What is histaminosis?
Histaminosis is the accumulation of tissue histamine. Histamine is an immune system substance present in the brain, whose functions are to regulate the functions of the stomach, act as a neurotransmitter in the nervous system and react against allergens.
Maintaining the correct amount of histamine in the body is very important: a deficit of histamine can be fatal, and an excess causes symptoms of histaminosis that are harmful to the patient.
There are different types of histaminosis depending on the source of the histamine:
Histaminosis due to exogenous histamine: in this case an excess of histamine is produced due to an amount of histamine that enters from outside the organism. Toxic histaminosis is produced by the ingestion of food containing high levels of histamine, and causes vomiting, headaches, diarrhea and urticaria. Enteral histaminosis, on the other hand, occurs in people who find it difficult to assimilate and eliminate the histamine contained in the food they eat, even if the histamine levels in the food are normal.
Histaminosis due to endogenous histamine: it is caused by several different mechanisms in which histamine levels in the body increase. For example, the release of mast cells and histamine in response to an allergen, or even in situations of stress, temperature changes, infections, changes in atmospheric pressure.
Symptoms of histaminosis
The symptoms of histaminosis are common with many other diseases, which often makes it difficult to diagnose. The main symptoms of histamine accumulation in the body are:
- Headaches and migraines.
- Digestive problems such as diarrhea, abdominal bloating, gastritis, nausea and vomiting.
- Bone and joint pain.
- Sudden increase in body volume.
- Skin problems such as dry skin, dermatitis and chronic urticaria.
- Alteration of heart rhythm.
- Fertility problems and even miscarriages.
- Hyperactivity.
Can histaminosis be prevented?
There is no way to detect histaminosis before it occurs and prevent its symptoms, but it is important to detect it as soon as possible to start treatment.
Treatment of histaminosis
The cure for histaminosis consists of a dietary treatment based on avoiding foods with high levels of histamine, in an attempt to avoid the symptoms of histaminosis.