Fight Seasonal Allergies with Manual Lymphatic Drainage
Fight Seasonal Allergies
with Manual Lymphatic Drainage
It’s not the right time of year to feel like this – my eyes red and itchy and my nose constantly dripping. For days I wonder why I’m walking around in a fog. Then I check the pollen count and realize the weeds that love to grow towards the end of the summer and into autumn are making my seasonal allergies flare up.
With a sigh of relief that it’s nothing worse, I turn to my usual allergy-fighting routine. I wash my face whenever my eyes burn, take daily medication, use a neti pot when it’s at its worst – and perform a daily facial manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) routine. One of the main responsibilities of the lymphatic system is to boost our immune system, and in turn it reduces our allergic reaction to outside matter. The facial routine is easy to learn and just takes a few minutes to do on yourself each day, and from personal experience I can tell you it helps me instantly.
First, it’s helpful to know a little about one of the least heard of but most important systems in the human body: the lymphatic system. It is part of the immune system and helps us fight against illness. It cleans the fluid in our body by sending the waste out via the liver and kidneys and returning the clean fluid to the cardiovascular system. It aids with recovery post-surgery, during an injury, and even after a hard workout at the gym. Without our lymphatic system, the fog you feel you live in during an allergic reaction most likely would be your everyday existence.
A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia [Internet]. Johns Creek (GA): Ebix, Inc., A.D.A.M.; c1997-2020. Lymphatic System; [updated 2023 May 19]; [about 1 p.]. Available from: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/1104.htm
This system is made up of organs, vessels, nodes, and fluid, and runs throughout the entire body. The fluid travels through the vessels to pockets of nodes from the feet to the head, ending just above the collar bone where it returns the clean fluid to the veins.
A master at healing the body, the lymphatic system is just missing one crucial piece: a pump. Think of the better-known cardiovascular system that is set up similarly. The fluid, our blood, travels through the veins to the heart which pumps it back through the body. Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system has no pump of its own to move the fluid. Instead, the movement comes from muscle movement, breathing, and smooth muscle tissue within the vessels. When the fluid gets stuck, which can happen after a major surgery or a simple workout, the system needs external help to get things moving again.
That’s where MLD comes into the picture! Whether it is during a session in my studio or performing the technique on yourself at home, we are manually helping to move the fluid along and in turn boosting the entire system. Specifically with facial self-MLD for seasonal allergies, we are draining the sinuses as well as boosting the immune system. The relief will not cure you, nor will it stay forever. Even so, if you feel as I do, even a few days of relief is worth five minutes of self-massage.
The Rules of MLD:
Facial MLD is simple to perform at home because it is a routine with fundamental rules to follow. Always have as much skin to skin touch as possible.
- The touch itself is as light as possible while keeping contact. Vessels and nodes are directly under the skin in the fascia. Deeper pressure squishes the system instead of aiding it.
- Each stroke lasts about one second long.
- Stretch the skin in the direction described, then let the skin rebound on its own. Do not slide, glide, or move your hand further than the skin below it stretches.
- Repeat each stroke five times.
- Move the fluid toward the nodes. For facial MLD, it moves from the midline of the face toward the corner of the jaw, down the neck, ending at the supraclavicular nodes (the soft spot above the collar bone).
- Go back and repeat in any “trouble” areas for as many strokes as you like.
- End by moving the fluid down the neck and into the supraclavicular nodes.
Find a comfortable seat,
and let’s get to the routine!
- Start with three deep belly breaths. Push your belly out as far as possible with your breath. This initiates the deep lymph nodes in the abdomen, which play a big part in every aspect of the lymphatic system.
- Clear the supraclavicular nodes. Cross your hands at the wrist with fingers facing your neck. Find your collar bone; then find the soft spot just above it as close to the midline as possible. This is where the nodes live.With 2-3 fingers, stretch the skin toward the midline then down toward the collar bone. Don’t forget to follow the fundamental rules above!
- Clear the vessels on the sides of the neck. Find the meaty sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) that travels from behind your ear to the medial part of the clavicle. With your hands still crossed, place as many fingers as possible at the top of the muscle. Stretch the skin slightly back and mostly down. Move your hands down the neck and repeat, continuing down your neck until you return to the supraclavicular nodes. Clear the nodes again. This is considered the “short neck” routine, and will be repeated often during the full facial routine.
- Clear the jaw line. Place your fingers face up on the soft skin under your chin. Stretch the skin towards the corner of the jaw bone. Move your fingers to the jaw bone itself, starting in the middle, and stretch the skin towards the corner of the jaw bone. Move slightly laterally and repeat. Continue to move laterally and repeat until your fingers reach the corner of the jaw bone. Repeat the short neck routine.
- Clear the lower facial vessels. Moving onto your face, start with your fingers on your chin, touching in the middle. Stretch the skin towards the corner of the jaw bone. Move your fingers laterally on the chin and repeat. Next, place your fingertips between your upper lip and nose, touching in the middle. Stretch the skin towards the corner of the jaw bone. Move your hands slightly laterally onto the cheeks and stretch the skin towards the corner of the jaw bone. Continue to move laterally and repeat until your fingers reach the jaw bone. Repeat the clearing of the jaw line; repeat the short neck routine.
- Clear the nose vessels. Make a tent with your fingers and cover your entire nose. Stretch the skin towards the cheeks.
- Clear the cheek vessels. Move your fingers onto your cheeks, as close as possible to your nose. Stretch the skin toward the corner of the jaw bone. Continue to move laterally and repeat until you reach the jaw bone. Repeat the short neck routine.
- Clear the preauricular (temple) nodes. Place your hands flat on your temples and stretch the skin toward the corner of the jaw bone.
- Clear the eye vessels. Close your eyes and look up. Place your fingertips under your eyes and stretch the skin laterally. Only do this next step if you are not wearing contacts. Move your fingertips to your eyelids and stretch the skin laterally. Move your fingertips to your eyebrows and stretch the skin laterally. Repeat the clearing of the preauricular nodes; repeat the short neck routine.
- Clear the upper face vessels. Place your palms on your forehead, touching in the middle. Stretch the skin toward your temples. Continue to move your palms laterally and repeat until you reach your temples. Clear the preauricular nodes; repeat the short neck routine.
- Repeat any “trouble” areas. With seasonal allergy symptoms, the “trouble” areas are usually the nose, eyes, and sinuses around the cheeks. Repeat these areas at least three times, or more if you’d like. Don’t forget to clear the nodes along with the vessels, ending with the short neck routine.
- Finish with three deep belly breaths. Push your belly out as far as possible with your breath, similar to how we began the routine.
Attempt to commit to this routine daily, as well as whenever you feel a surge of seasonal allergy symptoms. It may seem like a lot of steps, but it only takes five minutes to perform and it will keep your lymphatic system running at its best. When working efficiently, this system protects from illness, detoxifies bodily fluids, aids in recovery, and basically keeps you healthy. Manual lymphatic drainage, either performed by a professional therapist or yourself at home, is a subtle massage therapy technique that boosts the efficiency of the lymphatic system. Sometimes the most subtle techniques provide the best results – proof in point will be that first easy breath you take through your nose at the end of this routine!
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