Welcome to Allergy Season,
East Tennessee/Southwest Virginia Style

Scott Fitzpatrick, Dipl. O.M.

Most of us, both indigenous and transplants, suffer from seasonal allergies, something we learn to endure living in this beautifully diverse botanical region. Fortunately, there is help on many different fronts for both chronic and seasonal allergy attacks.

Many over-the-counter medications you pick up from your local pharmacy do a nice job of managing allergies but, as with all medications, they can have many side-effects. Oriental Medicine treats chronic and acute seasonal allergies with both acupuncture and Chinese herbal prescription formulas. I personally make a “sinus rinse” that is the best formula I have found to treat the most serious attacks that often lead to sinus infections. This rinse is a combination of sea salt, baking soda, and four Chinese herbs and is anti-microbial as well as anti-inflammatory. It is effective on acute infections, it reduces inflammation and assists in sinus drainage associated with rhinitis and sinusitis. I have found that this particular rinse is significantly more effective than over-the-counter saline rinses. Many of my patients choose to use the herbal formulas from our clinic to medicinally manage their sinus problems, mainly because of the side effects they suffer while taking the much stronger antihistamines and decongestants.

If you have any questions concerning the treatment of chronic and acute allergies using Oriental medicine or are interested in purchasing some of my special “sinus rinse”, please don’t hesitate to contact the clinic with your questions. And remember, always treat the entire body - a weakness in one area may indicate an issue somewhere else in the body that has not been addressed.

Please don’t hesitate to call the clinic with questions, Happy Holidays!!!!!

- Scott Fitzpatrick, Dipl.O.M., RES

(This article is from our 1st Qtr 2007 Newsletter)

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