Allergies have sprung!

If you dread the better weather now it has finally arrived, if allergies have sprung too… read up on some advice:

For those who suffer from seasonal allergies, this time of the year can feel like a disheartening blur of symptoms: runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, headaches, difficulty breathing and coughing, often resulting in difficulty sleeping. Many perceive hay fever as a trivial condition but the reality is far different. Seasonal allergic rhinitis brings with it a great deal of suffering for months at a time, which for teenagers unfortunately also coincides with the exam season.

Rather than temporarily alleviating these symptoms the way allergy medications do, acupuncture addresses the underlying imbalance that’s causing symptoms in the first place, allowing you to enjoy the outdoors all season long. Acupuncture can be a useful complementary or alternative treatment for people with seasonal allergic rhinitis. It has been studied to work as well as or in conjunction with antihistamines in improving symptoms and/or increasing symptom-free days (Ng 2004; Brinkhaus 2010). Treatment is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurochemical messenger molecules. The resulting biochemical changes influence the body’s homeostatic mechanisms, thus promoting physical and emotional well-being. Stimulation of certain acupuncture points has been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress (Hui 2010).

When to start treatment?

According to acupuncture textbooks, 4-6 weeks before the hay fever season starts. This will give an opportunity to aim treatment at strengthening the body’s energy and starting to address the internal imbalance that is making the sufferer sensitive to pollen allergens.
In practice, the vast majority of people come to see me when they have all the symptoms of hayfever and are desperately looking for some relief! As the effect of acupuncture is often immediate, it is not too late to have treatment at this stage, so don’t be discouraged to try.

How many treatments will I need?

Since everyone is so different, and lifestyles so varied, it is impossible to define how many treatments will bring a lasting effect. You will see changes during a course of treatment, and some patients will notice a difference even after the first treatment. An initial commitment of 1 treatment/week might be required. Once the benefits last, however, the treatments can be spaced further apart. Patients often report that symptoms decrease year by year, so only a ‘top-up’ treatment will be required.
Hay fever is something many people have come to accept as an inevitable part of spring- and summertime. It doesn’t have to be this way. Acupuncture can relieve and prevent seasonal allergies, without negative side effects. So go out and celebrate the glorious weather, no strings – or tissues – attached.

Tip…
One thing that also seems to help is to regularly eat local honey, especially during the 3-4 months preceding the peak time of your hay fever symptoms. Call your local member or the British Beekeepers Association and find out where you can buy a local honey. Local health food shops or farm shops often are a good source. There seems to be something in the fact that local bees collect pollen from your area. If you eat it regularly, your immune system might not react that severely by the time the high pollen counts arrive.