Fun with Chinese Medicine

Ni hao from Wuhan, China! It has been two weeks since we’ve been here, and we’ve already seen and learned so much. To be honest, since I had read that Wuhan was the 8^th most populated city in China, I had expected it to be more urban and developed like Hong Kong or Shanghai. Perhaps this wasn’t the most intelligent assumption, but I didn’t really think too much about it. Perhaps I was just assuming that since China has been working on becoming a superpower in the modern world that it would be more like the United States. I was wrong. China is a country that seems to be somewhere in between developing and developed. There are certainly aspects that are very modern – they have similar technologies, there are some stores that sell expensive, brand-name clothing, there are some who drive very nice cars, and there are American fast-food chains in some areas. However, the streets are dirtier, there are many very small shops with dusty products or little trinkets, people spit on the streets, and traffic patterns aren’t as orderly as in the states. So far, however, all of the people have been extremely friendly and helpful, and I love exploring around the city. In the clinic we have been going to, the equipment is not as modern, and they don’t have the same ideas of hygiene, but it is a very nice clinic and so different from anything I’ve seen in the US.

Fortunately, we have had the opportunity to see very many different kinds of Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments since we’ve been here, and that is definitely the most interesting part of our time spent here. Before I had ever seen acupuncture, I had an image of it being done on someone’s back. The first two people I saw with acupuncture being done in the clinic, however, had needles all over their faces. Needless to say, it looked a little scary. It was unbelievable to think that the doctor knew exactly where and how to place the needles so that they would touch specific, effective points without causing injury to the person. Not only have we seen acupuncture being done all over the body, but we have had the chance to see cupping, massage, moxibustion, steam treatments, and traction treatments being done as well. We even got to practice doing cupping on each other! Cupping is often used to pull poisons out of the body in order to rebalance the body’s blood and qi (pronounced “chee”), and many people receive it as an adjunct to acupuncture or alone as a means of pain relief. For cupping to work, one must first place a cotton ball into alcohol. The cotton ball is on a metal stick and is then lit on fire. Next, the flaming cotton ball has to be put into cup (made of bamboo or glass typically) very briefly and immediately placed on the skin in order for the vacuum to be created and the skin to be sucked up into the cup. The doctor or nurse then leaves the cups in place for a few minutes (or for as long as 30 minutes sometimes). When the cups are taken off, red or purple circular marks are left on the skin and usually disappear within a few days.

Intrigued to see what cupping felt like, I nervously had cups placed all over my back. It was a very strange feeling, but it was so neat! I could feel my skin being sucked up into the glass like someone was pulling on my skin at first, and then it hurt a little. After a few minutes they took the cups off, and it felt so relieving to have them removed! Although I had the same red marks all over my back, I knew they would go away in a few days. That has definitely been my favorite experience so far, and I think it is the one that helped opened my eyes the most. Actually experiencing the treatment will allow me to be more empathetic in the future toward the patients who use it at home or seek the treatment at a specialized clinic. My eyes had been shut to the Eastern world and its different forms of medicine, but now I already have a greater appreciation for the amount of knowledge it takes to provide that care as well as how effective it can be for some people. I can't wait to experience more!