Acupuncture is a 4,000 year-old Chinese medical tradition that uses needles inserted into the skin to maintain or restore health from disease, injury, and illness.
TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the belief that vessels of energy known as meridians travel all over the body providing nourishment and energy to organs and tissues throughout the body. When an obstruction develops in a meridian, the blood and energy traveling to the affected organ/tissue becomes undernourished and this results in weakened states of mental, emotional, and physical health.
Sinusitis
Sinusitis is health condition in which the sinuses, small cavities around the forehead, cheeks, and eyes are inflamed.
Each person possesses has four pairs of sinuses with small openings that are connected to the nasal cavity. The sinuses and nose both are lined by one form of membrane. The normal function of this membrane means airflow works properly as well since there is proper mucus drainage into the nose that allows the air to circulate freely in and out of the sinuses.
The drainage process is impaired when one or more of these cavities becomes inflamed. The mucus starts to accumulate in the sinuses causing infection and congestion lading to a condition known as sinusitis.
Sinusitis is commonly caused by:
-Minor anatomical abnormalities
-The inhalation of harsh and strong chemical fumes
-Hay fever
-Food and air-borne allergies and other types of allergies
-Flu and cold resulting from bacterial infections
There are two types of sinusitis: chronic and acute. The type depends on the frequency and length of the illness’s episode itself. Chronic sinusitis can endure for a couple of months or even more. This condition can affect the person’s quality of life as its symptoms can be debilitating and quite severe seriously affecting the person’s daily life; acute sinusitis, on the other hand, lasts just a few weeks and often develops after a respiratory infection.
The Symptoms of Sinusitis include:
Rings or dark puffy bags developing below the eyes
Sensitivity to light and touch around the nose, jaw, and eyes
Throbbing and severe headaches
Sore/swollen throat
Fatigue
Taste and smell sensation loss
Post nasal drip (mucosal discharge coming from the nasal pathways)
A feeling of congestion in the head
Yellow/green thick mucosal discharge to the nose
Blocked respiratory tract and runny or clogged noses
Toothache
Traditional Chinese Medicine’s Causes of Sinusitis
Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncturists address sinusitis based on its manifested symptoms. The symptoms of acute sinusitis are tackled through the clearing of phlegm and the normalization of the flow of Lung energy. Yellowish phlegm symptom means excess heat in the body. This is addressed by treating the acupoints associated with the heat abundance. For the prevention of sinusitis, the practitioner may seek to boost spleen energy (the organ system where phlegm is produced and then stored in the lungs) and lung energy (for the prevention of pathogen infiltration in the body).
Some of the other Chronic and acute sinusitis-related diagnoses include:
Stagnation of qi
Lung energy deficiency
Disturbance in the meridians of the large intestine
Damp heat in the spleen/lung
Heat in the lung
Dampness in the spleen/lung
The Benefits of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Sinusitis Symptoms in Bellingham
With the use of sterile filiform needles, acupuncturists stimulate acupoints to resolve the symptoms of sinusitis as well as their underlying causes.
Acupoints on the lower legs, arm, and face are needled to activate specific organ and body systems into action, including the nervous, immune, adrenal glands, and lung systems. The nervous system governs the flow of blood to the sinus cavities.
People react differently to acupuncture treatment. There are those who may experience short-term pain with the treatment; most, however, get prompt relief with just one session of acupuncture. Many sinusitis patients find an improvement of their discomfort and pain after just a few sessions.
Acupuncture points for Sinusitis
Some of the acupoints that an acupuncturist will use to insert needles to help stimulate the body for the relief of sinusitis symptoms include points related to:
General infection
Heat
Sores in the nose
The symptoms of the cold
Phlegm blockage
Digestion issues resulting from postnasal drip
Water metabolism problems
Sinus congestion
Gallbladder-liver constitutional types with rising heat
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