Hay fever is a seasonal disease occurring most commonly from late April to the end of September. The main symptoms, depending on the individual nature and their environment, include sneezing, running nose, itchy eyes, headache, sore throat, coughing, thirsty, feverishness, restlessness and general lethargy.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, hay fever is classified as exogenous wind heat with superficial syndrome. People who have a hot body constitution easily suffer from hay fever in the warm and hot summer weather as the combination of external heat and internal heat create hay fever symptoms. On the contrary, people who have cold body constitution and suffer from arthritis will feel better in this warm weather.

The Causes of hay fever are summarised as follows:

• The diet in the West is often high in fat and heat. People eat a great quantity of high calorie food such as curry, chocolate, dairy products and chillies. Some people are prone to drinking and smoking. All these things result in high heat blood.
  
• People get high stress from work especially when it involves long hour working and long distance driving. Men and women in high pressure occupations often fail to eat properly and consume lots of unbalanced food, i.e. too much high energy food and too less fruits and vegetables. Again, this is a cause of internal heat in the body.
  
• Some people stay out all night eating, drinking and smoking. This will quickly lead to hot body constitution. Another problem is instability in relationships and marriages. Problems with family and partner affect the emotions and raise the liver fire.
  
• Most British homes, workplaces and mass transportations are well equipped with central heating systems. Many people stay in central heating rooms all day long, lacking of fresh air.
  
• There are too many cars and factories in and around metropolitan cities, high pollution and hot air easily invade the body in hot season and, therefore, exacerbate the condition of those who already suffer from high body heat.
  
• British people tend to keep their doors and windows closed which deprive them of fresh air. In contrast, in some countries like China, doors and windows are often kept open even in cold weather. It is one of the reasons why hay fever is relatively rare in China.

The TCM practitioners usually prescribe the herbs which are cool in nature to clear away the internal body heat. Normally, the improvement can be obviously seen in one week; yet it varies to the nature and condition of different individuals.

Acupuncture can relieve the symptoms, especially headaches and stress. It is advisable to take acupuncture once a fortnight that will balance your body heat and prevent you from suffering hay fever.

Some Chinese herbal tea can cool the body constitution effectively to suit the warm weather. It is wise to take it before the season of hay fever starts.

Taking the food with cool nature will improve the condition, e.g. celery, cucumber, apples, pears etc. Many children who suffer from hay fever may improve their conditions as they get older, because they take some fruits and vegetables instead of crisps and chocolate.

For further information, please contact your local branches.