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ACUPUNCTURE POINTS

ST44

ACUPUNCTURE POINTS

CV23

Acupuncture Treatment For Cold Sores

According to the traditional chinese method, cold sores is caused by wind damp heat. The damp heat m
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A mouth ulcer also known as cold sore is actually an ulcer that occurs within the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. Mouth ulcers are quite common due to many diseases but follow different underlying mechanisms. The two most well known common causes of oral ulceration are local trauma and cancer sores, a condition characterized by recurrent formation of oral ulcers for different reasons. Mouth ulcers do cause pain and discomfort and change one’s choice of food while the healing phase is taking place; therefore, it is recommended to avoi acidic as well as spicy foods and beverages during a mouth ulcer.1

 

RESEARCH

Chinese medicine states that any type of mouth or cold sores whether they manifest on the lips, tongue or inside the mouth, is a sign from your body that its inner environment is out of balance. Thus, the location of the sores, its frequency and what triggers them are clues to find the true nature of the imbalance. An expert of chinese medicine then assimilates all these signs and symptoms to properly diagnose and treat the mouth sores, while addressing the own constitution of the patient in a way that the real cause of the problem is found and eliminated.2

It is also known that chronic sores that heal slowly are most likely due to a deficiency. This deficiency can be of a different nature: yin, yang, qi or blood. A yin deficient person usually feels warm and have hot flashes or night sweats. They can also be nervous and forgetful. Their tongue is usually cracked and red with no coating. These mouth ulcers are typically on the tongue and are painful and hot taking weeks to heal completely. Whereas, a yang deficient person displays the opposite characteristics, so they feel cold and weak, their tongue is puffy and pale. They have frequent urination with early morning diarrhea. Yang deficient mouth sores are usually found on the gums and inside the cheeks and have very pain or color associated with them. It is also known that mouth sores associated with qi and blood deficiency usually appear when the person is over tired or in women following a menstrual period. Other key symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath and pale complexion.3

There are select traditional acupuncture points very useful to treat mouth sores and they should be stimulated based on the patterns described above. In fact, there are two known acupuncture points used for lip sores, those points are 77.15 (upper lip) and 77.16 (lower lip). These two points are located on the lower lateral ridge of the patella, on the patellar ligament, below ST-35. The treatment is focused on bleeding these points.4

Footnotes

  1. Mouth ulcers – medlineplus.gov – 2017, https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001448.htm
  2. Mouth sores – causes and treatment – acupuncture-services.com – 2010, http://www.acupuncture-services.com/basic-theory/acupuncture/mouth-sores-causes-and-treatment
  3. Mouth sores – causes and treatment – acupuncture-services.com – 2010, http://www.acupuncture-services.com/basic-theory/acupuncture/mouth-sores-causes-and-treatment/
  4. Mouth sores – causes and treatment – acupuncture-services.com – 2010, http://www.acupuncture-services.com/basic-theory/acupuncture/mouth-sores-causes-and-treatment/
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