Editorial [Hot Topic: Antihistamines (Guest Editor: Esen Ozkaya)]

Antihistamines are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world. They are widely used in the treatment of conditions such as urticaria and angioedema, seasonal and perennial rhinoconjunctivitis, and pruritic diseases occurring in children and adults. The first generation antihistamines are still widely available and in use today since their first introduction more than 50 years ago. As these drugs have considerable sedative effects that can interfere with the quality of life of patients, the second generation antihistamines were introduced as nonsedating alternatives. However, some of them have shown rare but lethal cardiotoxic side effects. The third generation antihistamines are metabolites of the earlier drugs with favourable pharmacokinetic properties, and few adverse events. This special issue of the journal deals with advances in the development of the new antihistamines, mechanism of action of the old and new antihistamines, their use in different allergic and nonallergic conditions, principals of antihistamine use in children and pregnancy, the systemic and cutaneous adverse reactions of antihistamines as well as their adverse effects on skin tests. Antihistamines seem to be the mainstay of therapy of many allergic conditions in the future, too. The considerable evolution of new antihistamines is promising, and the improvement in their clinical benefit / risk ratio will improve the quality of life of patients.