East West Medicine

The birds are chirping, the wind is blowing, and the green shoots are jutting out of the earth. Nothing is more relieving for those of us in the Northern hemisphere than a beautiful spring after a long winter, well at least for most of us. If you are one of those thousands of people affected by seasonal allergies you know the friendly signs of spring can be a step ahead of us resulting in sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, and overall discomfort and misery. Most allergies sufferers are used to stocking up on over the counter anti-histamines pharmaceuticals in preparation for allergy season. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine can offer treatment that can not only relieve allergy symptoms but improve your overall health. Chinese medicine describes seasonal allergies as being caused by both internal and external factors. Externally, allergies are caused by pathogenic wind invading. Wind is a yang pathogen and tends to invade the yang part of the body, namely the head and ey...

As the fall season approaches, one of the most common complaints that patients have is  the onset of seasonal allergies.  During this time pollen counts are high triggering many  of us to have allergy attacks, otherwise known as hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis (AR).  The main culprit of these attacks of seasonal allergic rhinitis is ragweed pollen, which affects 85 to 90 percent of Fall-allergy victims.   Symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis (AR) include nasal congestion, watery nasal  discharge and sneezing, red and itchy eyes.  These symptoms are commonly treated with medications such as antihistamines, steroid inhalers, and over the counter decongestant  sprays.  While these medications may temporarily relieve the symptoms of seasonal  allergic rhinitis, they do come with several side effects including sedation, dizziness,  fatigue, insomnia, nervousness, and gastro-intestinal disturbances. ...