Histamines
Histamines are chemicals released when our organism is fighting against foreign intruders, as in the case of allergies. Pollen released in the air is a common cause of allergies in humans but also many animals. Observing reactions we see that an increasing number of people suffer from allergies, especially common allergies caused by pollen, dust, etc.
Growing up surrounded by nature, I never thought that allergies will affect me in my adult age. While being in a stressful period of life, as a University student who worked full time and spent little time in nature, pollen allergies suddenly started to appear. With time, since I moved to another country and continent even, my pollen allergy was suddenly replaced by a dust allergy. It soon became clear that medicine was absolutely necessary to live a normal life. After several years, I returned to my home city, and allergies reappear, stronger than ever. COvid19 was not helpful, raising levels of histamines in my body. At this point, I started research on individual therapy for people periodically suffering from severe pollen allergies.
Allergens bind to the antibody immunoglobulin E in the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity, releasing histamine, and leading to runny noses, watery eyes, sneezing, and nasal congestion. (1)
In the first phase, research shows that allergies will appear in those people who suddenly stopped close interaction with nature, spending very little to no time surrounded by plants in their natural environment. When returned to previous conditions, the organism will not recognize pollen and will start a strong reaction. Because our body continually interacted with pollen in the past and suddenly stopped this game of triggering the immune system all the time, the reaction was low to none. When we were isolated for some period, it seems that our immune system forgot who those particles were and started to react like they were dangerous intruders.
In the beginning, mast cells will try to shake off pollen by producing mucus (runny nose), tears (wet itchy eyes), and by coughing, when the lungs were suffering from an infection. Histamines are produced in the reaction of our immune system whenever we have an infection but when severe, histamine levels rise to a dangerous level for our whole body. This is called the “storm of the immune system”. Not rarely, does pollen allergy will cause infection in the lungs possibly leading to bronchitis or even asthma. To be aware of one’s condition is to calculate the exact amount of histamine levels our body produces whenever surrounded by pollen. The increasing level of pollen we breathe during these tests will determine how many histamines are harmful to our health.
By their nature, histamines are “an organic triamine- a strong vasodilator found in blood and most bodily tissues. It is involved in inflammatory and immune responses. Histamine is stored primarily in mast cells and basophils; it is released in response to tissue damage caused by injury, infection, or allergens. (1)
Classification of histamines is done by their primary chemical components and the reaction they cause in human/animal organisms. Today we know that some are produced during pollen allergies, others by food allergies or even food poisoning, People could be sensitive to red wine because it contains a high level of histamines. Pointing with fish is because this product was not fresh and as such, contained too many histamines.
The last part of the research includes how people can return their reaction to allergens as they were at the beginning, considering there was a raise as explained in my case and other people who developed allergies in adult age. The possibility is that slowly introducing allergens during a whole year will prepare our organism for a time when pollen will be at its peak level-spring time. In practice, this example show improvement. One group of people would take honey with pollen, increasing its content during months from late autumn through winter to early spring. By the time spring was at its fullest, people felt much better. Even those who started this natural therapy at the end of winter experienced better times when spring came.
Antihistamines taken as over-the-counter medicine were very helpful but never erased pollen allergies. Many people develop some kind of adaptation to this medicine. Maybe a combination of natural therapy and antihistamines could be the best solution for this very common but potentially dangerous problem.
