Feb 19 (Reuters) - Watery eyes and stuffy noses are seasonal martyrdom for millions of allergy sufferers around the globe, but now a German study finds that some help may come from an unlikely source - acupuncture.

Researchers, publishing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that 71 percent of people reported an improvement in their allergies after eight weeks of acupuncture.

Lead researcher Benno Brinkhaus will be giving a seminar at the Acupuncture Research Resource Centre (ARRC) symposium in London on 2 March (www.arrcsymposium.org.uk)