Hay fever Relief with Chinese Medicine
Spring has finally sprung, and for most of us, warm spring weather signals a welcome change to the winter just gone. However, if you are one of the 18% of Australians who suffer from Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (Hay fever), the increased pollens in the air this time of year might leave you feeling less than enthusiastic.
Allergic rhinitis is due to an overreaction of the immune system to an allergen (often pollen). The allergen binds to immune cells that release irritating compounds, such as histamine. This can result in sneezing, watery eyes, itchy nose, chills, sweating, asthma, and malaise. Hay fever can be incredibly debilitating. Apart from living on antihistamines, many sufferers aren’t aware they can take other steps to improve their symptoms.
- Look after your liver: Histamine is the main irritant in the allergic response, and is broken down in the liver. If your liver is overworked, you can have an overabundance of histamine in your system. Thus, when an allergen is present, the reaction is far worse.
- Avoid histamine rich foods: Histamine is present in higher concentrations in aged foods. Alcohol, aged cheese, preserves, processed meats, and fermented foods all have high concentrations of histamine. Eating fresh, unprocessed foods will help reduce your histamine load and severity of your symptoms.
- Reduce stress: healthy adrenal function can have an anti-inflammatory effect. Prolonged stress and subsequent burnout can stop the adrenal glands from properly protecting our bodies from stress, including allergic reactions.
- Heal the gut: an overabundance of certain strains of gut bacteria can increase the amount of histamine in your blood.
- Have a series of Acupuncture treatments and take Chinese herbs. Acupuncture for Allergic Rhinitis is an excellent, evidence-based treatment strategy to reduce the symptoms of hay fever. Chinese herbs help in restoring balance to the system to prevent future attacks. Our treatments can help your liver function, your adrenal health and assist your gut, whilst making you feel calm, relaxed and sneeze free.
Enjoy Spring again!
If you want to speak to one of our registered practitioners, please call 03 5956 7011 or book online!
Embrace the (menstrual) flow
Chinese Medicine has long focused on the female reproductive cycle as measure of a woman’s good health. It’s important for all women to understand what is a good, normal cycle for them, and what may need attention.
The start of the menstrual cycle begins on day 1: the first full day of bleeding. It should begin without pain, or spotting in the lead-up, and flow should be dark red with very little clotting. It is normal to feel a bit tired for the first few days of your period. Clear the schedule as much as you can; stay warm and rest during this time. After a few days of full flow, your period will lighten, and your energy will start to pick up. Bleeding should end after about 4-5 days.
Day 4 or 5 the lining of your uterus starts to build up again in preparation for ovulation. You will generally feel quite good in this phase of your cycle – eating healthily, and exercising comes easily. Oestrogen is the dominant hormone. Hormonal changes in the lead-up to ovulation improve vaginal lubrication and sex drive. This is the time to take on the world – you have energy, clarity, and magnetism!
Ovulation, (approx. day 14) requires a good flow of hormones to undertake the cascade of hormonal changes required to release an egg. Bloating, pain, fatigue, and irritability are signs your body isn’t transitioning through it well.
Post-ovulation you might feel a bit slower. Progesterone is now the main hormone, and will be released from your ovary to protect an early pregnancy. If no pregnancy, progesterone production reduces after 11-14 days you will get your period. Progesterone levels are sensitive to stress, so it is important to exercise, reduce coffee, sugar and inflammatory foods to ensure a smooth pre-menstrual week, and calm start to your period.
Combating the Anguish of Depression & Anxiety
Did you know that tapping into the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine is a great way to overcome the negative patterns and life altering effects of both depression and anxiety? There is no doubt about the crippling effects that mental health issues have on the lives of those caught up either personally or through affected loved ones. “According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, major depressive disorder (MDD) was ranked the second leading cause of years lived with disability, after low back pain, accounting for 8.2% of all years lived with disability (Ferrari et al., 2013). Although rates of depression and anxiety are about twice as high amongst women than men, overall incidence is on the rise. The subsequent increased burden upon global healthcare systems because of these two conditions is significant. With a nearly 50% relapse rate among the population (Sniezek & Siddiqui 2013), these conditions are notoriously difficult to overcome.
Pharmaceutical medications commonly given to treat depression can lead to weight gain, loss of libido, nausea, headaches and insomnia and medications for anxiety such as benzodiazepines are highly addictive. In some cases, the extensive side effects lead to a drop in the number of people willing to continue taking pharmaceuticals.
Current and past research into the use of Chinese medicine treatment including acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for anxiety and depression is highly positive and promising. The World Health Organisation (WHO) advocates the use of acupuncture for depression as well as anxiety in which WHO states that it can be more effective than conventional medicine given that it is safe, non-toxic, non-addictive, cost effective and having only minor side effects such as mild discomfort associated with needle insertion (WHO, 2002; Goyata et al, 2016).
There are over 300 clinical trials that have been carried out to study the effectiveness of Chinese medicine treatment for depression and anxiety. These studies all universally yielded positive and encouraging results.
