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1. Can Needles help Hayfever? ACUPUNCTURE is beinghailed as a treatment for the thousands of people who suffer the misery of hayfever every year. New research, published in the journal Allergy, shows ancient Chinese medicine can dramatically reduce symptoms such as a runny nose and itchy eyes. Researchers found that when they used acupuncture needles with a Chinese herbal medicine, the number of patients feeling better was double that in a group not given the treatment. The UK has around 13 million hayfever sufferers. They endure an annual misery ranging from mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, to more severe complications, such as asthma attacks. One in four sufferers is thought to be sensitive to birch pollen, which contaminates the air in early spring. The birch pollen season usually lasts about a month, giving way to grass pollen allergies from May and June onwards. Most people with hayfever rely on over-the-counter medicines such as eye drops and antihistamines, to relieve symptoms. But the discomfort can affect their work, social life and even relationships. For years researchers have debated whether alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, have any role in the treatment of allergies. Practised in China for over 3,000 years, acupuncture is believed to work on a range of illnesses by balancing the body’s energy to treat and prevent disease. Tiny sterile needles are gently inserted into selected points, known as acupoints, on the skin. This is said to balance the flow of vital energy – known as “Qi” (pronounced “chee”). The body has more than 3000 acupoints and acupuncturists use them according to what the problem is. To see if hay fever sufferers would benefit, researchers at the University of Erlangen in Nuremberg, Germany, and the Charite University Medical Centre in Berlin, recruited 52 hay- fever sufferers aged between 20 and 58. Half received a six week treatment regime that combined weekly acupuncture with herbal medicine every day, while the other half had needles inserted into non-acupoints and were given a non-active herbal formulas. The results showed that 85% of those on the acupuncture and herbal medicine regime, reported an improvement in well-being, compared to just 40% in the other group. A spokeswoman fro the British Acupuncture council said the study proved what practitioners already knew. “Every summer, each practitioner in the UK will treat at least two or three hayfever sufferers” she said. “The symptoms can be helped quite substantially.” |
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2. HAYFEVER Hay fever also known as Seasonal allergic rhinitis, only occurs during the spring and summer season. Hayfever is an allergic reaction to airborne particles such as tree, grass and weed pollen that get into the body's upper respiratory passages - the nose, sinus, throat and can also affect the eyes. Hayfever is an allergy caused by outdoor allergens, it shouldn't be mistaken for "perennial allergic rhinitis" which is largely brought about by an allergy to dust mites, mould spores or animal hairs and which occur all year round. Allergic rhinitis describes a group of symptoms, including runny nose, itching and sneezing, that are caused by irritation and congestion in the nose. Chinese medicine sees hayfever as a failure of the body's defensive energy to protect against an invasion of “seasonal pathogenic wind” (occasionally linked with other pathogens). This “wind” in the nose induces typical hayfever symptoms such as sneezing, watery nasal discharge and itchy eyes and throat irritation. Although hay fever is associated with the nose and upper respiratory passages, hayfever treated with Chinese herbal medicine require medicines and tonics to nourish and balance other parts of the body related to these regions. Although diagnosed with hayfever, following the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, hay fever is treated following three basic styles: [1] Lung Qi deficiency [2] Lung and spleen deficiency [3] Lung and kidney insuffinency Do not be surprised if the Chinese herbal medicine you are prescribed is linked to treating the lungs, spleen or kidneys. This is why, if you are intending take Chinese herbal medicine for your hayfever, it is essential to first have a detailed hayfever consultation that is analysed by our registered Chinese herbal practitioner and acupuncturist. It is understood that anyone can develop an allergy to a substance and those who do usually have inherited the tendency from their parents or grandparents The sensitivity to hayfever is no exception and develops after exposure to these particular allergens. The allergic person forms antibodies against otherwise harmless pollens, mould spores and other hayfever allergens. When these antibodies attach themselves to specialized cells in the body that contain chemical substances, such as histamine, the antibodies trigger the cells (especially those of the nose and eyes) to secrete their chemical substances that in turn cause the classic hayfever allergic responses of itching, sneezing, congestion, and running eyes. Avoidance is the best treatment for any allergy, with hayfever no exception. At times when the pollen count is high, refrain from any vigorous outside activity to avoid exposure to hay- fever allergens. Where ever possible keep doors and windows closed in the home, and in the car avoid hay- fever allergens by not opening windows and instead re-circulating the air already in the car. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatment are very effective
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