An Australian study looking at acupuncture for allergic rhinitis has found that it significantly reduces the symptoms of persistent disease. Eighty patients aged 16 to 70 years, were randomly assigned to receive either real acupuncture, or a sham procedure which they were lead to believe was acupuncture. They were treated twice weekly for eight weeks, and then followed up for a further twelve weeks. Measuring factors such as sneezing, nasal itch, nasal obstruction and use of medication, the patients receiving real acupuncture, were significantly better after eight weeks. These benefits persisted at the end of the three month follow-up period.
(Acupuncture for Persistent Allergic Rhinitis: a randomised sham-controlled trial. Medical Journal of Australia, 17 September 2007.)
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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