Apr 26th, 2017
Acupuncture and Seasonal Allergies
At this time of the year, (especially Spring and Fall), you may experience during this season symptoms of running nose, sneezing, and watery itchy eyes, are a cause of much suffering of a large segment of the pacific North West Population. Millions of dollars are spent on medications and the allergy shots for the treatment of seasonal allergies.
Western medicine views seasonal allergies as a form of immediate hypersensitivity reaction which occurs when anti-bodies interact with airborne particles such as pollen.
Interestingly in the practice of acupuncture the Spleen, Stomach, and Large Intestine meridians are utilized a great deal. Also, Chinese medical thought sees sweets as being harmful to the Spleen (Chinese sense of the Spleen) function. In Acupuncture, sweets are often a major factor in the persistence and intensity of seasonal allergy symptoms.
Seasonal allergies are usually treated with acupuncture. There is often a quick response. Often patients get some relief during the first visit while lying on the exam table with their acupuncture needles in place. Patients are asked to score their nose stuffiness on a zero to ten scale. Zero meaning no stuffiness at all and 10 being the worst possible stuffiness for the patient. A score may be determined before and after the acupuncture treatment. Patients can also determine the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment by tracking the number of sneezes per day and the number of itching episodes around their eyes.
After an initial series of treatments, patients come in for further treatments on an as needed basis. Some patients come back in once or twice a year for a booster while others may come more often. In general, patients do better if they avoid sugar and milk in their diets. They have better and longer lasting responses.
Patients continue with whatever standard treatments they are currently undergoing while getting acupuncture treatments. Most patients end up significantly reducing or eliminating their dependence on allergy medications.
There are many different ways of performing acupuncture, for example TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Japanese, Korean, French Energetics, Worsley 5 Elements, ear, hand, etc. In choosing an acupuncturist the specific style a practitioner uses is not so important as the success rate a practitioner obtains with whatever style they use. Prospective patients should speak with the acupuncturist and inquire about past experience in treating seasonal allergies and their success rate.
If you have seasonal allergies please call our office today at (503)-783-8543 or visit our website [email protected] to schedule your spinal check online. We do apprecite your feedback, can you write us a review on google? Are you a Yelper? write us a Yelp Review . Please like us on facebook and let us know what you think?