# Could there be something POSITIVE about a histamine reaction?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-something-positive-about-a-histamine-reaction/685991 "2014-04-13T04:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-something-positive-about-a-histamine-reaction/685991/1 "2014-04-13T04:29:54Z")
Hey all, So it’s spring around here (finally), and the dandelions are out in bloom. Unfortunately, those are basically the only thing I’m allergic to, and only when they ARE in bloom. 😛 So there is much sneezing and itchy throat-clearing going on. But here’s the thing. Yes, it’s annoying. And yes, it seems like every single thing you see about histamine reactions is full of doom and gloom and you’re going to get chronic fatigue syndrome and histamines are the worst thing in the world. BUT… butbutbut… Aside from the symptoms, I feel great!! Alert, focused, energetic, able to concentrate, creating lots of art, doing a lot of writing, sleeping really well… It’s like this every spring. And I have the worst reaction ever to antihistamines. Groggy, miserable, completely out of it, no energy, no initiative, no desire to do anything, feeling hungover in the mornings… ick. Nothing is worth taking those. So could there be something GOOD about histamines? Some kind of positive health effect? I did find out that histamines stimulate the[basal forebrain](http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-basal-forebrain.htm), which looks like a good thing… Ideas? Opinions? Comments? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-something-positive-about-a-histamine-reaction/685991/2 "2014-04-13T04:57:07Z")
You could be like the canary that drops dead in a mine shaft. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-something-positive-about-a-histamine-reaction/685991/3 "2014-04-13T05:25:38Z")
My plan was to tell you, what I thought was going to be the obvious, that they’re making you sneeze and cough and give you a runny nose to get the thing you’re allergic to out of your body and make you feel crappy to make you stay away from it before you have a full blown allergic reaction. Before I said that I wanted to check that with wiki. Turns out histimines are pretty important and giving you a stuffy nose when you get near dandelions is just one of the many things they’re involved in. Quite the multi-taskers they are. > **[Histamine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histamine)** > > Histamine is an organic nitrogenous compound involved in local immune responses communication, as well as regulating physiological functions in the gut and acting as a neurotransmitter for the brain, spinal cord, and uterus. Since histamine was discovered in 1910, it has been considered a local hormone (autocoid) because it lacks the classic endocrine glands to secrete it; however, in recent years, histamine has been recognized as a central neurotransmitter. Histamine is involved in the Histamin... ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-something-positive-about-a-histamine-reaction/685991/4 "2014-04-13T09:41:25Z")
Have you tried any of the newer generations of antihistamines that supposedly have fewer side effects of the sort you describe? e.g., cetirizine (Zyrtec) or Loratidine (Claritin)? These are more selective in their actions and have fewer neurological effects like sleepiness or grogginess. [Relavant Wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1_antagonist).