By Patrick Mahaney, VMD
Has your dog or cat shown an appreciative or relaxed response upon being gently stroked on his head or back? Has he seemed stimulated by or gotten upset when his paws or dewclaws are touched? If the answer is yes, you may want to consider the ancient practice of acupuncture for your pet.
Cold sores are the term used to refer to a skin condition that is caused by the Herpes Simplex virus. There are two kinds of this virus, namely the herpes simplex type 1 and herpes simplex type 2. Of these two types, the type 1 is found to reoccur more often than type 2.
Another aspect of the disease besides the types is that these viruses can affect any body part in an individual, but most often, the body parts affected by cold sores are the lips, the face and the genitals. Acupuncture for cold sores is one of the modes of treating the condition.
The facial cold sores that appear on the face are preferred to as fever blisters, facial herpes, or herpes labials. The area/ body part affected by the virus develop blisters and the region around the affected part becomes red, swollen and is sore. The sores/ cold sores are very itchy and inflamed and become very painful very quick.
Acupuncture, the traditional Chinese form of healing/ treatment can be used to cure cold sores or in the least provide relief from the irritation and pain that comes along. Here are a few tips that will help when treating cold sore with the technique of acupuncture:
Puss is an 8 year old, male, desexed Domestic Shorthair, who after a bout of Cat Flu had chronic epiphora and blepherospasm in his right eye for several months before his owner brought him in to see if his condition could be treated. Flurescein staining indicated that the tear duct was blocked.
Inserting needles into acupuncture points around the eye in a non- anaesthetised cat or dog can be tricky.
Puss was not the friendliest cat, but he was not aggressive and as he was going to need a series of treatments, a weekly anaesthesia was not a good option. So I decided to try and see whether he would tolerate having needles inserted around his eye.
The point in the middle of his head (GV26) was inserted first and left for 5 minutes. This point has a calming effect on most animals. After 5 minutes the other needles were inserted in LI 4 as a distal point and then the points around the eye (BL 1, BL 2, ST 1, GB 1).
The first picture (top right) taken immediately after the needles were inserted shows Puss with a grumpy look, in the second one taken 10 minutes later (below), he is more relaxed.
Puss was treated weekly for 6 weeks. After the first treatment the blepherospasm eye remained dry for 2 days before the clear, watery discharge returned. This interval increased with each treatment.
It has now been 5 years since Puss was last treated and his eye has remained open and dry.
I often find with cats that the first treatment is the hardest. They love the endorphin release they experience which is part of acupuncture. Keeping them calm initially and keeping needles to a minimum does the trick. Once they have experienced the endorphin release, they seem to make the association and then the subsequent treatments are much easier.
Veterinary Acupuncture is an expanding field with more veterinarians taking up an intense 18 month post graduate training program with weekly online lectures and three practical face to face hands on workshops throughout the course, to qualify for the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) Certification in Veterinary Acupuncture. This course is presented by the Australian College of Veterinary Acupuncture as the Trustee for the ACVA Foundation which is a non-profit organisation that was established to promote veterinary acupuncture education and research within Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The mission of the College is to educate veterinarians in the clinical application of acupuncture using scientific and traditional acupuncture theories and to promote veterinary acupuncture research.
This post was originally published in November 2015
Dr Ulrike Wurth B.V.Sc., Dip Acup, CVA (IVAS) graduated from Melbourne University in 1972, she started her own practice in Highton Geelong in 1979. In July 2010 she sold the practice and currently works part time treating patients with acupuncture and Chinese Herbs.
Ulrike’s first exposure to acupuncture was in 1982 for a cat with a paralysed bladder and amazed by the result, she commenced a part time human acupuncture course in 1984, graduating with a Diploma of (Human) Acupuncture in 1986. In 1991 together with Drs Chris Robinson, Carl Muller and Ian Robertson, she helped organised the first Australian IVAS Course and has continued to lecture at each subsequent course.
Ulrike is currently the Executive Director of Australian College of Veterinary Acupuncture Ltd, a not for profit company that aims to teach acupuncture to veterinary graduates, provide continuing education for IVAS graduates and promote much needed veterinary acupuncture research. She is also passionate about increasing the awareness of other veterinarians and the public of the benefits of acupuncture
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By Diana Waldhuber
Acupuncture for your cat? It’s not as strange as it might sound at first, especially if you’ve had no experience with the treatment. And no, kitty will not look like it is part of a Dr. Frankenstein experiment.
