Allergic Rhinitis

Key Diagnostic Points:

1. Itching in the nasal cavity occurs suddenly, accompanied with itching in the eyes and pharynx. This symptom comes and goes quickly.

2. The patient has one sneeze after another, sometimes dozens in succession.

3. Clear watery or white foamy discharge. During the period of acute reaction, nasal discharge is continuous and copious.

4. At the beginning, the nasal obstruction is transient, then becomes continuous.

5. The mucous membrane in the nasal cavity (chiefly in the middle and inferior conchae) swells, is pale or grayish blue in color and is moist and pliable. In time, moruloid change in the inferior concha or a polypoid change in the middle concha will occur, with a lot of watery secretion in the nasal meatus.

6. An allergic disease caused by an allergin acting on the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity

Differential Diagnosis:

Wei Qi deficiency, combines with retention of wind evil in the nose.

Wei Qi comes from the Kidneys and is amplified in the middle jiao because of the food Qi's influence. Then it arrives in the upper jiao, where the lung takes charge of the Qi. So, the Wei Qi is connected with the Kidney, Spleen and Lung.

Treatment Principle:

Tonify Qi, dispel wind

Point and Technique Prescription:

UB 13: (reinforce) Lung Shu UB 20: (reinforce) Spleen Shu UB 23: (reinforce) Kidney Shu Lungs, Spleen and Kidney are all connected with Wei Qi, hence we tonify these three points to invigorate the Wei Qi.

UB 12, GB 20, Du 16: (all reduced) All dispel wind. (all three of these points have "wind" in their names. )

Du 23: (even) Expels wind from the nose and stops nasal discharge. Du 23 is uniquely positioned above the nose to push out wind as the Yang Qi comes up over the forehead and into the nasal area. This point is needled against the channel, the needle pointing toward the vertex of the head.

Bi Tong, L.I. 20: (even) Local points

Lu 7, L.I. 4: (even) Lung opens to the nose. But Lung channel cannot actually enter the nose, however the L.I. Channel does. So we use the Luo connecting point of the Lung channel and Yuan source point of the L.I. to treat diseases of the nose. Clear wind, and stop nasal discharge.

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