Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Benefits of Bloodletting

Leave behind what you think about vampires, or barbaric medicine from the 18th century. In this video my Chinese Medicine Practitioner friend talks about bloodletting on th E! channel documentary Radical Hollywood Cures.

In reality bloodletting techniques that I perform are the removal of drops -not pints - of blood. No more than what can be dabbed in a few cotton balls. This is not some True Blood fantasy come to life. One of the primary indications for blood letting is blood stagnation characterized according to Chinese Medicine theory by sharp and stabbing localized or fixed pain.

Interesting Case: Stage 4 endometriosis patient with severe pain that she reports as excruciating during her period. She cannot work for a day or two every month and frequently she is taking Vikodin. The diagnosis is blood stagnation. She reports getting fantastic relief from removing stagnant blood from minor varicose veins around her knee. It is not something that she has to wait to feel. As soon as the blood comes out she gets instantaneous relief.