Chinese Herbal Remedies for Allergies

Well, it’s officially that time of year where everything is in bloom and pollen is everywhere, which is the perfect recipe for runny noses, sinus headaches, itching, sneezing, and uncomfortable allergies.

Most people pop their antihistamines day after day, waiting for the season to end and finally succumb to the idea that they just have to live with this now.

What if I told you that you didn’t have to live with it?

Or, have to take everything like an over-the-counter buffet in order to have the beautiful springtime experience you deserve? 

Chinese medicine can often be overlooked to treat things.

We decide to just live with all of these seasonal symptoms year-after-year.

In reality, I find that Chinese medicine will not only help you with your allergy symptoms, but over time can reduce and prevent the reactions, by using Chinese herbs and acupuncture. 

There are two main principles your Chinese medicine doctor will consider when treating your allergies: first, there are the presenting symptoms and underlying root causes.

Your presenting symptoms should lessen pretty quickly, especially when intervened with traditional Chinese herbs. When treating the underlying root cause, this can take some time and effort at home, but with consistency and dedication, seasonal allergies CAN be a thing of the past. 

Look to the Qi

In Chinese medicine, there are several different kinds of qi, the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) word for the “energy” that flows through the meridian systems, that circulate the body.

When it comes to allergies, the qi system we look to is called Wei Qi or “defensive qi.” It is our first line of defense when it comes to external pathogens like allergies and viruses - it’s essentially the immune system from a Western Medicine point of view.

When someone is extremely sensitive to allergens or gets sick easily with frequency, it can be inferred that they have weak wei qi. When allergies or viruses are expressed, the Chinese term is called “external wind.” External wind often expresses with your typical allergy or viral symptoms: headaches, congestion, sneezing, coughing, and itching.

Those allergy symptoms are an expression of external wind attacking the meridian systems due to weak wei qi. We use herbs in two different ways with this kind of pattern. The first thing we do is take care of the symptom expression caused by external wind: runny nose, headache, itchiness, sinus pressure. 

Herb-Symptom Pairing

The most common herbs used for this are often seen as a pair: Feng Feng (Siler divaricata) and Jing Jie (Schizonepeta tenuifolia). This combination of herbs “clear wind” and we often pair them with herbs that help resolve phlegm and mucus like Bai Zhi (Angelica Dahurica), Xin Yin Hua (Magnolia Flower Buds), and Cang Er Zi (Xanthium sibiricum, or common sticker burr) which helps clear blocked nasal passageways. 

These herbs are almost never used individually and are often combined together with other herbs to treat environmental allergens like Chinese Skullcap (Huang Qin) which is known to help clear heat from the lungs, Mint (Bo He) which helps soothe the throat and sinus passageways, and Bupleurum (Chai Hu) which helps clear up symptoms that have heat presentations like color to the phlegm and sinus infections. 

When you aren’t actively displaying symptoms, the treatment principle shifts to strengthening wei qi and prevent allergy expressions in the future. Unfortunately, wei qi does not deplete or replenish overnight and you may need to take herbs for an extended period of time to build your wei qi up to a place where you are no longer susceptible to your allergies.  

There is a traditional Chinese medicine formula known to replenish wei qi known as Yu Ping Feng San (Jade Windscreen Powder) which contains three herbs. The principle herb is one that many are familiar with known as Huang Qi (Astragalus). Astragalus has been used for centuries to promote stronger health and immunity.

It is known as a very strong qi and blood tonic in the world of TCM and very strongly strengthens wei qi to prevent illness. It combines with herbs Bai Zhu (Atractylodis) and Feng Feng (Siler) to prevent allergens from attacking and causing symptom expression. 

While taking herbs 2-3 times a day instead of your typical cocktail concoction of meds may be slightly more effort, these herbs treat symptoms far more effectively and can be customized and modified to fit your exact needs and symptoms.