An innocent peck on the lips could be anything but for Caroline Cray Quinn who risks death with every kiss.
Ms Quinn, 25, from Boston, Massachusetts, has mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), a rare condition that strikes only about one in 150,000 people.
MCAS is a disorder that causes blood cells to inappropriately overreact to certain foods, fragrances and other potential environmental triggers.
Ms Quinn’s MCAS is particularity severe and has left her only able to eat two foods — oats and a specially prepared nutritional formula. Any other food could see her suffer a potentially fatal allergic reaction.
Caroline Cray Quinn has mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) a rare condition that strikes only about one in 150,000 people
The condition means even kissing someone who has eaten foods which she’s allergic to could trigger a dangerous reaction, make managing her love life a bit complicated
Even kissing someone who has eaten foods that she’s allergic to could trigger a dangerous reaction, making her love life complicated.
As such, she has developed a series of strict rules that any potential love interest must follow before she touches their lips.
Ms Quinn, a healthcare recruiter from Boston, recently detailed these dating directives in a TikTok video which has now been viewed 1.7million times.
‘In order for someone to kiss me, they cannot eat anything three hours prior,’ she said.
‘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.’
She was given these rules by a member of her medical team following her diagnosis after she asked the ‘unconventional and awkward’ question, ‘can I kiss a boy’.
Ms Quinn said that, for the most part, the rules had proven successful.
‘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,’ she 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.
‘If need be, I brush my teeth immediately and take some emergency medication.
‘It’s never really progressed past a bit of flushing and some head rush.’
She currently has a boyfriend, Ryan, who she said gladly abides by the rules, and has taken to enjoying the same meals as her when they are together.
While Ms Quinn had severe food allergies growing up, she was only diagnosed with MACS in 2017.
‘I’ve had severe food allergies to peanuts, nuts, sesame, mustard, and kiwi since I was two years old, but other than that I was perfectly healthy.
‘I got sick with MCAS in September of 2017 after one true allergic reaction to cross-contamination with nuts spiralled into a series of anaphylactic episodes to foods I wasn’t allergic to.
‘After a long waiting list of eight months, I saw an MCAS specialist who officially diagnosed me.’
She added: ‘(MCAS) presents in a lot of uncomfortable and life-threatening symptoms like difficulty breathing, swelling/itchiness in throat and mouth, loss of consciousness, low blood pressure, and hives/rashes.
‘In order to avoid MCAS flare-ups and MCAS symptoms, I avoid triggers like food, animal fur/dander, mould, dust, heat, and certain smells.’
She even went two years without kissing anybody due to MCAS symptoms continually flaring up, which was later revealed to be a mould problem in her home.
Despite the dangers MCAS poses, not only to dating and intimacy but in general life, Ms Quinne insists on not limiting herself.
‘I am so allergic to dogs and cats, and it’s technically a risk for me to just leave the house or go to the beach,’ she said.
‘I could be laying down on the beach sunbathing and all of a sudden a dog could come up and lick my face.
‘But I’m not going to not go to the beach just because I’m scared of the worst-case scenario.’
She currently has a boyfriend, Ryan, who she said gladly abides by her dating rules, and has taken to enjoying the same meals as her when they are together
While Ms Quinn had severe food allergies growing up, she was only diagnosed with MACS in 2017
Ms Quinn’s MCAS is particularity severe and has left her only able to eat two foods, oats and a specially prepared nutritional formula for people with the condition, any others could see her suffer a potentially fatal allergic reaction
Ms Quinn even suggested her dating rules could be useful for people unsure of a prospective partner’s long-term intentions.
‘I know it’s a bit unconventional to have to vet your kissing candidates, but it is lowkey a cheat code to dating,’ she said.
‘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.’
She joked: ‘So if you ever want to know if a guy is serious about you, just tell them you have MACS and tell them to follow the three rules, and you’ll know immediately.’
Allergies can provoke a variety of symptoms but the most serious is a dangerous inflammation of the airways called anaphylaxis.
This can make it hard and even impossible to breath and can cause the body to go into a cardiac emergency like a cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen.
Ms Quinn isn’t the only person to suffer allergic reactions from intimacy.
There have been rare medical cases of people with peanut allergies suffering reactions due to tiny traces of the nuts making their way into their partners’ semen.
However, such cases have only been documented a handful of times.
