If you have been told by an allergist that your only option is to avoid the foods that cause your reactions — that there is no treatment, only management — there is something worth knowing about. SAAT (Soliman Auricular Allergy Treatment) is an auricular acupuncture protocol that addresses the immune system’s learned response to allergens at the root, rather than suppressing symptoms or requiring lifetime avoidance. One semi-permanent needle. One session per allergen. Drug-free, minimally invasive, and backed by published clinical research showing long-term remission in the vast majority of patients treated.
Taylor Krafcik, L.Ac. is a certified SAAT practitioner at Vitality Acupuncture & Natural Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. He is one of the few certified SAAT providers in the Richmond metro area — serving patients from Richmond, Chesterfield, Bon Air, Midlothian, Powhatan, Henrico, Short Pump, Glen Allen, and across Central Virginia. For Alpha-Gal patients specifically, he regularly sees patients who travel from across the state given the scarcity of certified SAAT practitioners in the region.
What Is SAAT?
SAAT stands for Soliman Auricular Allergy Treatment — an auricular acupuncture protocol developed by Dr. Nader Soliman, MD, a board-certified anesthesiologist and pioneer in auricular medicine. The protocol identifies a specific zone on the outer ear — the Soliman Allergy Zone (SAZ) — where a semi-permanent intradermal needle is placed to address the immune system’s overreaction to a specific allergen.
The treatment process involves three steps. First, bio-resonance testing identifies the specific allergen being treated and confirms the reactive point on the ear. Second, a tiny 3mm semi-permanent needle is placed at the identified point and secured with medical adhesive tape. Third, the needle remains in place for three weeks, during which time the immune system recalibrates its response to the allergen. At the follow-up visit, the needle is removed, the testing is repeated to confirm resolution, and reintroduction instructions are provided.
The mechanism is neurological. The ear has complex neurological, embryological, and electromagnetic connections to the brain and the broader nervous system. By continuously stimulating the precise point associated with a specific allergen for three weeks, the SAAT protocol appears to retrain the immune system’s threat assessment of that allergen — shifting it from a danger response to a neutral response.
A single session treats one to four allergens simultaneously. For patients with multiple allergies, additional allergens can be addressed in subsequent sessions. The results have been shown to be durable — patients treated for specific allergens continue to tolerate them months and years after treatment without ongoing maintenance.
