2 June 2020

Acupuncture for Hayfever in Canberra

| Jethro
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I’m going to preface this post by stating that I currently am and always have been an ‘alternative medicines’ sceptic. I put acupuncture in the same ballpark as reiki and chicken wishbone wishing.

However, after another seasonal bout of horrendous hayfever I have reached the same point as those parents of kidnapped children that you sometimes see on the news who have turned to psychics to find their child.

Basically, I am willing to try anything. I have been to the doctors and been prescribed all sorts of eye drops, nose sprays and tablets. I have tried every hayfever medicine under the sun.

And yet I still spend every day in huge amounts of pain scratching out my eyes, which basically feel like someone has thrown hot shards of metal into them. Most nights I wake up because my nasal tubes have become so blocked I can no longer breath through my nose. Getting back to sleep is almost impossible, due to the burning eyes. Sometimes my sinuses become so blocked the pressure gives me migraines.

I have been told that acupuncture can apparently help people with their hayfever (again… I am really skeptical about this, but I am clutching at straws at the moment). Modern medicine and all its glorious drugs have failed me. I am willing to give anything a go.

So, my questions are:

    • — who has used acupuncture to relieve hayfever symptons?

— was it successful?

— if so, how many treatments did it take to have an effect and how long did the ‘cure’ last before you needed to go back for more?

— if it was successful where did you go for your treatment and how much did it cost?

I am in serious need of help. If I can’t get rid of this hayfever (which basically debilitates me for 3 or 4 months a year) I am going to have to leave Canberra, because it is ruining my life. This would be a massive shame, as I otherwise love this city to bits.

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Good to hear the Avamys has provided some relief Jethro.

My symptoms are mainly sinus congestion, and occasional outbreaks of hives. My eyes don’t bother me too much, so based on what I’ve read here I reckon I’ll have a shot at the Avamys.

Good luck with it all.

LSWCHP said :

joy18 said :

LSWCHP said :

Put me on the list of people who’d like to know how this goes. I’ve had year round rhinitis for ages, and I’ve basically lost my sense of smell. If I squirt jugs of Rhinocort (corticosteroid nasal spray) up my nose it provides some relief, but I eventually end up with nose bleeds and have to stop, which causes the symptoms to return.

My GP didn’t reckon the injections would do much, and a friend at work had them and agreed that they didn’t do much for her. I’m going to have a look at this Avamys suff that Bugmenot recommended though, as his year round problem sounds similar to mine.

You should chat to your GP about trying Nasonex instead of Rhinocort. It’s more expensive, but it is effective while causing fewer nasty side effects in my experience.

I had heard good reports about Nasonex, so I gave it a run at the beginning of the year. I followed the maximum recommended dosage for 3 months and found it to be less efficacious than the Rhinocort. I can’t explain how disappointed I was after getting my hopes up.

I’m willing to try anything though, so it looks like Avamys is next.

Another trip to the doctor and a long discussion about the injections. She is not a fan and doesn’t do them. I’m tempted to shop around for one who does.

Got on to the Avamys and that has been great for the nose, but still nothing for the eyes. New drops (opticrom) are going in but still the burning remains.

I will wait until next late next winter and get started on a round of acupuncture and see how that works.

joy18 said :

LSWCHP said :

Put me on the list of people who’d like to know how this goes. I’ve had year round rhinitis for ages, and I’ve basically lost my sense of smell. If I squirt jugs of Rhinocort (corticosteroid nasal spray) up my nose it provides some relief, but I eventually end up with nose bleeds and have to stop, which causes the symptoms to return.

My GP didn’t reckon the injections would do much, and a friend at work had them and agreed that they didn’t do much for her. I’m going to have a look at this Avamys suff that Bugmenot recommended though, as his year round problem sounds similar to mine.

You should chat to your GP about trying Nasonex instead of Rhinocort. It’s more expensive, but it is effective while causing fewer nasty side effects in my experience.

I had heard good reports about Nasonex, so I gave it a run at the beginning of the year. I followed the maximum recommended dosage for 3 months and found it to be less efficacious than the Rhinocort. I can’t explain how disappointed I was after getting my hopes up.

I’m willing to try anything though, so it looks like Avamys is next.

