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Parenting |
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Article |
Acupuncture and Children |
 Figuring
out how to keep children free from overuse
of antibiotics, insertion of ear tubes,
allergy shots, and perpetual use of OTC and
prescription medications can be a daunting
task. For centuries, acupuncture has been a
natural, safe and effective treatment for
people young and old alike. Yet, most
parents in the United States don’t realize
how much acupuncture treatments can help
their children stay healthy and well. If
western society understood how effective
these treatments are for children,
unnecessary suffering could be easily
avoided.
Certainly, life-threatening pediatric
illnesses need to be treated with western
allopathic medicines. Nonetheless,
acupuncture provides a viable alternative or
complementary treatment option for children.
The key is for parents to be informed of all
options prior to proceeding with medical
treatment for their children. It will take
some time for this to become a well
established healthcare protocol in the
United States, even though acupuncture is a
well respected and accepted treatment method
practiced throughout the rest of the world.
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese Medicine
approach that views the existence of
symptoms or disease as a result of the body
being out of balance. The Chinese believe in
the concept of Qi (pronounced ‘chee’), a
vital energy that flows through 14 main
meridian pathways traversing within the
human body. The existence of a meridian
blockage or deficient Qi flow within these
pathways leads to ill health. Acupuncture
treatments are utilized to remove Qi
blockages and strengthen the flow of Qi to
restore health.
An acupuncturist determines a Chinese
diagnosis during an initial consultation to
establish which meridian needs balancing to
restore health to the body. This is
accomplished by asking questions about the
child’s habits, observance of their
constitution, tongue and pulse diagnosis
combined with a thorough medical history. An
acupuncturist gathers and analyzes the
symptoms and signs exhibited and reported
and then determines a differential diagnosis
and treatment strategy. A typical treatment
protocol is 10 to 15 sessions, received over
several months and is determined on an
individual basis depending upon the child’s
health status, date of onset, frequency, and
severity of symptoms. Upon completion of
this treatment series a re-evaluation is
done to determine the need for additional
course of treatment.
Conditions such as chronic ear infections,
migraines, allergic reactions, digestive
disturbance, acute and chronic pain,
athletic and dance injuries, asthma, chronic
colds or flu, obesity, anxiety, chronic
fatigue syndrome, failure to thrive, and
ADHD are some of the more common pediatric
problems that acupuncture is used
successfully to treat. A child could also be
treated with acupuncture for health
maintenance during the change of seasons.
Children respond quickly to treatments as
compared to adults.
The role of parents has a profound impact on
a child’s health status. According to
Chinese medicine, a child’s constitution and
level of vital energy is determined before
birth during the first few months of
pregnancy. After birth, parents need to
further help their child by feeding them a
continuous supply of energy to complete the
development of their meridians. If children
don’t receive this special energetic
attention from their parents they can
experience ill health. Furthermore, based on
the Five Element Theory, a child’s health is
dependent on the physical and emotional
health of their parents. A common practice
for an acupuncturist is thus "to treat the
mother to treat the child." This is the
ideal situation in order to speed healing
for both the child and the mother mentally,
physically and emotionally.
The following explains some specific Chinese
medicine views of pediatric diagnosis and
treatment strategy:
1. Stomach and spleen energy, which governs
transportation and transformation of food,
is more delicate and weak in children.
Treatment of these two organ meridians
resolves many pediatric problems by getting
to the root cause.
2. Liver energy, which governs free flow of
Qi, is often out of balance. Treatment needs
to be directed towards rebalancing the liver
meridian when a child exhibits deficient Qi
symptoms. It is also helpful for a child who
exhibits significant bursts of anger because
anger is the emotion associated with the
liver meridian.
3. Blood and Qi converge in the hands and
feet of young children. This means that it
is an excellent area to treat.
4. Vital organs are fragile, soft, clear and
spirited. This would direct an acupuncturist
to choose acupoints to strengthen and
balance organ Qi.
5. Illness happens easily and becomes
serious quickly. The parent or child
shouldn’t be surprised if a symptom such as
a fever happens quickly or a rash becomes
more evident right after a treatment. This
is the child’s way of healing from the
inside out. Acupuncture is strengthening a
child’s Qi flow and thus providing the
impetus for the symptoms to be flushed out
of their system immediately and completely.
6. Children’s body health is regained easily
and quickly through the use of acupuncture.
The experience of visiting an acupuncturist
is a major step toward a child’s healing
process. It’s best for a child to have their
initial consultation without their siblings
present as it provides special alone time
with their parent(s). What can’t be easily
expressed at home, can become swiftly
verbalized in the presence of a
compassionate and intuitive health
professional. Being given quality time and
attention dedicated just for them is
sometimes enough to spark the healing
process for a child.
Future visits can become a favorite special
time together for the parent(s) and child.
Some children prefer to receive treatments
alone and thrive on it as an independent
experience. Still others come for treatments
with their entire family as each one takes
turns getting up on the treatment table, mom
or dad included. In addition, the children
deep breathing techniques and enjoy the
gentle music and quiet meditative time
accompanying their treatment.
Prior to the age of eight the acupuncture
needles are inserted, stimulated and quickly
removed. After the age of eight the needles
can be left in up to twenty minutes.
Acupuncture is surprisingly pain-less, in
fact it is typical for children to giggle
when they receive their treatments. One
client claps when she sees the acupuncture
needle package being opened; another
whispers "more" and yet another says "thank
you" with each insertion. This is certainly
evident of the joy that acupuncture is
bringing these little ones.
Acupuncture is an excellent treatment choice
to help children heal themselves from a
variety of problems and is an excellent way
to maintain health and wellness. It brings
the child back to balance and maximizes
their innate healing capabilities. Teaching
a child early that their bodies are able to
heal on their own is a tremendous gift, one
they can turn to and receive the rest of
their life. |
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Shoshanna is author of Qigong for Staying
Young: A Simple 20 Minute Workout to
Cultivate Your Vital Energy, Avery/Penguin,
2003 with companion DVD, Tai Chi/Qigong
practitioner since 1974, Red Bank
Acupuncture Center Director (healing4u.com)
since 1988, first woman President/National
Qigong Association, Advisory Board
member/regular contributor Body + Soul
Magazine, Chairman NJ Acupuncture Examining
Board, producer women wellness conferences,
co-author Feeling Light, Avon Books, 1997.
Shoshanna’s Qigong DVD can be seen on Lime
Television on the Dish Network. |
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