The balmy days of summer can be a complete misery for hay-fever sufferers, whose allergy to pollen released by grasses, flowers and trees means that they become unwell as soon as they put their head out of doors. The pollen causes cells to release histamine and other chemicals, resulting in blocked sinuses, a permanently runny, itchy nose, often a sore, irritated throat, watery eyes and constant sneezing. In very severe cases hay fever can lead to asthma.

In Chinese Medicine hay fever is usually attributed to wind-heat invasion in the lungs. This is one of a set of atopic conditions that Chinese medicine treats very simply and successfully. Eczema, hay fever and asthma are all conditions of atopy (a form of hypersensitivity, estimated to affect 10 percent of the human race), so a treatment which works for one is quite likely to be successful in the other two. Again, it must be emphasized that Chinese Medicine treats each case individually, because the symptoms vary between patients, and are also influenced by their particular experience and environment.

In general, however, a Chinese Medicine practitioner r will open the lung Qi to expel the wind heat. Chinese herbs chosen for this could be magnolia flowers, chrysanthemum flowers, mulberry leaves, ephedra and cinnamon twigs.

There are many causes of asthma - hereditary factors, an allergy to environmental influences such as dust or animal hair, or stress, anxiety or physical exertion. Western treatment for asthma includes the prescription of cortisone and inhalers that open up the bronchial passages. Childhood asthma often disappears after a few years, but it can develop at any time in adults and although most attacks are of short duration, medical help should always be sought if the attack is serious and lasts for an hour or more, as the condition can be fatal.

In Chinese Medicine, three organs are said to cause asthma: the lungs, the spleen and the kidneys. The major cause is phlegm produced by a weakness of spleen and kidney, but a Chinese Medicine practitioner will identify the cause and nature of the complaint according to the patient's individual medical history. Some cases of asthma respond well to kidney tonics, but if the problem is in the spleen, a different treatment will be tried. If it is the lungs which are deficient, a Chinese Medicine treatment will be geared to treating that organ. The intention is to open the lung energy to enable it to descend and clear the air passages.

Herbs such as ephedra and bitter almond seed will help to stop wheezing. The Churchill Hospital in London has been conducting clinical studies into the effects of acupuncture on asthma, and hospitals in Oxford are researching herbal treatments. Asthma responds to both herbal medicine and acupuncture, although there have been recorded cases of acupuncture actually inducing an attack in susceptible patients and it should of course only be administered in skilled hands.