Acupuncture for Digestive Problems
Digestive problems are sometimes due to a shortage of food. In Chinese history, the shortage of food was always a big problem. Many people were continually in a state of hunger. This state of hunger caused a lot of digestive problems. In turn, curing digestive problems was an important task for Ancient TCM doctors. They developed a good system for treating and curing digestive problems. Because some food ingredients do not taste good, the Chinese try their best to cook food ingredients in a way that makes them taste better. Due to the lack of food, eating became luxurious. That is why the Chinese try to not be wasteful with food. When people met, instead of asking, “How are you?” they asked, “Did you eat?” Nowadays, in many parts of China, people still greet each other with, “Ni chi le ma?” (“Did you eat?”)
Acupuncture Treatment
There are many ways to deal with problems digesting food in TCM and acupuncture but diet restriction is more important in the treatment. For TCM and acupuncture, there are many herbal formulas and acupoints, depending on patients’ complaints. For example, if somebody ate something that bothered their stomach, there are herbal formulas, one of which can help. It is called Bao Ji Wan. If the patient takes this and receives acupuncture treatment, the results will be able to be seen almost right away. If the situation is more serious, say you have chills, nausea or even vomiting, diarrhea, headache, poor appetite, low energy, a sensation of heaviness, there is another herbal formula called Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San which will take care of it, also almost right away. In either case, having more fresh ginger root juice will also promote the recovery process because fresh ginger root juice is good for regulation. On the other hand, with acupuncture, there are many points on our bodies that will also be very effective, such as PC6, SP4, etc.
If you’re not sure which one you should do, then it is time to go to a TCM doctor or acupuncturist. Of course, there may be much worse cases. If it is much worse than what is described above, then you will probably need to see a GI doctor or go to an Emergency Room right away.