Thoroughly Smashed7:12 pm 13 Nov 11

whitelaughter said :

Haven’t tried for hayfever, but if you’re going to try acupuncture I recommend Doug Godfrey at the O’Connor shops. Fixed my RSI in one hit; and is willing to say “no, there’s nothing I can do about that”. Usually uses a laser, so can avoid getting needles stuck in you.

Laser “acupuncture” that fixes RSI. That’s a new one!

I-filed said :

I also medicate my hayfever with strong coffee (seems to help) and try to remember to eat local honey all year to build up resistance to local pollens.

We’ve been trying to do the honey thing, as both myself and my partner get horrific hayfever but to different things, but we have had real trouble finding local honey. Any tips, suggestions, suppliers?

whitelaughter2:43 pm 13 Nov 11

Haven’t tried for hayfever, but if you’re going to try acupuncture I recommend Doug Godfrey at the O’Connor shops. Fixed my RSI in one hit; and is willing to say “no, there’s nothing I can do about that”. Usually uses a laser, so can avoid getting needles stuck in you.

Oooh yes, do report back. I spent most of 2010 and early 2011 up to my eyes in snot, scratching my eyes and feeling like I just wanted to crawl into a dark place and stay there. It took me a long long time to make headway with the doctor. I tried Nasonex, which worked for hayfever symptoms but gave some other unwanted side-effects and every available over the counter hayfever medication on the market – none of which touch the sides once the season is underway or cannot be taken fro long periods of time.

I have since been prescribed Rhinocourt which seems to be doing the trick. I do also have a referral to an ENT which will happen in January. Also through in a deviated septum and chronic related sinus issues that have had to be treated with anti-biotics and I can definitely say I know how you feel!

I have thought about acupuncture, but my previous painful experience a good few years ago put me off. I can say though that Mr Cholet had this treatment for his schnoz and he said he felt it was beneficial although he just had a permanently blocked nose, not the hayfever thing.

My brother, (who btw bugmenot has THE worst deviated septum – if he takes his glasses off you can actually see his nose is slowly travelling across his face!) has the same issues and was advised by his wifes cousin (i think!) that chinese herbal remedies in the shape of a stinky tea do good things for her.

Do you use Fess saline spray – that does help with keeping the nose clean. Also, if you are infuriated by a constantly itching runny nose, try putting vaseline up there – it stops the problem fro a while – short respite if you can put up with the claggy feel in your nose!

Good luck!

buildingquoteHQ11:12 pm 02 Nov 11

I sought accupucture relief for migraines and was advised by the practionioner that I would probably get relief for my hayfever from the treatment. And I did. Accupuncture and Chinese herbs over about 6-8 weeks certainly helped. I now get seasonal treatments to get me through. Stuart Forsyth in Turner.

LSWCHP said :

Put me on the list of people who’d like to know how this goes. I’ve had year round rhinitis for ages, and I’ve basically lost my sense of smell. If I squirt jugs of Rhinocort (corticosteroid nasal spray) up my nose it provides some relief, but I eventually end up with nose bleeds and have to stop, which causes the symptoms to return.

My GP didn’t reckon the injections would do much, and a friend at work had them and agreed that they didn’t do much for her. I’m going to have a look at this Avamys suff that Bugmenot recommended though, as his year round problem sounds similar to mine.

You should chat to your GP about trying Nasonex instead of Rhinocort. It’s more expensive, but it is effective while causing fewer nasty side effects in my experience.

Put me on the list of people who’d like to know how this goes. I’ve had year round rhinitis for ages, and I’ve basically lost my sense of smell. If I squirt jugs of Rhinocort (corticosteroid nasal spray) up my nose it provides some relief, but I eventually end up with nose bleeds and have to stop, which causes the symptoms to return.

My GP didn’t reckon the injections would do much, and a friend at work had them and agreed that they didn’t do much for her. I’m going to have a look at this Avamys suff that Bugmenot recommended though, as his year round problem sounds similar to mine.

