Effect of Manual Acupressure as a Supplementary Therapy on Quality of Life in Patients of Allergic Rhinitis; a Randomised Controlled Trial

Acupressure is a simple, non-invasive and self-administered modality of treatment which has been explored in the management of various conditions with varying degrees of success.

Studying the efficacy of acupressure as an adjunctive therapy in allergic rhinitis could open the door to its integration into the existing treatment rationale, subsequently reducing the disease burden and improving quality of life and productivity, especially among the working population. As of now, there are few studies of good quality in this field, and none of those are from India.

Expected Outcome: Improvement in quality of life, and reduction in symptoms, as reflected by questionnaire scores, in patients employing self-administered manual acupressure in addition to standard therapy.

After randomization and allocation, patients belonging to the Standard Therapy Only (STO) group will be provided with oral antihistamines (Cetirizine 10mg HS) and inhaled corticosteroid (Fluticasone plus Azelastine nasal spray 1 puff in each nostril twice daily) prescriptions.

Patients belonging to Manual Acupressure (MAP) group will be given oral antihistamines and inhalational corticosteroid. In addition, they will receive an individual hands-on demonstration,lasting 20 to 30 minutes,of acupressure points and technique for self-administration of acupressure, as well as a video demonstrating the same to them for domestic use. This is to be self-administered for 20 minutes every day, applying enough pressure so as to not cause pain.

After the baseline measurements, outcomes will be measured at 4 weeks and 6 weeks, during in-person follow-up visit. This will be done using standardized validated questionnaires i.e, Nocturnal Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (NRQLQ), Visual Analogue Score (VAS) and Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS).