“The cat has to go! I’m allergic!”
Many moons ago, when Craig (now my husband) and I first dated, I was living on my own and was the proud mama of a fur baby: Booboo the cat!
Every time Craig came to my place he couldn’t stay long. Within 20 minutes, he would start sneezing uncontrollably, his eyes would water and become extremely itchy. Even when Booboo was not in the same room with him!Β Craig had been allergic to cats since he was a child. So when we decided to take the relationship to the next level and move in together, I knew it would get tricky.
We were having dinner at a local restaurant, when Craig said, “So, what are we going to do with your cat, when we move in together?” And my response was, “You mean, what are we going to do with YOU?” Craig then asked, “How is that going to work?” And I replied, “We’ll just have to fix you!”
My TCM Diagnosis
According to my TCM diagnosis, Craig was LU & KD Qi deficient, so we did acupuncture twice/week for 2 months prior to moving in. Since my hubby is a little squeamish about needles, all he got was ST 36, LU 7, and KD 6. He also took Quercetin (400mg) and Yu Ping Feng San (40 drops in tincture form) daily.
During the first couple of months in our new place, we kept with the acupuncture sessions weekly. I also made sure Booboo would only have access to the kitchen and the guest bedroom. The living room, and our own bedroom were off limits.
I changed Craig’s diet radically. He was a typical bachelor eating take out foods most of the time. Fruits and veggies were not on his radar, but ice cream was a daily ritual!Β At first, he tried to resist, he would complain to his friends that we had no “fun” food in our home, and he would constantly ask why we ate weird stuff! I guess to him, quinoa, avocado, greens, and most veggies were a little weird. But I stuck to my guns, because I’m stubborn and I’m always right! (Ha!)
Slowly, I started to allow Booboo in the other rooms, and eventually he was ruling the house, as all cats do! And wouldn’t you know, one day I came home to find Booboo and Craig sleeping together peacefully, the cat on top of Craig’s chest! SO CUTE!
In TCM, environmental allergies are often due to Lung Qi deficiency.
According to the 5 element theory, Earth is the mother of Metal. So tonifying Sp & St (with a healthy diet) to generate good Lu & Li is very beneficial for those with Lung deficiency.
So the next time you hear someone say: “I’d love to adopt a cat or a dog, but I’m so allergic!”, tell them you have a great solution, and it’s called Chinese Medicine!
Keep rocking it using TCM!
Clara
TCM GeekΒ
PS: Want more? Check out and access the PDF for the TCM Treatments for the 7 most common LUNG Disorders. It includes Asthma, Chronic and Acute Cough, Hay Fever, Sinusitis and more!
Have you seen my Chinese Medicine Treatments Made Easy book yet? It covers over 160 syndromes treatments using acupuncture points, herbal formulas, ear points, diet and more!
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Hello, I am student of OM and I am in my last year, I’m javing a hard time with Chinese Herbs do you have any sugestion on how to learn them, next semester I’m going to have chinese herbs 3 & 4 and I need to have an A in this clase, but materia medica is not working for me.
Thank you for all your information is really good a love to read your post.
Hi Liliana,
Herbs are the hardest part to learn in TCM, after Diagnosis! Don’t be too hard on yourself. Everyone finds it difficult. When I was in school, I bought the Herb Zoo cards, they helped me a lot because I’m visual. I also made up songs to remember single herbs. Here’s the link to Herb Zoo: http://www.herbzoo.com/index.php
Hope this helps you π
Clara
Hi Clara,
Does your husband still need to take Quercetin and Yu Ping Feng San to stay allergy free?
TIA π
Hey Sarah,
Not anymore! But his diet is still very good and he gets regular acupuncture treatments π
Very nice article, Clara! π Hopefully more will learn about this wonderful treatment option. Greetings from Romania!
Thanks Adrian π
And what about allergy ( nasal congestion) during hashimoto syndrome when i dont know the reason of this? How can i help myself?
The best way Marla, is to seek a licensed acupuncturist in your area who can determine the best treatment plan for you. These protocols I post are general and not specific to each individual. In Chinese medicine, we always address the root cause (in your case the Thyroid issue), and your unique genes. Hope this helps.
my son 14 yr old has developed cat allergy…a polyp in his nose, that makes him sneeze a lot every day.
where / how do i begin his treatment???
Find a qualified practitioner in your area is your best bet
Thank you so much mam it’s very useful and now I am having clear idea about sp and lu Qi def
That’s great π
Hello,
I’m new to all this and I quite didn’t understand what “tonifying SP & St ” and what Lu & Li means ?
Thanks
Hi Cindy,
Welcome!
My site is mostly geared towards Acupuncture students. SP stand for Spleen, ST (stomach) and LU (lung). I can see that’s confusing if you don’t study Chinese Medicine ?
Cheers!
Clara