.jpg)
Houston may have earned the 12th spot on the 2023 list of allergy capitals in the United States, but for seasonal allergy sufferers who have tried it all, promising modern research backs an unexpected, ancient solution for your sniffles and sneezes.
Acupuncture is a branch of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the body to stimulate healing and promote wellness. While acupuncture has been used for centuries to treat everything from back pain to Bell’s palsy, did you know it can also help to ease your seasonal allergy symptoms?
Allergic rhinitis is a common issue affecting millions of people around the world. It occurs when the immune system overreacts to harmless substances, such as pollen, dust mites, or pet dander. This can trigger symptoms, like sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose or an itchy throat.
One 2015 meta-analysis in the American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy, which examined 13 studies with 2,365 total participants, assessed the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for the management of allergic rhinitis, finding it to be a safe and valid option for allergy sufferers [1].
Pollen and mold are two of the most common allergens that affect our patients here in our Houston acupuncture clinic. When patients come in for regular acupuncture sessions, they often notice the severity of their seasonal allergies are much less than in previous year. Many patients also report being able to cut back on their allergy medication usage after beginning acupuncture treatments.
A 2018 clinical trial out of Germany supports this outcome often seen in many acupuncture clinics. The trial analyzed three groups of patients receiving treatment for their allergy symptoms: patients receiving acupuncture, patients receiving sham (fake) acupuncture, and a control group receiving only antihistamines. Patients receiving acupuncture were instructed to take antihistamines as needed. It was found that patients receiving acupuncture used half as much medication as the control group [2].
How Does Acupuncture Work?
From an Eastern perspective, allergy symptoms are a simple sign that the body’s immune system is out of balance and requires support. When specific acupuncture points on the body are stimulated, a biochemical reaction in the body occurs, which can help to stimulate the immune system and also reduce inflammation in the body, by regulating the body’s flow of energy, known as qi.
Modern Western research suggests that acupuncture works by supporting the down-regulation of serum IgE, IL-1 β, and TNF-α. These substances are all pro-inflammatory mediators, meaning they produce inflammation in the body and can sometimes make symptoms and diseases worse. IgE is an antibody produced by the immune system, but is also involved in hypersensitivity related to asthma, sinusitis, and allergic rhinitis. IL-1 β is a pro-inflammatory cell-signaling protein (also known as a cytokine) with fever-producing properties. TNF-α is another cytokine involved in systemic inflammation and acute reactions [3].
While acupuncture can help to manage allergy symptoms, one of the best ways it can be used is preventatively, to help modulate the immune system before symptoms even occur. There is even an ancient herbal formula that many acupuncturists commonly prescribe to patients leading up to cold and allergy season, that helps to strengthen and support the body to prevent seasonal illnesses altogether.
What to Expect During a Treatment
We always take a patient-centered approach in our Houston acupuncture clinic, targeting specific acupuncture points based on individual needs for seasonal allergy symptom relief. For example, we may use a point between the eyebrows called Yintang if a patient is experiencing sinus pressure. Congestion can quickly be treated with particular points alongside the nose, like Ying Xiang or Bitong. Inflammation can be addressed using points at each elbow.
During your appointment, you can expect a relaxing session that will often yield quick relief. However, with acupuncture, consistency is key when seeking prolonged relief. The frequency of treatments are dependent on a patient’s personal needs and the severity of their symptoms. While many experience relief with just a session or two, others may require regular sessions over the span of four to six weeks, to help re-balance the body’s immune system response and address potential gut health and digestive issues, which can also play a large role when it comes to allergies.
To complement acupuncture treatments, taking a high-quality probiotic, like this one, can be a great addition, to support gut health. To further support the upper respiratory system, we may prescribe traditional Chinese herbs to go hand-in-hand with your treatments; however, this product is another favorite that we often recommend, if patients are unable to get in to the clinic.
If you are considering acupuncture for your seasonal allergies, it is important to seek out a qualified, licensed acupuncturist. Similar practices, like dry needling, are not the same as acupuncture, as they lack the holistic approach required for helping to balance the body as a whole. A licensed acupuncturist will be able to evaluate your individual symptoms and recommend a treatment plan that is tailored to your needs.
Nguyen Wellness + Recovery in Houston offers many natural and holistic solutions to help support your body and address seasonal allergy issues, like acupuncture, express acupuncture, herbal medicine and infrared sauna. Contact us for more information, or book online!
