In Korea, where there are four distinct seasons, allergy symptoms can easily worsen due to rapid environmental changes. Provided by Getty Image Bank
In Korea, where there are four distinct seasons, allergy symptoms can easily worsen due to rapid environmental changes. Experts emphasized that natural ‘seasonal adaptation’, including outdoor activities, is necessary to restore whole body immune balance and adaptability, rather than focusing only on avoiding external stimuli to alleviate allergies.
On the 17th, Kim Min-hee, a professor of oriental medicine, otolaryngology and dermatology at Kangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital, said, “It is impossible to completely avoid exposure to allergen-causing antigens, weather effects, fine dust, etc.” and diagnosed, “If spring allergy symptoms repeat and worsen every year, it may be a sign that the body’s regulatory ability is not adapting to seasonal changes rather than a simple environmental problem.”
Allergy refers to a condition in which the body’s immune system overreacts to specific antigens, such as pollen or dust. Symptoms may also appear due to stimulation such as sudden temperature changes. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service’s statistics on diseases of national interest, the total number of patients with allergic diseases in 2024 is estimated at approximately 29.42 million.
In Korea, it gets hot or cold rapidly during the short spring and fall, and the daily temperature range is large, making it difficult for the body’s immune and autonomic nervous systems to fully adapt to environmental changes. Every spring, fine dust and yellow dust worsen allergy symptoms. In particular, pollen, the main cause of allergic conjunctivitis, is also a problem as the occurrence period is accelerated and the concentration is increasing due to climate change.
Kim Min-hee, professor of Oriental Medicine Otolaryngology and Dermatology at Kangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital. Provided by Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital
In Oriental medicine, ‘health’, which nurtures the body according to seasonal changes, is important. The basics are to gradually warm up the body in the spring, avoid excessive consumption in the summer, and emphasize convergence and preservation in the fall and winter.
Professor Kim pointed out the living environment of modern people, saying, “The immune system and autonomic nervous system must be adjusted according to seasonal changes, but excessive heating and cooling reduces the body’s opportunity to adapt.” This, combined with irregular sleep and reduced outdoor activities, causes the response to external stimuli to become even more excessive.
Oriental medicine does not divide allergies into individual symptoms such as eyes, nose, and skin, but treats patients by considering the period when allergic symptoms recur, the individual’s physical strength, resilience, and living environment. It regulates the immune response through herbal medicine, stabilizes autonomic nerve function through acupuncture, and helps circulation of energy and blood through moxibustion treatment.
Professor Kim explained, “Rather than focusing solely on avoiding external stimuli, an approach that restores systemic immune balance and adaptive ability is needed. Increasing adaptability to seasonal changes can help alleviate immune hypersensitivity to external stimuli and reduce the recurrence and worsening of allergic symptoms.”
The standard treatment standards, which systematize the clinical basis for oriental medicine treatment, were organized into the 2021 ‘Allergic Rhinitis Oriental Medicine Standard Clinical Practice Guidelines’. The government has also recognized the effectiveness of herbal medicine for allergic rhinitis and is implementing a herbal medicine health insurance system.
Professor Kim emphasized, “Maintaining regular sleep and a certain life rhythm helps stabilize the balance of the autonomic nervous system and alleviate immune responses. It is also important to be naturally exposed to seasonal changes through appropriate outdoor activities, and consistent exercise to maintain basic physical strength is positive in increasing resilience to external stimuli.”
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