For 10 to 20 per cent of Americans, the thought of lying in the grass soaking up the sun in summer and breathing the fragrance-filled air is their worst nightmare. Just picturing it may be enough to make their eyes itchy, noses runny or start a bout of sneezing.

Hay fever, also known as seasonal allergic rhinitis, is an allergy to pollens from grasses and trees. Fungi can also trigger the condition. Hay fever season starts as early as March, peaks in June and tapers off toward the end of August.

Why does pollen cause such uncomfortable symptoms? The immune system goes into a defensive mode to protect the body, mistaking pollen for a threatening invader. Asthma and eczema sufferers are particularly susceptible to developing hay fever due to their oversensitive immune systems.

Let’s look at how Chinese medicine approaches the cause and treatment of hay fever as one alternative to antihistamines and steroids. It is said that the Wei Qi or Defensive Energy is weak, not unlike a weakened immune system. According to a Chinese medicine practitioner, Dermot O’Connor, “Many patients with hay fever will have a history of being treated with repeated antibiotics as children as well as eating a diet high in sugars, dairy products, fruit juices and yeasted grain products. It is suggested that the immune response of hay fever sufferers has been hampered in some way as a result of these elements.”

Acupuncture is used to balance, unblock or strengthen the Lung Qi (lung energy), depending on the person’s constitution and symptoms. From the standpoint of Chinese medicine, stagnation in the lungs can lead to sneezing, nasal discharge and congestion. Also Chinese herbs would be given to strengthen the underlying energy of the Wei Qi. In a study in the West, as reported in Allergy magazine, 52 patients between the ages of 20 and 58, all diagnosed with seasonal allergic rhinitis were randomly assigned to a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) group or a control group. In the TCM group each person received a weekly 20-minute acupuncture session, based on his or her personal factors and symptoms. By the end of the study period the severity of hay fever was “significantly less pronounced in the TCM group.”

Jan de Vries, a British naturopath, recommends a herbal remedy, that is a complex of tropical herbs including Sponge Cucumber (Luffa sponge). He says, “In my experience it is one of the most exceptional remedies for hay fever and I have seen the proof of its success throughout the world. In acute attacks, taking ten drops of the tincture every hour for five hours often brings quick, welcome relief.”

Additional herbal treatment of allergies may be found here: www.mercola.com/2002/jan/30/herbal_therapy.htm.