ACUPUNCTURE OFFERS RELIEF FROM SEASONAL ALLERGIES
Acupuncture has been used to treat seasonal allergies for centuries with great success. The treatment is directed toward clearing the nasal passages, supporting the immune system and strengthening it to prevent allergic reactions from recurring.
Seasonal allergies are caused by the body’s hypersensitivity to substances in the environment. Symptoms primarily involve the membrane lining the nose, causing allergic rhinitis, or the membrane lining the eyelids and covering the whites of the eyes, causing allergic conjunctivitis.
A study recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that acupuncture can significantly relieve allergic rhinitis symptoms.
In the study, 5,237 men and women were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in addition to routine care in patients with allergic rhinitis compared with treatment with routine care alone. The authors concluded that treating patients with acupuncture leads to relevant and persistent benefits. (http://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+News/Acupuncture+Effective+for+Allergic+Rhinitis)
Another study published in Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that 85 percent of hay fever sufferers who received weekly acupuncture treatments for six weeks showed overall improvements in their hay fever, compared with only 40 percent of the placebo group. (Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. September, 2004 American Journal of Epidemiology. November, 2008)