Find A Needle If The Haystack Makes You Sneeze

Spring is the embodiment of expectations. We yearn for it when the weather is cold and bleak, and the winter days are long. Our bodies and minds are attuned to the slightest shift in the weather towards warmth and light, and we seek out these subtle signs of newness to encourage us to shake off the residual darkness of winter and open our arms to possibilities. Spring means change. Not ordinary change, but the extraordinary change that comes when things are new and renewed.

Unfortunately, all of this celebratory newness of spring can be overwhelming for the immune systems of many people. Budding, blossoming, and blooming produce an abundance of pollen drifting on the spring breezes. For many, the body's response to harbingers of spring is the overreaction of the immune system known as allergies including: sinus congestion, sneezing, headache, itching and watering eyes, and hives. Spring allergies not only produce enormous discomfort, but also result in feeling cloudy, irritable, and stuck. It is hard to rush out into spring and all of its potential with your eyes bleary and your nose raw!

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs together can help reduce the symptoms of allergies. Acupuncture can not only provide immediate relief of symptoms, but is also have a cumulative effect over time of reducing discomfort. Recent studies published in the Amercian Journal of Epidemiology and in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine confirmed the efficacy of utilizing acupuncture in the treatment of allergies, with persons receiving acupuncture scoring higher on a "quality of life" scale after three months of treatment. Additionally, there are nutritional therapies that can be utilized outside of allergy season to reduce symptoms of allergies when spring does arrive. By combining these efforts, even allergy sufferers can embrace the beauty of spring in all of its manifestations.