Patients' Corner

Accupuncture and Oriental Medicine Terrific Treatment for Children

Although we usually think of using acupuncture and Oriental Medicine on adults, it is also an outstanding treatment method for children. Oriental Medicine allows practitioners and parents to work together, using gentle modalities to treat and prevent children's illnesses.

Diagnostic Methods

The classic Chinese Four Diagnostic Methods provide practitioners with a means to reach an Oriental Medical diagnosis, even with children too young to speak. Some information may be provided by the parents, other signs may be observed by the practitioner.

The Four Diagnostic Methods are:

1. Inspections of the facial expression, color of the skin, excretions, tongue body and coating;
2. Listening to the speech, respiration and cough; smelling secretions and breath;
3. Inquiring about chills and fever, perspiration, appetite, thirst, stools and urination, pain and sleep; and
4. Palpation of the pulses and meridians, abdomen, areas of tension and soreness.

Treatment Methods

The insertion of acupuncture needles is not often used on children under the age of seven. Instead, practitioners may use acupressure, moxabustion, herbs and dietary changes. If acupuncture needles are used, they are usually very fine, inserted shallowly and retained for a short time.

Sample Case: Alexander

The following case illustrates the positive and gentle power of moxabustion and dietary advice according to the principles of traditional Chinese medical theory.

Alexander is a 14-month-old. He was brought in by his grandmother who stated he had had recurrent fever and poor appetite for the last three to four weeks and a possible ear infection for the last one to two weeks. His grandmother stated that he seemed weak, his stools were not firm and his sleep was restless. His pediatrician had recently treated the possible ear infection with antibiotics and prescribed Tylenol and Advil to relieve the pain and reduce the fever.

During the first treatment Alexander appeared listless. His eyes were red and swollen and his skin was a pasty color. He had a phlegmy cough and he was pulling at his ears. His pulse was rapid and slippery. He had a blue line across the bridge of his nose, a sign of digestive weakness in Oriental Medical pediatrics. His parents had instructed his grandmother to request that acupuncture needles not be used.

The initial diagnosis was Food Stagnation developing into Spleen Qi Deficiency, which in turn had caused an accumulation of Dampness and Phlegm. Indirect moxabustion was used at Ren 12 and St 36 to tonify the Spleen and Stomach. After 10-15 seconds of treatment Alexander's cheeks turned pink. The grandmother was advised to ask the mother to try feeding him a little less frequently and in smaller portions, while avoiding sugar and sweetened products.

At the time of the second visit, Alexander has seen his pediatrician and been placed on another round of antibiotics, which he was still taking, for his incipient ear infection. His mother had reduced his food intake, especially dairy and sugar products. Alexander's face was still pale but less pasty. His grandmother reported he was less phlegmy and his stools were firmer. There were still circles under his eyes but his sleep had improved. The second treatment utilized indirect moxabustion on Ren 12, Stomach 35 and Spleen 6 to tonify the Spleen and Stomach; Urinary Bladder 13 to dry the Phlegm and Urinary Bladder 23 to tonify the Qi.

At the time of the third treatment a week later, Alexander's eyes were clearer, he was more animated, his skin had more of a pink glow and he seemed more engaged in his surroundings. He had had no reoccurrence of the ear problems. He was sleeping well and his bowel movements were firmer and more regular. The blue line at the bridge of the nose had disappeared. The parents were advised that no further appointments were necessary.

By Christopher Huston, L.Ac., Seattle, WA.

Tea Age Acupuncture - In Europe?

Physiologists Max Moser and Leopold Dorfer at the University of Graz in Austria recently concluded that tattoos on acupuncture points might have served a medical purpose 5,000 years ago. While examining Otzi, the mummified iceman extracted from a glacier in the Alps in 1991, they noticed 15 groups of short, bluish-black tattooed lines on his right knee and left ankle. The tattoos, which were probably made by injecting ash beneath the skin with a bone or wooden needle, closely match the locations of traditional acupuncture points used to treat backache and stomach upsets. X-rays of Otzi's body showed that the middle-aged man had arthritis of the hip joints, knees, ankles and spine. Other analysis also revealed that his intestines were seriously infected with parasites. Since Otzi lived some 2000 years before the oldest generally recognized evidence of acupuncture, this raised questions about the origins of acupuncture. Moser thinks, "At the time when Otzi was around, I'm sure that many shamanistic cultures worldwide might have practiced it. But only the Chinese formalized it and saved it into modern terms." Discover, February 2000, page 16.

BACK TO TOPICS

About Acupuncture - Can It Help Me? - AcuSETSM - Office Information Testimonials - About Mrs. Gaffney - Contact Us - HOME
	VOLUSIA CENTER for COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Debra Pardee Gaffney,  A.P., Ph.D., DCN, C.C.P.A. 339 E. New York Avenue DeLand, FL 32724 (386) 734-4126 or (800) 734-4580 FAX 386-736-7556 www.acudebra.com