Unison Health Connection

Allergy Relief with Qigong Acupuncture

What is hay fever?

Hay fever, otherwise known as seasonal allergic rhinitis or pollinosis, is an allergic reaction to airborne substances such as pollen that get into the upper respiratory passages - the nose, sinus, throat - and also the eyes.

Perennial allergic rhinitis is a similar allergy that occurs all year round and is caused by things such as house dust, mites and pets. However the predominant allergen changes from time to time.

If you have hay fever, you are not alone. An estimated 26.1 million Americans have hay fever symptoms each year. 14.6 million Americans have asthma, which can often accompany hay fever.

Why do you get hay fever?

Different microscopic substances get into the nose and cause the body to produce antibodies and release histamine.

Histamine irritates the upper respiratory passages, making them swell and producing the typical hay fever symptoms.

A tendency to suffer allergies is often hereditary. The most common causes of hay fever are:

• Tree pollen such as elder, elm, hazel and especially birch (spring hay fever)
• Grass pollen (summer hay fever)
• Mugwort and hybrids such as chrysanthemum (autumn hay fever).
• House dust mites and mould fungus - particularly associated with perennial allergic rhinitis.

Anyone can develop an allergy to a common substance, but those who do usually have inherited the tendency as a family trait. The sensitivity is developed after exposure to the substance. Hay fever is a good example of this process.

During the seasons when plants are pollinating, everyone in the surrounding area is exposed. People with allergic tendency may develop sensitivity to any one or more of the pollens, although certain pollens are more likely to cause an allergic reaction than others.

Pollens that are light enough to be wind=borne are what cause the problem for most hay-fever sufferers. Heavier pollens that are carried from plant to plant by bees and by other insects can also be allergens, but they cause trouble only when a person comes into direct contact with the plant. Airborne pollens can penetrate anywhere, indoors and out, and are most numerous at the height of the pollinating season for the particular plant.

What are the symptoms of hay fever?

Sneezing that is repeated and prolonged is the most common mark of the hay fever sufferer. A stuffy and watery nose is also a main sign of hay fever. Other symptoms include redness, swelling and itching of the eyes, itching of the nose, throat and mouth and itching of the ears, or other ear problems. Breathing difficulties at night due to obstruction of the nose may interfere with sleep.

These symptoms differ in degree according to the individual, ranging from mild to severe. When severe, they are very uncomfortable, make it difficult to carry out daily tasks, and may cause loss of time from work and school.

Health complications from repeated hay fever attacks, year after year, may be an even more serious problem. Chronic sinusitis -- inflammation of the sinus cavities -- is one of these problems. Another is nasal polyps, or growths. In addition, significant percentages of people with hay fever have or develop asthma and sleeping difficulties that can lead to chronic fatigue (because of blacked nasal passages and snoring).

If you suffer from hay fever you should do whatever you can to avoid substances that provoke hypersensitivity. Otherwise you will increase the risk of developing other, more serious, allergic diseases.

Symptoms can be controlled through treatment, but you can't get rid of the allergy itself. However, hay fever is usually more of a nuisance than harm to health, and the symptoms of many people improve over time.

What medicine can i take?

There are numerous medicines that can be used to relieve the symptoms of hay fever. many of these are now available over-the-counter from pharmacies and our pharmacist will be able to advise on which are most suitable for you.

The choice will often depend on which symptoms trouble you the most.

Avoidance

Avoidance is the best treatment for any allergy whenever possible. keeping doors and windows closed in the home and in your car and avoiding vigorous outside activity will help to lessen your exposure during times when the pollen count is high. Removing pets from the home and dust and mold control measures can significantly relieve symptoms due to perennial allergens.

Using air conditioning and air purifying devices may help cut down on suffering during the hay fever season, so that normal sleep and work are possible. Dust masks should be used during outdoor work if the work cannot be avoided.

Antihistamine tablets and syrups

Antihistamines prevent the histamine your body produces to the allergen from causing the allergic symptoms. They are good at relieving sneezing, itching and runny nose and eye symptoms, but are slightly less effective at reducing a blocked nose. There are two main types:

• Those that cause drowsiness, such as chlorpheniramine and promethazine
• Newer medicines that cause less or no drowsiness, such as acrivastine, cetirizine and loratadine

Many people prefer to use the newer medicines because they can usually be taken once daily and allow you to get on with your daily activities without problems. Many antihistamines can be bought over-the-counter, but some, e.g. terfenadine, are available on prescription only.Be careful not to drive or operate dangerous machinery until you know how an antihistamine affects you. It is generally best to start with a low dose and increase the dose gradually until symptoms are controlled or until the maximum dose is reached.

