You've probably heard the word 'histamine' in relation to anti-histamines, over-the-counter medication that reduces the symptoms of allergies like hay fever. But have you ever stopped to think about what the 'histamines' these drugs target are? They might be having more of an impact on your daily life than you think. Plus – histamines aren't just triggered by allergens in the air. Many of the things you eat and drink every day are also packed with histamines (who knew?!) which can cause histamine intolerance symptoms.
Histamine intolerance (HIT) can mean that you're producing too much histamine, you're consuming too many histamines, your body isn't eliminating enough histamine and your levels are building up, or a combination of all these things! It's highly under-diagnosed because the symptoms can be vague and similar to many other allergies and conditions. Middle-aged women are particularly prone to it and so it can also often be mistaken for menopause/perimenopause side effects (Looking for more on this? Check out: 6 Lifestyle Changes to Make Menopause Manageable)
Learning to recognise histamine intolerance symptoms can help you to identify this frustrating health issue and put in place some simple lifestyle changes to reduce some of the pesky side effects. And yes, of course, there's a patch that can help too! It's well worth giving our handy Allergy Plus patch a whirl, but first, it's helpful to understand exactly what histamine intolerance is, and the symptoms:
What causes histamine intolerance symptoms?
Many types of food and drink contain histamines – naturally occurring chemicals found in particularly high concentration in fermented foods, aged cheese, processed meat, and alcohol.
Most people tolerate the amount of histamines found in a normal diet. However, some of us have a reduced ability to break down histamines in the digestive system, thought to be due to a lack of an enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO). If this is you, eating or drinking anything with high levels of histamines can activate histamine intolerance symptoms, similar to hay fever, or digestive reactions like those you'd get with a food allergy to dairy, or gluten.
Experts often compare histamine intolerance to running a bath: initially, the taps are running and the plug is open, but if too much water comes in, it starts to overflow. Histamine Intolerance is what happens when your body has too much histamine, and can't drain it away fast enough.
What are the main histamine intolerance symptoms:
As with so many conditions, allergic reactions are often as unique as you are! And histamine intolerance symptoms are no different, and can vary hugely from person to person. With this in mind, it can be helpful to break them down into five different types of symptoms:
1. Skin reactions:
Super itchy all the time, or keep noticing hives or eczema flaring up after eating and drinking certain foods? HIT might be the culprit. Histamines can make your blood vessels more 'leaky' allowing fluid to escape into tissues causing hives and swelling. They also activate mast cells, which then release even more histamines, triggering itching and rashes, and worsening eczema.
Find yourself flushing after a glass of wine – one of the histamine intolerance symptoms you need to recognise! This happens because wine has high levels of histamine that cause your blood vessels to expand, leading to redness, flushing, and warm skin.
2. Respiratory Problems:
Much like hay fever, HIT can manifest as a runny nose, sneezing attacks, sinus congestion, wheezing, or shortness of breath. This is because histamines can cause the muscles in your airways to contract, making it harder to breathe. As well as stimulating excess mucus production in your lungs and nose, and promoting swelling and inflammation.
3. Gut Issues:
Skin and breathing issues are commonly associated with allergies, but many histamine intolerance symptoms can also affect your gut. Histamine plays a key role in gut motility, digestion, and immune response in the GI tract. If your body is struggling to cope with the amount of histamine in your body, you might experience increased stomach acid production, leading to reflux, heartburn and nausea. It could also trigger IBS-like symptoms such as bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, and wind.
4. Vascular histamine intolerance symptoms:
HIT can trigger a range of vascular issues too (yes, the list of histamine intolerance symptoms does go on and on, but remember not everyone will experience all of them – phew!) because histamine dilates your blood vessels and makes them more permeable. This can lead to everything from dizziness and migraines, to fluid retention, heart palpitations, and cold hands and feet.
5. Brain fog and anxiety:
Too much histamine in your body can affect neurological function too, because it's a key excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, which can influence wakefulness, mood, focus, and overall cognition. If your body can't cope with the amount of histamine you're absorbing you might experience histamine intolerance symptoms like anxiety, restlessness, brain fog, and irritability.
Is there a specific test available for histamine intolerance?
Histamine intolerance symptoms are very wide-ranging and can overlap with many other health concerns, but unfortunately, there is no gold standard test to diagnose HIT. You could have your DAO (the enzyme that breaks down histamine) levels tested – low levels suggest a reduced ability to remove histamine from your body. Some Drs recommend a histamine challenge test, where you eliminate high-histamine foods from your diet and see if this improves your symptoms.
How does the Allergy Plus patch help with histamine intolerance symptoms?
This clever patch works by supporting your body's response to allergens and is packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients. Vitamin C, stinging nettles and Quercetin all help your body to eliminate histamine and reduce the amount of histamine you produce. While other ingredients tackle specific histamine intolerance symptoms. For example, Bromelain reduces respiratory discomfort, Rutin helps to strengthen your blood vessels, and N-Acetyl Cysteine helps to break down mucus and slows down mucus production.
Our founder Sadie has HIT and has found that using Allergy Plus patches daily has reduced and prevented reactions to medium/high histamine-containing food and drink. Sadie says, "I'm trying to keep my histamine bucket as empty as possible by focusing on low histamine foods, but if I do have something higher (like dark chocolate, coffee, fresh goat cheese, or a glass of prosecco) I don't react, whereas I did before using them." Try the patches for yourself here.
Is there anything else you'd recommend to target the symptoms?
Histamine intolerance can be due to lower-than-normal levels of diamine oxidase. So it makes sense that topping up your DAO levels could also help to manage histamine intolerance symptoms. Sadie recommends two caps of this DAO supplement before, or with, each meal.
There are lots of other fairly simple changes you can make to your diet and lifestyle that could make a big difference to your histamine intolerance symptoms too. Find out more here.
