Migraine or headaches can be a side effect of high histamine, that’s why your migraine may increase in allergy season.
When I was little, there were not many kids or generally people affected with seasonal allergies, but today the picture has turned the opposite : it seems that most people are having trouble with allergies and only a few who aren’t. Allergies have become so prevalent that we assume that they’re normal. They are not.
Why have allergies become so common?
In the last few decades, we’ve been exposed to an increase in toxins from every direction, putting an increased burden on our liver: in conventional agriculture with all its pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers; in food production with an increase in preservatives, fillers, and genetically engineered ingredients; and in chemical-laden products we use on our bodies like skincare and in our homes like cleaning products and mattresses. Go back to my previous article on the impact of toxins on migraines here.
Over-sanitizing our environment and the constant use of disinfectant especially in the past 2 years since the pandemic, mask wearing…
But also the climate has changed: with increased pollution and temperature changes, nature is going through the same aches which results in an increased amount of pollen further triggering our already taxed immune system.
We’re triggering our immune system on a daily basis with these toxins. It’s like having an almost full bucket of water and trying to pour more in. It doesn’t take much for the bucket to overflow, resulting in uncomfortable symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, brain fog, and fatigue. Migraineurs might be familiar with the expression of threshold: it’s additional inflammation added to your threshold of basic resiliency and the more inflammation you have in your bucket, the less resilient you become.
Whenever someone is dealing with seasonal allergies, it’s a sign that the immune system is on “hyper-alert” (or already chronically depleted) and there’s chronic inflammation going on.
Wait - what was histamine again?
Histamine is naturally found in certain foods and it is also a compound that is found in the cells of our body. Histamine is a very important part of the immune system and also plays a role in inflammation in the body. We also need histamine in order to digest food, move our bowels, boost exercise performance, increase attention, and get blood as well as nutrients and oxygen delivered to different parts of our body.
The problem is when there is too much histamine. Go back to my article on histamine intolerance and migraine to read more.
Histamine can cause a wide variety of symptoms, and these symptoms can vary depending on where it is released in the body. Symptoms could be:
Headaches or migraines
Diarrhea
Eczema or hives
Irregular heartbeat
Low blood pressure
Wheezing
Runny nose
Heartburn
PMS (premenstrual syndrome)
Seasonal allergies
Food allergies
Asthma
Motion sickness
Nausea
Vomiting
Irritability
Loose stool
Chest tightness
Using pharmaceutical antihistamines long-term has a negative impact on your gut health. Side effects include diarrhea or constipation. You can imagine that if your detox organs are doing overtime, your gut microbiome is frail and your immune system constantly being triggered, it leads to chronic inflammation, allergies (food, environmental and seasonal), but also hormone imbalance and thyroid issues as a side effect.
This explains why many people stop responding to antihistamines and anti-allergy medications. Addressing the underlying causes of allergies is the only long-term solution.
Underlying causes could be :
Toxic load: your detox organs are overloaded and cannot keep up with the wealth of toxins coming in => this may be due to too many toxins in your life, but can also be linked to a genetically slow detox system which will favor an accumulation of toxins in your body
Leaky gut is causing high levels of continuous inflammation and triggering of your immune system
Gut dysbiosis: overgrowth of bad bacteria can produce toxins that will impact your other body systems
Impaired digestive function leading to nutrient depletion and decreased defense against pathogens
Chronic viruses or bacterial infections that have been taxing your immune system without you realizing it
The long-term solution:
So the first step here is to clean up your diet, pantry, cleaning products and beauty products as I mention in this article.
The second step is healing your gut and addressing nutrient deficiencies
Thirdly, find out what other sources of inflammation there are and address them
And lastly, rebuild the barriers!
If you are not ready to do the groundwork, but need a short-term relief for this allergy season, here are my top 3 plant remedies that I can recommend:
Nettles have an anti-inflammatory effect and also lower histamine
Quercetin is an amazing antioxidant that can help alleviate allergies, support a healthy inflammatory response in the body, and reduce histamine.
Curcumin helps reduce inflammation and supports liver detox
Contact me or work with your practitioner for product recommendations and to know which product is right for you.