Women struggling with PMS or “conditions marked by hormonal fluctuations” are swearing by a treatment on TikTok that combines allergy medication and antacids, said People. The over-the-counter pairing went viral last year amid claims it helped manage symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Women going through perimenopause and menopause have also reported that the drug combo “helps to lessen symptoms,” said NPR.
The drugs most often “touted in this hormonal cocktail” are Allegra and Pepcid AC, said People. The blend can help mitigate “hot flashes and sleeplessness.” It also makes some users feel “less irritable and more energetic,” said NPR.
Experts say there is a “plausible biological mechanism” for these benefits, said NPR. It has to do with histamine, a chemical released when you come into contact with an allergen, triggering an inflammatory response. There is evidence that suggests “histamine fluctuates with your menstrual cycle.” Estrogen, which stimulates the release of histamine, “ebbs and flows throughout the month,” while progesterone acts as a “sort of natural antihistamine.” But in the days leading up to your period, progesterone “takes a nosedive.” In perimenopause, too, the levels of both hormones “rise and fall rapidly, often erratically.”
Allergy medication and antacids are both histamine blockers, said Mara Rivera, a psychiatrist who specializes in reproductive health challenges, to NPR. The theory is that this combination may help keep histamine in check, effectively replacing the effect of progesterone. In some ways, the trend is a modern-day old wives’ tale. Women have been “doing this forever, just talking to one another, and seeing what works,” Rivera said. |
