Anonymous
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I’m 21. I got mono in 2023, then COVID two months later before I’d recovered. My immune system never came back online properly. I started reacting to the dorm room cleaning products, then my roommate’s cologne, then the cafeteria food. I had to move home. I’m a junior in college taking classes online from my childhood bedroom while my friends are at parties. This was supposed to be the best years of my life.
Living at my parents’ house. My mom converted everything to fragrance-free. Dad still forgets and wears cologne sometimes. We’re working on it.
The university health center told me I had anxiety. My mom — a nurse — pushed for a referral. The allergist-immunologist said my case is consistent with post-viral mast cell activation. I’m on a mast cell stabilizer now. It helps some.
This is a personal experience, not medical advice. ImACanary.com makes no causation claims.
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