfortunate situation! Honestly, it's not terrible to have such rules to root out awful people from your life!
