7 Healthcast: Allergies And Acupuncture

The sounds of those who suffer from allergies can be annoying, but what do you do when the pills, the nose sprays, and shots don't work?

You can try acupuncture.

"Sometimes my throat would close up and I'd stop breathing," acupuncture patient Beth Wagner said.

Before Wagner used acupuncture, she had adrenal problems that caused severe allergies. But after being treated for several months, not only was she weaned of her allergy medicine, but also the steroids she was taking for her glands.

"I had tried so many western medicines, which were often very helpful, but they had side effects. And this doesn't have any negative side effects," Wagner said.

The doctor begins by finding acupuncture points on the patient, and then taps a thin needle into the skin, but no deeper than one inch. Patients then wait for the needles to do their work.

"We usually use the natural way, try to balance that and immune system don't make it too reacted," Dr. Ming Jin of Ming Gi Natural Healthcare said.

Dr. Jin said allergies occur when the body overreacts to allergens. Acupuncture attempts to calm the immune system and restore balance to the body. And even young children can be treated this way, like eight-year-old Harrison.

"It stings a little, just a little bit, and then the and then the pain will just go away," Harrison Mullel said.

Acupuncture doesn't claim to cure allergies, but it can make living with them easier, especially because many antihistamines can have side effects like dizziness, fatigue and insomnia.

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