Interesting article

[BlackIsleGirl]

Just spotted this interesting article. Might be worth a read.

Microsoft News

msn.com/en-gb/health/medica...

[Maureen1958]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[Kdw1]

Definitely interesting

[xjrs]

Good find BlackIsleGirl. This ties in with a discussion that Maureen1958 and I were having regarding an antihistamine drug that has been studied for the pain related to IBS.

Here is the info we discussed:

Ebastine research:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

they hypothesized that mast cell products such as histamine and serotonin, which have been linked to visceral hypersensitivity,

may serve as alternative mediators of TRPV-1 sensitization Ebastine resulted in an increased proportion of patients with at least considerable relief at week 12.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebastine

Ebastine is a H1 antihistamine with low potential for causing drowsiness.

It does not penetrate the blood–brain barrier to a significant amount and thus combines an effective block of the H1 receptor in peripheral tissue with a low incidence of central side effects, i.e. seldom causing sedation or drowsiness.

Ebastine has a favourable safety profile

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Ebastine - once-daily, non-sedating, selective, long-acting, second-generation antihistamine - usually well tolerared

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/104...

- don't mix with antidepressants

sads.org.uk/drugs-to-avoid/

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Safety: Headache, nausea, tiredness, and dry mouth are the most frequently reported adverse events on ebastine treatment but their incidence was similar to placebo-treated patients with seasonal and perennial rhinitis in 3 randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trials

I looked up my gastro appointment notes and I mentioned it to my gastro but he had never heard of it, so it wasn't offered to me.

I also made this personal note about it:

Ebastine (Anti-histamine)

•Pros: Low potential for drowsiness, good safety profile, study: considerable pain relief at week 12

•Cons: Headache, nausea, tiredness, and dry mouth – must not be mixed with antidepressants (not that I'm on antidepressants)

I do believe that for some people food poisoning has a factor in their IBS. This certainly happened to me - mine started after food poisoning from a trip to Mexico. Food poisoning can create an imbalance of good to bad gut microbes. It is the bad gut microbes that can have unwanted side effects in the gut (presumably starting the chain reaction causing high histamine). I'm wondering if it is better to try to bring those bad bugs under control first, by shifting the balance with a good probiotic and diet, if this is possible (and it may not work for some people since their IBS may be more complex than that). If you treat IBS with histamines as a first line treatment, but the bad bugs are still there, it's like giving someone who has been injured by a bully a plaster, but then leaving the bully there to torment other people. Why not send in the cops to put the bully in its place?