Using Acupuncture to Treat Allergies
By: Karin Johnson, R.N., Dipl. Ac., L.A.
Crumpled up tissues overflowing out of a trash can, half empty inhalers and boxes of over-the-counter antihistamines – that’s what you’ll find in the home of most seasonal and year-round allergy sufferers. Whether it be because of pollen, mold, dust, animal dander, changes in the weather or even food allergies, the painful symptoms that sometimes follow an allergy attack, can make a person downright miserable and desperate for relief, despite the side effects of pharmaceutical treatments. What most people don’t know is that acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can effectively and quickly resolve their allergy attacks at the root, without causing harm to the rest of the body.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the outer elements of wind, cold, heat, dryness and dampness are taken into account, as well as internal factors, when diagnosing the cause of dysfunction and disharmony in the body. Seasonally, spring brings with it more wind and the summer more heat and dampness; since most people are indoors in the air conditioning rather than outside sweating, the heat is not properly dispelled. Autumn is considered to be the cause of excessive dryness in the body – just look at the leaves on the trees; and winter brings in the obvious overabundance of cold. When the body can not adjust properly from season-to-season, it begins to malfunction. If in addition to the outside forces of nature, there are internal factors (i.e. food allergies, high levels of toxicity or emotional stress) the reaction becomes more severe.
This is where acupuncture and herbal medicine work their practical magic. By observing what my individual client’s complaints are, I can then determine where the small needles need to be placed along the meridians of their body in order to disperse mucus, diffuse excess heat or redirect it if need be. For some more than others, it can take more than one session to correct the imbalance. For those with food allergies, it is imperative they stay away from the offending food; and for those with high toxicity levels, Far Infrared Sauna treatments, a detox program and an individually tailored Chinese herbal remedy is often necessary.
For instance, a client came to see me who was by trade, a fitness and nutritional professional. He was suffering from severe allergies, but had been in good health up until the year prior. Being as health conscious as he was, he opted not to try Western methods or medication. Through hair analysis, we discovered that he had toxic amounts of mercury in his body, which was triggering the allergic reactions. His treatment plan consisted of Far Infrared Sauna sessions, several acupuncture treatments and a detoxification protocol. In a short amount of time, his allergies disappeared and now, several years later, he reports that though he still experiences some allergy symptoms, they “rarely ever bother him”.
For many, the spring and fall months are the worst times of year for seasonal allergy sufferers. Therefore, in order to prevent the onset of allergy symptoms, it is wise, highly recommended and much more cost effective to begin allergy treatments before the body goes on high alert. Most of the clients I see who take this preventative measure, find that they get through those months either completely unaffected by their usual triggers or that their symptoms are much more mild than in previous years. I believe strongly that an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure and because of the holistic nature of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, we’re not just treating your allergies, we’re caring for your entire well being.
