Acupuncture for the flu may not be the most popular or common flu treatment out there, but it’s definitely worth a shot. Medications, chicken noodle soups, and bed rest are all great treatments for flu symptoms, but acupuncture for fever, body aches, and more can be just as effective as the usual remedies.

 

 

The flu: What you need to know

The flu is caused by a virus, and the type of flu differs based on the type of protein that the virus carries. You can catch the flu virus by touching your nose, mouth, or eyes, which is why keeping your hands clean and sanitized is vital to keeping yourself healthy.

 

Common wisdom says that if you do catch the flu, the illness will stay until it resolves on its own. The best you can do is to deal with the individual flu symptoms, such as fever and headache. However, acupuncture for the flu can not only help you with these symptoms, it can also help you shorten the span of the illness and even build up your immune system against it.

 

 

Flu symptoms

If you’ve ever had the flu before, you’ll probably be familiar with the symptoms. When the virus takes hold, it will result in common symptoms such as a dry cough, fever, headache, body aches, fatigue, and malaise. Other less common symptoms include a runny nose, sneezing, and sore throat, which are more common with the cold.

 

 

The difference between colds and the flu

The cold and flu actually have some pretty similar symptoms. However, the flu is generally worse than the common cold. For example, if you have a cold,you might have a mild fever. If you have the flu, however, your fever will be higher in temperature and may last up to four days.

 

Fatigue is also something that doesn’t usually happen with a cold, but it’s one of the hallmarks of the flu. Body aches are also mild when it comes to a cold, but if you have the flu, the aches can be quite severe.

 

 

Complications

Usually, you can expect the flu to go away on its own after a certain period of time. However, in rare cases, the flu can become fatal. In fact, the flu can lead to 10,000 to 50,000 deaths a year. Because of this, making the effort to keep the flu from spreading can be important.

 

Even when the flu doesn’t become fatal, it can still lead to worse medical conditions. It can lead to complications like bacterial pneumonia, and it can also worsen illnesses like diabetes, asthma, and congestive heart failure.

 

If you believe you have the flu, please consult with your doctor before scheduling an acupuncture appointment. This is especially important if you have an otherwise compromised immune system due to age or pre-existing condition.

 

 

Acupuncture for the flu

You may not think of acupuncture as something that can be effective against the flu, but this millennia-old practice can surprise you. Acupuncture is a good way to not only ease the severity of flu symptoms, but it can also help you strengthen your immunity to the virus.

 

 

How acupuncture works

Basically, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture involve the flow of life force, called qi (pronounced “chee”). Qi is supposed to to flow through points in the body called “meridians.” However, if the proper flow of qi is disrupted or is concentrated in a single area, illness can occur.

 

Acupuncture, in a nutshell, restores the flow of qi and thus restores good health. This way, acupuncture isn’t a forceful treatment; it simply nudges the body to the right direction. To redirect the flow of qi, a licensed acupuncturist will insert fine needles into the necessary acupuncture points.

 

At the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic, you’ll be in the care of Tram Pham, our owner and Licensed Acupuncturist. She has a Master’s Degree in Chinese Medicine from Yo San University, and has years of experience in providing acupuncture for the flu and other age-old remedies for various health conditions.

 

 

Western vs traditional Chinese medicine

Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) look at health in different ways. For example, Western medicine formulates treatments based on the particular ailment. TCM, meanwhile, formulates treatments based on the individual experiencing the symptoms.

 

In terms of the flu, Western medicine and TCM look at things differently as well. For Western medicine, illnesses such as the flu, polio, and the measles are caused by various corresponding viruses. However, for TCM, these illnesses are caused by a single reason: a factor called “Wind-Heat.”

 

Even with these differences, Western medicine recognizes the benefits and effectiveness of acupuncture, though there isn’t much research into the practice yet.

 

 

Fighting the flu with acupuncture

Even with the dearth of research, what we already do know about acupuncture is that it can increase the production of hormones that improve the immune system. If you feel that you’re about to get the flu or a cold, you can make an appointment at the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic to prevent the illness from taking hold.

 

If you already have the flu, acupuncture can help you get over it sooner than can be expected. It can also help alleviate symptoms such as body aches, fever, sore throat, and a stuffy nose.

 

 

Acupuncture at the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic

The Santa Barbara Herb Clinic has been serving the city of Santa Barbara and nearby areas since it was founded by Dr. Jean Yu in 1986. Tram, our current owner and Licensed Acupuncturist, took over the clinic in 2016. She continued the tradition of providing holistic and all-natural health care to the residents of Santa Barbara.

