If you’re here after searching “What are the signs of histamine intolerance?” then I’m guessing you or someone you know aren’t doing too well.
As someone who only discovered her lifelong histamine intolerance at the ripe old age of 30, I know that living with undiagnosed histamine intolerance can be challenging.
For years, I struggled with unexplained symptoms like headaches, as well as nausea and vomiting after eating certain foods.
I’ve also had respiratory issues, and eventually even premenstrual dysphoric disorder (or PMDD) that took me by surprise.
But everything finally clicked once I realised that I had histamine intolerance.
So, if you’re on a similar journey, this post is for you!
This post answers the preliminary questions around histamine intolerance in both kids and adults.
I sincerely hope it provides clarity.
But although its got a bad reputation, histamine isn’t all bad.
In fact, it’s a busy, quite important molecule in your body that acts as a messenger in the immune system, aids digestion, and even influences sleep and focus.
But histamine can also be a troublemaker.
When your body releases too much in response to certain foods or allergens, it triggers those familiar allergy symptoms like runny nose, itching, and sneezing.
Normally, an enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO) keeps histamine in check.
However, with histamine intolerance, DAO activity is low, leading to a buildup of histamine and those unpleasant allergy-like reactions, depending on which histamine receptors are involved.
H1 receptors, for instance, might cause headaches, rashes, and runny noses – similar to hay fever. And easily controlled with over-the-counter antihistamines.
H2 receptors, on the other hand, can lead to digestive issues like cramping and diarrhea.
In severe cases, excess histamine can even mimic symptoms of anaphylactic shock, like flushing, nausea, and dizziness.
Though thankfully without the life-threatening element.
What are the Signs of Histamine Intolerance?
You could easily end up taking 4 – 5 different medications for what, ultimately, boils down to the same, elusive thing.
I’ll give you 8 groupings of symptoms to look out for:
- Skin: Hot flushes, hives, rashes, eczema, itchiness, swelling (eyes and face).
- Sinuses: Runny nose, itchy, red or painful eyes
- Neurological: Headaches & migraines, insomnia, anxiety & depression, fatigue
- Cardiovascular: Heart palpitations, arrhythmia, low blood pressure (dizziness), blood clots
- Digestive: Nausea & vomiting, diarrhoea, loose stool, stomach pain, heartburn, food sensitivities (e.g. gluten or fruits), bloating, Crohn’s/ colitis
- Respiratory: Difficulty breathing, asthma, throat clearing, sore throat
- Reproductive: Painful cramps, irregular periods, endometriosis, PMDD, estrogen dominance
- Musculoskeletal: Muscle pain & twitching, joint pain, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia
Risk Factors for Developing Histamine Intolerance
Histamine intolerance is supposedly rare, officially affecting about 1–3% of the global population.
However, seeing as it is extremely hard to diagnose, a person or their doctor may not recognise it and may mistake it for a food allergy or gastrointestinal disorder.
There are several factors that can increase your risk of developing histamine intolerance:
- Genetic predisposition: Some people (like yours truly) inherit a variation in their genes that affects the production of DAO. This leads to a higher risk of histamine intolerance.
- Gut health issues: Conditions like leaky gut and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can disrupt the gut microbiome, which may play a role in DAO production and histamine processing. Our modern diet, with all the ultraprocessed foods and sugar, is not helping.
- Certain medications: Some medications, such as antidepressants, heartburn medications, and pain relievers, can interfere with DAO function or block histamine breakdown.
- Vitamin deficiencies: Deficiencies in vitamins B6 and vitamin C can impair DAO activity, making you more susceptible to histamine intolerance.
- Age: DAO activity naturally decreases with age, which could explain why some people develop histamine intolerance later in life. Over 80% of people with histamine intolerance are middle aged.
- High-histamine diet: Regularly consuming large amounts of foods naturally high in histamine (see below) or that trigger histamine release can contribute to symptoms, especially if your DAO activity is already compromised.
