Today, Pepcid!

[billroper]

My friend the ER nurse dropped me an e-mail and reminded me that trying Pepcid to calm the kind of allergic reaction that I'm having would be a reasonable thing to do since it might actually help. She suggested calling Dr. Bob first and he concurred, so I'm now dosed with Pepcid and Zyrtec. I think I feel water trying to rearrange itself in the swollen tissues -- we'll see if I'm right.

Comments

[mia-mcdavid.livejournal.com]

Pepsid? For allergic swelling??? What's the mechanism? I've never heard of that one before, and I have reason to know a few things about allergies . . .

[filkergem.livejournal.com]

My wife the allergist's office manager says that Zantac and Pepcid are very closely related and both H2 blockers, so that they bind with a different type of histamine receptor than normal antihistamines do.

Her physician often has patients take twice the OTC dose of Zantac (ranitidine) for allergic reactions - that is, 150 mg twice daily.

[billroper]

Yep. Normal antihistamines block the H1 pathway, while Pepcid and Zantac are H2 blockers.

You now know as much as I do about it. :)