Winter Turns Into Spring – And Allergy Season Begins!
How Can Mend Support You During Allergy Season?
Spring is a time of renewal and birth. Flowers bloom and the world comes alive again after a long Winter of hibernation. Spring also marks the awakening of your immune system and brings allergy season — sneezing, congestion, itchy eyes, scratchy throat and overall discomfort while your body tries to defend itself from all this new stimuli.
Over-the-counter medications do provide relief, however, they also come with side effects like drowsiness, dryness and mental debilitation. Long-term use of these medication have proven to lead to dementia. If you’re looking for a natural approach to managing seasonal allergies, acupuncture might be the solution you’ve been searching for.
Understanding Allergies from an Eastern Medicine Perspective…
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views allergies as an imbalance in the body’s energy, or Qi (pronounced “chee”). Specifically, allergies are often associated with weakened Wei Qi (the body's surface, defensive energy) after a long winter, which makes individuals more susceptible to environmental allergens. Acupuncture works by re-jiggering your body's immune response, improving circulation, calming inflammation, and restoring you to a proper seasonal balance. Giving you a better day-to-day, “normal”.
TCM Helps Your Body During the Seasonal Shift from Winter to Spring.
In TCM, the transition from Winter to Spring is quite significant. Winter is associated with the Water element and is a time of rest, reflection, and conservation of energy and is associated with the Yin. Spring, on the other hand, corresponds with the Wood element, representing growth, expansion, and renewal and is the rebirth of Yang. If the body is not properly prepared for this shift, it can lead to many imbalances that show up as allergies but can progress into something much more debilitating over time.
To ease this transition, TCM focuses on supporting the Liver, which is the dominant organ in spring. When the Liver Qi is stagnant or overburdened, it can contribute to symptoms like irritability, headaches, and allergic reactions. Acupuncture, along with patented herbal medicine and tweaks to your daily living, helps to smooth the flow of Liver Qi, strengthen Wei Qi, and prepare the body for the changes that come with Spring.
What Exactly Does Acupuncture Do To The Body To Help With Allergy Symptoms?
- Reduces Inflammation – Acupuncture helps to decrease inflammation in the nasal passages, relieving congestion and sinus pressure.
- Regulates the Immune System – By stimulating specific acupuncture points, this therapy helps regulate an overactive immune response, reducing the severity of allergic reactions.
- Clears Sinus Blockage – Acupuncture can promote better circulation and drainage in the sinuses, relieving pressure and preventing sinus infections.
- Balances the Body’s Energy – Seasonal allergies can be a sign of underlying imbalances in the body. Acupuncture helps to bring the body back to harmony, addressing not just symptoms but the root cause of allergies.
- Reduces Stress – Stress can worsen allergy symptoms by increasing inflammation in the body. Acupuncture promotes relaxation and stress reduction, which in turn supports immune function.
Does Acupuncture Hurt?
When you come to Mend, we start with a 15-20 minute consultation, discussing your history and current symptoms. I will sneak a look at your tongue, take your pulses, and possibly palpate parts of your body to assess how you are at this specific moment in time so I can decide which treatment protocols would be best for your unique symptoms and overall health.
You will then relax on a heated table while I insert hair-thin needles around your body. These “needles” are between 0.12 to 0.35 millimeters – around the width of a human hair. They are sterile, single use, and completely painless!
If you came in for a stuffy nose, you may become curious as to why I am placing a needle in your foot! Everything is connected. Some organ meridians flow from your feet to your head, while others start at the head and flow downward. Either way, everything is connected in a beautiful ripple effect. Your lungs are related to your spleen, heart, kidney, liver, etc…. We treat the whole person and don’t just band-aid the symptoms.
You may feel many sensations, while resting on the table for 25-30 minutes. Some people feel buzzy or floaty, while others slip into an “in-between” place or fall right into a deep sleep. Whatever you experience, trust your body is doing what it needs to do at that moment and simply lie back and enjoy the sensations.