---------------
1. Feng S, Han M, Fan Y, et al. Acupuncture for the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy. 2015;29(1):57-62. doi:10.2500/ajra.2015.29.4116
2. Adam D, Grabenhenrich L, Ortiz M, Binting S, Reinhold T, Brinkhaus B. Impact of acupuncture on antihistamine use in patients suffering seasonal allergic rhinitis: secondary analysis of results from a randomised controlled trial. Acupunct Med. 2018 Jun;36(3):139-145. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2017-011382. Epub 2018 Feb 10. PMID: 29440045; PMCID: PMC6029641.
3. Zheng, X. L., Tian, Y. P., Luo, H. Y., Zhao, Y. D., Liu, X. Y., Jiang, Y., Ma, C. X., Wang, M. J., & Liu, M. (2018). Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research, 43(1), 35–38. https://doi.org/10.13702/j.1000-0607.170064
**As an Amazon Associate we may earn commission from qualifying purchases. Any product links are representative
of our preferences as healthcare providers, and have been individually chosen to be featured by us.
As any well-versed healthcare professional will tell you... our bodies are all different, and therefore, our health and wellness practices should never follow a cookie-cutter approach. This holds true for best infrared sauna practices, as well.
Infrared saunas are quickly becoming a wellness staple these days, with many in the health and wellness community touting the myriad benefits of infrared sauna use. But despite its modern-day popularity, saunas - like acupuncture and herbal medicine - are ancient. It's believed that they originated in Finland as far back as 7000 B.C., and have continued to be utilized for their healing properties ever since.
Many enjoy saunas for the vigorous sweating and increased heart rate that occurs - much like the effects of moderate exercise. The main benefit of infrared saunas are that, unlike traditional saunas, infrared saunas use infrared lamps to warm your body directly, and operate at lower temperatures - usually between 110˚F and 140˚F. This makes the sauna experience much more comfortable, while being just as effective.
Numerous studies have looked at using infrared saunas in the treatment of long-lasting health issues, and have found proof that saunas may benefit chronic issues, such as:
high blood pressure
heart failure
dementia and Alzheimer's disease
headaches
type 2 diabetes
arthritis
What the Heck is Dampness? Can Saunas Help? (Yes)
From an Eastern, traditional Chinese medicine standpoint, saunas are very useful for helping to clear imbalances of "dampness," a word you've likely heard us mention from time to time, if you are a patient of ours. Our bodies all contain varying "patterns" of imbalance, which are influenced by our lifestyles, the foods we eat, climate, our emotions, etc. These patterns are the root cause of the symptoms that ultimately manifest in our bodies and minds, as a result. The basis of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine is to help correct those patterns by bringing the body back into balance, or homeostasis.
Here in Houston, where we are plentiful in both humidity and delicious, queso-rich Tex-Mex, dampness is a common imbalance we see. Both diet and climate play a huge part in our patients' levels of dampness, which can manifest as symptoms like fluid retention, weight gain, skin rashes, joint pain, feeling heavy & sluggish, brain fog, headaches and more.
We often recommend herbal medicine, diet modifications, and a series of acupuncture treatments, to help give your body the boost it needs to correct the issues. However, with the addition of our infrared sauna, we're excited to be able to offer you another tool for healing!
The Thing that Most Spas & Clinics Don't Tell You
It's concerning to us that many spas and clinics offering infrared saunas will tell you that it's safe for everyone to use a sauna. Some even say daily use is safe. This is just not true, and not everyone should use a sauna. Also, how you replenish your body post-sauna is an imperative step that is often overlooked.
It all comes back to the wisdom of Eastern medicine, and knowing where our patterns of imbalance lie (click to learn more about the imbalance highlighted):
For people with dampness/phlegm conditions, it is typically safe to use a sauna 2-4 times per week, wiping off sweat regularly during your session, and possibly even incorporating dry brushing during the session to increase lymphatic and blood flow.
For people with kidney yin deficiency, it is best to avoid the sauna altogether, or simply stick to one short session per week, ensuring sufficient replenishment of minerals, as detailed below.
For people with blood deficiency, it depends. For certain symptoms arising from a blood deficiency, the increased circulation from sauna use can be helpful. However, other sets of symptoms - like dryness - can be exacerbated by heating the body. If you're unsure where you fall, we can give you a quick, free consult prior to your infrared sauna session.
