TCM and Acupuncture 针灸/針灸

Firstly, apologies for lack of blogging in recent months. Busy. Travelling. Christmas. etc etc have all got in the way. Have loads of things to write about - it's Chinese New Year next week, so should have plenty of time to write something.

What's prompted me to write today is the fact I've just had my very first acupuncture session. This follows Joss having had a successful pin-session to help her with her migraines.

In my case, I had a nasty cold recently and have been left with a heavy case of sinusitus. Antibiotics have not cleared it, so today I ventured in the TCM practice (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Might as well try these things while we're out here -- they originate from this part of the world after all.

12 4cm long needles 'DRILLED' (is the technical term - yikes) into my face (cheeks!) and forehead; 6 others in my hands, legs and feet. No blood. But a wee bit of discomfort - especially as she kept pushing and pushing until I squealed like a girl that "it hurt". (Apparently, I was not reacting to the 'needed' pain, and so she had to drill many of them in further). Vicious, sadistic cow.

I had to sit like that for 15 minutes. To make matters worse, she wired the needles in my cheek to a TENS machines ... then ran a current through it so that my face was twitching like a puppet in the wind.

Anyway I have to confess, 4 hours later, I'm feeling much better. Psychosomatic perhaps, but it's definitely had a positive effect.

And I also have to take some traditional medicine largely made up from random dried animal parts (eye of newt, penis of bat etc); chinese herbs and flowers (Magnolia and Angelica mainly). Rehydrate with warm water and sip as much as I can drink. Walking round HK sipping from my plastic flask full of re-hydrated stuff will make me look like a true local.

I've ventured into a few traditional medicine shops whilst in HK. (PHEW SMELLY). They're absolutely fascinating however - shelves and shelves of huge bell jars stuffed with dried 'things'. Mixture of a Harry Potter Diagonal Alley-type store crossed with a traditional penny-sweet shop crossed with Boots The Chemist (in fact some medicine stores have a Western counter on one side of the store and a TCM counter the other).

Great stuff.

M