Person in space suit to stop pollen entering nose

Acupuncture For Hayfever

/0 Comments/in /by

Acupuncture For Hayfever
Person in space suit to stop pollen entering nose

I used to dread this time of year. From now until September I would suffer badly with hay fever. For 3 decades it stalked me; sneezing, running nose, itchy eyes I got it all. At school I struggled to concentrate and was in a minority of one who who always had a handkerchief in their pocket – much to the amusement of my friends. I went under the surgeons knife twice in an effort to effect a cure before being told aged 8 I had hay fever. The sneezing and runny nose aren’t fun but by far the biggest annoyance for me (and my family!) was the irritability.

Why Irritable?

Histamine is the hormone responsible for mounting attacks on normally inert substances such as pollen that enter the body. In a normal person pollen invokes little or no reaction from the immune system. In a hay fever sufferer an over-production of histamine means that normal reactions don’t occur. The body mounts a full scale attack on the pollen. The sneezing, runny nose and eyes are the body’s attempts to flush out the perceived invader.

The most interesting aspect of histamine from my viewpoint is its impact on emotions. Hormones can have emotional impacts. Seratonin makes you feel good. Oxytocin creates connections and feelings of love. Adrenaline makes you feel alert and excited.

Histamine unfortunately isn’t such a fun hormone. It makes you feel irritated. Anyone who’s suffered from hay fever can probably attest to this. In fact any women out there who have suffered PMS can probably vouch for this as well. PMS has been linked to high histamine levels in the womb.

Changes That May Help Your Hayfever Symptoms

Thanks to acupuncture, diet and lifestyle changes, four decades on my symptoms are now vastly reduced. Here are some diet/ lifestyle changes that may help get through the sneezy season…

1. Diet: Try moving towards a diet high in fruit and vegetables and eliminate processed and junk food, including dairy, starch and sugars.

2. Neti Pot/Salt Water Sprays: These can be great for some patients. The mild salt water soothes inflamed mucus linings and can clear out the irritants and excess mucus. Don’t go crazy though. Continual irrigation of the nasal passage can remove mucus membrane designed to protect the nose.
3. Probiotics. These beneficial bacteria are thought to be able to interact with the immune system and modify the response to inert substances. Information on this study can be found here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3784923/.
4. Head for the sea. We are fortunate living so close to the sea. If the winds are blowing on-shore head to the beach to get some relief from land-borne pollen. If you can’t make it to the beach you may have to stay holed up in your house or sealed in a car with a pollen filter – both not such fun options on a hot summers day.

5. Nasal Sprays: Steroid nasal sprays work by reducing inflammation and swelling. Whilst it was thought that the effects of the steroids were loaclised to the nose and sinuses only, it is worth considering that the effects can spread. Steroids suppress the immune system so should be used with care. Chronic use can lead to lead to side effects including anxiety, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), depression and can even affect growth and development in children. (see https://bnf.nice.org.uk/…/beclometasone-dipropionate… for a full list of side effects).

6. Anti-histamines: If you are taking these regularly please take a moment to reflect on a recent US study suggesting chronic use of anti-histamines may increase risk of alzheimers. In particular those people taking daily dose of 1st generation anti-histamines such as chlorpheniramine and diphenhydramine are at highest risk and may want to consider switching to an alternative or looking for another option.

7. Acupuncture. Its not something I treat a lot of in my clinic but it should be as it is surprisingly effective. I treat a number of pateints every Spring and am constantly amazed at acupuncture’s efficacy. The best thing about treatment for hayfever is it tends to be a much shorter period of treatment than for pain managemet (3-5 session for most). And after successful treatment the hayfever does not tend to make a re-occurence for years. The results are by no means guaranteed – younger patients (sub 60) tend to fair better.

Why not book a free 15 minute consultation to see if I may be able to banish your Summer misery?

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Acupuncture For Knee Painknee pain treatmentCouple stretching back musclesFacsia & Back Pain