If you are one of the millions of people who have allergies, you may wonder what is going on in your body and if there is anything you can do besides avoid what you’re allergic to and take antihistamines. Well, at Integrated Harmonies, we want to help answer those questions for you. And over the course of this month, we will take each of these issues in bite size pieces.
What Is Going On in My Body?
To answer this, we need to know about a few immune system cells.
-B Cells are what recognizes an antigen, which is basically just a protein’s ID and become sensitized to some normally harmless antigens which it then sees as allergens (the cat dander, the dust, the ragweed pollen, the peanut, etc.)
-T Cells are what makes IgE, which is the antibody your body makes to fight against the allergen. There are different kinds of T cells, but the main thing is that we want to keep Th1 and Th2 cells in balance to keep the immune system responsive, but not over responsive.
-Mast Cells are prevalent in tissues that interact with the outside world, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary systems and the skin. Mast cells hold multiple inflammatory chemicals, including histamine, that are triggers to be released when the IgE from T cells attach to the outside of the mast cell.
Being sensitized to an allergen and then mounting an allergic reaction is a multistep process, of all which is intended to protect you, but ends up being an uncomfortable battle against something that wouldn’t really hurt you normally.
What Is Histamine?
Histamine is a biogenic amine that is the main chemical that contributes to allergic reactions. Biogenic amine means that an amino acid reacts with bacteria to form it. In the case of histamine:
•The amino acid histadine reacts with bacteria to form histamine
•This can happen in the gut and in food (histamine builds up in leftovers)
Histamine is a stored in mast cells in a granulated form. Being granulated keeps it from degrading before it is used. Histamine is the main driver of symptoms like hives, flushing, itching, and anaphylaxis. It stimulates mucous production, thus leading to runny nose, sneezing, congestion, etc. It also plays a role in regulating inflammation and is a mediator of autoimmune conditions, gastric acid secretion, and hematopoiesis (forming blood cell components).
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I am not a doctor. The information contained on this Website are for educational and informational purposes only. The information contained on this Website and the resources available for download through this Website is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed medical or health advice.
•Banafea GH, Bakhashab S, Alshaibi HF, Natesan Pushparaj P, Rasool M. The role of human mast cells in allergy and asthma. Bioengineered. 2022;13(3):7049-7064. doi:10.1080/21655979.2022.2044278
•Hrubisko M, Danis R, Huorka M, Wawruch M. Histamine Intolerance-The More We Know the Less We Know. A Review. Nutrients. 2021;13(7):2228. Published 2021 Jun 29. doi:10.3390/nu13072228
•Patel RH, Mohiuddin SS. Biochemistry, Histamine. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; May 1, 2023.
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