{"id":54370,"date":"2022-10-11T09:30:01","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T13:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=54370"},"modified":"2024-07-30T13:34:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T17:34:07","slug":"famotidine-for-allergies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/famotidine-for-allergies\/","title":{"rendered":"Does famotidine work for allergies?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hives, a scratchy throat, constant sneezing, and itchy eyes are all common allergy symptoms. The trigger could be many things: a bee sting, a new medication, pollen in the air, or an accidental peanut in your cookie.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though more than <\/span>50 million people<\/span><\/a> in the U.S. deal with allergies yearly, there is no permanent cure\u2014just treatments to help ease the symptoms. Luckily, many medications are available to help manage the symptoms. But that\u2019s not all, there\u2019s even a medicine not intended for allergies that provides additional relief: generic famotidine, or Pepcid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>Allergy statistics<\/b><\/a> | <\/b>How do <\/b>allergies<\/strong> affect quality of life?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

What is famotidine?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before explaining famotidine, it\u2019s important to understand how allergy attacks happen. Histamines are made by the immune system and play a key role in getting unwanted allergens out of your system, like pet dander or mold spores. The histamines then interact with <\/span>histamine receptors<\/span><\/a>, which play a part in your body\u2019s response and many symptoms associated with allergies. There have been <\/span>four types of histamine receptors identified<\/span><\/a> in the human body: H1, H2, H3, and H4.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now back to famotidine. What is this medicine exactly?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFamotidine is an H2 blocker, a type of histamine receptor antagonist,\u201d explains Michael Pistiner, MD, with the <\/span>Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America<\/span><\/a> (AAFA). \u201cIt is most commonly used to treat stomach issues like heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux, and ulcers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

H2 receptors are found in the stomach. When these receptors are blocked by famotidine, there is less production of stomach acid, which leads to less heartburn and reflux symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Famotidine for allergies<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cWhat we think of as more traditional antihistamines such as <\/span>Benadryl <\/span><\/a>(diphenhydramine)<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Zyrtec (cetirizine)<\/span><\/a> are H1 antihistamines,\u201d says Robert Sporter, MD, a physician at <\/span>ENT and Allergy Associates<\/span><\/a> in New York. \u201cH2 antihistamines are much better at treating heartburn than allergies. We use them when we need a little something else to add to an H1 antihistamine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So you may be wondering, does famotidine help with allergies? Famotidine is often given when a patient has urticaria, better known as hives. But, famoidine is not typically considered a first treatment option. Patients are given famotidine when hives do not respond to traditional H1 antihistamines. <\/span>Studies have also shown<\/span><\/a> that famotidine can help treat itchiness associated with hives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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