Seasonal Allergies

ByStef Cordes & Lisa Baird
A person in a surgical mask and red hoodie give acupuncture treatment to someone with long dark hair and a grey mask while they lean back in a recliner covered in a yellow sheet.

by Lisa Baird and Stef Cordes

Whether it’s hayfever, seasonal allergies or allergic rhinitis, the symptoms are common, and they’re not fun. April and May tend to be the worst months for tree pollen allergies, with June and July being worst for grass pollen allergies. In mid-July, as the allergy season for grasses is winding down, there is typically a bloom in certain kinds of moulds which cause symptoms similar to those from pollen. Then from sometime in August to October, ragweed is the chief cause of misery for allergy suffers.

At GCA we have quite a few regular patients who come for a cluster of treatments once a year, sometime between April and October, during their allergy season.

Acupuncture helps to relax your body’s histamine response and also strengthens your body’s resistance to allergens. It doesn’t make acupuncture less effective if you’re on allergy medication; you can still benefit from acupuncture while taking antihistamines. Acupuncture may give relief for itchy watery eyes, sore throat, sinus congestion, sinus headache and runny nose. Sometimes the relief is immediate, but if the allergies are really bad, it usually takes a few treatments for someone to feel substantially better.

If your allergies are currently making you miserable, then we’d recommend that you come in two or three times a week for a couple of weeks. After that, you may just need to come in when you’re in a flareup. If you’re living in dread because your allergy season is imminent, then we’d recommend that you come in once a week a few weeks before your allergy time, to strengthen your immune system – this can significantly reduce the misery.

If you have questions about how acupuncture can help you get through allergy season, please get in touch.

On one side, several people sleeping in recliners under red blankets. In the back of the room, a practitioner sitting on a stool facing a patient sitting upright in a recliner.
photo by Vanessa Tignanelli

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