Reuters; Acupuncture, Herbs Ease Hay Fever

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Acupuncture, Herbs Ease Hay Fever

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fever_dc

 

By Alison McCook

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular sessions of acupuncture and daily

doses of Chinese herbal medicine may help ease the burden of seasonal

allergies, new research indicates.

 

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A group of German investigators found that hay fever sufferers who

received weekly acupuncture treatments and took three doses of a Chinese

herbal formula per day showed fewer symptoms and were less likely to say

their allergy was infringing on their daily activities than people who

received a placebo treatment.

 

" There are additional options to conventional medicine, " lead author Dr.

Benno Brinkhaus of the Charite University Medical Center in Berlin told

Reuters Health.

 

Brinkhaus suggested that people with seasonal allergies should consider

acupuncture and herbs, but added that they should use it with caution,

given that every treatment has side effects.

 

According to the report, published in the journal Allergy, the number of

people with hay fever is growing in industrialized countries, affecting

between 10 and 20 percent of the population.

 

Many of these patients are now opting for alternative medicine,

including Chinese remedies, but few studies have rigorously examined

their effects, Brinkhaus and colleagues note.

 

To investigate, the researchers asked 52 adults with moderate hay fever

to try a combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs or a placebo

treatment. People given the placebo regimen had needles applied to

non-acupuncture sites, and were given a non-specific Chinese herbal

formula.

 

After 6 weeks, Brinkhaus and colleagues found that 85 percent of treated

participants showed overall improvements in their hay fever, compared

with only 40 percent of the comparison group.

 

More specifically, subjects who received the real treatment were more

likely to report that their symptoms had decreased. They also tended to

say their allergies were having less of an impact on their daily

activities, such as sleep, everyday problems and general health.

 

People who got the genuine treatment were also twice as likely to

experience a remission of their allergy, and had a bigger decrease in

the number of drugs they took to relieve hay fever symptoms during the

study period.

 

Patients given the real and sham treatment were equally likely to report

side effects.

 

Brinkhaus noted that this study focused on people who already had

symptoms, and acupuncture and herbs may be more effective when used

before hay fever kicks in.

 

SOURCE: Allergy, September 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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