Living with Histamine Intolerance
Let me tell you, living with histamine intolerance is no fun!
Honestly, give me a simple gluten intolerance any day of the week.
Because no one has even heard of histamine intolerance.
Which means restaurants and items at the grocery store often contain a lot of it.
Navigating what sets you off, personally, is also a painful game of trial and error.
One minute, you’re enjoying a sharing plate of hummus and baba ganoush with friends, the next, your head feels like a drum solo and you can’t leave bed for two days. #TrueStory
It’s frustrating.
And skipping dessert while everyone else digs in can feel isolating.
But I would not go back to the days where I didn’t know what was wrong.
The days when I felt lethargic and nauseous and had days-long headaches that nothing could cure.
So the good news is that once you understand your triggers, you can adjust your lifestyle and finally ditch the drama.
It takes work, but hey, feeling good is what we’re all trying to achieve through different means, anyway.
What are the signs of histamine intolerance in children?
I’ll give you my experience first.
Every year, around December, my family and I would take a trip to where we originally come from: Ethiopia.
And every year, that meant one thing for me: vomiting. Lots of it.
My mom, thinking it was a question of a lack of hygiene during meal prep would have stricter and stricter standards for what I could and couldn’t eat.
But nothing worked.
Whether I ate injera (highly fermented flatbread), kale, or shiro (a stew made with chickpea powder), it all came out.
And if I ate pasta with tomato sauce, I would be up all night with heartburn.
Add to that the asthma and coughing – let’s just say my vacations were always a mess.
My brother used to get full-body rashes from eating lentils or beans as a child. And he still suffers from eczema.
More generally, watch out for tummy troubles, itchy skin, restless sleep, chronic sniffles, pickiness with food, mood swings, frequent vomiting, or even colic in your child.
The best way to test it is with following a low-histamine lifestyle and seeing if their symptoms improve.
Things High in Histamine
If you have histamine intolerance, you may want to avoid the following, mostly depressing, list:
Living with histamine intolerance is all about managing what goes in (and around) your body. Here’s a quick rundown of the main culprits to keep an eye on:
Food:
- Aged cheeses: Parmesan, cheddar, blue cheese
- Fermented foods: Sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, COFFEE (!), tea, breads
- Alcohol: Wine, beer, spirits (especially fermented)
- Processed meats: Sausages, salami, hot dogs
- Certain vegetables: Tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, avocado
- Tropical fruits: Pineapple, bananas, papaya
- Seafood: Tuna, mackerel, sardines, shellfish
- Nuts and seeds: Peanuts, cashews, aged nuts
- Dried fruits: Raisins, figs, dates
- Chocolate: Dark chocolate is generally worse (I ignore this one)
- Legumes: Beans, lentils, soybeans, chickpeas
- Spices and additives: MSG, certain food colouring
- Gluten & Bread: Unleavened is better than yeast and sourdough varieties
Environmental:
- Stress: Can trigger histamine release
- Medications: Certain antidepressants, pain relievers, and heartburn medications (like omeprazole)
- Mould and dust exposure: not particularly good for anyone but worse for histamine intolerant people.
Is Histamine Intolerance for Life?
Doctors will tell you, “Yes, histamine intolerance is for life and it will only get worse.”
That’s what my ray-of-sunshine doctor told me, perfectly matching the big medical websites.
But I don’t buy it.
And it’s not just me doing wishful thinking.
Every chronic condition is an unexplained dysregulation of the body.
The body perceives threats when there aren’t any and attacks enemies that aren’t there, injuring us in the meantime.
I wholeheartedly believe that figuring out how we’re physically, mentally and emotionally dysregulated will go a long way to healing chronic conditions.
And working with healing the gut – usually the first casualty from dysregulation – is key.
Final Thoughts
Histamine intolerance is not fun.
It touches upon every aspect of your life – from your food to your environment.
But there are ways to feel better quite quickly.
And I wholeheartedly believe there are ways to cure it completely.
Follow me on my long journey to doing just that (and a whole lot of other fun things along the way).