Are You Ready to Thrive?

In honor of the upcoming holiday, I'm going to introduce you to a set of herbs that are PERFECT for Halloween!

PS - Before you start looking at the formula that your acupuncturist gave you in horror, these herbs are actually very rarely used and are not likely in your formula.

Scorpion, called Quan Xie (pronounced chooahn she-yeh) in Chinese, is used to treat Liver Wind leading to tremors and convulsions (think epilepsy and stroke).

Centipede, called Wu Gong (pronounced woo gong) in Chinese, is also used to treat Liver Wind leading to tremors and convulsions.

Charred Human Hair, called Xue Yu Tan (pronounced shooeh you tahn) in Chinese, is used to stop bleeding.  It's used in extreme cases of bleeding such as coughing or vomiting blood, nosebleeds that won't stop or blood in the urine.

Dried Human Placenta, called Zi He Che (pronounced zuh huh chuh) in Chinese, is actually one of the more commonly used herbs in this list.  It's often used in cases of Post-Partum Depression!

Flying Squirrel Feces, called Wu Ling Zhi (pronounced woo leeng juh) in Chinese, is used to promote the proper circulation of blood to relieve pain. It's most commonly used in cases of severe menstrual cramps with large clots.

Cicada Moultings, called Chan Tui (pronounce chahn tway) in Chinese, is used to treat skin rashes.  What better to treat itchy skin than something that makes you want to scratch all over just thinking about it?

Okay, I think that's enough for today.  Wouldn't want you all to have nightmares!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

I've heard a LOT of hilarious puns poking fun at (ha ha, get it?) acupuncture.  Sometimes they're said to me directly, but lately I've actually had people write some in the "memo" line of their checks!  I love finding these "presents" and thought I would share some with all of you today!

Some that have been written on checks:

• Hokey Pokey
• Aeration
• Holy Holes
• Poking fun
• Slow poke

Some that have been told to me in other ways:

• "Have fun playing Poker this afternoon!"
• "Have fun playing Pokey-mon!"

Have you heard any others? Can you put this list to shame? Please share any more puns that you can come up with in the comments!

We all dread the upcoming season. Not fall.  Nope, not autumn.  Not even winter.  I'm talking about cold and flu season, here.

In Chinese medicine, the theory is that colds and flus are caused by pathogens that get into our bodies through our skin.  So you know when your mom told you not to go outside without a jacket?  Yeah... she was right!

So what are these "pathogens?"  The main invading force is the wind.  Ancient Chinese blamed the comings and goings of colds and flus on the wind.  Much like the wind is there gusting at us one second and the next it's gone, so are colds and flus. (Okay, so maybe not as quickly as seconds, but you get my point!)

Wind will then usually combine with another pathogen inside our bodies.  Here we have several options, and these tend to differ from person to person depending on how their individual bodies react to the pathogen.  These pathogens are:

• Heat
• Cold
• Phlegm
• Phlegm-Heat

If someone is experiencing a wind-heat invasion, they will have sore throat, yellowish nasal discharge, body aches and sweating.

A wind-cold invasion will tend to present with a thin, watery nasal discharge and body aches.

Wind-phlegm will be a lot like a wind-cold invasion except that the mucous will be much more profuse and thicker.

Wind-Phlegm-Heat will often present like a sinus infection with thick, profuse and yellow or even green nasal discharge.

So how does one treat a wind invasion?  This depends some on the type of invasion that you're experiencing, as is always the case in Chinese medicine, but the main thing is to get the wind out of your body.  When using acupuncture or Chinese herbs, this is often done through promoting sweating.  Remember how the ancient Chinese thought that pathogens get into our bodies through our skin?  It was believed that these pathogens made their way in through our pores, and then got trapped and made us sick when our pores that had been open to allow the pathogen in then closed.  The logical trick is then to promote sweating so that our pores will open and force the pathogen back out.  Ever wonder why a hot bath or a sit in a hot tub often makes you feel better when you're sick? Yup! You're sweating out the bad stuff!

So the next time you think you might be getting sick, see your acupuncturist and herbalist to get the right herbal prescription for getting the sick out!  Also drink plenty of nice warm fluids and consider taking a bath or two.  Your body will appreciate the help in fighting the wind!

One of the most common complaints that I see in my practice is that of pain.  It could be acute pain (I fell off my bike last week and sprained my shoulder), or chronic pain (I've had arthritis in my hands for years now and I'm fed up).  There have been lots and LOTS of studies (do a search for "acupuncture" and "pain" on Medline and see what I mean! ) showing the efficacy of acupuncture in treating pain, so it's very common for people to think of acupuncture when they think of managing their pain.

Pain, in Chinese medicine, is due to a blockage to the regular flow of Qi.  Imagine your body as a series of freeways with the cars travelling along these freeways smoothly.  The freeways are the pathways through which Qi flows, called meridians.  The cars are the Qi itself.  Now, imagine that there is an accident on the freeway and traffic is getting backed up and it's not moving how it's supposed to.  The site of the accident is like the site of pain.  A bottleneck is created and the cars (or the Qi) can't move through the area correctly, wreaking havoc on traffic, or your body.

In Chinese medicine we use acupuncture and herbs to clear that traffic jam out of the way so that proper flow can be restored to the area.  In the case of acute pain, it may only take a few treatments for the proper flow of Qi to continue.  In the case of chronic pain it may take longer.  Why is this?  Well, chronic pain is quite a bit more complex.  This type of pain often has one or more underlying issues that need to be addressed in order for the body to be able to keep proper Qi and blood flow to the area.  For example, arthritis may have developed from an old injury, or it may be genetic, or it could be that the person has spent their life not eating properly, staying stress-free and exercising.  If these issues aren't addressed, then proper flow may be restored temporarily, but will often reduce again because of the health issues that allowed improper flow in the first place.

Needles used in pain management may be placed at the site of pain, but they may also be placed far away from the site, depending on the style of acupuncture that your practitioner uses.

Chinese herbs are often VERY useful in helping speed the process of healing.  Depending on the nature of your pain, you may be prescribed herbs to take orally short term to speed the healing of an acute injury, you may be given herbs to place on the painful area, or you may be given an herbal formula to take orally to treat issues underlying your pain symptoms (or some combination of the above!).

The most important thing to know is that the quicker you get treatment for pain, the quicker you'll be relieved of that pain.  Pain symptoms that have gone on for years tend to get a larger traffic build-up that just takes longer to clear.