Heather Rice calls them “kitty cat whiskers” — one acupuncture needle inserted on each side of the nostrils, an acupuncture point known as Large Intestine 20.
The treatment helps alleviate symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis: runny nose, congestion, nasal drip, and general misery, says Rice, a licensed acupuncturist at University of California-Irvine’s Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine.
“One thing I notice almost immediately is that in just 30 minutes, they say, ‘Oh my God, I can actually breathe,'” Rice said. “I don’t want to say it’s 100 percent, but with at least 8 out of 10 people, their noses will open up. They can breathe better, and they’re not as congested.”
The benefits Rice has observed are confirmed in a new study, although the benefit isn’t as pronounced as she has found in her day-to-day work. The paper, published last week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, followed 422 Germans who suffered from seasonal pollen allergies. Over the course of eight weeks, the subjects were divided into three groups and given three treatments — acupuncture, together with the antihistamine cetirizine (marketed as Zyrtec); a “sham” acupuncture, along with the drug; and the drug only.