Hello Ruby, It seems that a number of antihistamines have an anti-inflammatory effect.
When you think about the mechanisms of allergies (your body is flooded with irritating histamine) and inflammation (overactive immune cells causing irritation) it makes sense that "quieting" reactions helps.
In our family we have long been aware that an allergy flare is often accompanied by a worsening arthritis pain, and that promptly and consistently treating allergy symptoms can avoid a major flare-up. We just didn't know why.
So someone undertook a study to figure out why:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8999734/
I don't pretend to understand the whole thing, but it seems "... Loratadine Targets the AP-1 Signaling Pathway to Reduce Inflammatory Responses..." meaning it actually reduces the inflammation, doesn't just mask the pain.
Well, now we have an idea - I can no longer use NSAIDS, so I will be talking to my docs about trying this route!
Sue