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People that suffer from hay fever may find some relief with acupuncture, according to a new study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers had more 422 allergy sufferers undergo either: acupuncture with access to allergy medication, a sham acupuncture procedure with access to medication, or medication only. On average, they found the those who were given real acupuncture reported greater symptom improvements and were able to use less antihistamine medication over eight weeks. 

The advantage, however, was gone after another eight weeks but lead researcher Dr. Benno Brinkhaus, of Charite-University Medical Center in Berlin said that doesn't necessarily mean that acupuncture's benefits fade.

Hay fever symptoms were much better in all three study groups by week 16, and Brinkhaus said that's probably because pollen season was dying down at that point.

The study was well done and "positive," because acupuncture seemed helpful, said Dr. Harold Nelson, an allergist at National Jewish Health, a Denver hospital that specializes in respiratory diseases.