Histamine Definitions and Related Links:
Histamine
“Substance that plays a major role in many allergic reactions. Histamine dilates blood vessels and makes the vessel walls abnormally permeable.”
Immune Response
Medline Medical Encyclopedia says “An efficient immune response protects against many diseases and disorders. An inefficient immune response allows diseases to develop. Inadequate, inappropriate, or excessive immune response causes immune system disorders.”
The immune response is how your body recognizes and defends itself against bacteria, viruses, and substances that appear foreign and harmful to the body.
Allergic Reaction
“The immune system normally responds to harmful substances such as bacteria, viruses and toxins by producing symptoms such as runny nose and congestion, post-nasal drip and sore throat, and itchy ears and eyes. An allergic reaction can produce the same symptoms in response to substances that are generally harmless, like dust, dander or pollen.
The sensitized immune system produces antibodies to these allergens, which cause chemicals called histamines to be released into the bloodstream, causing itching, swelling of affected tissues, mucus production, hives, rashes, and other symptoms. Symptoms vary in severity from person to person.”
Antigens
Again, Medline states “The immune system protects the body from potentially harmful substances by recognizing and responding to antigens. Antigens are molecules (usually proteins) on the surface of cells, viruses, fungi, or bacteria. Nonliving substances such as toxins, chemicals, drugs, and foreign particles (such as a splinter) can be antigens. The immune system recognizes and destroys substances that contain these antigens.”
Antigens
Mosby’s also describes an antigen as a “substance usually a protein that the body recognizes as foreign and that can evoke an immune response.” So you can see that they don’t seem to be too different and for our purposes, let’s say they cause the body to react: to produce histamine.
Antigen
An antigen is a substance that can provoke an immune response. Typically antigens are substances not usually found in the body.
Allergen
Mosby’s’ describes an allergen as a “common environmental substance that can produce a hypersensitive allergic reaction in the body, but is not intrinsically (naturally) harmful. Common substances are pollen, animal, dander, house dust, feathers, and various foods.”
An allergen is a substance that can cause an allergic reaction. Allergens are substances that, in some people, the immune system recognizes as “foreign” or “dangerous” but cause no response for most people.
Anaphylactic Reaction
A life-threatening complication is anaphylaxis, a severe, whole-body allergic reaction that can result in death. While people with oral allergy syndrome rarely have an anaphylactic reaction, they should ask their doctor whether they need to carry injectable epinephrine.
Anaphylactic Reaction
“The body’s immune system normally reacts to the presence of toxins, bacteria or viruses by producing a chemical reaction to fight these invaders. However, sometimes the immune system reacts to ordinarily benign substances such as food or pollen, to which it has become sensitive.
This overreaction can cause symptoms from the mild (hives) to the severe (anaphylactic shock) upon subsequent exposure to the substance. An actual food allergy, as opposed to simple intolerance due to the lack of digesting enzymes, is indicated by the production of antibodies to the food allergen, and by the release of histamines and other chemicals into the blood. “
Steroids: Corticosteroids
These steroids are similar to hormones that your adrenal glands produce to fight stress associated with illnesses and injuries. They reduce inflammation and affect the immune system.
As with all our information, please use this only to educate yourself. It is not meant to be a diagnostic or treatment tool. There are several other resources at the end to help you learn more. There are also many links along the way. I purposefully included definitions as you really need to understand the medical terminology.
If I can help you learn how the body works and reacts in different situations, with simplified words or word pictures, you can control your own health much better. Your common sense can guide you.
I was first introduced to the “histamine” term in relation to Meniere’s Disease by a reader who asked me about a “histamine diet”. From all I knew about histamine, I felt I would not want anyone on such a “diet”. In retrospect, I think this name is a misnomer and is misleading. But the concept behind it is very important to understand.
Histamine has far reaching effects. Anyone who has ever dealt with allergies is always on the lookout for the cause of increased histamine levels. That is what anaphylaxis is all about. It’s what you are always trying to prevent! I doubt that many people outside of the medical community know what it does and how it affects your body: why you do need to know about it. Toward the end I will comment on the “histamine diet”.
