Spring is here! Literally, in our step, with the longer and hopefully warmer days too!
With the change in season, comes change in our health conditions (hay fever, allergies) and also change in our activity levels.
Allergic rhinitis (perennial and seasonal) affects around 10-40% of the population worldwide, and can have a substantial health and economic impact on the community.(Sibbald 1991)
We do more as we are suddenly awakened or so it seems from the slumber and hibernation of winter. Life surrounds us, with more growth and gardens begin to flourish.
From a health point of view, acupuncture can help with the perils of pollen and allergies this time of year. Stuffy nose, streaming and itchy eyes, headaches, sinusitis, sneezing are some of the symptoms hindering you from getting on with day to day living.
Below is testimonial of a patient Nicola who benefitted from Acupuncture treatments.
“Wow. All I can say is wow… For my whole life I have suffered with severe hayfever. I’ve had injections, prescription medication, over the counter medication, homeopathy medication. I’ve tried it all. And OK, the last combo of 3 different types of drugs from the doctors kept it under control, I really didn’t want to continue putting all this medication into my system. So I thought I should give something else a go.
I’d heard of Monica long before I met her, all good reports, so when we finally met I thought it worth sounding her out about acupuncture for reducing my symptoms. I got good, honest advice: it was probably a little late to stop it for this season, but it should definitely help reduce it. I really liked her approach, explaining everything, not promising miracles.
That was 7 weeks ago. I stopped taking my medication 4 weeks ago. No woolly head, no itchy eyes, no runny nose, no asthma. I’ve been camping, I’ve been to a flower show, I’ve spent each weekend at the stables. The occasional sniff or sneeze and that is it – in fact that might not even have been hayfever related, it certainly didn’t feel like it.
I can thoroughly recommend Monica and her acupuncture – and the by product of visiting someone as qualified as her? Well, I get a targeted sports massage as part of the treatment. So now my neck no longer scrunches too. Bonus. You should try her too.”
Thank you Nicola for your kind words!
For more information here is a link from the British Acupuncture Website.
https://www.acupuncture.org.uk/a-to-z-of-conditions/a-to-z-of-conditions/allergic-rhinitis.html
In Brief, Acupuncture has been proven to help with relieving pain and congestion in people with allergic rhinitis by:
- regulating levels of IgE and cytokines, mediators of the allergic reaction to extrinsic allergens (Ng 2004; Rao 2006; Roberts 2008)
- stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, which leads to release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors, and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord (Pomeranz, 1987; Han 2004; Zhao 2008; Cheng 2009);
- reducing inflammation, by promoting release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors (Zijlstra 2003; Kavoussi 2007);
- enhancing natural killer cell activities and modulating the number and ratio of immune cell types (Kawakita 2008);
- Increasing local microcirculation (Komori 2009), which aids dispersal of swelling.
If you think I can help, do drop us a line or call.
Have a lovely Spring!
