False allergy (pseudo-allergy)

In addition to true allergic reactions to antigens (allergens), there is a so-calledfalse allergy (pseudo-allergy) . Pseudo-allergic reactions occur without the participation of antibodies, so many allergy tests are negative. Histamine and other mediators involved in the implementation of pseudo-allergic reactions are the same as in true allergies – this explains the similarity of the manifestations of allergic and pseudo-allergic diseases.

There are liberator substances that have the ability to cause a non-specific release of histamine, which provokes the development of allergy symptoms. These include eggs, fish and fish products, meat of armored and marine animals, chocolate, canned food, strawberries, melons, pineapple, nuts, etc. Another lipid liberation of histamine is characterized by cell damage under the influence of physical factors: high and low temperatures, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet rays, vibration; chemical agents – acids, alkalis, detergents, solvents, medicinal products (penicillins), components of bee venom, hypotonic solutions of table salt, etc.

The release of histamine is accompanied by a sharp increase in its level in the blood, the development of vegetative and vascular reactions – redness of the skin, a feeling of heat, skin urticaria, headache, difficulty breathing. Pseudo-allergic reactions can manifest as urticaria (blistering), headache, dizziness, food digestion disorders (dyspepsia), vegetovascular hypotonic and hypertensive crises (later similar to true hypertension), etc.

The speed and effectiveness of the treatment of pseudo-allergic conditions depend on how efficiently the processes that lead to a decrease in the activity of histamine proceed in the body.

In allergic patients, the processes of histamine inactivation are violated. The same happens with some other diseases: dysbacteriosis, tuberculosis, cirrhosis of the liver, the same thing a person experiences when eating foods rich in histamine and tyramine.