Flu Season: Pediatric Acupoint Massage to Treat Children

A study of “Short Term efficacy observation of special acupoint massage for exogenous fever in children” by Luo ran, Huang ke qi, Wang ting, Zhang hong from Wenzhou Center hospital

Fever due to common cold or flu is very common in children. This happens all year round, but mostly in winter and spring due to sudden weather change. Symptoms for the flu can include fever, stuffy nose, running nose, coughing. In allopathic medicine, typically a doctor will give children antiviral or antibiotics for treatment. This kind of treatments can rapidly reduce the body temperature, however with possible dangerous side effect as well.

In Chinese medicine, we use acupoint massage to reduce a fever due to common cold or flu with proven clinical results. Luo Ran, Huang Ke Qi, Wang Ting, Zhang Hong from Wenzhou Center hospital took 150 children for their clinical trial.

Pediatric Acupoint Massage Study:

Children from ages 4 months to 6 years old met the following criteria:

• Symptoms such as fever, aversion to cold, stuffy nose, running nose, cough, accompanying with vomiting, diarrhea or convulsion due to high body temperature

• Normal or reduced white blood cell, reduced neutrophils, elevated lymphocytes

Children with the following symptoms were eliminated from the clinical trial:

• Purulent tonsillitis, bronchitis, Pneumonia

• Severe malnutrition

• Severe cardio vascular, liver, kidney, hematopoietic system disease or severe psychological conditions

• Patients already took medicine to reduce the fever

Group 1 --- orally take Ibuprofen Syrup

Group 2 --- use only acupoint massage

Group 3 ---combine treatment of Ibuprofen Syrup and acupoint massage

The following chart shows the clinic results:

The results show that Group 2, which used only acupoint massage, had a gradual drop in their temperature over the span of 4 hours of treatment, more than that of Groups 1 and 3. Group 1, taking the Ibuprofen syrup, also had their temperature rise again after the 4 hours.

4 Steps to apply a simple Acupoint Massage used in the study:

1. Clear the lung channel for 5 minutes. Push from the base of the palm side of index finger towards to tip of the index finger:

1. Clear “Heavenly River Water” for 5 mins. Push from the wrist to the elbow of the forearm with the pads your index and middle fingers:

1. Push “Kan Palace” for 3 mins. Pushing the acupoints separately from the inner end of the eyebrow to the outer end with both thumbs:

1. Massage temple area for 3 mins. Massage the temple area on both sides of your head which is posterior of your outer eyebrow:

The whole massage can last for 30 minutes and you can use ginger essential oil mixed with coconut oil as a massage oil for this treatment. Try out this natural treatment method at home the next time your children show these flu-like symptoms!

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