For example, one of the most recent studies, published this year in 2017, looked at the effect of acupuncture for 755 participants with depression. The result was expectedly positive with a significant reduction in depressive symptoms leading to the conclusion that acupuncture is clinically effective and cost effective even for severe cases of depression (MacPherson, 2017). There are also laboratory studies which looked into the mechanisms for how acupuncture is effective for relieving anxiety and depression. These studies found acupuncture’s effect may be related to its capability in releasing serotonin and regulating cortisol level within the body (Sarris et al 2012) as well as exerting anti-inflammatory effects (Lu et al 2016).
The use of Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) has been extensively researched since the 80’s and even before then Chinese medicine doctors have had a strong interest in treating anxiety and depression; as a result they have developed almost 100 different formulae for the condition. The vast varieties in the formula reflect the holistic nature of this medical system; the herbal medicine prescription is tailored for each person according to his or her unique presentation of signs and symptoms, root problem and the pattern of bodily disharmony.
All the published clinical trials have consistently shown effectiveness in treating anxiety and depression, particularly when combined with other therapies. A recent study from 2012 shows CHM shows a significant reduction in recurrence of the symptoms of Generalised Anxiety Disorder when combined with cognitive therapy (Wang et al, 2012). Other studies have shown that the combination of CHM and antidepressants significantly relieves depressive symptoms as well as reduces side effects of the antidepressants (Sorbero et al 2016; Yeung et al 2014). In terms of neurophysiology, Chinese herbal medicine was found to exert mood modulating effects by regulating the function of the hippocampus and amygdala leading to relieving of symptoms and signs of anxiety and depression (Zhu et al 2016; Sarris et al 2012).
If you suffer from depression and anxiety and would like to explore your options with the help of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines, make an appointment to see one of our registered practitioners today by calling 03 5956 7011 or booking an appointment online!
Treating Arthritis with Chinese Medicine
Arthritis most commonly occurs in two different forms. Osteoarthritis is the “wear and tear” type and is the slow degeneration of the cushioning cartilage in joints. The breakdown of this cartilage causes bones to rub against each other causing pain, stiffness and loss of movement. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the body, in this case the synovium or lining of the joints. This progressive condition causes inflammation, pain and swelling around the joint, loss of function and disability.
Chinese medicine primarily refers to arthritis as Bi Syndrome which means painful
obstruction syndrome. It can have several causes and will be treated differently according to the symptoms presented. We view it as invasion of external pathogens such as wind, cold, heat and dampness. You will notice that these climatic factors will either exacerbate the condition or make it better. Unfortunately, these pathogens will cause blood and energy to stagnate in the joints which will cause pain.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine approaches the treatment of arthritis by removing those pathogens as much as possible. It may assist by improving local circulation, clearing or reducing inflammation and boosting the immune system. “One study showed that acupuncture was more beneficial, had better patient outcomes and fewer side effects than drugs in treating rheumatoid arthritis.” (reference available on request).
Acupuncture may be used in the local area or distant from the problem to relieve pain and
invigorate circulation. Herbs may be used to nourish deficient conditions and expel those
excess pathogens causing problems. Moxa is a herb that is burnt over an area where the
skin can absorb the herb’s properties and warmth. This is excellent especially if cold is
locked in a joint and needs to be moved. Additionally, diet and exercise are very important
factors in dealing with this condition and will be a part of your consultation. Whatever has ledto the formation of this disease, Chinese medicine may be able to assist.
Do you have the sniffles?
The season of sneezing is upon us! Many people have been walking into the clinic this month with coughs, aches and pains, sore throats, headaches and stuffy sinuses. It’s typical to get these kind of symptoms when the weather turns cold and windy and you happen to get stuck outside without enough warm clothing on. Fortunately there are many things that Chinese medicine can do to support the body and help remove the offending virus.
Chinese medicine views colds and flu similar to Western medicine in that it considers external pathogens (bugs) and the immune or protection system as responsible for the symptoms that we experience. But we have different explanations for it. Most of the time the conditions that cause our immunity to drop are stress, working too hard and not getting enough sleep, excessive fatigue, not exercising appropriately and exposure to cold and wind in winter. Acupuncture and herbal medicine work holistically to boost the immune system by removing phlegm and dampness, wind, heat or cold and encouraging the pathogen out of system which allows the natural healing mechanisms of the body to work properly again.
An excellent way of helping remove viruses when symptoms first appear is through cupping. This is a very old medicinal technique using glass cups that have had the oxygen removed from them and are placed on the body (usually the back). The vacuum causes the skin to come slightly up into the cup this helps to draw out impurities and move the lymph and invigorate blood flow. This is particularly helpful for the lungs which are vital for our immunity. Acupuncture works in a similar way in that it boosts the body’s own immune system and there are certain points that also help to expel the pathogen. Chinese herbal medicine can be an incredibly effective treatment particularly if it is caught early enough prior to the virus taking hold.
Book your Appointment bookingearly, so we can get you through winter safely and happily.