The ancient Chinese treatment arose from the belief we all have energy cycles that move through our bodies and keep us healthy. When one of the energy points becomes blocked, the person, or animal, would become ill or diseased. Unblocking the energy point through the act of inserting needles at these pressure points is the way to free the energy and thus heal.
Interestingly, the ancient Chinese also believed this technique would work on cats. Our furry feline friends have similar energy points on their bodies to people, so a skilled veterinary acupuncturist (TCM) is able to treat your cat properly.
If you’ve been the kind of big scaredy cat (no pun intended) who’s always kept far away from people wielding long thin needles, you might want to take a deep breath and think again.
Acupuncture is safe and painless for both you and your cat (getting your eyebrows waxed hurts way more!). The needles, when inserted properly (the reason you go to a real acupuncturist), don’t send any pain signals to the brain. In fact, most kitties will relax during the procedure, and lots take catnaps.
While this is not an overnight remedy, you will see changes in your pet. Kitty may be more alert, social, relaxed, and moving about like its old self in as little as one or two sessions. For chronic conditions, your kitty may have to have sessions for the rest of its life to keep the pain and discomfort down.
Depending on the ailment, you may want to use the therapy in conjunction with traditional medical treatment, as a backup, or simply as an alternative. It can be used to help cats with almost any disorder, including chronic pain, arthritis, asthma, allergies, and even kidney and liver problems. Acupuncture has also been found to ease the side effects of cancer treatments, too.
Treatments can last anywhere from less than a minute to thirty minutes. And of course, you are allowed to be there with your pet throughout the whole procedure. There are a few different methods a veterinary acupuncturist may use. The traditional use of needles that are rotated by hand is the one most people know, but some therapists may use lasers with injections of sterile fluids, or even use short bursts of an electrical current to stimulate the area. The kind of acupuncture your kitty receives will depend on the therapist.
Now that you know a little more about acupuncture, it might be something to discuss with your veterinarian at the next visit.
Image: pathwithpaws / via Flickr
Finding yourself with a bathroom full of failed cleansers, spot treatments, and moisturizers that all claimed to clear your face of adult acne? According to over 30 years of research, it’s time to come over to the alternative side of medicine. When it comes to acne, acupuncture is where it’s at.
A systematic review of 43 trials in English and Chinese language studies found acupoint stimulation—a blanket term which includes acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, acupoint injection, and acupoint catgut embedding treatment—to be an effective, side effect-free treatment for acne. Some of the individual therapies, like cupping, were even found to be significantly better than pharmaceutical medications at curing (yes, curing) patients of their breakouts, says the research published in Medical Acupuncture.
Acupuncture is the insertion of hair-thin sterile needles into the skin and is a typically painless way to signal the brain to make changes within the body. And while it may be news to you, acupuncture as a form of medicine has been getting results for over 2000 years, says Mary Sabo, L.Ac., acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, and assistant clinic director at The YinOva Center in New York City. Undergoing acupuncture therapy for acne often includes dietary changes and taking Chinese herbs and supplements along with weekly acupuncture appointments—far more involved than taking a pill or applying a cream.
But Sabo says the benefits of acupuncture extend beyond a patient’s pimples, and usually long after treatment has discontinued. “Regular acne creams are just suppressing the manifestation of underlying imbalance in the body,” along with causing unwanted side effects like irritation, dry skin, and even increased risk of birth defects, says Sabo. The needles are applied to points that send signals to strengthen (as in digestion or immunity), reduce (inflammation, known as heat) and move stagnant energy. “Treatments with acupuncture work to make the whole body healthier, and in the process resolve the acne from the inside out—which is why many of my patients also see improvement in their digestion, sleep, stress levels, and energy.”
The findings also showed acupuncture was even more effective at increasing the number of cured patients when combined with herbal medicine. In Sabo’s mind, it makes perfect sense: “I think of acupuncture as communicating with the body, while herbal medicine provides the building blocks to help the body make those changes,” she says. “Combining the two makes healing happen faster.”
