A pair of over-the-counter antihistamines has gained traction on TikTok as a way to treat depression, anxiety and premenstrual symptoms, with some users reporting miraculous results from combining Allegra, an allergy pill, and heartburn medication Pepcid.
“I don’t feel an ounce of depression,” one woman said in a clip that’s garnered more than 3 million views. “I’m about to go into therapy and I don’t even know what to talk about today anymore.”
Another woman claimed a “night and day difference” with her anxiety and brain fog four days into this regimen.
Some antihistamines, like hydroxyzine, can offer short-term relief from psychiatric issues, but there’s no strong evidence that Allegra and Pepcid do anything besides what’s on the bottle, medical experts told TribLive.
Derek Grimm, enterprise director of medication management at WVU Medicine, believes a placebo effect could be at play. Neither medication can get into the brain at meaningful doses, limiting their potential to address depression, anxiety or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a more serious form of premenstrual syndrome that comes with debilitating emotional symptoms.
Another possibility is that people are getting a mental boost from addressing their allergies or acid reflux, according to Grimm. Those conditions can cause discomfort during the day and disturb sleep at night, leaving sufferers tired and in a worse mood.
No matter what explains the relief, doctors urge caution when taking medical advice from TikTok.
“It’s not a good idea to self medicate,” said Dr. Alicia Kaplan, medical director of the Center for Adult Anxiety and OCD at Allegheny Health Network. “For people who have anxiety and depression, it’s important to seek out mental health treatment, because there’s lots of different strategies that can be used.”
Long-term use of antihistamines can have consequences. For example, Pepcid is linked to a deficiency of vitamin B-12, which can cause complications like anemia, cognitive issues and numbness in the extremities.
Despite these concerns, doctors acknowledge the allure of the Allegra-Pepcid duo. It’s cheap, for one. The brand-name drugs cost about $30 altogether. Some TikTok users singing the praises of these medications also claim they felt better within minutes, while antidepressants can take months to work.
“Both of these are over the counter, so I can’t stop a patient from taking it,” Grimm said. “I’d rather a patient be honest about what they’re trying so we can put some safety net and guardrails around it.”
Dr. Priya Gopalan, medical director of psychiatry consultation-liaison services at UPMC Western Behavioral Health and Magee-Womens Hospital, said its only natural for patients struggling with premenstrual dysphoric disorder to seek relief any way they can get it. Like many aspects of women’s health, the condition is understudied.
“If someone feels they’ve noticed a pattern or improvement, that observation can be a helpful starting point for a conversation and warrants further investigation by the scientific community,” Gopalan said.