 

Want to book an appointment? Call us at 805-563-0222 or email us at info@santabarbaraherbclinic.com and see what it’s like to experience acupuncture for the flu. While coming to the clinic for a consultation is a common practice, we can also be quite flexible. If you’re not in the Santa Barbara or Goleta area, you can call us for a phone consultation, and Tram can also hold consultations via video call.

 

 

 

References

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-flu-virus/

 

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-cold-symptoms#3

 

http://www.uhhospitals.org/myuhcare/health-and-wellness/better-living-health-articles/2014/december/acupuncture-for-cold-and-flu-season

 

https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/chinese/traditional-chinese-medicine-acupuncture2.htm

 

http://maciociaonline.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-treatment-of-influenza-with-chinese.html

 

http://www.uhhospitals.org/myuhcare/health-and-wellness/better-living-health-articles/2014/december/acupuncture-for-cold-and-flu-season

 

 

High blood pressure, or hypertension, puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke if it stays too high for a long time. It is also one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In fact, 75 million American adults, or 1 in every 3 adults, have high blood pressure.

 

Meanwhile, only half of the people with high blood pressure have their condition under control. Prehypertension and diabetes symptoms also put people at risk for high blood pressure. This disease also costs the nation $48.6 billion each year, which includes the cost of medications, missed days at work, and health care services to treat high blood pressure.

 

There are studies that show that acupuncture for hypertension can be helpful in more ways than one. In acupuncture, practitioners work on meridians, or the invisible pathways that connect one body part to another. These meridians are along major nerve pathways that are the main points where needles will be inserted into. Consequently, stimulating the pathway activates different areas by sending impulses to the brain. There are various benefits that come with this, including the regulation of the cardiovascular system.

 

 

 

Studies About Acupuncture For Hypertension

Researchers at the Jiaozuo Tongren Hospital have found that acupuncture is as effective as nifedipine for hypertension treatment. They compared the blood pressure reduction effects of acupuncture and nifedipine in a group of hypertensive patients. Acupuncture induced a homeostatic regulation of blood pressure. It significantly reduced diastolic and systolic pressures in patients with extremely high blood pressure, and it moderately reduced diastolic and systolic pressures for patients with moderate levels of high blood pressure. In such cases, acupuncture provided a regulated lowering of blood pressure according to the clinical needs of patients.

 

Acupuncture therapy for hypertension also does not produce side effects such as hypotensive reactions, unlike other pharmaceutical drugs.

 

Initial studies are being done with animals, which show positive results in treating ischemia, high blood pressure, irregular heart beats, or heart arrhythmias. Researchers aim to know more about acupuncture as an alternative treatment to reduce the medication needed for patients with cardiovascular disorders.

 

 

Acupuncture Together With Other Medical Drugs

There’s promise in the study of integrative medicine. Integrative medicine is where eastern and western medical principles are combined for a deliberate approach in treating diseases. In a study conducted by the Shanxi College of Traditional Medicine, it showed that acupuncture plus taking the drug felopidine produced an 86.7% effective rate in treating primary hypertension. This integrative medicine method of approaching hypertension improves results by 13.4%.

 

As with everything, we can achieve optimum treatment with a healthy diet, regular exercise, and taking prescribed medications. Acupuncture complements these healthy lifestyle habits by maintaining low blood pressure and a healthy balance in the body.

 

 

Start Your Treatment with a Licensed Acupuncturist

Santa Barbara Herb Clinic offers natural holistic healing treatments, including acupuncture for hypertension. Your session with our licensed acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner will include a thorough assessment of your symptoms and health concerns. A unique customized treatment follows which is specifically catered to your health needs. Book a consultation now to start your treatment. If you’re in the Santa Barbara and Goleta area, visit us in our clinic which you can find on this map. We also do phone and video consultations, plus shipment of medications to your area.

 

 

References:

Acupuncture Can Lower High Blood Pressure | WebMD –
https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20010611/acupuncture-can-lower-high-blood-pressure#1

 

Acupuncture Matches Drug For High Blood Pressure, Alex Wang – http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1718-acupuncture-matches-drug-for-high-blood-pressure

 

Acupuncture Might Help Ease High Blood Pressure, Randy Dotinga – https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20150902/acupuncture-might-help-ease-high-blood-pressure#1

 

Division For Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention –
https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_bloodpressure.htm

 

We are all prone to colds and flu, and it’s not a pleasant thing to get into. Statistics show that adults usually get 2 – 4 colds a year, while children get as many as 5 – 10 every year. More than 200 types of viruses can cause colds. The symptoms of colds develop slowly, usually with a sore throat. It then develops into headaches, congestion, runny nose, fever and cough. On the other hand, flu symptoms start quickly, such as sore throat, cough, headache and high fever. People with flu may also experience diarrhea, vomiting, muscle weakness, and fatigue. The longer it takes for a person to treat these infectious diseases, the longer it will take to clear out the pathogens from the body.

