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Additional
antihistamine
English Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
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Antihistamine
An
antihistamine
is a type of
pharmaceutical drug
that opposes the activity of
histamine receptors
in the body. Antihistamines are subclassified according to the
histamine
receptor that they act upon: the two largest classes of antihistamines are
H
1
-antihistamines
and
H
2
-antihistamines
. Antihistamines that target the
histamine H
1
-receptor
are used to treat
allergic reactions in the nose
(e.g., itching, runny nose, and sneezing) as well as for
insomnia
. They are sometimes also used to treat motion sickness or
vertigo
caused by problems with the
inner ear
. Antihistamines that target the
histamine H
2
-receptor
are used to treat
gastric acid
conditions (e.g.,
peptic ulcers
and
acid reflux
). H
1
-antihistamines work by binding to
histamine H
1
receptor
s in
mast cells
,
smooth muscle
, and
endothelium
in the body as well as in the
tuberomammillary nucleus
in the brain; H
2
-antihistamines bind to
histamine H
2
receptors
in the upper
gastrointestinal tract
, primarily in the
stomach
.
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