Hey y'all,

'Tis the season...

The weather is perfect. The sun. The colors. The birdsong. The magic of Spring. The, um, pollen...

Rain is washing yellow rivers down the street as I write. And lots of folks are suffering from the effects of the magic of Spring.

Chinese medicine has lots to offer in terms of mitigating symptoms of seasonal allergies. We also love to help folks toward a state of balanced health such that allergies play a smaller and smaller role in their lives, period. I'll talk a bit about our strategies for treating seasonal allergies, and as always, please get in touch with us here if you have any questions.

Acute Phase

The acute phase is all about managing symptoms. Acupuncture and herbs are wonderful for treating sinus congestion, fatigue, itchy eyes, cough, etc. Chinese medicine views an allergen as a "external pathogenic influence". This is the same way we refer to viral and bacterial infections, however in this case we are talking about an environmental irritant.

Preventative Care

People are often upset when they come in during allergy season and find out that I wanted to see them two months ago!! In order to build the body's natural defenses and avoid the affects of seasonal allergies (or at least lessen them) we really need to begin our work ahead of time. Patients that are diligent will begin scheduling appointments just BEFORE Spring begins so that we can give the body time to prepare.

Deeper Healing

The bottom line in treatment of seasonal allergies, is that the healthier the person, the less likely they are to be influenced negatively by environmental irritants. For instance, if a person is already experiencing higher than normal levels of inflammation in the body, the introduction of an irritant will cause far more significant symptoms than it would in a healthy person. At the end of the day, we want to employ Chinese medicine to move us closer to a state of optimum health, such that we resist damage from any source. Or that if we do experience damage, we are more quick to bounce back. And for that, you can come in any time of year to get started!

Hope everyone is loving this gorgeous season!! And if you're not, due to allergies, lets see if we can turn that around!