 

 

How Acupuncture for Colds Can Help

Acupuncture balances the flow of energy in your body by inserting needles on specific acupuncture points. It can support your natural immune response and boost the immune system. This can help prevent flu or colds from affecting your body. As you undergo acupuncture, your licensed acupuncturist or therapist will most likely prescribe Chinese herbs to supplement your body’s natural defense and healing capacity.

 

If you have the colds or flu, undergoing acupuncture for colds will relieve various symptoms. These include runny nose, congestion, sore throat, cough, body aches, headaches, chills and fever. Acupuncture with a prescription of Chinese herbs can also speed up recovery. It can also lessen symptoms so as to prevent flu or colds from further developing.

 

Chinese healing methods such as acupuncture, moxibustion and gua sha can provide relief from cold symptoms. These techniques also expel the pathogen out from the body in a much faster rate. Practitioners insert hair-thin needles into certain points along the meridians of the body, activating immune functions. It will also relieve symptoms of colds and flu, while suppressing pain. Most patients usually experience quick relief when acupuncture points are needled.

 

 

Holistic Health Care

Herbal therapy can also effectively fight the infection and inflammation caused by colds and flu. Herbal formulas can destroy bacteria and viruses, thus alleviating symptoms. It also has a diaphoretic action which takes out the virus and flu bug out of the body. Do take note that it’s important to consult with your medical provider if you have flu-like symptoms before seeking out complementary treatments like herbal prescriptions and acupuncture for colds.

 

Every patient might have a different set of symptoms or infections, which different sets of acupuncture techniques and herbal formulas can address. One or two acupuncture sessions with a herbal prescription are typically necessary to treat colds and flu. If the symptoms are treated early, colds and flu can be completely resolved in a day or two.

 

 

Does Acupuncture Hurt?

The most that you will feel during acupuncture is a dull ache, numbness or slight tingling feeling around the base of the inserted needle. Acupuncture is relatively pain-free. As the practitioner inserts needles into specific points on your body, you’ll barely feel them at all. Your acupuncturist may give you a little massage after taking out the needles to lessen any feeling of numbness.

 

 

Take the Next Step By Consulting with a Licensed Acupuncturist

Traditional Chinese Medicine aims to create and sustain a healthy balance in the body. In this healthy state, your body has a stronger immune system that can help keep illnesses at bay. Acupuncture for colds is a natural, safe and effective treatment to boost your immunity. It also tackles the root cause of your health concerns, and heals you holistically.

 

Book an appointment with our licensed acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine practitioner now to get a consultation and treatment that can improve your immune system. We also have a herbal pharmacy where you can get a prescription of Chinese herbs, and we ship out herbal prescriptions to your address. Our acupuncturist, Tram Pham, also does phone and video consultations if ever you can’t come by our Santa Barbara clinic.

 

 

 

References

Acupuncture Treatment For Flu and Common Cold. Patricia Pilot –
http://www.patriciapilot.com/symptoms/flu-chinese-medicine-acupuncture-flu-acupuncture-common-cold-chinese-medicine/

 

Colds and Flu Statistics | Health Direct –
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/colds-and-flu-statistics

 

Did You Know That Acupuncture Can Be Used To Treat Colds and the Flu? | Uptown Acupuncture –
http://uptownacupuncturedc.com/did-you-know-that-acupuncture-can-be-used-to-treat-colds-and-the-flu/

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional use of acupuncture for seasonal allergies

“Preventive medicine” has been making a buzz in recent decades and more and more people are taking heed, but traditional Chinese medical practices have been revolving around this concept of “treating an illness before it manifests” for thousands of years. In relation to helping combat seasonal allergies, ancient practitioners have this to say: that the best time to treat illnesses of the summer is during winter, and the best time to treat illnesses of the winter is during summer.

