You Can’t Avoid the Rain

The first half of this year has brought some much-needed precipitation. The added moisture is also bringing more growth and more pollen. People are experiencing heightened allergy symptoms. It’s a good time to take a look at another model for an alternative way to deal with allergies. The Chinese would not have you avoiding this fabulous wet weather but rather looking for a more complete solution.

There may be multiple causes of allergic types of immune response. Most allergic folks will admit that they are more reactive when under stress. If this is so, then what are they allergic to—the allergen or the stress? Indeed, which is the allergen? Both, perhaps. There are at least two factors in this allergic equation. There are quite possibly many more unidentified allergic players. Helping the body to process many levels of information and allowing it to self-adjust in relation to allergies is what Oriental medical theory advocates.

The Western view of allergies is to identify the allergen, often a complex process, and then determine a strategy of avoidance. Where does this leave you? Out of the woods, not in shopping malls, and shunning your pet-loving friends. Avoidance may not always be easy to carry out. For example, a common allergen for “allergic” people is formaldehyde. It is in plastics, drywall, perfumes, cleaning chemicals, etc. Avoiding it is virtually impossible.

Another possible approach is to work more directly with the body and its apparent imbalance. Why is the body responding to a relatively harmless external agent in such a severe way? The internal information system is confused. The body is getting messages that are inaccurate, and as a result, the response is out of proportion to the stimulus. This confusion must be addressed.

Intervention hits a figurative and literal wall when it is applied to systemic disease processes. Western medicine is having a good deal of trouble with the likes of allergic responses and autoimmune type maladies such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. They tend to fixate on the resulting symptom instead of the disease etiology, or path of causation, simply because they have no effective model to deal with causal relationships.

Oriental medicine has such models. The basic concept is to nourish the body’s systems in such a way that this confusing information is normalized once again. Chinese herbs in a balanced formula can provide this nourishment. As a result, the symptoms of the allergic response are ameliorated. The branch symptoms often disappear when the root is addressed. This is similar to the indicator light on the dashboard no longer being illuminated when the problem in the engine is fixed.

Nourishing the root and strengthening the chi can have profound effects on stress. People often ask OHCO about having herbs for stress relief. The appropriate choice depends on where you place your stress. If you manifest the more common allergy symptoms, Cold Snap is probably your choice. Signs are fatigue, being run down, and always getting sick. If you are emotionally distressed and/or put your stress in your digestive system, Stomach Chi is the one. The nourishing quality of Stomach Chi can help you digest experiences as well as food. And if you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and frequently end up stiff and sore, then OHCO-Motion works for general improvement while OHCO-Flow is focused on the upper body. By nourishing the system instead of treating the symptoms, you will be dealing with the problem at the root level. The latest formula, Chi’ll Out, will assist you with sleep and anxiety.

These herbs, possibly along with acupuncture, can balance a confused system. This is different from “formula” acupuncture where every person gets the same treatment for allergies. Eventually, you will need to address the root of the problem. You can’t avoid the rain.