More from Prevention:
Acupuncture doubles the fertility rate of women with infertility due to hyperprolactinemia. The condition involves excess production of the hormone prolactin.
Indications include infertility, breast milk secretion, amenorrhea, and low sex drive. The researchers discovered that treatment with the drug bromocriptine resulted in a 20% pregnancy rate. When acupuncture was added to the treatment regimen, the fertility rate increased to 43.3%.
Acupuncture demonstrated several other benefits. Acupuncture shortened the period of time needed to lower levels of prolactin. Acupuncture also helped to regulate estrogen, progestin, and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. In addition, acupuncture reduced the side effects caused by bromocriptine intake.
Bromocriptine is used for the treatment of hyperprolactinemia, acromegaly, and Parkinson’s disease. It is an ergot alkaloid that blocks prolactin release from the pituitary gland. Side effects include dizziness, nausea, confusion, hallucinations, and uncontrolled bodily movements. The researchers discovered that acupuncture increases the positive patient outcomes associated with bromocriptine intake while mitigating its adverse effects.
Researchers from the Hunan Mawangdui Hospital compared bromocriptine intake with an integrated approach to care involving acupuncture combined with bromocriptine intake. A total of sixty patients were randomized into the drug group and the drug combined with acupuncture group. Bromocriptine was administered at 1.25 mg, twice per day after meals. After the eighth day, the dosage was increased to 2.5 mg.
Acupuncture was administered starting on the eighth day after menstruation. The primary acupoints were:
CV6, Qihai
CV4, Guanyuan
ST36, Zusanli
SP6, Sanyinjiao
LV3, Taichong
KD3, Taixi
LV5, Ligou
Needle retention time was 30 minutes. Acupuncture was administered once per day and ten treatments comprised one course of care. For each menstrual cycle, one course of acupuncture care was administered.
The drug only group had 19 patients reporting adverse effects to the medication intake. The acupuncture combined with drug group had 7 patients reporting adverse effects to the medication. The researchers concluded that acupuncture reduces the instances of adverse effects due to bromocriptine intake.
The pregnancy rate increase was significant. Women taking bromocriptine had a 20% pregnancy rate. Women receiving the integrative model of care using both bromocriptine and acupuncture had a 43.3% pregnancy rate. The researchers concluded that acupuncture enhances the efficacy of bromocriptine therapy.
In related research, acupuncture increases live birth rates for women receiving IVF, in vitro fertilization. The research team consisted of members from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (Portland), Northwest Center for Reproductive Sciences (Kirkland, Washington), and the University of Washington (Seattle). The researchers discovered that live birth rates increase significantly for women using donor egg IVF when acupuncture is added to the treatment regimen.
Cupping is one of the oldest methods of traditional Chinese medicine. The earliest recorded use of cupping dates to the early fourth century, when the noted herbalist Ge Hong wrote about a form of cupping in A Handbook of Prescriptions. Later books written during the Tang and Qing dynasties described cupping in great detail; one textbook included an entire chapter on “fire jar qi”, a type of cupping that could alleviate headaches, dizziness and abdominal pain.
Originally, practitioners would use hollowed-out animal horns for cups, and place them over particular points or meridians. Today, most acupuncturists use cups made of thick glass or plastic, although bamboo, iron and pottery cups are still used in other countries. Glass cups are the preferred method of delivery, because they do not break as easily as pottery or deteriorate like bamboo, and they allow the acupuncturist to see the skin and evaluate the effects of treatment.
Cupping, like Moxibustion, is usually provided as a complimentary treatment to Acupuncture. Chinese herbal medicine could also be prescribed to further strengthen and compliment Cupping treatments.
Now with the Kangci Cupping Kit, you can do it at the comfort of your home! This cupping kit comes with 12 cups of different sizes for different parts of your body. Unlike traditional cupping treatments, this cupping kit does not require fire. It comes with a pump gun that creates vacuum inside the cups by simply sucking the air out. It also comes with an extended tube to assist you in applying the cups onto yourself. The instruction manual also includes a list of the most common illnesses and tells you where you should apply the cups for best result.
