Allergy Relief: The Antihistamines

ALLERGY RELIEF: THE ANTIHISTAMINES

Allergy Miseries

Sneezing, sniffling, weeping, itching, gasping. In 1946 an estimated 10-15 percent of the population, some 13-20 million, suffered a vast gallery of allergic symptoms. In the Minnesota winters a strapping young man bundled himself so thoroughly against his allergy to the cold that his wife had to lead him down the street. Even the exposure of the skin around his eyes to the cold swelled him up as though he had been stung by dozens of wasps. Some sufferers dreaded spring, with its tree-pollen-induced sneezing and itchy eyes, while others dreaded the ragweed season in late summer. Allergies were a source of misery to millions.

Histamine

Until the discovery of a new treatment, allergy sufferers had to avoid cats, eggs, feathers, pollen—whatever caused their reaction—or take frequent desensitizing injections. More convenient relief came in 1946 with the discovery of something new—histamine—the chemical catalyst in the allergic reaction. Although histamine was known for many years, its normal place in the body's complex chemistry was still not well understood until the 1940s.

Antihistamine

In the allergic individual, histamine becomes an irritant itself. It creates leaks in the capillaries, causing fluid to escape into the tissues, producing congestion, runny noses, and skin blisters. It can also constrict small bronchial tubes in asthmatics, bringing about a fall in blood pressure and even death. Researchers in the 1940s searched for antihistamine compounds which would turn off the histamine faucet to relieve suffering. In 1946 they finally developed an effective antihistamine with a fifty-letter name, beta dimethylaminoethyl benzhydryl ether hydro chloride, later known as Benadryl.

A Potato-Lover's Delight

Benadryl was the outcome of a research project begun in 1941 at the University of Cincinnati by a twenty-six-year-old assistant professor of chemistry, George Rieveschl, Jr. Originally developed as an antispasmodic drug for colicky babies, Rieveschl's drug also turned out to be potent as an antihistamine. It became the focus for an exhaustive two-year series of pharmacological tests and clinical trials on more than two thousand patients. In Detroit one young chemist refused to wait for outside reports from the trials. He loved potatoes but was miserably allergic to them. Would Benadryl let him enjoy his favorite dish? He took two capsules, devoured a double order of french fries, and waited for his eyes to smart, his nose to run, his sneezing to start, and his stuffy head to throb. It did not happen.

THE "GUINEA PIGS" OF ATOMIC
WARFARE

In April 1947, nearly two years after the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a U.S. mission of physicians who examined the survivors reported on the "first guinea pigs" of atomic warfare.

U.S. and Japanese doctors found that mysterious scars continued months after victims' burns from the atomic bombs' heat and ultraviolet radiation healed. The doctors feared these ugly keloid scars might foretell cancer. Sterility was found in blast victims who had been up to three miles from the target center. One-third of the men were sterile, and fully two-thirds of the women suffered menstrual disturbances and miscarriages. The doctors received reports of malformed babies and feared for the generations yet to come. Atomic radiation was known to change genetic material. The report said, "There is good reason to believe that reproductive disturbances, malignancies of one form or another, shortened life span, altered genetic pattern, etc., will in time appear in greater or lesser degrees."

Source:

"Generations Yet Unborn," Time (7 April 1947): 57-58.

A Symptomatic Treatment

Benadryl was not, however, a cure for allergies; instead, it merely acted as a treatment for the symptoms. Clinical trials reported it to be beneficial in 85 percent of the hay-fever cases and about 50 percent of allergic asthmas. Driving away hives was its most spectacular achievement. It also cleared up some cases of "penicillin rash," an allergic reaction seen increasingly as the new miracle drug became more widely used. Like many new drugs, it did have side effects, but hay-fever sufferers and other allergics were more than willing to put up with sleepiness, dizziness, dryness of the mouth, and occasional nervousness to gain relief from their allergy symptoms. Researchers continued to look to develop other antihistamine chemicals, but Benadryl was among the first and the most versatile of the new antihistamine drugs.

Source:

Steven M. Spencer, "New Hope for the Allergic," Saturday Evening Post (20 April 1946): 21+.