Antihistamine to help with GERD

Why would you take an antihistamine?  Do you have reason to suspect something you are eating is an allergen?  GERD triggers can be food sensitivities/allergies.

I have a large list of food triggers that start my stomach refluxing.  (Actually that was in the past because I had to have surgery following an accident to pull my stomach down out of my chest.  I was given a partial wrap, but my stomach still reacts with spasma which trigger tachycardia when I eat something with sulfites in it.)

The reason I'm asking about antihistamines is because I read the below show article and my sister who was diagnosed with GERD finds much relief when she takes Zyrtec.  I know it's weird.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines are also used to treat acid reflux. Stomach walls produce histamine. Histamine accelerates acid production by binding specific receptors present on acid producing cells of stomach. Antihistamine drugs bind to these receptors and block histamine binding that in turn reduces the acid production. Ranitidine, Famotidine, Cimetidine and Nizatidine are commonly used antihistamines or histamine antagonists. They are available without prescription as over-the-counter (OTC) but the dose of OTC is lower than those available by prescription. Antihistamine drugs are taken 30 minutes earlier than meal. This will make antihistamine available in higher concentration when stomach is actively producing acids to digest food. Antihistamine gives fast relief from primary heartburn and inflammation of esophagus.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Acid-Reflux-Treatments---An-Overview&id=1399204

H2 blockers, also called H2-receptor antagonists, are medicines that reduce the amount of acid the stomach produces by blocking one important producer of acid: histamine2.


Histamine2, a common chemical in the body, signals the stomach to make acid. H2 Blockers oppose histamine’s action and reduce the amount of acid the stomach produces. This type of medication is used to treat conditions in which the stomach produces too much acid, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease. They also have been prescribed for the treatment of peptic ulcer symptoms.




Drugs that work by this mechanism in the United States are Zantac (ranitidine), Pepcid (famotidine), Tagamet (cimetidine) and Axid (nizatidine).



Antihistamines are classified as H1 blockers and H2 blockers, depending on the type of receptors (on the surface of cells) that they act on. H1 receptors are associated with human tissue involving capillaries, and H2 receptors predominate in the lining of the stomach.



The H1 blockers are the meds generally used for allergic reactions.



Hope this helps with your question.



Take care,



Kitt

I agree with Denise - I take Zantac 150 mg twice daily for GERD and often take Telfast for my allergies. I've never noticed any extra benefit when on both medications, either to my GERD or my allergy symptoms. If anything I get a bit dizzy when taking both together!

MMM

I have had acid reflux (GERD) for many years. In recent years it became much worse causing me constant pain and now even have been diagnosed with Berets Esophagus. I was put on higher and higher doses of Omeprazole and it is now seeming to be lessoning the symptoms and not always in pain but slight discomfort most of the time. I recently caught influenza B and was put on an antiviral (Tamiflu) and also was taking a cold medicine drink that the active ingredient was diphenhydramine (Active ingredient in Benadryl) and I noticed over the five days I was taking it I had no GERD symptoms or pain. Stopped taking the cold medicine as I am over my Flu and my pain has returned. So yesterday evening as an experiment I took a small dose of the cold medicine and to my surprise today I am pain free. I even forgot to take my Omeprazole this morning?