Mastocytosis

Your body is producing too many mast cells — those immune system cells that are normally responsible for protection. They sit in the skin, in the mucous membranes, in the digestive tract, in the bones. Under ordinary circumstances they wait quietly until they are needed. But in mastocytosis they multiply without restraint. They release their messenger substances as though an alarm were sounding — even though no attack is taking place. The result: skin spots, itching, hives, abdominal cramps, heart palpitations, episodes of dizziness. Sometimes the entire skin flushes red, as if the body were glowing from within.