It's that time of year again: warm weather, greenery, and blossom welcome the spring; however, for those with allergies the spring often means congestion, sneezing, itchy eyes, and coughing.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has long held solutions for the uncomfortable symptoms of seasonal allergies. Centering on the concept of the Five Elements or 五行 (wŭ xíng), Traditional Chinese Medicine uses a complex system of relationships between elements and the body. The elements of 五行 are 木 (wood, mù), 火 (fire, huǒ), 土 (earth, tǔ), 金 (metal, jīn), and 水 (water, shuǐ).
Pesky spring allergies are related to 木. Specifically, the diagnosis often involves imbalances with the climate of 木, 风 (wind, fēng). 风 is related to symptoms, such as itching and nasal congestion.
Finding relief from the common allergies, such as hay fever, may involve the use of herbs, diet, acupuncture, or acupressure. The diagnosis and treatment of a patient in Chinese medicine is very specific to the balance of an individual's body.
In order to treat allergies with diet, Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the concept of temperature or 四气 (Four Natures, sì qì): hot, warm, cold, and cool. Neutral is also often included. Foods each have a range of temperatures, resulting in different medicinal properties. So, for a 'cold' symptom of a runny nose, one would drink or eat a 'hot' food, such as ginger. However, aim for 'cool' foods, if a sore throat is the culprit.
Chinese herbal treatments follow a similar theory, based on the balances of the patient's body. In the case of allergies, a doctor may prescribe a 防风 (prevent wind, fáng fēng) medicinal treatment. 防风 treats wind-related illnesses.
Acupressure and acupuncture follow a similar theory: stimulate pressure points on the body to relieve discomfort. Acupressure uses needles to stimulate pressure points, while acupressure is the noninvasive stimulation of pressure points through fingers or adhesives, rather than a needle. The placement of the needle or fingers varies from nose, hands, ears, or various other body parts depending on the symptoms and the individual's health problems.
For more on Traditional Chinese Medicine check out these blogs: 20 Detoxifying Foods, TCM for Sprains and Strains , or Make Your Own TCM First Aid Kit.
Master imagery courtesy of wikicommons
Article by Kendall Tyson
