hay fever season has started

How does the TCM therapy work?

If the nose is running and the eyes are itching, there are several types of pharmaceutical drugs available to treat this condition. With the help of acupuncture, Chinese herbal remedies and nutrition therapy (because of cross reactions of the pollen with food products) the annoying symptoms can be reduced and there might be an improvement of patient’s life quality.

How does the Acupuncture work and

how many sessions are necessary?

For treating an allergic rhinitis normally 8 to 10 acupuncture sessions will be necessary in a weekly period. There is an individual adaption of the therapy plan, depending on the patients symptoms. The treatment will last about 30 to 40 minutes and the needles are placed on the extremities and the ear. An alternative solution to needling would be the laser acupuncture treatment. In this case the sessions would be twice a week.

Is it possible to achieve a longterm im-

provement of the symptoms?

My experience is that the symptoms improve in the following year of the treatment, which results in less acupuncture sessions. In serious cases of allergic symptoms the patient sometimes needs an immunotherapy to deal with the problem. There is no harm to do acupuncture as an concomitant treatment, because it has no side effects.

Are there any studies available about

the positive effects of acupuncture?

Yes, there are. In the year 2013 about 422 patients, who have been diagnosed with allergic rhinitis by an immunologist, took part in a randomised study*. The result showed that the symptoms increased significantly and the need of western medication could be reduced during the acupuncture treatments.

*) Brinkhaus B et al. Ann Intern Med 2013; 4: 25–34: Acupuncture in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized trial