Cedar Fever in Austin: Itchy, Watery, Runny, Scratchy, Red and Swollen, Sniffling and Sneezing

Wendy was a tortured woman. It was early December of ’08. Winter, the season she had come to dread in Austin, Texas. Since moving to Austin from Phoenix in 1987, she had become more and more sensitive to central Texas’s cedar pollen. She told me she had been getting allergy shots for 3 years and had not seen any relief.

I received this testimonial from her in March of ’09, after she had been under my care for almost four months. She said that she wanted to share her experience with others.

“Before this year I could barely function during cedar fever season. It was horrible! For 2 or 3 months I was all itchy, watery, runny, scratchy, red and swollen; sniffling and sneezing; producing mountains of wet tissues and had been absolutely no fun do be with.

How Acupuncture Helped

I had tried every concoction on the pharmacy’s shelves. Most didn’t work for me. The few that helped a little had a “may cause drowsiness” warning on the label. What an understatement! I took them then felt like a zombie for the next four hours. When the decongestant component kicked in and stopped the runny, watery, sniffing it felt like ALL the moisture had been sucked out of my head. Miserable!

I went to a doctor who had helped one of my coworkers with her cedar fever. After three years of allergy shots and over-the-counter meds, I saw no relief. If I was going to stay in Austin, I had to find something that worked.

I had heard about Karen Nunley from my mechanic (of all people) and decided to give Oriental medicine a try. Second visit I noticed my symptoms began to be less severe. Eyes and nose cleared up. The herbal formula she put me on cleared my sinuses without zapping my energy.

I won’t say I partied down but this is the first Austin winter that I felt like joining all the festivities. Karen gave the season back to me.”

The past two years Wendy has come in for a series of biweekly treatments beginning the first week of December to prevent cedar fever and, she still reports, she feels like she did in her old Arizona days.

It remains to be seen what kind of cedar fever season we will have this coming winter. If we get any significant rains between now and and the end of the year, I strongly recommend that you who suffer from cedar fever here in Austin and central Texas plan on coming in to start your acupuncture in early December to prevent the onslaught of symptoms. It is WAY easier to prevent symptoms than to treat them in the middle of the allergy season.