LITTLE ROCK — Every part of us/ alerts another part.
Press a spot in/ the tender arch and
feel the scalp/ twitch. We are no
match for ourselves/ but our own release.
Each touch/ uncatches some/ remote lock. Look,
boats of mercy/ embark from
our heart at the/ oddest knock.
-Kay Ryan Chinese Foot Chart
Comes now a story from the writers of health news. According to Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers think that acupuncture might help with . . . allergies.
Yes, allergies. Needles poked into your skin might help your sneezing and itchy eyes. If those needles are poked in the right spots. That’s according to this study, anyway.
There was a time when some of us would only have smiled at so exotic a notion, but Chinese acupuncture has since gained all kinds of support from Western medicine. Even doctors, it turns out, are educable. Maybe they, too, suffer from allergies.
Our considered editorial opinion about the benefits of acupuncture: Yes. Please. Anything.
It’s only February and some of us are already miserable. March will be here soon enough, and then those pear trees will start to bloom and our cars will turn yellow with pollen and . . . just the thought is enough to bring on a sneeze.
If needles help, get ’em out, doc. Go to work. Anything to make it stop.
Editorial, Pages 16 on 02/23/2013