Allergies

Earth Constitutional Factor

By Kelly Ferguson, L.Ac.

You may hear your practitioner speaking about your CF or Constitutional Factor, and you are probably asking yourself what that means? In Five Element Acupuncture Theory there are five elements or seasons that we use to help diagnosis and understand our patients. We have each of these elements within us, but we prefer one to two of them over the others. Those elements that we unknowingly prefer or align with are what we would call a person’s Constitutional Factor or CF. Within each CF there are the meridians, colors, odors, sounds, emotions, personality traits, seasons, etc. that go along with it.

One of these Constitutional Factors is called Earth. The season for this element is Late Summer which we are getting ready to head into. This element is very grounding or centering. It allows us to nurture ourselves and those around us. Earth CF’s can sometimes sound like they are singing as they are speaking. They tend to have a yellow complexion to their skin around their eyes, and their odor can be a bit sweet smelling. The meridians that go along with Earth are spleen and stomach meridians.

Kelly sees patients on Tuesdays & Thursdays 12p -8pm, Saturdays 10am-3pm in Timonium, and Wednesdays 12:30pm-7:30pm in White Marsh. Read more about Kelly at https://cloud9acuclinic.com/kelly-ferguson-acupuncturist/

Traditional Chinese Medicine Pulse and Tongue Diagnosis

By Kelly Ferguson, L.Ac.

Looking at someone’s tongue is a helpful tool for Acupuncturists. The tongue allows us to see what is going on in a person’s body. When we are looking at your tongue we are checking the color, texture, coating, shape and markings on the tongue. By seeing what the tongue looks like we can see if we need to build qi or energy, help the flow of qi throughout the body, clear phlegm or heat, or build fluid in the body.

In addition, there are different locations on the tongue that correlate to the meridians. While we are looking at the color, texture, shape, marks and coating of the tongue; we are also looking at how they look on the different areas of the tongue to determine which meridians to use during treatment. The tongue does take time to change, so after you’ve been getting treatments for about a month take a look at your tongue and see the difference.

Pulse Diagnosis

During your acupuncture treatments, your practitioner will take your pulses on both wrists. We are looking for six pulse positions on each wrist. These pulses connect to the meridians or pathways that move qi or energy throughout your body. These pulses help us to diagnosis which meridians might need to be flushed out or strengthened.

The analogy that comes to mind is with Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In the story the porridge can’t be too hot or too cold, it had to be just right. This is what we are looking for with pulses. The pulse can’t be too high or too low in strength. We want the pulse to find a happy median.

Springtime, The Wood Element & You

By Kelly Ferguson, M.Ac., L.Ac.

Often clients will hear their acupuncturists speaking about the five elements and their characteristics. The five elements are within us all, but we usually identify with one or two more strongly than the other elements. One of these elements is the Wood element. It is connected to the spring time which we are finally starting to see after this long and cold winter.

The Wood element is identified by its color, sound, odor and emotion which are green, shout, rancid and anger. What does that mean? Well, these are the things your acupuncturist is going to start looking for to see if you identify as a wood element:

We’ll look for things like, does the color green pop up around the client’s corner of the eye?

Does their voice hold a level of command and confidence to it when they speak?

Do they smell rancid like a freshly cut tree or mowed grass? Is there a level of authority, determination, focus or drive within them?

These are some of the questions I ask myself as a practitioner when I am in the room with clients. So, what do you think? Are you a Wood element?

How Can Cupping Help Me?

by Kelly Ferguson, L.Ac.

Cupping is one of the many tools an acupuncturist has in their arsenal. It has been used for thousands of years and by many different cultures.

How Cupping Works

An acupuncturist or trained professional will take a glass cup and momentarily place a flame within it, removing the air and creating a vacuum or suction when applied to the skin. The cups will remain on the skin for 5-10 minutes and will either remain in place or be moved around by the practitioner.

Cupping helps to resolve blood stasis, remove lymph or fluids in the tissue, and relieves muscle tension in the body. Cupping essentially increases the circulation of blood and lymph in the body. Did you know you have more lymph fluid in your body than blood? Lymphatic fluid helps remove toxins and muscular waste from your body and is excreted through your sweat, urine and bowel movements.

When you receive cupping, the lymphatic system is removing the toxins and muscular waste, while fresh oxygenated blood rushes in to the area of cupping to help heal muscle tissue much faster (especially in the case of muscle injuries).

Further, cupping is often used for Allergies, High Blood Pressure, Respiratory Conditions such as a cold or bronchitis, and Musculoskeletal conditions like back, shoulder or neck pain/tension. Last year when Michael Phelps had cupping marks at the Olympics, we received many questions about cupping.

Hopefully this article helps answer some of your questions and perhaps help you form more questions. Please contact us with your new questions and curiosity about cupping if you or your family member is ready to try this awesome modality.

Prevent Springtime Allergies with Acupuncture Today

By Kelly Ferguson

Are you an allergy sufferer? Do you dread the fall or spring due to your seasonal allergies? If you are, you are not alone. Researchers estimate that nearly 50 million people in the Unites States have allergies making allergies the 6^th leading cause of chronic illness.

An ‘allergy’ is hypersensitivity in your immune system to foreign substances. These foreign substances are known as ‘allergens’ and are recognized by your body and create a response in your immune system. Common allergens are animal dander, pollen, dust, nuts and mold. However, there are many different allergens and if you are not sure what you are allergic to it can be helpful to speak with an allergist who can test which allergens your body is having a reaction to.

In Chinese medicine there are four meridians we use to reduce/stop your allergy symptoms. These meridians are Spleen, Stomach, Lung and Large Intestine. The gut plays a large part in your immune system. Your gut or gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the main route for external stimuli entering into your body every day. It is important that we work on keeping your GI tract healthy so that it can better handle the external stimuli.

There are various points that can be used to help with allergies, and these points will be chosen based on the individual, their symptoms, pulses and their tongue. A couple common ones are Large Intestine 4 which helps the body to clear toxins and reduce inflammation, and Lung 9 which helps support the Lung meridian and build qi.

Along with using acupuncture to help stop your allergy symptoms, your acupuncturist will also talk to you about your diet and daily lifestyle. For most these are simple changes. An example of this could be: over eating sweets. Sweets are actually very damaging to your Spleen and Stomach meridians which can make your allergies worse. Likewise, getting a shower at the end of the day to remove any allergens that might be attached to your skin, hair or clothing after being outside during the day. Some other tips are getting a new pillow every few months, buying a pillow cover that protects against allergens, and changing your filters in your car and HVAC.

As we near closer to spring time it is important to consider adding in or making some changes in our day-to-day life so that we can help prevent allergies. Be sure to schedule your acupuncture appointment this spring to help with the upcoming allergy season or any other spring symptoms you may be experiencing.