Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Wonderful News to Share!

Welcome to the board,

Recent research has suggested that histamine in GI mucosal mast cells maybe involved in brain-gut miscommunication for IBS. The second generation H1 antihistamine, ketotifen which is also a mast cell stabilizer has been shown in small clinical trials to be effective for managing IBS symptoms.

In 2008 US allergy researchers found that individuals with atopic allergies have a higher incidence of IBS. They suggested that there maybe a subgroup of patients with IBS (atopic IBS) who have typical IBS symptoms in association with atopic allergy manifestations. Perhaps you belong to the subgroup

At this time there is nothing in the IBS research that shows antihistamines like Claritin might have beneficial effects for managing IBS symptoms.

It would be interesting to hear if any others on the board have notice any positive effects on IBS symptoms from taking an OTC antihistamine. If they did experience positive effects it would be interesting to know which antihistimine they were taking.

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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS

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