Acupuncture for Allergies

If you are like me then fall means seasonal allergies! Ever since I was a kid I've had allergies, though mine are usually worse in the spring It's estimated that more than 89 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies (Nathan et al., 2008). There are numerous over the counter and prescription medications available to treat the symptoms of allergies, but most all of them have some level of side effects. More people are suffering from allergies than in past years (Schmidt, 2016), so this might be the first year that you've experienced allergies. Sometimes moving to a different location, where there are different allergens in the air, can cause allergies to surface, or maybe you are like me and have had allergies most of your life. Either way, acupuncture might be the solution to your runny noes, itchy eyes, and generally feeling icky this time of year! Acupuncture has very mild to no side effects, so it may be an efficient alternative to medication to treat allergies. There is

strong evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture (McDonald & Janz, 2017)

for both seasonal and year round allergic rhinitis. Rhinitis is the medical term for what most of us know as a "runny nose". Even if rhinitis isn't the main symptom of your allergies, acupuncture is likely to be helpful for you because the cause of rhinitis is inflammation which probably is causing your other symptoms. The allergic response usually occurs in two phases, one shortly after exposure to the allergen, like pollen, and one that can be up to 8 hours later (Skoner, 2001). Essentially the body reacts to some mostly harmless substance, like pollen or pet dander, as if it was dangerous and triggers an immune response including inflammation. If it happens often enough, part of the late phase response can cause chronic inflammation in which symptoms last much longer after exposure to the substance.

How Acupuncture Treats Allergies

We know from studies in pain research that acupuncture can trigger the endocrine system to release endorphins. Initial research indicates that specific cytokines, specifically IL-10, maybe affected by acupuncture treatment (Petti, Liguori, & Ippoliti, 2002). Cytokines play an important role in both starting and maintaining the inflammatory process, and have been shown to be affected by acupuncture for allergic rhinitis. Acupuncture has also been shown to have an effect on the parasympathetic nervous system(McDonald et al., 2013). If the sympathetic nervous system is our flight or fight response, then the parasympathetic can be thought of as the rest and recover response. Much of the anti-inflammatory response of acupuncture is likely due to the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (McDonald et al., 2013) as well, which is another component of the endocrine system.

In terms of traditional meridian theory, the Lung meridian is the primary meridian that is treated for most allergy symptoms. The Lung meridian involves both respiratory pathways that get inflamed during the allergic response as well as what traditional acupuncturists call wei qi. Wei qi protects the body from external pathogenic influences, and it is a way of describing the immune system. That is fitting since allergies are essentially an over-response of the immune system to mostly harmless substances. The Lung meridian is strongly connected with the Large Intestine, Stomach, and Spleen meridians, and these four are the focus for treatment when treating allergies with acupuncture.

How Many Treatments

Every patient is different, but typically acupuncture twice a week for three to five weeks is enough to noticeably reduce allergy symptoms. It is best to start treatment before symptoms start, but if you are already having symptoms it is not too late; the sooner treatment is started the less treatments are typically needed. After the initial course of six to ten treatments, most patients will benefit from ongoing wellness or maintenance treatment anywhere from once a week to once a month depending on their condition and response to acupuncture.

Because of the benefit of getting treatment multiple times per week in the beginning, and because many of the effective points for allergies are on the lower arms and lower legs, Community Acupuncture is a great fit for many patients seeking acupuncture for their allergies. Community acupuncture is done in a group setting where patients remain clothed and points on the arms and legs are used. Because of the group setting, it is typically lower cost per treatment than other acupuncture business models.

In Albuquerque, I work at https://www.communityacupuncturealbuquerque.org on Vermont St near Wyoming and Menaul; I would love to see you there for allergies or any other health concerns you might have! If you are not in Albuquerque, the https://www.pocacoop.com/clinics/search/0,0/18000/ has a list of clinics that may be in your area!

References

McDonald, J., & Janz, S. (2017). The acupuncture evidence project: A comparative literature review (revised edition). Retrieved from Brisbane: Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association website: http://www.acupuncture.org.au/

McDonald, J. L., Cripps, A. W., Smith, P. K., Smith, C. A., Xue, C. C., & Golianu, B. (2013). The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture and Their Relevance to Allergic Rhinitis: A Narrative Review and Proposed Model. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, 1-12. doi:10.1155/2013/591796

Nathan, R. A., Meltzer, E. O., Derebery, J., Campbell, U. B., Stang, P. E., Corrao, M. A., … Stanford, R. (2008). The prevalence of nasal symptoms attributed to allergies in the United States: Findings from the burden of rhinitis in an America survey. Allergy and Asthma Proceedings, 29(6), 600-608. doi:10.2500/aap.2008.29.3179

Petti, F. B., Liguori, A., & Ippoliti, F. (2002). Study on cytokines IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 in patients of chronic allergic rhinitis treated with acupuncture. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 22(2).

Schmidt, C. M. (2016). Pollen overload: Seasonal allergies in a changing climate. Environmental Health Perspectives, 124(4). Retrieved from https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/abs/10.1289/ehp.124-A70

Skoner, D. P. (2001). Allergic rhinitis: Definition, epidemiology, pathophysiology, detection, and diagnosis. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 108(1), S2-S8. doi:10.1067/mai.2001.115569