What Your Spring Allergies Are Really Trying to Tell You: A Woman's Practical Guide to Decoding & Transforming Seasonal Suffering
The Seasonal Challenge
“Seasonal shifts are hard on me, especially in the spring with all the pollen.” Does this resonate? Patients say this to me all the time, especially as we move into the spring season.
Spring is so exciting here in the Pacific Northwest because we're leaving behind the shackles of the winter witch of the North - but sometimes, as the darkness and “freeze” loosen their grip, we're reaching for tissues and antihistamines.
When we begin to make connections between our psycho-spiritual and emotional states, patterns, and behaviors, physical correlatives almost always are present.
The soul is not separate from the body. In addition to basic holistic remedies like nettles, quercetin, acupuncture, and herbal formulas for “wind” and TCM pattern disharmony, we can look to the deeper patterns embedded in your physical symptoms
Whether it’s allergies or something else, symptoms are not random annoyances—they are always messengers and are indicative of deeper patterns of imbalance.
Your Immune Intelligence, Wei Qi, and Boundaries
Energetically, Wei Qi is a protective force that acts as a shield that flows just above and below your skin.
When our Wei Qi or our immune system is strong, we feel resilient, clear, and vibrant. When it becomes weakened, those spring pollens find their way in.
Modern science has tipped their proverbial hat to what the ancients knew. The same Liver energy that helps push flowers through the soil can, when imbalanced, create the internal "wind" that TCM associates with allergies.
As women, we are particularly attuned to seasonal shifts; our bodies resonate with the cycles of the Earth in a deep and powerful way with sensitive nervous systems and endocrine systems. The ancient traditions teach us that our bodies are microcosms of nature's rhythms.
In Chinese medicine, this is the season of the Wood element, corresponding to the Liver and Gallbladder. This is why we detox the liver in springtime!
Immune system issues are always connected to the subconscious and unconscious philosophical understanding of "self" versus "not self."
✨ Where in your life are unhealthy boundaries creating stress? Where are you saying yes when you really mean no? What part of you is resisting “full bloom”?
✨ Do we just let ourselves get “blown around” by whatever pollen filled wind breezes by? If we are over-identified with the forces around us, we can be swayed and influenced - environmentally, culturally and socially! Chinese medicine teaches us that the “exterior” (our wei qi) is influenced by deeper forces - like digestion, but also the endocrine system, both being deeply foundational energy systems. How strong do you feel in your core? Are you in your inner-authority? How long does it take you to come back to center after you have been pulled out?
Wei qi and allergies are also a “lung organ system” function. The lung stores grief and unexpressed or suppressed grief can weaken the lungs leading to susceptibility to wind - meaning frequent colds and flus - as well as allergies.
✨Is there any unresolved grief from the past (or present) that could be weakening your lungs? Have you grieved the hardships of the past? Loss of someone close to us is not the only thing that can create grief.
Check out Francis Weller’s, The Wild Edge of Sorrow, for wisdom the five gates of grief and rituals to support your process. Sometimes we have to let go of the past in order to move upward and outward with the growth and blossoming energy of the spring season.
✨What needs to be let go of so that you can move forward in your life?
The Hormonal-Immune-Nervous System Trinity
Your hormonal fluctuations directly influence your immune response, and the quality of your immune system will affect hormone functioning.
Estrogen can either calm or amplify inflammatory reactions, depending on its levels. Progesterone affects your respiratory passages and mucus production. And cortisol, your primary stress hormone, can suppress immune function when chronically elevated.
✨ Do you ever notice your allergies getting worse during any part of your cycle? Or when stress is particularly high?
One telltale antenna of stress resilience is our vagus nerve. We know that the vagus nerve constantly monitors and modulates your immune response, and this is why stress levels in the body-mind system will directly impact the quality, functioning, and balance of your immune system.
Evidence-Based Integrative Approaches
Now that we have covered some of the psycho-emotional patterns of spring allergies, let’s look at TCM + evidence based ways to support balancing your system.
Acupuncture
TCM mechanism: Regulates Qi flow, strengthens Wei Qi
Western evidence: Modulates autonomic nervous system, reduces inflammatory cytokines
Research shows reduced allergic rhinitis symptoms via neuroimmunomodulation
Herbal Medicine
TCM herbs like Astragalus (Huang Qi) strengthen Wei Qi
Western research confirms immunomodulatory effects of compounds like astragalosides
Adaptogenic herbs balance HPA axis function and hormone production
Nettles are folk remedy for allergies and TCM support for the liver (spring and wind), lungs (allergies, grief, letting go of winter), kidneys (stress response)
Mind-Body Practices
TCM view: Calms Shen, resolves Liver Qi stagnation
Western research: Reduces stress-induced inflammation, balances immune function
Studies show meditation and qigong practice improve immune parameters and allergic symptoms
This integrative framework demonstrates how TCM's holistic understanding of Wei Qi aligns with contemporary research on neuroimmune interactions, providing complementary approaches to addressing spring allergies through multiple physiological systems.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can also help you move through the psycho-emotional aspects of life. Book a free consultation with Cadie to see how this medicine can help you in your healing process.
*This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any health program.