Treating Seasonal Allergies Using Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine
by Anne Ballantine, L.Ac.

As I write, it's springtime in the Hudson Valley, and allergy season as well. For many local residents spring and summer are the seasons for allergies, which are generally induced by wind-borne tree grass or weed pollen. The symptoms are all too familiar: itchy eyes, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, headaches and fatigue. When allergens and antibodies react in people with allergic rhinitis, the nasal passages become swollen and may obstruct drainage. As a result, many people develop sinusitis and often sinus infections, a common complication of allergies.

From the viewpoint of Chinese medicine, allergic rhinitis is due to a deficiency of specific kinds of qi or energy — in this case a deficiency in the Lung, Spleen and Kidney Qi as well as in the body's Defensive Qi (Wei Qi). It is this lack of defensive energy that allows an invasion of allergy-causing acute attacks. Allergic rhinitis often begins in childhood from a constitutional weakness, but it may also develop later in life as the Lung, Kidney and Spleen Qi decline, leaving the individual susceptible to repeated attacks of allergy attacks.

Western medicine is unsettled about why some people develop allergic reactions while others do not. Some researchers believe that the inadequate breastfeeding or the absence of breastfeeding may leave an individual more susceptible to developing allergies. Also, exposure of a pregnant woman to ingested or environmental chemicals or pollutants may also create allergy problems for her fetus. Other researchers talk mostly about exposure to air pollution, or consider allergies a side effect of too much stress, which can undermine the immune system.

Many drugs have been developed to treat the symptoms of allergies, including the local or systemic administration of antihistamines and corticosteroids. Since many of these drugs produce undesirable side effects, it is easy to see why an increasing number of people are seeking an alternative approach to treating their allergies.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapies offer treatment approaches to early and late stages of seasonal allergies, as well as treatment of chronic sinusitis. Acupuncturists will often use acupuncture as well as a combination of Chinese herbs that are blended together in a formula. Several such formulas are in common use, and often they treat not only the symptoms of the allergy, but the underlying problems that leave sufferers more susceptible to allergic rhinitis attacks in the first place.

Nutritional and diet therapy that includes food supplements such as bioflavonoids (especially quercetin) and essential fatty acids (Omega 3, 6, 9) can also be very helpful. These supplements can help inhibit the allergy response with little or no side effect. Many western botanicals, sinus washes and herbal steams can also be effective in treating allergies, as can the Neti Pot, a small teapot-shaped vessel that is filled with salt water and used to help irrigate and clean the nasal passages. The design of the Neti pot, which is available at most health food stores, allows the allergy sufferer direct control of the water pressure used to help cleanse the nasal passages.

In my practice I find that acupuncture works well for clearing the sinuses and relieving pain and can give relief very quickly to severe congestion, and that Chinese medicine can be very effective in correcting the underlying imbalances of the immune system. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs do this by strengthening the organ system that has been weakened over time, thus helping to prevent the seasonal allergies, and reducing the chance of developing infections. Such treatment combined with home self care done consistently over a period of time can have a profound healing effect on such allergies, along with chronic sinusitis, asthma, chronic coughs, or post nasal drip.

Anne Ballantine is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist working in Rhinebeck, New York. For more information, or to contact Anne Ballantine, L.Ac., please call (845) 876-0526.