 

Contaminants in the air are the main culprits that cause seasonal allergies. Allergies appear because the body considers these contaminants harmful, though others may not consider the contaminants as such. Prime among these would be pollen during spring and autumn. These seasonal allergies severely affect nearly 30 million Americans. Millions more affected to a milder but still cumbersome degree. The symptoms they have to battle through include allergic rhinitis; itchy nose, eyes, and palate; watery eyes and nose; and difficulty breathing, among others. A large amount of money each year goes to the purchase of medicine and treatments, but most of these only deal with the symptoms.

 

Acupuncture seeks to deal with the underlying reason that the body is susceptible to allergens. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that chronic allergic reactions represent the body’s reduced ability to adjust to changes in its environment precipitated by the often-abrupt turning of the seasons. It believes, then, that the best way to strengthen the body against these unavoidable environmental changes is to do it when the need for that strength is still far off. In other words, months before the triggering seasons roll in.

 

 

Recent research about acupuncture for seasonal allergies

A recent study about acupuncture’s effectiveness for helping manage seasonal allergies produced some very interesting results. The 422 participants who have this condition were divided into three groups. One group received 12 acupuncture treatments plus antihistamine medication when necessary. Another group received 12 “sham” acupuncture treatments wherein needles were also inserted, but over points that had no real relevance to their condition. The group also received antihistamine medication when necessary. The third group, meanwhile, served as controls and only took antihistamine medication.

 

Two months after receiving the treatments, all groups were asked about how their symptoms have improved (if they did) and how much antihistamine medication they had to take. Those who had undergone actual acupuncture treatments reported a need for fewer antihistamines. Their symptoms were considerably less severe compared to the other groups. However, even the group that received the “sham” treatment reported fewer symptoms and less medication taken. This suggests that there may have been a placebo effect contributing to the improvement.

 

More research on this matter is necessary. This result may mean that untargeted acupuncture can also have a positive effect when it comes to improving conditions, not just seasonal allergies.

 

 

How acupuncture for seasonal allergies works

 

As stated before, the best way traditional Chinese medicine could help with seasonal allergies is by taking the preventive approach. This often means that acupuncture wouldn’t be the only modality involved; the acupuncturist might also prescribe herbal remedies as well as suggest changes in diet. During an acupuncture treatment, the main objective would be to restore the balance of energy within the body that may be contributing to a weakened immunity against allergens. Ideally, this would simultaneously address not only the symptoms of seasonal allergies but also the possible underlying causes.

 

But even when the allergy is already underway, acupuncture could still offer considerable measures of relief by helping ease inflammation and reduce stress, which may be contributing to the condition. Acupuncture would induce the release of chemicals in the body, including natural painkillers and mood boosters.

 

 

About acupuncture in Santa Barbara Herb Clinic

 

Here at the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic, we believe in preventive care and wellness. We also believe in tailoring traditional Chinese medicine’s modalities to suit each individual patient’s condition. This way, we can help them in the best way possible.

 

The clinic’s owner and lead acupuncturist, Tram Pham, L.Ac., is a proponent of the Balance Method of distal healing, which she learned under its Master and pioneer, the late Dr. Richard Tan. This system of acupuncture focuses heavily on holistic healing, which means it doesn’t just seek to treat the main ailment, but also its root cause. Tram is also an herbalist and operates the clinic’s Herbal Pharmacy. Our Pharmacy boasts an extensive stock of medicinal powders, teas, pills, and herbs.

 

Contact us to set a consultation appointment, which Tram can also conduct through a phone or video call. We also offer the service of sending prescribed herbal remedies through mail if you live far from the Santa Barbara area.

 

 

References

https://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/Relieve+Your+Seasonal+Allergies+with+Acupuncture

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/19/health/acpuncture-allergies/index.html

 

http://www.cityacu.net/blog/acupuncture-for-seasonal-allergies-treatment-starts-early

 

Achieving maximum wellness sometimes boils down to three things: proper nutrition, regular physical activity, and effective rest. There are times, however, when factors get in the way of our achieving these things. In particular, insomnia and the inability to get effective rest at the end of a long day are chief concerns for many. However, acupuncture for insomnia can help you finally get some much-needed shut-eye.

 

There are many causes of poor sleep or insomnia in today’s society. This includes but is not limited to constant and high levels of stress, chronic pain, or another ailment wherein sleeplessness is simply a byproduct. Meanwhile, we should never discount the hazards of not getting enough restful sleep. Among other things, it could lead to heightened aggression, anxiety, increased weight, weakened immune function, higher risk of blood pressure, and difficulty concentrating. In turn, this could lead to reduced decision-making capabilities, poorer job performance, and even life-threatening situations.

