Does Acupuncture Help With Allergies?

Image from Acupuncture For All

According to one study, it does... Performed by researchers in China and Korea, they divided 238 patients suffering from allergies into 3 groups: active acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and no treatment.

They found that acupuncture, even if it was sham, did help significantly with nasal allergies. However, only active acupuncture helped with not just nasal allergies but also allergy symptoms beyond the nose!

Of course, when considering all the other research performed on this subject, the results are a bit more mixed with some reporting no improvement with acupuncture.

For those interested in avoiding medications and allergy shots, it may be something to consider trying. It can't hurt and it can potentially even help.

References:
A multicenter, randomized, controlled trial testing the effects of acupuncture on allergic rhinitis. European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Volume 68, Issue 3, pages 365–374, March 2013

Acupuncture for allergic rhinitis: a systematic review. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Volume 102, Issue 4 , Pages 269-279, April 2009