Acupuncture as Effective as Antihistamines for Dust Mite Allergy

Acupuncture for dust mite allergy.

Results of a pilot study carried by University Hospital Dresden in Germany, suggest acupuncture may be as effective as antihistamines in patients suffering from allergic rhinitis induced by house dust mites. A total of 24 such patients were treated for three weeks with either acupuncture or loratadine, a commonly-prescribed antihistamine. Patients were interviewed again at follow-up ten weeks after treatment. On the basis of patients’ subjective assessments, both treatments were considered effective, but the beneficial effects of acupuncture tended to be assessed as more persistent after treatment had ended.

The researchers conclude acupuncture is a clinically effective therapy in the treatment of persistent allergic rhinitis. The results indicate the probability of an immunomodulatory effect.

(The effectiveness of acupuncture compared to loratadine in patients allergic to house dust mites. Journal of Allergy, 5 June 2014. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ja/2014/654632/)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.