Spring Allergies, Acupuncture, and the Metal Element

After a particularly cold and snowy winter, I’ve been joining everyone else in celebrating the signs of thaw we’ve been having this week. The temperatures are starting to creep above freezing, the snow is melting, the clocks have changed, and the days are feeling noticeably longer. 

With the warmer weather and signs of life also comes the unfortunate side effect of spring allergies. While we all love the warmer weather, the impending puff of yellow dust will soon coat our cars and plug our noses. Now is the perfect time to start preparing to fight off your seasonal allergies with acupuncture. 

Chinese Medicine Perspective on Seasonal Allergies

I often explain Chinese medicine diagnosis as trying to identify the weather pattern of a person’s body. Swelling and fluid retention is considered “damp,” redness and inflammation is “heat,” stiffness and poor circulation is often “cold,” etc. When we look at allergies, we look at wind. Wind is considered to be the pathogen that carries all other pathogens into the body. It typically presents with more superficial symptoms like itching, watery eyes, dizziness or lightheadedness, skin rash, and watery congestion. What does this all sound like? A good case of seasonal allergies.

The treatment strategy for wind is to “release the exterior,” which I think of as being akin to opening the windows and letting in some fresh air. The objective is to create harmony between your internal and external environment. Starting with acupuncture before your allergies have really set in is the best way to stay ahead of it. We can use acupuncture points to both regulate the immune response and also to treat symptoms once they start. Local points can help clear sinuses and relieve headaches, but what I always think is most interesting are the distal points (points on your body away from the symptomatic problem) that address the “weather pattern” as a whole.

 Acupuncture Points 

Two of my favorite points for clearing wind and supporting your body through pollen season are Lung 7 (Lu 7)  and Large Intestine 4 (LI 4).

Lu 7 is found on the inside of the wrist about 2 fingerwidths from the base of the thumb. It is commonly used to treat a wide variety of respiratory issues such as cough, shortness of breath, chills, nasal congestion, and sore throat. It is said to “disperse wind, descend the qi, and regulate the water passages.”

LI 4 is found on the top of the hand in the meaty part of the muscle between your thumb and pointer finger. The best way to find it on yourself is to press into the muscle until you find an area that feels tender or bruised. This point is most well known for treating headaches, but is also categorized as the “command point” of the face, meaning that it can be useful in treating anything going on in our face. I use it frequently for headaches, red and itchy eyes, recurring nose bleeds, congestion, and sore throat. It is said to “regulate the defensive qi, expel wind, and release the exterior.”

On their own each of these points have obvious effects for treating allergy symptoms, but together they are even more powerful. Each acupuncture meridian has a point called the “luo point” which is where the meridian connects to its pair. Lu 7 and LI 4 are the luo points of their respective meridians, connecting the two channels to help move energy through or out of the body. 

Metal Element

In a previous post, I talked about the wood element. Lung and Large Intestine are the organ/meridian pair for the metal element. The metal element holds concepts of borders and boundaries, communication, and worth. It considers what we take in and what we let go of, refining our resources into what we can actually use. When we consider allergies to be a symptom of wind, stabilizing the relationship between interior and exterior allows that wind to move freely without trapping pathogens. Using this treatment strategy leading into allergy season can help us all breathe a little easier. 

If you’re excited to revel in the spring air, and want to bolster yourself up so the season doesn’t get the best of you, I’d love to see you in my office soon so I can support you while the world around us starts to bloom.