Search
Related Links

 

 

Informative Articles

How does Allegra (for Allergy Treatment) compare with other brands?
According to its manufacturer (Sanofi Aventis) one dose of Allegra 180 mg can relieve the seasonal allergy symptoms up to four times longer than one dose of most over-the-counter allergy medicines (based on label directions). For more...

Is Your Health Optimal?
Is Your Focus on Disease, or Wellness? Both Western and Chinese medicine could be accused of focusing too much on disease treatment, rather than wellness. Practitioners from both medicines are taught to be problem-solvers and disease-curers...

Tanning Beds and Its Dangers
It is safer to have a golden tan using commercial tanning beds. Just ask the more than one million Americans visiting tanning salons each day, bronzing their skins with these beds. Or is it? More and more research studies have shown that while...

The Importance of Eating Breakfast
I am Dr Patrick Flanagan, and this is the latest edition of my Dr Health Secrets newsletter. I am a scientist with over 300 inventions related to health, longevity and medicine. This newsletter installment is about the importance of eating...

Top 10 Ways Chinese Medicine Can Help You, Part 2
#6 It's Interactive Chinese Medicine students learn about how every aspect of our lives (from bowel movements to emotions) relate to one another. We learn to relate to every kind of person. Patients Can Push Your Buttons Patients sometimes push...

 
Moxibustion works well with Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical technique for unblocking qi (the energy that allegedly permeates all things) by inserting disposable needles at particular points on the body to balance the opposing forces of yin and yang.

When yin and yang are in harmony, qi flows freely within the body and a person is healthy. When a person is sick, diseased, or injured, there is an obstruction of qi along one of the meridians. Traditional Chinese Medicine has identified some 2,000 specific points where needles are to be inserted for specific effects.

What does acupuncture feel like? Do the needles hurt?

People experience acupuncture differently, but most feel minimal or no pain as the needles are inserted. Some people are energized by treatment, while others feel relaxed.

What is moxibustion?

Moxibustion, or moxa for short, is an ancient form of heat therapy. Moxa uses the ground up leaves of the plant mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris or ai ye in Chinese). The burning of moxa is believed to expel cold and warm the meridians, which leads to a smoother flow of blood and qi.

How does moxibustion work? Does it hurt?

There are two types of moxibustion -- direct and indirect.

In direct moxibustion, a small, cone-shaped amount of herb is placed on top of an acupuncture point and burned. The patient will experience a pleasant heating sensation that penetrates deep into the skin, but should not experience any pain, blistering or scarring unless the moxa is


left in place for too long.

Indirect moxibustion is currently the more popular form of care because there is a much lower risk of pain or burning. In indirect moxibustion, a practitioner lights one end of a moxa stick, roughly the shape and size of a cigar, and holds it close to the area being treated for several minutes until the area turns red.

Who is moxibustion good for?

It is used specifically for patients suffering from cold or stagnant constitutions. It should not be used on anyone diagnosed with too much heat.

"It is especially good for women who have joint pains, menstrual cramps, irregular periods, and infertility."

How is acupuncture paired with moxibustion?

When the needles are in the body, the smoldering moxa stick is held a couple inches away from the skin, usually around the inserted needles. The practitioner will monitor the heat level, and work with the patient to provide a therapeutic level of heat while maintaining comfort and safety.

This simultaneous use of moxibustion with the acupuncture needle intensifies the therapeutic benefit of the given acupuncture point.

Can anybody practise moxibustion?

Moxibustion is usually taught as part of a qualified acupuncture or Traditional Chinese Medicine degree programme. It takes skill and caution. "It is equivalent to holding a red-hot coal an inch above someone's skin."

About the Author

www.medical-explorer.com

 

National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine offers access to health information for consumer, patient, and physicians ...
www.nlm.nih.gov
 
Health and Medical Information produced by doctors - MedicineNet.com
Doctor-produced health and medical information written for you to make informed decisions about your health concerns.
www.medicinenet.com
 
Medicine in the Yahoo! Directory
Collection of sites for health professionals, with sections on specific disciplines, organizations, continuing education, conferences, publications, ...
dir.yahoo.com
 
MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine
Health information from the National Library of Medicine. Easy access to Medline and Health topics, medical dictionaries, directories and publications.
medlineplus.gov
 
Medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medicine is a branch of health science and the sector of public life ... The practice of medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the ...
en.wikipedia.org
 
Journal Home - Nature Medicine
Nature Medicine has a vacancy for a Locum Assistant Editor for six months. The position involves working in all aspects of the editorial process, ...
www.nature.com
 
The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on ...
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly general medical journal that publishes new medical research findings, review articles, and editorial ...
content.nejm.org
 
eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base
eMedicine features up-to-date, searchable, peer-reviewed medical journals, online physician reference textbooks, and a full-text article database in 62 ...
www.emedicine.com
 
Open Directory - Health: Medicine
the entire directory, only in Health/Medicine. Top: Health: Medicine (11429). Description · Medical Specialties (4888); Surgery (2265) ...
dmoz.org
 
the www virtual library biosciences medicine
www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/wwwvl/ - Similar pages
 
Medicine - home
Bimonthly journal covering the latest results in clinical investigation relevant to hospital and office practice.
www.md-journal.com
 
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health.
www.iom.edu
 
ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News
Medical Research News. Health news on everything from cancer to nutrition. Full-text, images, updated daily.
www.sciencedaily.com
 
Google Directory - Health > Medicine
Search only in Medicine Search the Web. Medicine. Health > Medicine, Go to Directory Home. Categories. Alternative Medicine (6308) Basic Sciences (66) ...
www.google.com
 
the world wide web virtual library biosciences medicine
www.mcb.harvard.edu/biopages/medicine.html - Similar pages
 
PLoS Medicine - A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal
PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal published ... Every issue of PLoS Medicine contains a selection of readers' responses. ...
medicine.plosjournals.org
 
Medicine On-Line - Medicine Online -The International Medical Journal
Medicine Online - independent and peer reviewed journal published by Priory Medical Journals - priory.com.
www.priory.com
 
Entrez PubMed
PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine that includes over 16 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
Stanford University School of Medicine
Home Page of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
med.stanford.edu
 
Medicine OnLine
Meds.com offers medical information and education on cancer (lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, leukemia) and HIV / AIDS for patients, ...
www.meds.com