Talk:H1 antagonist

Proprietary names
I don't think it's appropriate to include proprietary names (brand names) on this page because there are so many different proprietary products and name variations worldwide that it would not be feasible to list them all here. Proprietary names are usually listed on the individual pages anyway, e.g. loratadine. -Techelf 11:52, 9 September 2005 (UTC)

I think that we do people a disservice by not listing the common proprietary names of these medicines. The individual sufferer of median education may never know the non-proprietary name. By removing the propietary names, we curse that median sufferer to click amongst many pages, perhaps not finding it, instead of presenting a tight and useful collection of information. What if that median sufferer's friend said "Your allergies are so bad; my doctor presribed 'xyr-something' for me - it has changed my life." That median sufferer will likely not find what he or she is looking for without the proprietary names. Brholden 17:17, 10 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Erm, are we writing a pharmacist's guide or an encyclopedia? I'm sure that the "median sufferer" (what a derogatory label - what do you call yourself?) will find out how to spell the drug properly before typing it into a search engine. 203.218.135.24 15:28, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

"Histadelia"
I removed the comments about "histadelia" because it is not a recognised condition in mainstream medicine and histaminergic activity is not generally believed to contribute to the therapeutic effect of TCAs or antipsychotics. -Techelf 10:28, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Considering the psuedoscientific material that wikipedia contains, there should be info on histadelia, with the usual disclaimers about how it hasn't been proven, etc. There are many people who swear by the theory regarding histamine and mood. I myself am a probable histadelic, and while the jury is still out regarding whether I will be helped out by the supplements you're supposed to take (e.g. SAMe and calcium), many people have. Still others suffer from a condition known as histapenia, which is too little histamine, and they have been helped by other supplements. All of this may largely be due to the placebo effect, but it is unclear how much the benefit of mainstream anti-depressants is due to the placebo effect.

While the "histamine hypothesis" hasn't been proven by rigorous scientific study, there is no reason why it is clearly false, and there is evidence that histamine concentration can affect moods. For instance, histamine is known to be a neurotransmitter. The methods by which histamine is formed/broken down are known biochemical pathways. There hasn't been as much in the way of double-blind studies as we would like, but this may be due to the fact that all of the treatments for histadelia/histapenia are over the counter and non-patentable. In any case, histadelia has much firmer scientific footing than topics such as psychokenesis, which have detailed wikipedia pages. -- LMark75, 10:54, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Are there alternatives to the drugs listed?
Don't get me wrong; this article looks comprehensive and (I assume) well researched. But are there also more moderate, dare I say "natural" or "herbal" or "alternative", substances that can reduce or eliminate effects mediated by histamine? For example, I have heard several of the following substances are antihistamines: Of course, unless such claims can be backed up by primary sources, they shouldn't be in this article. Just wondering about the conspicuous lack of alternatives to drugs. --Ds13 03:34, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Vitamin C
 * Magnesium
 * ginger (root)
 * Natural agents might exhibit histamine H1-receptor antagonist properties, but they're not antihistamines – antihistamines are drugs by definition. -Techelf 10:57, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
 * quoting from a book available as a preview on Google Books:

Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery By Matti Anniko, Manuel Bernal-Sprekelsen, PATRICK BRADLEY Springer, 2009 http://books.google.com/books?id=l3fPEPZQqoQC p 146 "The medical treatment consists in the uptake of an H1 histamine antagonist such as diphenydrinate or meclozine. It must be pointed out that all H antagonists have sedative side effects. Interestingly, ginger root, given in a pulverized form, has significantly favourable effects on motion sickness symptoms."

Perhaps ginger is worth mentioning, at the very least. 174.124.170.126 (talk) 14:46, 29 August 2011 (UTC)Pink
 * Since Benadryl is not a "true antihistamine" by definition but instead "has antihistaminic effects," why not include herbs so long as there is chemical science behind them? I have not heard anywhere that vitamin C and Magnesium are antihistamines-- giving 200 mg of vitiamin C to someone with a bee sting will not stop the swelling (histaminic reaction).  However many drugs are metabolic breakdown products of plants (Atropine from belladonna for example) and it should be included if apropriate.  "Manufactured by a drug company" isn't the definition of a drug : )  Gaviidae 16:28, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
 * When you say "Benadryl", are you referring to diphenhydramine (which is an H1-antihistamine)? But yes, I agree that specific chemical constituents of "natural" products could be included here if there's evidence of H1-histamine receptor antagonism. -Techelf 10:08, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I was always taught that true antihistamines stop histamines from forming or being released, in pharma-babble an "antagonist." Although yes, the general public calls anything that stops the histaminic reaction an antihistamine, but I was being technical.Gaviidae 09:12, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

"...other agents may have antihistaminergic action but are not true antihistamines." In the interests of the Wikipedia, there should be a clarification page allowing the 'alternative' seekers to find out more scientifically correct information about what they were originally searching for, instead of the simple snippet provided above from the first paragraph.

