Seasonal allergies – 36 year old female – Resolved over 4 visits

This case describes a patient with symptoms of seasonal allergies that were resolved over 4 visits with a combination of acupuncture and herbal treatment.

Visit 1: May 31, 2023

Presentation: Presentation: Patient (36 year old female) has had seasonal allergies since 2014. Symptoms include watery running nose, constant sneezing, itchy eyes, nasal congestion, and tingling in throat. Her nose is also congested at night so she sleeps with mouth open.

Other: Often feel fatigued. Bowel movements 1-2 times per day, sometimes loose. Often feels bloated.

Tongue: Red flesh, yellow greasy thick coat, body swollen, vertical crack in middle

Pulse: Wiry, slightly slow, cun/guan convex, chi faint

Dx: Damp heat, qi stagnation

The symptoms and tongue indicate damp heat and qi stagnation. Looking back from April 2026, there was likely some blood and qi deficiency as well from the tongue. I had addressed these additional concerns with acupuncture but not with the herbs, so if I had a similar patient now, I would add some herbs for qi and blood deficiency, and it might have helped the patient a little bit faster and perhaps saved a visit.

Acupuncture points: GV20, GV21, GV23; Bilaterally: LI20, LR3, ST44, GB41, ST36, SP9

Prescription: Patient was given 3 bags of herbs to take over 6 days.

Xin Yi 6g	Zhi Gan Cao 6g	Mai Dong 12g	Dang Shen 10g	She Gan 6g
Fa Ban Xia 8g	Fu Ling 10g	Xi Xin 2g	Shan Zhu Yu 6g	Ze Xie 10g
Huang Qin 6g	Hou Pu 8g	Cang Zhu 10g	Zao Jiao 6g	Hong Zao 20g
Huang Lian 2g

Visit 2: June 7, 2023 (One week later)

Presentation: Symptoms not changed. Runny nose, congestion, and sneezing very severe today.

Tongue: Red flesh, yellow greasy thick coat, body swollen, vertical crack in middle

Pulse: Wiry, speed normal, left guan thready

Dx: Damp heat is less, but qi stagnation and dampness/phlegm is more apparent

Acupuncture points: GV20, GV21, GV23; Bilaterally: LI20, LR3, ST44, GB41, ST36, SP9
Prescription: Some adjustments on previous prescription. Patient was given 3 bags of herbs to take over 6 days.

Zhi Gan Cao 6g	Mai Dong 12g	Dang Shen 10g	Gan Jiang 6g	Fa Ban Xia 8g
Fu Ling 10g	Xi Xin 2g	Cang Zhu 10g	Hou Pu 8g	Hong Zao 20g
Xin Yi 6g	Mu Dan Pi 6g	Jing Jie 8g	Ju Hua 6g	Wu Wei Zi 3g

Visit 3: June 21, 2023 (Two weeks later)

Presentation: Congestion and runny nose is better overall, but there is more runny nose and sneezing during bedtime.  Patient had taken herbs for one week, and had not received treatment for one week, however still noted that improvements persisted during the week with no treatment.

Tongue: Pink flesh, yellow greasy thick coat, body swollen, vertical crack in middle

Pulse: Left cun large, left guan thready

Dx: Qi stagnation and dampness/phlegm

Prescription: Minor adjustments from last treatment. Patient was given 3 bags of herbs to take over 6 days.

Same acupuncture treatment provided as last time.

Zhi Gan Cao 6g	Mai Dong 12g	Dang Shen 10g	Gan Jiang 6g	Fa Ban Xia 8g
Fu Ling 10g	Xi Xin 2g	Cang Zhu 10g	Sheng Di 15g	Xin Yi 6g
Shi Chang Pu 6g	Jing Jie 8g	Ju Hua 6g	Zhi Zi 3g	Wu Wei Zi 3g

Visit 4: June 28, 2023 (One week later)

Presentation: Allergy symptoms have mostly cleared.

Provide same treatment as last week for one more week.

I had not followed up with the patient afterwards. However, patient came back in 2025 to treat recurrence of seasonal allergies, citing that the treatment from 2023 was quite effective.

Note: All case studies have been posted with patient consent and retain complete details from patient treatment records as per the CTCMPAO’s policy on advertising.  Case studies are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and the herbs/acupuncture points listed here are not intended to be used by non-licensed individuals and can be dangerous if not prescribed appropriately.  Symptom presentation will vary between individuals so please seek out professional advice or book online if you are concerned about yourself or a friend/family member.