Around 37 million people suffer from sinusitis annually in the US.  Sinusitis is caused by bacterial infection.  People who are predisposed to suffer this ailment are usually individuals who have drainage and ventilation issues of the sinuses or have a history of asthma or overuse of nasal inhalers.

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), sinusitis results due to cold-heat environment, which affects the yin-yang balance in the body organs.  Yin and yang are two opposing principles that refer to the cold and heat aspects interacting in the human body.  Yin is the cold or water principle and yang is the heat or fire principle.  The relative balance of these two principles is important for the vitality and health of our body.

An invasion of pathogens in the body such as pneumococci, streptococci or influenza is considered a hot or fire condition in TCM.  The meridians where chi is blocked are the spleen, kidneys and lungs because of infection that caused sinusitis.  When chi is blocked, the yin and yang in the affected organs become imbalanced.  Since the infection causes the addition of heat in the body, the organs need to cool down the heat added which depletes the energy of those organs.  The weakening of those organs manifests in maladies caused by sinusitis and making the sinusitis itself worse.

These maladies come in the form of yellow discharges in the nose, eye problems, reddish face and headaches.  They emanate from liver and gall chi depletion.  Manifestations for lung chi weakness are irritable and sore sinus area, thick, opaque nose discharge, thirst and heat discomfort.

The treatment of acupuncture Miami with herbal medicine for sinusitis is done by inserting acupuncture needles in the LI4 and LI11 meridian points to expel the heat caused by the infection.  The meridian point UB12 also is treated with a needle to expel the excess wind, which serves as a reactive balance to the excess heat.  The meridian LU7 is treated likewise.  This is done to remove the blockage of chi in the areas involved.

The GV23 point is treated to expel the wind/cold in the sinus region.  Other points of treatment are for the removal of sinus pain and these involve the UB2 area among others.

Once the normal balance of yin and yang in the body organs are restored, acupuncture then assists to drain the sinuses by thinning the mucus and loosening it.  The body develops strength to combat the invading pathogens and to dissolve or thin phlegm and expel it.

Herbs considerably accelerate the treatment and they are often used for treating most kinds of sinusitis.  To help prevent the reoccurrence of sinusitis avoid some foods such as dairy and sugar (these enable the body make more phlegm) and to drink herbal medicine tea at the first sign of colds..