Pet Usage
Should there be a section on this page for pets/antihistamines? That would be pretty cool. While dogs' allergic reactions aren't quite as dependent on histamines as in humans, pets can get benefits from some antihistamines (meanwhile owners should be warned about other medicines possibly added to the main antihistamine such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofin (Motrin, Advil), dog and cat poisons).Gaviidae 09:12, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Watch your language
Is it me, or does this page read like it's written by (or for) a pharmacology student? And where's the history of their development? Trekphiler 10:10, 17 December 2006 (UTC)This sounds too complicated, maybe someone can dumb it down a little and put (???) with what some of the things meanDawn 99 08:16, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

This article needs a more general section for those who want to know about the drugs in more general terms, rather than medical jargon. It's practically unreadable for the average person, and is too 'techy' for a beginner in such things.

That is why you can use WikiPedia in Simple English language if professional English is too complicated for you. At least the medical details should not be deleted. 88.192.39.165 (talk) 19:31, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

Homeopathic treatment for Hives at the H1 level
H1 hives that cause itching and scratching can mostly be treated with isopropyl alcohol first and once the isopropyl alcohol has evaporated off the skin, it can then be treated with hyrdocortizone cream. Solitary halo 14:18, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Um, that's not exactly homeopathic :) Fvasconcellos (t·c) 22:21, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Could someone verify my edit?
I added tetracyclicsto the tricyclics, understanding that their sedative mechanisms are similar, both belonging in this article. Ksenon 22:09, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

Article rename proposal
This article has been moved a few times within the last year (Antihistamine → Classical antihistamine → H1 antihistamine → Antihistamine → H1 antihistamine), but I think there is a better organization for the antihistamines. Currently, there are 3 articles about antihistamines: Histamine antagonist, H1 antihistamine, and H2-receptor antagonist. Antihistamine redirects to H1 antihistamine, which has a Redirect link at the top to Histamine antagonist.

Proposed changes:
 * Even though most people searching for antihistamines probably want H1 antagonists, Antihistamine should redirect to Histamine antagonist. Histamine antagonist is basically an expanded disambiguation page for all antihistamines (H1, H2, H3, & H4), and is a more appropriate article for the title "antihistamine".  The histamine antagonist article could be easily and briefly expanded so that people looking for allergy medications can quickly find the H1 antagonist article.
 * Rename H1 antihistamine to H1-receptor antagonist, with the rationale that the titles of the H1 and H2 antagonist articles should have the same name structure. In the case of histamine, "antagonist" is a more the scientific and encyclopedic way to describe the drugs, rather than common usage "anti-."

With these changes, the 3 articles become "Histamine antagonist," "H1-receptor antagonist," and "H2-receptor antagonist." "Antihistamine" would redirect to "Histamine antagonist" and "Classical antihistamine" would still redirect to "H1-receptor antagonist." --Scott Alter 20:57, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I support this proposal. --Arcadian (talk) 22:23, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Support, be bold. I think it should be H1 antagonist and H2 antagonist, without any dash and without the redundant 'receptor'. Сасусlе 22:45, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm fine with not including "receptor." Looking at Template:Receptor agonists and antagonists, most articles do not include "receptor" in their titles.  I'll be bold and make the changes soon.  --Scott Alter 23:18, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

I just made these changes to the articles and updated the templates. Let me know if I missed anything. --Scott Alter 01:58, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Ketotifen 1st gen or 2 nd gen ?
Ketotifen is listed in both sections 1st gen as well as in 2nd gen. According to the ketotifen article itself ist's second gen. If there is no other reason that it is listen in first gen then it should be omitted there. -- 89.247.110.141 (talk) 18:59, 29 June 2010 (UTC)