Hello everyone , how are you? Happy New Year! It’s been sometime since I last updated my blog. 2024 was a year of growth, adventures and new beginnings for me. 2025 will be a year of healing ; physically, mentally and spiritually.  If you’ve been reading my blog, I’ve written about Wifey’s hives / urticaria in 2017. Her hives / urticaria was under control but recently it came back and flared up quite badly. Hives / urticaria is common and affects about 20% of people at some point in their lives.  Wifey’s hives flare up badly especially at night.  When the hives came back, Wifey has been taking antihistamine (Cetirizine, Zyrtec, Benadryl) which provides temporary relief but the hives continuously flare up every other day. It causes a lot of discomfort and emotional stress.  The turning point was when the antihistamine no longer works as the hives don’t subside after the pill.  Korean Ginseng (高麗參) with rice water  A friend recommended to try drinking Korean Ginseng (高麗參) with rice water. The friend has hives too and her hives was cured with this formula. Wifey tried a few times but unfortunately her hives still flared up.  Finally, we decided to try out TCM ( Traditional Chinese Medicine) acupuncture treatments combined with herbal medicine.  To TCM, emotions and organs are connected  In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), emotions are a major cause of all illnesses.  TCM associates each of seven emotions with a specific organ in the body.  Anger : Liver  Joy and Shock : Heart Sadness and Grief : Lungs Worry : Spleen  Fear : Kidneys  Oppression : Spleen, lungs and heart  TCM Acupuncture Treatment with Heat  During the treatment, the TCM physician will  examine her pulse to diagnose and determine the appropriate course of treatment. She first started her acupuncture treatments twice a week. After a few treatments of acupuncture and taking herbal medicine, her hives got better.  TCM Herbal Medicine  Now, her hives are in control. Wifey is still undergoing TCM treatments and looking forward to full recovery from hives / urticaria. According to Dr Joey, the TCM physician that we are seeing, Wifey’s hives’ due to blood deficiency which leads to Qi deficiency; which is the body’s vital energy. If I’m not mistaken, in western medicine; it’s referred to the immune system. When your immune system is weak, your body is more susceptible to pathogens.  The TCM physician identifies several potential causes of hives: Wind-Heat or Wind-Cold Invasion: External factors such as wind, heat, or cold can invade the body’s defenses, leading to skin reactions like hives. Qi and Blood Stagnation: Poor circulation of Qi and blood can cause stasis, resulting in skin eruptions. Wind Heat or Blood Heat: Excessive heat in the blood or due to wind can cause symptoms like redness, itching, and swelling. Emotional wellbeing : Emotional stress is a significant factor in TCM, as it can create internal heat and disrupt the balance of qi and blood. This imbalance can lead to the frequent occurrence of hives.  Besides TCM acupuncture and taking herbal medicine, you may also want to include some healthy habits that may help with managing your chronic hives / urticaria :-  Get enough sleep  Eating a healthy and balanced diet  Avoiding cold winds, hot showers, and saunas  Wear loose clothing  Exercising regularly  Avoid raw food like salad , sashimi  Avoid alcohol If you’re also experiencing skin issues such as skin allergies , urticaria, eczema or psoriasis , you might want to try TCM instead of relying on anti-histamines which I think is not good for long term.  If you’re keen to give TCM a try for your skin conditions, I can...