Can acupuncture help with allergies? Acupuncture can be used to treat allergies. Symptoms of allergies such as a runny nose, itchy eyes and sneezing are common among millions of Americans. However, acupuncture...
Symptoms of allergies such as a runny nose, itchy eyes and sneezing are common among millions of Americans. However, acupuncture is one of the few treatments that may be able to relieve allergy symptoms.
To treat allergies with acupuncture, a consultation is first and foremost. During this process, the acupuncturist asks questions about food, diet and exercise. If one is lacking, then that is believed to be a main cause of allergies, according to Anne Sturman, a licensed acupuncture physician and owner of Annie Sturman Acupuncture. Sturman has been treating patients will illnesses and ailments for the past twenty years.
"Allergies are something we see everyday, and changing peoples diet is one of the main things we do," she said. "The food they eat and the temperature of the food they eat affects allergies." Sturman feels that most people don't understand the effects food has on people. Her main goal during the process of acupuncture treatment is to educate her patients about their bodies and their diets. She says that most people don't know that cold food, cold weather and ice contribute to allergies quite a bit. However, allergies can be treated with acupuncture, and after a couple of treatments, a patient can be relieved of this illness. According to Chinese medicine, sweets are harmful to people. They can be a major cause of seasonal allergy symptoms.
When treating allergies with acupuncture, there is often a quick response from the patient. According to Sturman, patients receive some form of allergy relief when the acupuncture needles are in place. In order to track the progress of allergy relief after receiving acupuncture treatments, one should count how many sneezes occur per day or see if their nose is less stuffy. Another food item that triggers allergy symptoms is milk and sugar. If these two items are taken out of the diet and acupuncture treatments are received, then allergy symptoms will be alleviated.
If patients take acupuncture seriously, then most patients end up reducing the dependence on allergy medications. As Sturman states, in choosing an acupuncturist the specific style a practitioner uses is not so important as the success rate they obtain. Patients should ask the acupuncturist their success rate when treating allergies and if they have returning patients, which is key, in most practices. To find out about acupuncturists in your area, one should ask friends, co-workers and neighbors to see if they can recommend a person that treated them. "Word of mouth is the best form of advertising," Sturman says.
