Um, guys, antihistamines like Benadryl aren't little molecular sponges that wipe up histamine wherever they find it. They're more like molecular road blocks. They counter-act the immune response in an allergic reaction by blocking histamine receptors on nerves, blood vessels, and immune cells. What Maria's talking about is a food intolerance. She can't digest histamine in what she eats. That's something totally different and antihistamines are highly unlikely to do jack shit in her situation. If there's a pill for this problem, it's a pill that'll replace or boost the digestive enzymes responsible for breaking down histamine.
Guess what? I did some more reading last week, and found a scientific study where they tested several antihistamines for DAO suppression (that's the enzyme that breaks down histamines) and one unexpected result was that Benadryl
boosts DAO enzyme activity by 19%! The other antihistamines had no effect, or did suppress DAO, so regular antihistamines won't work for my purposes.
But when I do overdose on histamine, for whatever reason, I can take Benadryl and it shuts down the reaction cold.
I had an opportunity to try this last week, because I got really angry in traffic that morning..... and sure enough a few hours later I started having a histamine intolerance reaction. (Stress can trigger histamine release.)
By bedtime I was really miserable, so I tried taking a Benadryl and it stopped the reaction. About 30 hours later it started up again, so last night I took half a pill and it worked just as well as the full pill, but with muted side effects.
So, now I know. When I OD on histamines- I can take Benadryl not for it's antihistaminic effect, but for it's DAO boosting property.
I'm not going to do that much, though. My eyes have some really spectacular bloodshot veins in them right now. That almost never happens to me. Routine Benadryl is not likely to be tolerated by my system.
I've also learned that vigorous exercise can cause histamine release. So, not only do I have to watch what I eat and
keep calm.... I also have to keep my exercise to a moderate level. If I try to run on our treadmill, I literally start wheezing in 1.5 minutes. And that's not lack of oxygen, that's an asthmatic wheeze, where the bronchial tubes tighten up and your breath makes a funny whistling ... well....
wheeze. That's because of histamine release. I've heard of exercise induced asthma before. This is why, I guess. I bet if I tried to run while on Benadryl, that wouldn't happen.
Anyway, it's a balancing act. The main source of histamines for me is food, but I also have to watch stress and allergens and exercise. If any one of those last three gets higher than normal, I guess I should cut food intake that day just to compensate. Or resort to Benadryl, if I do overdose and my body starts malfunctioning.
It's a strange, strange situation.