how to beat hay fever with acupuncture

Jul 31, 2016 | Tao Philosophy & Practices

beating-hay-fever-with-acupuncture

summary

To mark national Allergy Awareness Week in the UK, this interview explores my work with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture and their successful role as an alternative and natural treatment for hay fever.

You’ll also learn tips to help you self-manage your hay fever symptoms during the spring and summer months.

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full teaching transcript

Alexandra Lees: Allergy Awareness Week is marked at the end of April in the UK. This coincides with an increased number of patients visiting Peak House Practice concerned about their hay fever as Spring sets in…

David James Lees: Hay fever is considered to be an over reactivity of the immune system due to certain allergens. Around 20% of the UK population suffer from hay fever and its irritating symptoms make for a miserable spring and summertime for many people.

Research, published in the journal Allergy showed that traditional Chinese medicine can dramatically reduce hay fever symptoms such as a runny nose and itchy eyes.

Acupuncture has been used in China and other eastern cultures to both prevent and treat the symptoms of hay fever reactions for over 2,500 years.

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AL: So what’s the Chinese medicine take on hay fever?

DJL: Well,from a Chinese medicine perspective hay fever can be diagnosed as a deficiency in the Lung and Kidney defensive Qi or energy systems.

Often this is combined with an invasion or retention of what Chinese medicine practitioners refer to as chronic ‘Wind’ – this is not the same as the wind we associate with digestive upsets!!! Together both can present as an extremely acute physical condition.

The cause of this type of ‘deficiency’ can vary so a Chinese medicine practitioner would always undertake a full diagnosis of the patient and their history to understand this better.

In my experience, one of the main causes can be damaging lifestyle practices such as: smoking, drug taking, and excessive eating or alcohol consumption. But I would also consider any circumstances that may have reduced the client’s physical immunity or robustness.

I would also check for some other more obscure, but potentially important issues. For example, problems or difficulties during their mother’s pregnancy, and their childbirth or childhood, may have created a general long-term weaknesses in the energy of their Lung or Kidney Qi.

Perhaps a previous serious Lung or breathing illness may have resulted in a weakness in their ‘Lung and Kidney defensive Qi’. In this case there may be other health issues involved, for example: asthma and skin rashes or irritation, such as eczema or psoriasis.

Something that is NOT often considered in the West, is the client’s emotional state, particularly around the emotions of fear or grief. In Chinese medicine these emotions can directly affect the organs of the Kidney and Lungs if not harmoniously resolved, and in my experience can have a direct influence on the resilience of your immune system.

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AL: What are your observations as a practitioner?

DJL: Well, in my experience hay fever and associated allergies are unfortunately on the increase.

I’m unsure whether this is due to the general lowering of our immune systems in our modern society, meaning we are now less able to deal with allergens in the environment such as: pollen, spores or a polluted atmosphere caused by vehicle and industrial emissions.

Some studies have suggested that the changes in fluctuations seasonal temperature and the increasing unpredictability of the seasons may also be having an impact.

As an observation from my own practice, I have also noticed that in recent years more people seem to begin to suffer with hay fever later in their life. This means that could have their first hay fever ‘attack’ well into their 50’s or even 60’s!!

There has also been a notable shift in the timing of the onset of hay fever through the course of the year: it used to only be a condition of Spring, but I am increasingly treating patients whose hay fever starts in Summer or even Autumn.

As more people become sensitive to the change in pollen counts of the different plants and trees and the increasingly damp and polluted atmosphere that we live in, this is certainly a situation that needs to be addressed.

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AL: So how would you go about treating hay fever with Chinese medicine?

DJL: When doing a diagnosis it is very important to distinguish the different types of hay fever and how they affect the individual patient.

There is a saying in Chinese medicine that “the disease may be the same, but the people suffering from it are different”, and so a more in-depth, detailed patient history and diagnosis always helps to identify the root of the imbalance for each person.

For instance, some people can suffer from sneezing, profuse running nose with white watery discharge …. whilst others can suffer more with a feeling of being blocked-up, sticky red eyes, thirst, and tiredness.

These differences are significant and have to be understood for any Chinese medicine treatment to be fully effective and successful.

When treating hay fever with acupuncture the Chinese medicine practitioner will insert tiny sterile needles into the appropriate meridians or channels of the body to stimulate and rebalance the energy (or Qi) of the client. The aim here is to overcome the block or stagnation and address the ‘imbalance’ or ‘deficiency’ in their immune system by strengthening it.

Unlike most hay fever drugs we commonly use in the West, such as antihistamine tablets, nasal sprays and eye drops, acupuncture has no negative or undesirable side effects. In fact, it can be quite the opposite!

After an acupuncture treatment, where the client’s flow of Qi has been rebalanced and stimulated, this will heighten the general sense of wellbeing, leaving the client feeling more positive and motivated to deal with any lingering seasonal effects.

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AL: Can you offer some tips on how people can self-manage their allergies?

DJL: Hah, a lot of clients ask me this! There are several ways you can reduce for yourself the effects of hay fever and perhaps lessen its uncomfortable impact on your life:

  • Smearing a small amount of Vaseline inside your nostrils can reduce pollen being caught in your nasal hair, especially if you are aware that you are being adversely affected by certain grass, trees, plants or flowers. Some people find this a very effective as a short-term preventative measure.
  • Some patients have also told me that wrap-around sunglasses can be a great help with runny, red sticky eyes, and splashing cold water around your eyes can also relieve eye discomfort and soothe away those irritating and uncomfortable swellings.
  • Vacuuming and dusting your house with a damp cloth regularly also helps to remove pollen and spores from your immediate environment.
  • Keep windows closed in the morning or early evening when the pollen rises and falls, as the greatest irritation can arise at these times.
  • Avoid smoking or breathing in cigarette smoke, as this can irritate and increase the effects of hay fever by lowering your immunity and the general robustness of your health.

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AL: If there was one key piece of advice you could offer about tackling hay fever what would it be?

DJL: Well, I would say that prevention and maintenance is absolutely critical to reducing and eliminating hay fever attacks…

I would always recommend that a patient comes for an acupuncture treatment before the onset of the worst state of their hay fever symptoms, as this allows time for me to strengthen the underlining deficiency before the allergy symptoms really take hold.

For people who suffer in late spring or early summer time, now – around April time, is the best time to be having a treatment to prevent the onset of the symptoms that would normally arise in a few weeks or months’ time.

It is difficult to generalise, but typically only 3 to 4 acupuncture sessions are needed in the first year of a client being treated, to significantly reduce their hay fever symptoms.

From then on, I normally recommend a yearly ‘top up’ treatment, just before the onset of the symptoms or the offending season. This method helps keep the disruption to a minimum and, in some cases, will eliminate the hay fever symptoms and attacks completely.

This means sufferers no longer dread the warmer months and can enjoy all that spring and summer has to offer!

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