You can learn more about your constitutional patterns of imbalance (as well as which foods can help to correct these patterns) by going here.
Up the Healing Power of Your Sauna Experience
Besides ensuring you are adequately hydrated before stepping into an infrared sauna, there are a couple other things you can and/or should be doing during and after your sauna session.
1. Dry brushing can be a helpful tool for increasing the flow of your lymphatic and circulatory systems, which play a huge part in helping your body to both eliminate wastes and bring fresh, oxygen-rich blood to your tissues during an infrared sauna session. We like this dry brush set. One helpful tip to keep in mind: If you find that there are certain areas where you aren't sweating as much - perhaps your legs or stomach - these are the spots where dry brushing can be especially beneficial. Click here to learn how to do dry brushing.
2. Replenishing minerals & electrolytes is a must after a sweat session. Whether it's spending time in a sauna, sunbathing, or running marathons for fun, the people who sweat regularly, but fail to replenish these important nutrients end up with many dry symptoms and underlying dehydration due to these deficiencies. Electrolytes, like calcium, magnesium, and potassium are essential for helping our bodies to stay hydrated by assisting our kidneys in maintaining proper fluid balance. But skip the sports drinks, because they contain way too much sugar (which only adds to the dampness). Instead, opt for coconut water, which is high in potassium (our favorite brand, with the highest levels of potassium, is Harmless Harvest), and consider taking Trace Minerals. These are drops which you can add to your water or coconut water to up your minerals while sweating in the sauna.
3. Avoid showering until your are fully cooled down. Many people instinctively jump into a shower or sit in front of the A/C right after a sauna session, but it’s important to give your body time to cool down first. According to Eastern wisdom, when your pores are still open from sweating, your body is more vulnerable to the elements. Exposing yourself to extreme temperatures—like the dampness of a shower or the chill of A/C—can cause imbalances by allowing those elements to penetrate deeper into your system. This is often the rationale behind the idea of "catching a cold" when you expose yourself to drastic temperature shifts.
If you're ready to experience the benefits of an infrared sauna session, Nguyen Wellness + Recovery now offers this service alongside acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine, and LED light therapy. Book your session here.
Not sure if an infrared sauna session is right for you? Reach out for a quick consultation, and we'll help you determine the best treatment for your needs.
**As an Amazon Associate we may earn commission from qualifying purchases. Any product links are representative of our preferences as healthcare providers, and have been individually chosen to be featured by us.
As of 2021, breast cancer became the most common cancer globally, according to the World Health Organization, accounting for 12% of all new annual cancer cases worldwide. Further, an estimated 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in U.S. women in 2022, along with 51,400 cases of non-invasive breast cancer, according to breastcancer.org.
The good news?
Thanks to early detection programs, combined with different modes of treatment for eradicating invasive disease, breast cancer survival rates have been improving since the 1980s. And while some of the biggest hurdles women face, both during and post-treatment, are the side effects, ongoing research continues to reveal just how effective acupuncture is for mitigating certain symptoms, like hot flashes, fatigue, xerostomia (dry mouth), joint pain and more.
Acupuncture for Joint Pain May Support Chemotherapy Continuation
Aromatase inhibitors are hormone therapy drugs used to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, with one of the most common side effects being joint and muscle pain. One oncologist and researcher out of Columbia University, noticing the rate of therapy discontinuation in her patients due to these side effects, was prompted to produce a study revealing the effects of acupuncture in reducing aromatase inhibitor-related joint pain in women with early-stage breast cancer. Published in JAMA in 2018, the study concluded that true acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture or with waitlist control resulted in a statistically significant reduction in joint pain at 6 weeks.
Our Houston acupuncture clinic specializes in holistic pain management, and musculoskeletal symptoms, such as joint pain, are common issues that we treat using acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese medicine modalities.
Promising Research for Hot Flashes
Because the aromatase inhibitors block estrogen synthesis, hot flashes — like those experienced during menopause — are another common, uncomfortable side effect experienced during treatment.
A study out of South Korea concluded that acupuncture administered three times a week for four consecutive weeks decreased the severity of hot flashes by 70-95% in all patients, with results lasting for at least a month after the termination of treatment.