You may ask, “How long will it take to feel the effects?” Many patients report immediate relief after a session, while others notice improvements over time with regular, cumulative treatments.
Combining Acupuncture with Lifestyle Changes.
TCM is not just Acupuncture. It also includes:
- Behavioral Modification;
- Nutrition;
- Myofascial Release (cranio-sacral massage, Tui Na body work, cupping, moxa);
- Patented Herbal Medicine, and
- Non-Prescription Supplements.
Each person will receive a different protocol based on their unique situation and symptoms. Each visit to Mend will be unique in and of itself.
For optimal results, nutritionally, Acupuncture should be complemented with lifestyle adjustments, such as:
- Eating anti-inflammatory foods like ginger, turmeric, and leafy greens;
- Staying hydrated to help flush allergens from your system;
- Using a HEPA filter at home to reduce airborne allergens; and
- Practicing nasal rinsing with a saline solution to clear sinuses;
Mend is also happy to partner with a few vendors to offer free samples of products to help, along with TCM, allieve your symptoms. NeilMed products are gentle and wonderful at helping to drain your sinuses after an Acupuncture session and keep you from developing a sinus infection.
And since 70% of your immune system is located in your gut, Mend also offers free samples of Visbiome Probiotics. The regular use of probiotics may relieve symptoms of abdominal discomfort, systemic inflammation, enhances immunity, boosts metabolism, and helps your brain produce “happy” chemicals to ward off anxiety and depression.
If you already have signs and symptoms of a sinus or more systemic infection, Mend prescribes Herbal Formulas to help in the acute stage of disease or to work on clearing more chronic sinus infections. All formulas prescribed are made in America and perfectly safe. Did you know that most western medications are derived from these natural herbs? Pharmaceutical companies make a synthetic version of our TCM Herbal Formulas that do work quickly, but also can damage your organs and are not safe to use long-term due to serious side effects.
Take Control of Allergies With a More Gentle Medicinal Approach
If you’re tired of relying on harsh medications and want a natural, holistic approach to allergy relief, TCM may be worth exploring. By addressing the root cause of allergies and strengthening your immune system, Acupuncture, and TCM’s many other modalities, can help you breathe easier and enjoy the changing seasons without discomfort.
There are so many Patented Herbal Formulas to help with acute and chronic allergy and sinus issues. Xiao Qing Long Decoction (XQLT), as one of the Traditional Herbal Formulas, has long been utilized as a natural remedy for allergic disorders like Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma. XQLT has been used to alleviate AR patients' chronic nasal obstruction symptoms as well as acute symptoms such as rhinorrhea and sneezing.
You may be asking, what is in XQLT that makes it so effective? Here's a more detailed breakdown:
- Ephedra herb (Ma Huang): Ephedrae Herba;
- Cassia twig (Gui Zhi): Cinnamomi Ramulus;
- White peony root (Bai Shao): Paeoniae Radix Alba;
- Asarum (Xixin): Asari Radix et Rhizoma;
- Dried ginger (Gan Jiang): Zingiberis Rhizoma;
- Licorice root (Gan Cao): Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma;
- Pinellia ternata (Ban Xia): Pinelliae Rhizoma; and
- Chinese Magnoliavine Fruit (Wuweizi): Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus
TCM uses many herbs in a specifically dosed formula to complement, buffer, and/or enhance one another. A patient should NEVER take any one herb on their own. For instance, Ephedra, on its own, can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels and cause serious heart issues. But when dosed properly and mixed with other herbs, it provides powerful and lasting relief. These formulas have been around and perfected for over 3,500 years to make sure each ingredient is not toxic and is buffered to be effective yet very gentle on your organs. Together, these ingredients form an alchemy of healing that is tried and true.
I hope I have answered a lot of your questions on how Traditional Chinese Medicine can help during this time of year. Call Mend today to see how acupuncture can be tailored to your specific and unique needs to bring lasting relief during allergy season.
Call us at 323-459-2000 or email us to see how Mend can make this time of year easier, and healthier, for you and your family.
