According to Chinese medical practices, hay fever is caused due to weakness of defence energy, also known as “defence gi”. Hay fever is symbolized with itchy eyes, running nose, sneezing and skin rashes. Also known as allergic rhinitis, not everyone is susceptible to hay fever. The fever happens only to people whose immune system is weak against pollen grains floating through the air.

The Chinese medicines believe that the fever is caused by immune system disorder. Chinese medical practitioners believe that is a remarkable similarity between the functioning of the immune system and the “defence gi”. To treat hay fever, a Chinese medical practitioner unblocks the blocked nose through acupuncture and tone the “defence gi” with herbal medicines. Chinese medicines recommend that to prevent recurrence of hay fever, people should focus on their diet, the foods they consume.

They believe that each food has their different “temperature” and this temperature impacts our health when we ingest them. If one has the wrong kind of food, the “temperature” negatively impacts and lowers “defence gi”. This understanding is different from the concept of western medicine but it’s nevertheless accurate. Depending on the food, they have hot, neutral or cold effect on the physical body temperature. To cure lowered “defence gi” and the resultant hay fever, one needs to restore the body balance. Since hay fever generates ‘cold’, one should take ‘warm’ foods like soups and vice versa.

Another reason why the “defence gi” gets low is because of impaired digestion. People who suffer from indigestion find their physical energy lower. When the digestion system is down, it leads to poorer absorption of foods particles since they cannot be broken down to provide energy. Similar problems arise if the person does not perform physical exercises. Chinese medical practitioners firmly believe that to cure hay fever or any other disease, assessing the individual symptoms like digestive function and energy level is important.

Some concoctions for hay fever may include more than 10 herbs at one time. There are hundreds of herbs that can cure hay fever. Depending on the individual symptoms, medical practitioners combine herbs and give it to the patients. Herbs like ginseng, ginger, skullcap, licorice and magnolia derivatives are regularly used by Chinese and Japanese medical practitioners to cure hay fever for several centuries.

Even though Chinese medical practices have been less published in medical journals and less explored, they are nevertheless effective in curing hay fever. In a medical study published in the ‘Allergy’ journal found that patients who took three doses of Chinese herbal medicines daily along with weekly acupuncture treatments showed less symptoms of hay fever as compared to people who received placebo treatment. The treatment was administered for six weeks – after six week duration, it was found that patients who took placebo treatment were 40% better and those who took Chinese herbal treatment showed 85% health improvement.

Of course, one cannot expect instant results from Chinese medicines. It takes 2-3 days for its effect to be visible but the treatment undoubtedly helps to keep hay fever away for long – term.

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0 #1 2011-02-17 00:30

My name is Andrew Broch and im an acupuncturist working at the Leeds Acupuncture Clinic, UK. As a hayfever sufferer myself i created the Qu-Chi acupressure band that isolates a specific point on the elbow that helps reduce ones sensitivity to allergens. ‘If you imagine your body as an onion, it has many layers. Acupuncturists believe that if the body’s energy is in the superficial level of the body, it will be more sensitive to whatever the body comes into contact with such as pollen, perfume, dust, paint, animal hair, etc and thus produces histamine to help defend against attack. So I came up with a proto-type band to see how effective it would be if the qu-chi point was isolated with an acupressure marble. When stimulated, the Qu-chi point moves this superficial energy inwards towards the centre of the body, so the body is not as sensitive and does not react when coming into contact with pollen.’

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