Young patient needs 100 pills daily for three rare diseases

Three dangerous diseases at the same time: woman swallows 100 tablets a day

A young woman from Britain has to wear a face mask every time she leaves home because she could be killed by germs in the air. In addition, the former teacher takes 100 tablets every day to fight three rare diseases.

Woman suffers from three rare diseases

A former UK teacher is forced to wear a face mask every time she leaves home because the germs in the air could kill her. As reported by the Daily Mail, 27-year-old Hannah E. of South Wales also takes 100 tablets every day to fight three rare diseases that leave her with virtually no immune system.

A young woman from Wales suffering from three rare diseases has to swallow 100 pills a day and always wear a face mask when leaving the house - otherwise she could die. (Image: pix4U / fotolia.com)

Immune system offers little more protection

One of the diseases is so-called mastocytosis, which belongs to the "mast cell activation diseases" (MCAD).

It is a disease of the immune system that mutates cells to protect them from environmental and external threats, and attacks their bodies.

"Mastocytosis is a rare disease that results in abnormal mast cell proliferation," explains the self-help association "Mastocytosis e.V." on its website.

"The disease affects both children and adults and occurs in different forms," ​​say the experts.

"Mast cells are endogenous cells that originate from stem cells in the bone marrow. They are found in every human being in the skin, in the mucous membranes and in other tissues, and play an important role in the prevention of diseases ", explains the competence network Mastocytosis e.V. on its website.

Quality of life is severely impaired

According to the experts, for example, by releasing chemical "alarm signals", such as histamine from mast cells, other important players in the immune system are activated.

However, histamine and other messenger substances can also cause "allergic reactions" such as itching, redness and swelling of the skin, headaches, dizziness, diarrhea and circulatory reactions.

Other possible symptoms of the disease include hot flashes, abdominal pain, nausea, nosebleeds, increased susceptibility to bruising, bone, muscle and joint pains, increased irritability, difficulty concentrating and shock-like symptoms to anaphylaxis.

According to the network, the disease no longer heals. "There are patients who are greatly affected by their complaints in their life course and in their quality of life," say the experts.

The sneezing of the other person could kill the patient

The quality of life of the young British woman is severely impaired by the disease. According to the Daily Mail, mast cell disease makes the former teacher so vulnerable that even sneezing from other people could kill her.

In addition to mastocytosis, Hannah E. suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

The former "is a congenital, rare, hereditary and inheritable connective tissue disease in which there is a disruption of collagen biosynthesis (metabolic disorder)," explains the Federal Association of Ehlers-Danlos self-help e.V. on its website.

Among other things, the disease can lead to an over-mobility of the joints.

And with POTS, those affected by the change to the upright position of the body have an increased heart rate as well as dizziness and dizziness.

Never without a face mask out of the house

Her three illnesses have already brought the young woman from Wales into life-threatening situations.

So in the past, the patient had nosebleeds that turned into pneumonia, which eventually resulted in sepsis (blood poisoning). "I was in intensive care for four and a half months," the newlywed wife told the Daily Mail.

Hannah E. now always wears a face mask when she leaves the house. According to the newspaper, she often gets angry comments from strangers, fearing that she has a contagious disease.

"For years I was embarrassed to wear a mask," said the 27-year-old.

"I got only negative comments from people who said I should not be outside if I could spread germs that others could catch."

"But the mask is for my safety."

16 different painkillers

To cope with a variety of symptoms, she gets up to 16 intravenous injections daily and 16 different analgesics.

With her story, she now wants to draw attention to the rare diseases and ask people to pay more attention to their hygiene.

"Someone who is coughing next to me could spread a virus that just gives him a simple cough," says the young woman. But "this virus can make me need intensive treatment".

She hopes to survive this winter without having to go to the clinic: "Ever since I was a little girl, I've had to go to the hospital every year. Hopefully this year will be different. "(Ad)