Antihistamines-vascular constrictors?

January 12, 1999

margaret howell wrote:

About the antihistamines- it has also helped me a lot. I don flush

quite as much and my overall redness has decreased. My naturopath

thinks this points directly to food allergies. I'm a little more

skeptical, since I think rosacea definitely has some vascular properties

that can't accounted for- like flushing while eating soup or other hot

foods. But it's worth a try and it would make a lot of sense since

I had a lot of allergies as a child. Has anyone else been tested

for food sensitivity?Sorry to leave such a

long message.

Margaret H.

What antihistamine are you taking? Some antihistamines and over-the-counter

cold medicines will actually cause blood vessels to constrict. I have another

vascular problem called Raynaud's phenomenon. The blood vessels in the

toes, fingers, nose, ears, etc. constrict when exposed to cold - sometimes

even being painful. I have provided a link that shows some meds that worsen

Raynaud's because of the constricting effects - phenylpropanolamine (Allerest,

Contact, Naldecon, Dimetapp) and pseudoephedrine (Actified, Chlor-Trimeton).

There is also another e-mail group at e-groups.com for hyperhydrosis.

This is a vascular disorder that causes profuse sweating and flushing.

Many of the people in this newsgroup have discussed using antihistamines

(Allegra) to help control flushing.

This would lead one to believe that maybe the antihistamines may also

have a constricting effect on the blood vessels?

On the hyperhydrosis group there was also a mention of Sandomigran -

a drug prescribed for migraine headaches that are vascular in orgin. This

person had read that it would help the blushing. Has anyone ever taken

any migraine drugs and noticed improvement in their rosacea?

Does anyone else here have any other vascular disorders? I have a mild

case of Raynauds and also have discovered the blotchy skin problem I am

Donna

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