The effects of acupuncture are comparable to those of medication in patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis, Chinese researchers have found. In the study, 76 patients received either acupuncture, or budesonide nasal spray (a steroid) plus cetirizine (antihistamine) tablets for a total of eight weeks.
Scores for specific symptoms, including sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose and nasal itching, as well as total symptom scores, decreased in both groups with no sigificant difference between the two. This persisted at 12 week follow-up. The authors conclude acupuncture has a comparable effect to the medication treatment on patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis, and it is safe with no severe adverse effects.
(Acupuncture for moderate to severe allergic rhinitis: A non-randomized controlled trial. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, July 2016.)
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.
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