When we think of allergies, we think of histamine. However, our body uses histamine in many other ways and sometimes, just like any other neurotransmitter, it can get dysregulated. So what happens if it is dysregulated? You can develop Histamine Intolerance or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS).
Picture your histamine system as a sink with a drain. In both Histamine Intolerance and MCAS, the drain is clogged for various reasons and the faucet is on full blast and histamine is overflowing the sink. In MCAS, there are more faucets!
Histamine Intolerance
With histamine intolerance, you can’t unclog your sink and the faucet is fully open, so the water is cascading out of the sink. There is too much input to keep up with elimination. Foods we eat can contain or produce histamine and we have trouble getting rid of that excess histamine effectively. To treat this problem, we just need to help turn down the faucet and unclog the sink. Changing our diet to be lower in high histamine foods (cured meats and cheeses, leftovers, alcohol) and adding DAO (an enzyme that breaks down histamine) can help significantly.
This is how I picture Histamine Intolerance.
The faucet is fully on even though the sink can’t drain fast enough to keep up.
This results in your “sink” overflowing.
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
MCAS is more like taking that already overflowing sink and adding other fully open faucets to it. A type of white blood cell, called a mast cell, is too sensitive and inappropriately releases histamine too often. To treat this problem, we have to turn down the main faucet AND remove the other faucets, while also unclogging the sink. We can add anti histamine herbs and nutrients, and we need to stabilize those mast cells.
This is how I picture MCAS.
Many faucets are contributing to an already clogged sink.
This results in an overflowing sink that ALSO needs the number of faucets reduced.
Causes of Histamine Intolerance and MCAS
Both of these conditions can arise on their own (genetics) or from GI microbiome imbalances like SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth), Lyme, mold, or EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) infections. MCAS often goes hand in hand with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardic Syndrome) and EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) to make a triad of conditions that can be difficult to treat.
Symptoms
Symptoms of both can be all over the map; ranging from hives to anxiety, GI upset to fatigue and flushing. Mostly, my patients report reacting to “everything”, often with little rhyme or reason.
Treatment
We have multiple ways of addressing MCAS and histamine intolerance, both naturally and with medications. I find mixing both gives best results, but expect some trial and error. MCAS patients can be sensitive to particular fillers or dyes, which makes product selection all that much more difficult.
If you’re curious and have had difficulty explaining your symptoms or finding a cause for your symptoms, schedule an appointment!