[Objective] Although allergic rhinitis is the most common allergic inflammatory disease, and many sufferers seek acupuncture and moxibustion treatments, the evidence that acupuncture therapy alleviates allergic rhinitis is uncertain. Symptoms of rhinorrhea, sneezing and nasal obstruction are cardinal signs of chronic allergic rhinitis. Through a series of individual case studies, we investigated the clinical effects of acupuncture treatment on patients with chronic allergic rhinitis.
[Method] Three patients with moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis eachreceived 8 sessions of acupuncture treatments (two times per week for 4 weeks). Evaluations were performed during each treatment period (`period B`) and before and after each treatment period (‘period A’) (ABA design). Acupuncture treatment was performed on GV23, LI20, LI4, ST36, GB20, BL13, and BL23. The effects of the acupuncture treatments were assessed by the degree of allergic rhinitis severity, according to nasal mucosa observation, subjective nasal obstruction, and allergic rhinitis indicators in the blood (eosinophilis and non specific immunoglobulion E).
[Results] During period B, one patient showed a general improvement of allergic rhinitis severity, and all three patients showed an improvement of allergic rhinitis symptom severities, especially nasal obstruction. The improvement of severity wasconfirmed by observation of nasal mucosae and the grade of subjective nasal obstruction. But blood indicators did not show a significant change.
[Conclusion] This study indicated that acupuncture treatment was effective for alleviating allergic rhinitis symptoms, especially nasal obstruction.