Another study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology assessed the immediate and long-term effects of true acupuncture versus sham acupuncture on hot flashes in women with breast cancer. It found that true acupuncture was associated with .8 fewer hot flashes per day than sham acupuncture at six weeks, with a further reduction in the frequency of hot flashes in the sham group, once switched over to true acupuncture.
Hope for Radiation Fibrosis Syndrome
Radiation fibrosis syndome (RFS) is a late complication of radiation therapy that can often show up 3-6 months (or sometimes even years) after treatment. It occurs as both cancer cells and healthy cells in the body are obliterated by the radiation treatment, resulting in damage to blood vessels in the area. As a result, blood flow is restricted, tissues fail to receive adequate nourishment, and an excessive formation of fibrous connective tissue consequently forms, creating structural and functional changes. Many doctors call the result “scar tissue” and often deem RFS life-long and progressive.
Treatments for RFS are typically aimed at preventing progression and maintaining function, and doctors usually provide options like medications, creams, Botox or trigger-point injections, as well as physical therapy or deep friction massage.
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners would consider radiation fibrosis a severe case of qi and blood deficiency. While East Asian alternative treatments have yet to be adequately studied for this condition, hope is on the horizon for patients suffering with it, as many licensed acupuncturists have seen positive results (like pain relief and increased range of motion) in clinic when treating RFS with a combination of acupuncture and cupping (myofascial decompression) therapy.
It’s important to find a licensed acupuncturist with formal traditional Chinese medicine training when seeking treatment, as a holistic approach — where the practitioner provides full body support, in addition to treating the symptom itself — typically yields best results. Many non-acupuncturists who practice dry needling or cupping and are trained from a Western approach, often only treat the presenting symptoms, without addressing the constitution as a whole. Read more about the difference between acupuncture and dry needling here.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine Lens
Traditional Chinese medicine is an ancient system of medicine dating back several centuries, and was slowly developed over time using nature as its guide. It’s a much different approach from how we view the body and disease from a Western biomedical viewpoint.
Eastern medicine views the body like a garden that one must continually tend to, ensuring the "environment" stays balanced. Much like how compost provides nutrients, and water and the sun give life to plants within a garden, our bodies require regular replenishment and adjustments to maintain optimal health.
The Eastern system understands that disease or sickness occurs in the body as symptoms that arise due to an underlying imbalance. By identifying specific patterns of imbalance, which are diagnosed based on presenting symptoms, tongue and pulse analysis, and through physical features observed in the patient by the practitioner, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and other modalities are then used to “balance out" these patterns, returning the body to homeostasis. One such pattern — and what practitioners often see in patients who have undergone chemotherapy — is called yin deficiency.
Yin and yang are two foundational concepts in traditional Chinese medicine that help to explain the balance of all things in life. Many Westerners recognize the yin-yang symbol, but often don’t realize its deeper significance.
Yin and Yang are two complementary, yet opposing forces that make up the whole of every organism, and all aspects of life. Yin encompasses "feminine" qualities like rest, nourishment, stillness, receptivity, coolness, etc., as opposed to the more warm and action-oriented, "masculine" nature of yang. Yin cannot exist without yang and vice versa; everything contains both halves, and the goal is finding balance between the two, in all areas of life.
Within the body, “yin” functions would include those which help to regulate fluid balance, as well as our thermoregulatory mechanisms that help to cool the body (and yes, the kidneys are largely involved when we’re working with yin and yang).
When one side of the yin-yang balance is greater than the other, this naturally minimizes and decreases the other side. Similarly, when one side becomes smaller, this naturally enhances and strengthens the other side.
Aggressive treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation (which are very yang in nature) are exhaustive to the body’s yin, creating a pattern of imbalance called “yin deficiency.”
Because the body is lacking in cooling and hydrating mechanisms when there’s a yin deficiency, the body experiences the opposite: warm and dry (yang) symptoms such dry mouth, dry throat, hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, and dry skin, hair and nails.
Treatments for yin deficiency include customized acupuncture protocols to stimulate the body’s yin functions, diet modifications, and certain Chinese herbal formulas to help cool and lubricate the body from the inside out.
If you’re a breast cancer survivor looking for relief from side effects, like hot flashes, joint pain, or radiation fibrosis, we encourage you to give acupuncture a try! It’s important to seek out a licensed and experienced acupuncturist. Feel free to give our Houston acupuncture clinic a call for more information or book an appointment here.
.png)
.png)
