SummaryAlthough known for more than 80 years, histamine still remains a fascinating substance for allergy research. Histamine antagonists have been in clinical use since 1942. The classical H1‐antagonists with sedative side‐effects have been more or less replaced by newer non‐sedating H1‐antagonists; the role of H2‐receptors in allergic diseases is still controversial. There, are however, increasing reports of beneficial effects of H2‐antagonists. mostly in combination with H1‐antagonists, in a variety of allergic and pseudoallergic conditions such as chronic urticaria, anaphylactoid reactions due to colloid volume substitutes, opioid analgesics and radiographic contrast media. The combined use of H1‐ and H2‐antagonists might not only act as specific histamine antagonism but exert a mast cell stabilizing effect, as demonstrated in animal experiments and some clinical studies. Future research will show whether the combined use of H1‐ and H2‐anlagonists will become a routine therapeutic procedu
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