Did you know that nearly 50 million Americans experience some form of allergy every year? Allergies are a common yet entirely overlooked disease. Allergies can stem from the air we breathe to the foods we eat due to an overreactive immune system. They can cause anything from itchy eyes to asthma attacks.
If you’ve ever felt like you just can’t get that tickle out of your throat or you’re tired of sneezing every time you walk outside, there is hope. Integrative medicine takes into account the root of where your allergies come from and how to treat them.
Continue reading for a quick overview of what integrative medicine is and how it works.
What is Integrative Medicine?
Think of integrative medicine as a more balanced approach to healing. Conventional medicine focuses more on the disease or disorder in question, whereas integrative medicine takes into account how symptoms might connect and where they stemmed from in order to heal.
This modality of healthcare is healing-based, meaning that the integrative healthcare provider will look at a number of treatments in order to completely heal both the mind and body.
Examples of Integrative Medicine
A variety of techniques and approaches are used for people with complex or long-lasting medical conditions. A few examples of integrative medicine treatments might be:
- Acupuncture
- Touch or massage therapy
- Supporting healthy sleep
- Music therapy
- Mindfulness
- Supporting healthy nutrition
These techniques can be used to help heal anything from stress levels and imbalanced hormones to lessening seasonal allergies.
Root Causes
Have you ever dealt with seasonal allergies and felt like you were doing everything right to manage symptoms and yet nothing works? Integrative medicine will look deeper at the root cause of why your body isn’t healing. There could be a multitude of reasons as to why your allergies linger on and why your body doesn’t respond to medications or treatments.
Examples of areas that an integrative family medicine practitioner would look at include:
- Medical history
- Levels of stress
- Physical activity levels
- Family history
- Food and nutrition
- Inflammation levels
Each area is thoroughly examined in order to understand the imbalance happening in your body and life. Each area is then integrated with various treatments in order to heal any imbalances that lead to or cause sickness. Treatments may include anything from diet changes, acupuncture, or even Soliman Auricular Allergy Treatment (SAAT).
A Closer Look at SAAT
For allergy sufferers, SAAT is a new form of integrative physical medicine treatment built to reduce allergens quickly and effectively. As part of treatment, the following may be addressed:
- Sensitivities to food
- Sensitivities to environment
- Sensitivities to medication or chemicals
The procedure itself focuses on stopping an allergic reaction vis-a-vis an overly reactive immune system. Testing is done to search for the individual’s specific allergy and sensitivity. A needle is then placed in a specific location in the ear, and the location itself will be unique to each individual.
Each acupuncture needle gets inserted and left in the ear for a 3 to 4 week time period, and up to 3 or 4 allergens can get addressed per treatment.
Breathe Easy
Regardless of if you’re an allergy sufferer or not, advanced integrative medicine is there to take a deeper look at all aspects of your health. It is a way for healthcare to be tailored to your specific needs in order to fully heal.
Acupuncture Works is here to fix imbalances in the body naturally and create pathways for overall healing. If you feel out of balance or simply would like to get a handle on your allergies, feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment with us today!
