cupping and bleeding varicose veins and the external use of E Jiao (donkey-

[Guest guest]

Hello, Yehuda, and greetings to all CHA members,

 

I thought this would be an opportune time to answer one of Yehuda's

questions and introduce myself. I am Danielle Hair, a veritable 'baby'

of TCM practitioners; at 25 years of age, I am a second-year intern at

AOMA (Academy of Oriental medicine in Austin). I must admit, however

sheepishly, that I avoided concentrating on herbs during my first year.

I thought, I'm here for acupuncture... what is this about - herbs? In

just a few months of study, however, I fell in love with internal

medicine because of the body's excellent response to herbs in so many

conditions. I am still working my way through single herbs, so I will be

listening a lot for the next couple of years.

 

In the case of Yehuda's question about cupping & sterilization: I took

the CNT examination just a year ago, and I regularly sterilize cups in

the student clinic. I know that the CNT manual recommends sterilization

via autoclave or a disinfectant bath. An autoclave is not common

equipment for acupuncturists in the US, so many of us, including my

student clinic, use the disinfectant bath. The type of disinfectant and

its concentration in the bath determine its effectiveness, and a 10-20

minute soak is often sufficient. In the case of cupping combined with

bloodletting, my professors have recommended 'double sterilization,' but

I have found that cupping can bring body fluids to the surface without

bloodletting techniques. The possibility of body fluids being present

motivates me to use the same method of sterilization for cups used with

both techniques. For details, I found recommendations for sterilization

from WHO:

 

'A high level of disinfection is achieved when instruments are boiled

for 20

minutes. This is the simplest and most reliable method of inactivating

most

pathogenic microbes, including HIV, when sterilization equipment is not

available. Boiling should be used only when sterilization by steam of

dry heat is

not available. Hepatitis B virus is inactivated by boiling for several

minutes; HIV,

which is very sensitive to heat, is also inactivated by boiling for

several minutes.

However, in order to be sure, boiling should be continued for 20

minutes.

 

Chemical disinfection is used for heat-sensitive equipment that may be

damaged

by high temperatures. Most disinfectants are effective against a limited

range of

microorganisms only and vary in the rate at which they destroy

microorganisms.

Items must be dismantled and fully immersed in the disinfectant. Care

must be

taken to rinse disinfected items with clean water so that they do not

become

recontaminated. Chemical disinfectants are unstable and chemical

breakdown

can occur. They may also be corrosive and irritating to skin. Protective

clothing

may be required. Chemical disinfection is not as reliable as boiling or

sterilization. The agents include:

 

· chlorine-based agents, e.g., bleach

· aqueous solution of 2% glutaraldehyde

· 70% ethyl or isopropyl alcohol.'

http://www.aaom.info/docs/who_edm_trm_99.pdf

<http://www.aaom.info/docs/who_edm_trm_99.pdf>

 

Unfortunately, this information is from a acupuncture safety procedures

manual that WHO wrote in 1996; I haven't been able to locate an updated

version. Yehuda, thanks for giving me the opportunity to explore some of

my own questions about sterilization. I also think that it is a wise

choice to use separate cupping sets, especially if you're not confident

about the effectiveness of a disinfectant bath. The more comfortable you

feel, the better your treatments will be.

 

Danielle R. Hair

'Future L.Ac.'

 

, yehuda frischman

< wrote:

>

> Dear friends, colleagues and teachers,

>

> I have 2 patients that I have been treating for varicose veins of

different etiologies, a husband and wife team, both in their early 60s,

his primary problem is type 2 diabetes with a primary diagnosis of Kd

and Sp Qi Xu, and with accompanying peripheral neuropathy (which BTW has

responded beautifully to herbs, acupuncture and CST). Her pattern is

blood xu and damp heat in the LJ causing blood stasis (she originally

had a slippery, thready and choppy pulse, primarily in the Kd yang

pulse, which is now just slippery and thready).

>

> Here are my two questions: First, I am considering doing bleeding

and cupping on them, but I am REALLY concerned with the possibility of

infection from the cups. I am also considering the possibility of using

only one set of cups per patient, to prevent cross infection.

Forgetting about prions (which of course are a concern) how can you

properly sterilize glass or plastic cups? It just seems to me to be

unduly dangerous, despite the fact that in school there never was any

concern. So by getting an individual set of cups per patient, it seems

to be a reasonable way to go.

>

> Second, in Chen and Chen, under E Jiao, he lists in the section on

Clinical studies and research:

>

> " Chronic ulceration of the legs: It was reported in one study of 24

patients that chronic ulcerations of the legs recovered completely form

topical treatment with E Jiao cream for 20 days. The cream was prepared

by mixing 30 grams of E Jiao in 70 ml of water and cooked until the

preparation turned into paste. The daily protocol was to cleanse the

affected area, apply the cream, then cover the area with gauze. The

procedure was repeated daily until complete recovery was achieved. "

Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi (Journal of integrated Chinese and Western

medicine) 1987;4:241.

>

> Has anyone heard of using E Jiao topically to specifically treat

varicosities or generally as a skin cream, for one to " have skin as soft

as a donkey! " (when treating blood Xu, specifically).

>

>

>

> http://traditionaljewishmedicine.com/

>

>

>

> Be a PS3 game guru.

> Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at

Games.

>

>