by Kirby Lindsay, posted 7 March 2014
On Saturday, March 8th, from 10:30a – Noon, the Bastyr Center for Natural Health will host another in its informative lecture series called ‘Living Naturally.’ This month, Melinda Bower, ND, and Kathleen Lumiere, DAOM, LAc, will talk on ‘Natural Ways to Ease Spring Allergies’. Dr. Bower, a naturopathic physician, and Dr. Lumiere, a doctor of Chinese medicine, will give valuable insights on ways to ease, or even eliminate, respiratory sensitivities that come up, year after year.
‘An Appropriate Response, Or Too Excitable?’
In advance of the lecture, Dr. Lumiere shared some not-so-secret, and time-tested, Chinese medicine methods used to give relief to those who, each spring, hide out indoors to avoid nature, pollens and/or any potential allergy trigger.
Seasonal allergies, Dr. Lumiere explained, present as, “a constellation of symptoms,” that can include red, swollen eyes, physical discomfort on the skin, facial edema, headache, mucus production/build-up, etc. Essentially, she said, “the lung organ system isn’t supporting normal respiratory function.”
Pollen can be a trigger for these immune responses. When someone sensitive to them comes in contact with pollen, “the immune system signals a problem,” Dr. Lumiere observed, and may, for instance, send blood to the eyes to combat and clear the invading foreign matter, causing the eyes to get red and swollen. “It’s the defense against pathogens,” she explained, but the question becomes, “is it an appropriate response, or is it too excitable?”
Through natural medicine it is possible, Dr. Lumiere acknowledged, to eliminate over-sensitivity to triggers. If a patient’s auto-immune system goes on overload every spring or summer, Chinese medicine or naturopathic medicine methods can take a holistic look at the patient, and find out – mind, body and spirit – why the immune system went on high-alert, and if it was already irritated, what trigger sent it into overload. Also, through natural medicine, it is possible to find ways to relieve those symptoms. “You want your immune response to be reasonable,” she said.
“The first person I treated,” for seasonal allergies, Dr. Lumiere said, “was my father.” A horticulturist, her father spent six months of every year miserable. He still worked, but only through a steady supply of shots, and suffering with forceful sneezes that his daughter still vividly remembers.
“He was very skeptical,” she recalled, about the potential of Chinese medicine. After examining him – his whole being – Dr. Lumiere found that “he fit into that classic model,” of a digestive imbalance that had steadily put the respiratory system at risk. His doctor daughter created an herbal concoction that balances his system, and with a few recommended dietary changes (“he eats less bacon,” she observed,) “he hasn’t suffered from allergies since.”
‘Three-fold’ Chinese Medicine Methods
“Food sensitivities and respiratory sensitivities are linked in Chinese medicine,” Dr. Lumiere explained. Other factors can be heredity and stress. Sometimes, underlying problems can be activating an unnoticed immune response, and pollens or other triggers simply put another burden on an overloaded system.
For Chinese medicine treatment of seasonal allergies, “the ways would be three-fold,” Dr. Lumiere said:
- Acupuncture can treat swelling (needles are anti-inflammatory,) relieve stress, relax and open the lungs, help with digestion, and open the sinuses. “We would want to see someone ideally when they are not symptomatic,” Dr. Lumiere said.
- Herbal medicine can be, “really, really useful in treating the symptoms,” Dr. Lumiere explained. Herbs can be taken in three basic forms: granules, raw herbs (leaves, seeds, and/or twigs,) and tablets. Less common are tinctures (an alcohol extraction process.) Today, many allergies can be treated with herbal tablets already containing the most common concoction of herbs needed to balance a stressed respiratory system.
- Dietary therapy often starts with a diet diary kept by the patient. This will lists what they’ve eaten, when they ate it and how they felt after eating. With the diary, a doctor can more easily find the right balance of foods to release or calm immune responses.
In addition to these, Dr. Lumiere recommended lifestyle changes to make it easier to eat well, get enough sleep and get enough exercise. Essentially, these form “the pillars of your health,” as she described them, particularly the last. “Exercise is practically a panacea,” she said.
Naturopathic medicine can also provide a patient with relief from seasonal allergies. With “really sensitively calibrated testing,” Dr. Lumiere observed, the doctor and patient, “become more aware of results that would be subclinical.”
During the ‘Living Naturally’ lecture on easing seasonal allergies, Dr. Bower will address the methods and treatments of Naturopathic medicine, and how it can help.
Receive An ‘Individual Assessment’
Ultimately though, Dr. Lumiere made it clear, “the individual assessment of a person is essential.” Talking with a doctor, either Naturopathic or one of Chinese medicine, serves the seasonal allergy sufferer best. “Taking over the counter supplements is a haphazard, Band-Aid approach,” Dr. Lumiere said. What might work for one person might prove dangerous for another, so it is always advisable to get qualified medical advice.
The Bastyr Center, and its doctors and residents, have more to recommend it now than ever. The Washington Health Alliance, for the second time, gave Bastyr Center high-marks based on a patient survey. The survey results were linked to patient outcomes, and Bastyr Center, located on Stone Way, ranked in the top five in each of the survey’s four categories.
Attend the lecture on March 8th, to learn more ways to relieve allergy symptoms – besides hiding inside for the next six months – or watch the lecture on the Bastyr Channel of YouTube.
Most importantly, enjoy spring this year… without the sneezes!
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©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.