 

A growing number of people are not embracing acupuncture for insomnia as a non-pharmaceutical solution to sleep problems. Other than that, it can also be an alternative option to improve overall well-being. There’s actually little conscious choice involved in the matter. Because practitioners intend for traditional Chinese medicine to work holistically, it doesn’t work on a piecemeal basis.

 

 

Medications vs acupuncture for insomnia

As with many things involving Western medical practices, sleep medications only work to address the symptom of sleeplessness itself. They do nothing to address the underlying causes. This means that if the medications stop, the symptoms return, often with a vengeance. The only other choice with this option is to continually take the medications for as long as they’re needed. However, this more often than not might mean taking sleep medications for life. Doing so presents other, even more dangerous risks, including addiction and damage to internal organs.

 

There is a growing body of research on the use of acupuncture for various issues. These studies have found exceedingly few dangers to the millennia-old healing modality—certainly not the dangers presented in the alternative above. Instead, people would often find themselves going in for a series of treatments for a specific condition. Afterward, they come out of them feeling better than anticipated, simply because the other issues they’ve long ignored have also benefited from the experience.

 

 

How acupuncture can help regulate sleep

 

Different people experience insomnia or other sleep issues in a way that’s specific to them. In broad terms, this may include the following:

 

• General difficulty falling asleep
• Multiple sleep disturbances during the night
• Inability to fall back into sleep after a disturbance
• Unrestful and/or nightmare-plagued sleep

 

To address these diverse sleep problems, the acupuncturist would do a consultation and give a diagnosis, after which she or he would tailor acupuncture techniques along with other traditional Chinese healing modalities, all to suit the specific needs of the patient.

 

We should take into account that it would likely take more than a single session for lasting effects to be felt. This is because practitioners consider acupuncture for insomnia, or for any other issue, to be a corrective procedure. It might take several sessions before the body could recognize its rehabilitation into its proper, healthy and well-functioning state.

 

Specifically, acupuncture can help regulate and improve sleep by directly targeting the possible root of the issue, not just the symptom. The owner and main acupuncture practitioner in Santa Barbara Herb Clinic is Ms. Tram Pham, L.Ac. Having studied under the late Master Dr. Richard Tan, she employs the acupuncture system known as the Balance Method, blended with other traditional Chinese medicine practices, to accomplish desired outcomes.

 

Learn more about how acupuncture can help maintain your overall health and wellness.

 

 

How acupuncture works

The acupuncturist would zero in on distal points in the body’s energy pathways that, while not immediately obvious, have links to the possible problem areas. Stimulating these points could simultaneously trigger the body’s response to threat and facilitate the start of healing for the real, underlying issue. Acupuncture can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, for instance. Meanwhile, it can induce the release of serotonin, which the body converts into melatonin to achieve sleep. The more of this neurotransmitter the body has, the better the quality of sleep at night.

 

That’s not all serotonin is good for. It could also help regulate mood, which means that acupuncture’s effects could also be felt during daylight by promoting the body’s relaxation and the mind’s calmness. By targeting a possible root cause of insomnia like chronic pain, acupuncture could also stabilize the flow of energy within the body; by getting it to achieve proper balance, it could start functioning as it should, releasing natural painkillers and eventually starting the process of self-healing. This is a cycle deeply rooted in the Chinese concept of yin and yang.

 

 

About acupuncture in Santa Barbara Herb Clinic

Licensed acupuncturists insert long, thin needles into the energy points in the skin to achieve results for this condition and for others. If that sounds alarming, worry not. Acupuncture for insomnia at the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic involve premium Japanese needles that are thinner and sharper. This means that there’s typically minimal pain even with regular acupuncture needles. However, for sensitive patients, especially children, these one-off use needles offer reduced sensation. Their use comes at no extra cost.

 

The clinic also operates an Herbal Pharmacy with a range of medicinal powders, teas, herbs, and pills that may be prescribed in conjunction with the main acupuncture treatment, as well as the clinic’s other therapeutic services offered, including tui na, fire cupping, and moxibustion. Even if you live outside Santa Barbara, you can benefit from the clinic’s services by setting a consultation through video or phone call. We could also mail your prescribed herbal remedies wherever you live in the country.

 

 

 

References

https://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/10/03/acupuncture-insomnia-and-sleep-disorders

 

https://blog.bulletproof.com/how-to-cure-insomnia-with-acupuncture/

 

https://www.insomnia.net/natural-remedies/acupuncture/

 

https://sleepjunkies.com/health/can-acupuncture-help-insomnia/