Yes, I am pretty skeptical about alternative remedies (especially homeopathy – bleh) but have resorted to acupuncture for hayfever and either it helped or the placebo effect was remarkable.
I also medicate my hayfever with strong coffee (seems to help) and try to remember to eat local honey all year to build up resistance to local pollens.
Over-the-counter pharmacy meds work for me too.
My hayfever varies from year to year – it is at times so debilitating that I’m bedridden – that has happened twice in the last ten years. I’m not sure whether that’s because the allergens vary, or the health of my immune system varies. Or both …

Thanks for your suggestions.
Injections is definitely an option… I had been trying to avoid it as I was under the impression it’s prohibitively expensive, but the figures given here sound affordable.
Either was, I think I will wait until the end of this hayfever season before embarking on a further course of action.

When I was young (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I was taken to have acupuncture as treatment for hayfever and believe it or not, I think that it may have had a positive effect.

Of course, it could also be the case that there was a coincidental decline in my hayfever around the same time as the acupuncture – and it’s more than likely that my memory of the positive effect has become strengthened (and falsified) over time.

But I’d be interested to give it a go again myself. If you do have the treatment, please report back and let us know how it goes.

From memory (very hazy), I think I had about half-a-dozen sessions (which were pretty relaxing anyway) – no idea what it cost, and can only remember the location as being somewhere around Hawker/Weetangera (not likely to still exist).

As a year-round sufferer of hayfever, my path to releif was:

– Prescription for Avamys nasal spray. Seemed to work wonders. Daily dose up the schnoz.
– Zaditen eye drops (over the counter), only when required.

That pretty much had me covered, but for me, as stated, was year-round. Still had a few days, but nothing severe.

I had an allergy test done and I scored off the charts for pretty much all grass types and plant life on their test. Also reacted to brewers yeast, but that’ll involve a dead, cold hand…

So I happened to be at an ENT specialist for recurrant tonsilitis:

– Adenoidectomy (I was having my tonsils out anyway, so went for the upsell :))
– Septal reconstruction (supposedly had the worst deviated septum the specialist had ever seen – like that from birth, no broken nose etc)

That has led to me no longer needing daily sprays and I haven’t touched the eye drops yet. This spring has either been mild, or it really has helped as I’ve only used the spray this last fortnight so far. Will be looking to stop the sprays pretty soon the way it’s going.

I’m chuffed with the results.

I was on the immunotherapy injections for two years. I had horrid dust mite allergies which resulted in similar symptoms to yours, except year long. After around 6 months I’d stopped going through a box of tissues a day, which was a huge relief. I’d say in terms of sniffles, snot and blockages I’m pretty much normal now.

From memory it isn’t that expensive, particularly when you compare it to how much sprays cost, but I suppose it depends what dose you’re on. When you start you’ll be injected once a week for a month or two, which can be a little expensive ($150?) but once a baseline is hit, you’re being injected once a month and a bottle can last up to six months. If you bulk bill, you’ll be golden.

Unfortunately for me, it didn’t cure everything because I’ve got a bent septum and some other problems that leave me with something that feels alot like permanent swimmers ear. I’ll be getting that corrected with surgery, but the results should be better now that I’ve gone through the injections.

Thoroughly Smashed10:11 am 02 Nov 11

Forget acupuncture, what you need is rhino horn, the most credible of the Chinese medicines. Because hayfever is rhinitis. It’s the same see?

I don’t have any experience with accupuncture for hayfever, but will be watching with interest. Chinese medicine is (IMO) the most credible and proven alternative therapies. A couple of other things though…

I have a friend who did the allergy immunisation treatment and got alot of relief for it. Not sure if this is something you’ve considered? Apparently it’s expensive, and you have to start it outside the allergy season.

I find that the highest dose of Telfast does little more than take the edge off my symptoms. This week I have just started using the new non-medicated product Prevalin which is a nasal spray designed to put a film of stuff over the nasal mucosa so that pollens don’t get a chance at your immune system. Although using it is somewhat like squirting mint-flavoured PVA glue up your nose (!), yesterday my symptoms were better. It doesn’t do alot for itchy eyes though, so I am still using Livostin drops for those. Feels like battery acid when you put it in, but is good overall.

I seriously get what you are saying about the level of desperation though. The two hayfever seasons I was pregnant and breastfeeding were the absolute pits.

I mostly get by counting down days to Christmas because my symptoms are generally much better by then.

Have you tried injections? It’s probably no more painful than accupuncture and a lot more “evidence based”… I’ve just started a course of injections with my doctor — once a week over the next several months — after being told that it’s the closest thing to a cure that’s available.

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