Chinese herbal medicine did for my allergies what several years of weekly allergy shots did not. At least in that case it's basically a case of "hey here's a bunch of compounds that we've found to be helpful for certain things, but it's a tea instead of a powder compressed into a pill"
Ya know what REALLY does my head in? I have had severe hay fever for my entire life. Like, since I was a teenager, I had to take two Claritin a day from about March to October, or else turn into a sneezy, snotty, disgusting fountain of human fluids and misery. Acupuncture flat out CURED MY HAY FEVER. For about two months I went in for regular acupuncture on my knee, about 10 years ago. The practitioner asked me if anything else was bothering me, and I mentioned my hay fever, and she said, "Ok, I can take care of that, too." So November and December I got two treatments a week for my knee - and hay fever, apparently - and the next spring? All Summer? Into fall? Not a SINGLE DAY of hay fever symptoms. NOTHING. To this day, no hay fever. It is INSANE to think that sticking needles in my face/head can alter my body's histamine production/reaction circuits. That's just not rational. BUT IT WORKED. (And I slacked off on the hay fever needles for a while, and ya know what? The symptoms resurfaced... until I told my new acupuncturist of my hay fever symptoms, and she started using those needle points again. Now the hay fever is gone again.)