Subject: Re: Re: Blood at Acupuncture points

From: Bill Upton-Knittle <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 95 00:22 PST

> it is often
> therapeutic for some blood to be let out of many of the points.  So, don't
> worry too much. Unless you begin to feel light-headed, or faint.
> Greg Lane,L.Ac.

Whaaa???? This went out with leeches. Can you cite any accepted TCM
manual or allopathic medicine manual to back up this claim?

   Bill Knittle

[ Virtually *every* TCM text discusses bleeding points for therapeutic
effect. This has been, and is, a part of Chinese medicine for quite 
some time. The technique involved, however, is quite different than
old Western ideas of bleeding. Leeches and other European bleeding
techniques were used to remove relatively large quanities of blood 
on the theory that the patient was suffering from an oversupply.

TCM bleeding involves pricking a point to draw a drop or two, not
unlike the finger-prick blood tests we are all familiar with. This 
is used primarily in emergency medicine, though it has other clinical 
applications as well, for fever, pain, mania, heart problems, high 
blood pressure, certain types of arthritis and many other indications. 
In TCM terms, the primary patterns are heat and stagnation.

I personally have seen, and experienced, the efficacy of pricking 
points on the fingers to lower very high fevers and reduce very 
sore throats. I can't say that I minded losing a drop or two of 
blood, either, in exchange for a lower body temperature and much 
quieter thoughts. 

BTW, leeches are back in Western medicine.

Norm (OrMed Moderator) ]

---

From: Jerry B <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 11:31:54 +0800 (HKT)

> In TCM terms, the primary patterns are heat and stagnation.
With patients that have had chronic eczema, sometimes there is a single 
callused area that is much slower to resolve (I've seen primarily on back 
of hand and top of foot due to years of scratching). Remarkable results 
have been obtained by using the seven star hammer followed by cupping. 
First lightly strike the callused area to break the skin and let minute 
drops of blood then apply cups which will draw a small amount of blood 
within the cup. I have never had to repeat the procedure more than two 
times and the skin quickly becomes baby fresh. The patients don't 
complain and have encouraged me to apply this to other stubborn 
unresolved areas. Yes I do treat their constitution but some long 
standing spots don't seemed to budge until this technique is applied.
  
For now 
Jerry Boyle