Antihistamine nasal sprays and drops

Antihistamines that are used directly in the nose are azelastine and levocabasine, both of which can be bought over-the-counter. These can be used to provide rapid relief of sneezing, itching and runny nose, but have no effect on other symptoms such as itchy eyes. They can also be used regularly to prevent nasal symptoms, but are less effective than nasal corticosteroids.

Nasal corticosteroids

There are two steroid nasal preparations that can be bought from pharmacies: beclomethasone and flunisolide. Others are also available on prescription only. Nasal steroids reduce inflammation in the nasal passages and are better than oral antihistamines at relieving most nasal symptoms, including a blocked nose. They also relieve eye symptoms. Nasal steroids have to be used regularly to be effective. They are best started a couple of weeks before the pollen season begins.

Nasal cromoglicate

Nasal sprays containing sodium cromoglicate are also used to prevent nasal symptoms, ideally starting treatment a couple of weeks before the pollen season. They are less effective than nasal corticosteroids, but are often the first choice for young children.

Nasal decongestants

Nose drops and sprays containing decongestants such as xylometazoline can be bought over-the-counter to treat a blocked nose. They should only be used for a few days, otherwise they can cause 'rebound congestion' when you stop using them.

Antihistamine eye drops

Antihistamine drops can be useful if eye symptoms are your biggest problem. They include antazoline, azelastine and levocabastine, which you can buy from pharmacies. The drops provide rapid relief from itchy, red, watery eyes.

Cromoglicate eye drops

Drops containing sodium cromoglicate or nedocromil should be used regularly, as with nasal cromoglicate products, to prevent the allergic reaction occurring. Cromoglicate drops can be bought from pharmacies and are also suitable if eye symptoms prevail.

Saline (salt water) nose drops

Saline (salt water) nose drops are often helpful in relieving nasal symptoms. You may purchase these already mixed (Salinex, Ocean) or you may make your own by mixing 1 cup of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of baking soda. Inhale a handful of this solution at a time. Discard the homemade solution after twenty-four hours because it contains no preservative.

Immunotherapy (desensitising vaccines)

This treatment is only used when allergen avoidance and medicines have proved ineffective at treating a severe allergy. Injections of small amounts of the known allergy-causing substance are given to create tolerance to the allergen and prevent the immune system producing too much histamine when it encounters it. This treatment has to take place over a long time and requires strict adherence.

Vasomotor Rhinitis

Nasal passages have rich supplies of blood vessels. When they become engorged with blood, the nose gets stuffy. As fluid leaks out of the vessels, a veritable Niagara of mucus flow can start and some of it can leak back into the throat (post-nasal drip). It is all a part of vasomotor rhinitis - vasomotor for the blood vessel connection and rhinitis for the nasal tissue inflammation.

You cannot really call this an illness as much as an exaggeration of normal events. The cells involved produce up to a pint of fluid a day, even in normal people. Patients with vasomotor rhinitis are super-sensitive to the irritants that give rise to all of this nasal activity.

Temperature or humidity changes, strong odors, alcohol, tobacco smoke, even changing a position in bed at night can cause it. You have to avoid such situations. It is a chronic problem; so don't expect time to take care of it.

A lot of vasomotor rhinitis sufferers get relief from decongestants taken orally. They can cause tissue constriction and get you over particularly bad times. Those that contain pseudoephedrine help. Some people may have such a severe onset of the problem that they need cortisone drugs applied to the nasal membranes.

Over-the-counter decongestant nasal sprays may give temporary relief, but it is usually quite short-lived and they can, with excessive use, cause rebound swelling worse than the original problem. Try to bet along without them.

--- Quoted from the reports of American Lung Association, University of Oregon Health Center Allergy Clinic and NetDoctor. ---

A highly recomanded solution --- Acupuncture

Philip L. Yang, a licensed acupuncturist, posses a special technique of acupuncture - Qi acupuncture. Combing Qigong and needling techniques, he applies Qi through needles into acupuncture points and the corresponding channels to manipulate the energy inside our body. Specially, Mr. Yang is very successful in healing allergies, including hay fever, asthma, rhinitis, sinus, etc. in his clinical practice, the success ratios are as the following:

• "healed" here means the symptoms are being controlled in the season or within the year, there is possibility to have reoccurrence the next year. Then one needs another cycle of the similar healing.
• There is no any side effect for acupuncture. The frequency of the healing is 1~2 times per week.
• For someone who has extremely low immunity, he (she) may have to take some prescribed herbal pills, powder or herbal tea to stabilize the effect of acupuncture.
• Chronicle asthma, especially for old ages people, the success ratio is not in the list.