Have you ever experienced unexplained anxiety or headaches? How about irregularity in menstrual cycles? Does your face and some parts of your body blush when you drink liquor? Does some part of your body become itchy whenever you eat some kind of foods in particular? If you answer is a big “yes” to these questions then most probably, you have histamine intolerance.
Do you know what histamine is? Well, it’s a chemical that is being secreted by a mast cell in your immune system and nervous system. It is your body’s defense mechanism against foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria. Can you picture a communication system? It is like an electromagnetic signal from the transmitter that flows through a telephone line that is being converted as a message for the receiver. It brings vital information from any parts of the body to the brain. The stomach acid which is responsible for breaking down the foods that you eat in your stomach also contains histamine.
Actually, histamine is a part of the body’s defense mechanism. It causes the blood vessels to dilate or swell in order for the white blood cells to quickly attack the foreign invaders. Production of histamine usually occurs in the affected area such as wound and so on. It technically flags the immune system when there is a problem happening in the human body. The build-up of these chemicals then causes the headache, itchiness, blushing and makes the person feel miserable. Though this is a natural immune system’s response, however, improper break down of these chemicals could result to histamine intolerance.
Since it goes all throughout the body’s bloodstream, it could highly affect the lungs, brain, skin and the whole cardiovascular system. Because of that, a wide array of other problems accompanied by histamine intolerance may also occur. Here, you can get some of the common symptoms and signs of histamine intolerance that are often experienced by the affected individuals:
The 6 Most Common Symptoms of Histamine Intolerance
1. Blushing
This is one of the most common symptoms of histamine intolerance.
2. Nasal Congestion
This is triggered when an individual with histamine intolerance have taken some foods that may cause this symptom. Sometimes, repetitive sneezing and difficulty in breathing may also be accompanied along with this symptom.
3. Itchiness
Along with the first two mentioned symptoms, this occurs as a normal reaction due to the production of histamine in the body.
4. Sleeplessness
Due to the tremendous uncomfortable feeling, individual suffering from histamine intolerance could develop insomnia in time.
5. Headaches
Headaches usually occur because of the histamine build-up in the body.
6. Anxiety
This is one of the normal reactions of the body during the histamine build-up since it generally affects the nervous system.
Least Common Symptoms
Other than these symptoms, some reported signs due to histamine intolerance are as follows:
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Hypertension
- Difficulty in regulating the temperature of the body
- Arrhythmia
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Hives
- Abdominal cramps
- Fatigue
- Tissue
- Swelling
- Abnormal menstrual cycle for women
In addition to that, there are also foods that can contribute the production of histamine aside from the body’s natural process of producing it.
