Is there a blood test for histamine intolerance?

If the doctor suspects that a histamine intolerance is present, histamine and the enzyme diaminooxidase (DAO) are determined in the blood. From the combination of these two blood values, the diagnosis can then be made or excluded. If the blood level of the enzyme DAO is below 3 U/ml (units per milliliter), histamine intolerance can be assumed.

If the blood level is above 10 U/ml, the diagnosis is rather unlikely. At all values between 3 and 10 U/ml a histamine intolerance is probable, but it should be additionally clarified by further tests, such as a histamine clearance. It is important that histamine is not specifically waived in the days prior to blood collection, as this can falsify the blood value.

Treatment

The treatment of a histamine intolerance depends on the severity of the symptoms and the problems that exist despite the avoidance of typically histamine-containing foods. It should be noted that there is no causal therapy for histamine intolerance. This means that all therapy approaches can only treat the symptoms of the disease and the cause of the intolerance cannot be treated.

However, the symptoms can usually be controlled very well by various available therapy options. In very many cases, the renunciation of certain foods is sufficient to achieve complete freedom from symptoms. Tables with a list of problematic foods can help to create a diet plan.

In the course of time, personal experience values can help to filter out individual, particularly problematic foods and thus further narrow down the diet plan. If the avoidance of foods with a high histamine content is not sufficient to achieve freedom from symptoms, other therapeutic approaches can be taken. For example, so-called antihistamines can be taken, which are usually very effective in controlling the symptoms caused by histamine.

The same effect can be achieved by taking cromoglicic acid. These drugs can be taken if, despite known histamine intolerance, food containing histamine has been taken and symptoms occur. Another controversial treatment option is the administration of vitamin B6, which is said to stimulate the body’s own production of the enzyme that is disrupted in people with histamine intolerance.