child

[Guest guest]

I think this is terrible and you should definitely discuss it. I think

generally the Chinese-at least from what I have seen in China-seem to be

" tougher " than we are, and I have seen many young children that were needled

there and

just shed a few tears at times and the parents looked absolutely not worried.

But you have to keep the cultural differences in mind, and if real pain is

an issue this is not acceptable. There are other methods such as laser, moxa

etc that can and ought to be applied.

 

Best Regards,

Andrea Hehlmann

www.hehlis-holistics.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

When I was a student at the Oakland school one student

brought in a friend for treatment who initially hated the

treatment because the teacher's technique was quite painful.

The patient did not want to return but the student her

friend, re-assured her it would be beneficial and she would

talk to the doctor. The student discussed this very

carefully with the teacher and the patient returned. The

teacher said, " Yes, Yes " and BAM. the patient started

screaming, jumped off the table, still screaming all the way

out the door.

 

When I did a short internship in the #1 Teaching Hospital in

Tianjin, China, in the stroke ward, every patient politely

told me my acupuncture was not effectively - even though it

was positive I was on the exact points. It took me almost

one week before I got the " zing " my fellow acupuncturists

did and then with that zing, every patient smiled and said

my acupuncture was good! I had the same experience with my

in-laws (who are mainland Chinese)

 

Many patients only need a touch or less like Reiki

(especially in Santa Cruz) . I don't think you can separate

the Physician, from the technique, from the patient.

 

Know your audience. As physicians we are part of the

process - but only a small part, and we should know where

the stage exit is.

Acupuncture is a jab well done

 

Ed Kasper LAc. Santa Cruz, CA.

[Guest guest]

When I was in school, a group of fellow students spent a semester in China,

working

in a clinic that specialized in treating children with cerebral palsy. They did

a

presentation when they returned, including showing us a film of acupuncture

treatments with these children. Like your experience, what we saw was

horrifying;

children absolutely outright screaming in pain from the treatments. My fellow

students advised us ahead of time that the film was not for the squeamish, and

that

the treatments were quite effective over time. It was gruesome to watch, but in

light of the effectiveness of the treatments, I cannot say what is more cruel -

a

painful cure, or the " no pain, no gain " approach. Personally, I don't believe I

could administer that kind of treatment. Neither can I advise you whether this

falls under the realm of medical abuse. Certainly, discuss your discomforts

with

the practitioner you work with, and get the other side of the story. And please

share what you learn with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I wouldnt say the Chinese are " tougher " they just have different

cultural expectations. It is considered normal for acupuncture to

hurt, just like if we took our kids to a doctor in the west for

vaccinations or to have a wound stitched up. You hold them down and

they scream, but we percieve it as necessary, so we just do it.

I saw some doozies of a tantrum in the paediatric department in

China, especially from the kids who were a little older and knew

what was coming. You could tell the kids who had si feng or ba gua

needled as they would ball up their hands into the tightest fists

you'd ever seen before they even got through the door. One kid had

to be repeatedly dragged in screaming as he kept trying to do a

runner, then after the needling he didnt want to leave as

he " ...wanted revenge on the doctor. "

I guess the real questions are: Do you think that the acupuncture is

going to fix the problem? and How bad is the problem to start with?

Perhaps you need to examine your own beliefs, as perhaps you have

some doubts as to the efficacy of the treatment, which would make a

certain amount of hesitancy understandable.

On the other hand, if this Doctor is from China and is now working

in the West, he could probably afford to ameliorate his needling

style without losing any efficacy. Western patients have different

cultural expectations, and are sometimes thought to respond better

to acupuncture than the Chinese anyway, so he neednt be too rough.

Also, if the parent or guardian felt that it was necessary and was

prepared to hold the kid down whilst they recieved treatment, then

thats half the battle won, right there.

Oh, and from my own experience with my kids recieving Chinese or

Western medicine treatment, theres really no difference between the

trauma experienced by the kid who hates to take a herbal gao or

liquid paracetamol or antibiotics or get acupuncture or whatever. In

all instances they are going to scream and need to be held down if

that is what the kid is like. My three year old boy needed a pre-med

and a general anaesthetic to get dental work done, and even with a

pre-med he was still kicking and fighting all the way to the table.

He does the same thing if he needs herbal medicine. It has to be

done though, and if its not that necessary then you save everyone

the trauma and dont bother.

Regards, Lea.

 

, drandreahehlmann

wrote:

>

> I think this is terrible and you should definitely discuss it. I

think

> generally the Chinese-at least from what I have seen in China-seem

to be

> " tougher " than we are, and I have seen many young children that

were needled there and

> just shed a few tears at times and the parents looked absolutely

not worried.

> But you have to keep the cultural differences in mind, and if real

pain is

> an issue this is not acceptable. There are other methods such as

laser, moxa

> etc that can and ought to be applied.

>

> Best Regards,

> Andrea Hehlmann

> www.hehlis-holistics.com

>

>

>