How to carry out moxibustion health care in traditional Chinese medicine

For ordinary people to practice moxibustion at home for health care, the core principle must first be to adhere to the principle of "adaptation first, safety first", and not to pursue the "miraculous effect" of online transmission. Blindly indiscriminate moxibustion may easily lead to problems.

In the past two weeks, I helped Aunt Zhang downstairs to treat moxibustion burns on her face. She posted a short video saying that moxibustion on the face can lighten chloasma. She held the moxa stick very close to her face every day and burned it. Within a week, two shallow blisters broke out, and she became red and sensitive for more than half a month. She didn't even dare to apply skin care products. In fact, she didn't understand the basic logic of moxibustion, so she did it blindly.

There are actually quite a lot of differences between the current opinions about moxibustion. One group thinks that moxibustion is just a daily health care method. There is no threshold and anyone can do it at home.； The other school emphasizes that moxibustion is an external treatment method of traditional Chinese medicine, and it must be based on syndrome differentiation and acupoint matching. Ordinary people can easily cause problems when doing it by themselves. In fact, both arguments are valid. The core thing is to see what you use it for.

If you just want to fix common minor problems, such as a cold stomach due to too much air conditioning, cold hands and feet in winter, and diarrhea after eating something cold, you can try it yourself at home. You don’t need to buy too complicated equipment. Ordinary portable moxibustion will suffice. Look for Zusanli, Zhongwan, and Sanyinjiao, which are highly safe "universal health care points." Moxibustion lasts for 10 to 15 minutes each time. The warm heat will penetrate into the skin just fine, and there is no need to pursue the redness of the skin. Let me talk about my own little habit. Every time I have a stomachache after cooling down, I will tie a portable moxibustion device to the midsection one hour after a meal. After the moxibustion, I will burp twice, and the pain in my stomach will almost disappear. The effect is faster than drinking hot ginger tea.

But if you are prone to oral ulcers, hot palms and soles, and constipation and acne, don’t just follow the acupuncture points of Guanyuan and Mingmen to replenish yang. I met a young man last year. I heard that Moxibustion on Guanyuan can replenish energy. After moxibustion for half an hour every day, I had three nosebleeds in less than ten days. I went to the hospital to find out that there was no organic problem. I stopped moxibustion and drank chrysanthemum and honeysuckle tea for three days before I recovered. This is a typical case of not having the symptoms but suffering the consequences.

There are also some small details that you need to pay attention to. Don't do moxibustion on an empty stomach or right after eating. Don't touch ice water within two hours after moxibustion, and don't face the air conditioner blowing directly. Last time, my friend had moxibustion on his waist just after playing ball and was sweating. The next day, his back was so sore that he couldn't straighten up. That was when the pores were open, and the wind came in, which was not worth the gain.

In fact, to put it bluntly, moxibustion is like lighting a small heater for your body. The hotter the better, the warmer must be comfortable and symptomatic to be effective. If you are not sure about your constitution, or want to adjust an existing disease, it is best to find a professional Chinese medicine practitioner to identify your pulse and then decide on a plan.