Acupuncture can be an effective way of boosting your immune system.
This ancient Chinese therapy uses needles inserted at various locations on the body to relieve pain and restore well-being. And it works on flu symptoms, says Daniel Schwartz, a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine in Dartmouth.
“Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can be helpful to build the immune system and assist the body to get rid of pathogens,” says Schwartz, who has been practicing for more than 25 years.
Schwartz says Chinese medicine has been “addressing these problems for a long, long time,” citing references that date back to 220 A.D. “Today’s practitioners have all those years of experience to help them make the right decisions.”
The location of the acupuncture needles he applies — called acupuncture points — are customized to “suit each individual’s needs,” he says. He might use a different point for treating a cough than he would for a high fever or even a runny nose.
Using acupuncture and Chinese herbs to strengthen a person’s immune system is “very individual and specific,” Schwartz says. Some people have stronger immune systems than others; these people would require less treatment, but “generally, to build one’s immune system, a course of four weekly treatments initially, followed by regular ‘tune-ups,’ could be quite helpful.”
Schwartz’s treatment for H1N1, as with other flus and colds, is highly individualized and would “depend on the symptoms that patient is experiencing at that time, and as the symptoms change, so does the treatment.”
He’s treated more people in the last few years, though not initially for cold and flu symptoms, he says. But once they’ve tried his treatments, people “do come back” when they’re suffering from flu and cold symptoms.