Here is one very important underlying idea. Nothing EVER happens in your body without a cause. And every cause has an effect: one or more (signs & symptoms). Please keep this in mind as you read on. Start challenging yourself to look at any symptoms (good and bad) and ask yourself why this has happened.
Also recognize that our traditional health care ideology focuses on treating symptoms: “effects” of the cause. Relatively little is done to look for the underlying cause. (That’s usually our fault: we don’t like to be uncomfortable. Therefore “please give me something to take away the pain, or itchiness, etc.”) We want instant solutions and comfort.
Additional Histamine, Antihistamines, Allergies and Anaphylaxis Information
There are many, many sites to explore on histamine, allergies, and anaphylaxis. It is well worth spending some time thinking this through and discovering your own personal opinion. It affects each and every person in some way. I have included some definitions and resources with links so you can start your own search.
“An allergy is an exaggerated immune response or reaction to substances that are generally not harmful”
“You may have heard about anabolic steroids, which can have harmful effects. But there’s another type of steroid – sometimes called a corticosteroid – that treats a variety of problems. These steroids are similar to hormones that your adrenal glands produce to fight stress associated with illnesses and injuries.
“to the drug these antibodies cause release of histamines. If severe, this reaction can result in an allergic reaction…”
– Medical Encyclopedia
Medline Medical Encyclopedia: this is a very interesting and comprehensive look at how the body protects you.
The immune response is how your body recognizes and defends itself against bacteria, viruses, and substances that appear foreign and harmful to the body.
Epinephrine Injections
What Are Allergies?
An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system to a substance that’s harmless to most people. But in someone with an allergy, the body’s immune system treats the substance (called an allergen) as an invader and reacts inappropriately, resulting in symptoms that can be anywhere from annoying to possibly harmful to the person.
In an attempt to protect the body, the immune system of the allergic person produces antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE). Those antibodies then cause mast cells (allergy cells in the body) to release chemicals, including histamine, into the bloodstream to defend against the allergen “invader.”
It’s the release of these chemicals that causes allergic reactions, affecting a person’s eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin, or gastrointestinal tract as the body attempts to rid itself of the invading allergen. Future exposure to that same allergen (things like nuts or pollen that you can be allergic to) will trigger this allergic response again.
This means every time the person eats that particular food or is exposed to that particular allergen, he or she will have an allergic reaction.
Occurrence of sulfites
Sulfites occur as a result of fermentation and are found in:
- A variety of cooked, processed and baked foods
- Dried fruits, canned vegetables, guacamole and maraschino cherries
- Condiments, jams, gravies, dehydrated or precut or peeled potatoes, molasses, shrimp and soup mixes
- Beverages such as wine, beer, hard cider, fruit and vegetable juices, and tea
Processing of food ingredients including beet sugar, corn sweeteners and gelatin can also generate sulfites.
Sulfites also occur naturally in a number of foods such as maple syrup, pectin, salmon, dried cod, corn starch, lettuce, tomatoes, soy products, eggs, onions, garlic, chives, leeks and asparagus. ….
Sulfite sensitivity should not be confused with sulphates or with sulfur drugs. Patients with sulfite sensitivity should avoid all forms of sulfite.
Julie McNairn, MD, an allergist/immunologist in Cincinnati states “There can also be a feeling of impending doom,” or as Dr. McNairn’s patients have described, “severe anxiety or feeling very nervous.” In another spot she states “These symptoms usually occur almost immediately after exposure to the allergen, but the anaphylactic reaction will sometimes not become full-blown until hours later.” How often have I heard these descriptions!!!
- If you would like a copy of our Meniere’s Disease Study Guide, please click here. This guide is a step by step journey exploring your symptoms and what may be causing them.
- If you would like more information on the system that David, and numerous others, have used, please click here; What Finally Worked.
- If you have any health questions or concerns, please feel free to Contact Us and we will be happy to share our knowledge and ideas with you.
Karin Henderson, Retired Nurse
(604) 463-8666 – Pacific Standard Time