What are the precautions for scraping and cupping?

In folk medicine, many people still recognize the treatment methods of scraping and cupping. As the saying goes, "scraping and cupping can get rid of half of the disease even if it doesn't work", which fully illustrates the good therapeutic effect of scraping and cupping. Scraping and cupping are used for treatment and health care through the theory of meridians in traditional Chinese medicine. They have relatively small side effects for the human body. Moreover, after such treatment, the patient's qi and blood will generally be smoother and their resistance can be significantly enhanced.

Gua Sha is a method of stimulating the meridians using instruments, causing the local skin to become red and congested, thereby having the effects of awakening the mind, rescuing fainting, detoxifying and removing evil, clearing away heat and relieving exterior symptoms, promoting qi circulation and relieving pain, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. Gua Sha has the functions of preventing, maintaining health and treating some diseases. It is not advisable to scrape the same area again before the sha spots on the area from the previous scraping treatment have disappeared. The next scraping session should be done 3-6 days apart, until the sha on the skin disappears. Generally, you can take a shower half an hour after scraping.

When cupping, the indoor air should be kept fresh, avoid direct blowing from fans in summer, and keep the indoor air warm in winter to avoid cold. Pay attention to cleaning and disinfection. Both the hands of the practitioner and the cupping area of ​​the patient should be clean or disinfected regularly, and the cupping equipment must be disinfected regularly. Cupping can cause small blisters and bleeding spots on the skin. If there are no local bruises, or if there is flushing but it disappears immediately after the cup is removed, it means that the pathogenic factor is still mild, the condition is not serious, or the disease is close to recovery.

Another thing that everyone needs to pay special attention to is that the room temperature must be kept above 20 degrees Celsius during scraping and cupping. This can ensure that we will not catch a cold and our body will not be harmed by the cold wind. During the treatment, the patient must avoid spicy and irritating foods and raw and cold foods. In addition, the choice of essential oils for scraping must be appropriate and determined according to personal constitution.