Acupuncture and public safety

I'm surprised to see so many reports in the news about a research paper that came out in Hong Kong that says bacterial infections, hepatitis and possibly HIV infections are being transmitted by contaminated acupuncture needles. They say tougher regulations and infection control measures such as disposable needles and disinfection techniques are needed.

While that may be true in Hong Kong, licensed acupuncturists in the US are trained and legally required to use clean needle techniques which include single use of sterilized needles. 

I've never heard of an infection from an acupuncture needle by a licensed practitioner here in the US. While it is important to keep informed about health care issues and possible risks, it is also important not to jump to conclusions from news items that don't clearly state where and under what circumstances the problem occurs. I guess the researchers were referring to acupuncture as it is practiced in Hong Kong where perhaps people practice using the same standards as they have for generations.  I don't know anything about the training or regulation of acupuncture there, but modern practitioners are aware of how to prevent infections. 

In any case, you can rest assured that licensed practitioners here in the US have been educated and trained to prevent infections and you can therefore enjoy your totally safe acupuncture sessions with a peaceful mind.

Fibromyalgia

The number of Fibromyalgia cases I've seen has grown over the past couple of years. Flare ups appear to be connected with incidents of toxicity, infections such as Parvo, or lack of proper nutritional care as newborns. In any case, with acupuncture, herbs and dietary regiment my patients are experiencing greater periods of comfort and energy.

There is a good article about Fibromyalgia in Natural News.com Fibromyalgia Remedies . It recommends people suffering from Fibromyalgia to try acupuncture, citing, "The National Institutes of Health has deemed acupuncture to be an acceptable alternative, or part of a comprehensive treatment program, for several types of pain."

If you have questions, most acupuncturists offer free consultations and would be happy to talk to you about their experience with patients with Fibromyalgia.

Western medicine often masks symptoms

There is an interesting article on PR Online:

Western medicine masks the symptoms of disease

It starts:
"Alternative medicine has been popular in the United States for decades, but until recently many traditional physicians preferred to use medications as treatment for disease, illness, depression and other common ailments. As many of the world’s most popular physicians, including Dr. Oz, begin to announce their belief in alternative treatments such as herbs and acupuncture (http://www.orangecountyacupuncture.com), many of the nations leading alternative medicine physicians are seeing an increase in patient demand for more holistic care. "

New Study for use of Acupuncture in Pain Management

For the first time a study has been done about inpatient integrative medicine program in a hospital setting. The study, "The Impact of Integrative Medicine on Pain Management in a Tertiary Care Hospital" was published March 5 in the Journal of Patient Safety.

The study included 1,837 cardiovascular, medical, surgical, orthopedics, spine, rehabilitation, oncology, and women's health patients at Abbott Northwestern between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009. These patients were given treatments included non-pharmaceutical services: mind body therapies to elicit the relaxation response, acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, healing touch, music therapy, aromatherapy, and reflexology.

Jeffery A. Dusek, Ph.D., research director for the Penny George Institute for Health said, "Our real-world study broadly shows that these therapies effectively reduce pain by over 50 percent across numerous patient populations. Furthermore, they can be clinically implemented in real time, across, and under the operational and financial constraints within an acute care hospital."


"I think we will find that integrative approaches to pain management during the hospital stay will improve patient satisfaction and outcomes, and we will see cost savings from patients using fewer drugs and experiencing fewer adverse events," said Lori Knutson, RN, BSN, HN-BC, executive director of the George Institute.


Hopefully the other hospitals will follow the lead of Penny George Institute for Health and consider using  non-pharmaceutical methods for pain relief.

Whole Foods

The general condition of many people I encounter at the clinic seeking relief from degenerative diseases are conditions of nutritional deficiency. How can that be in this land of plenty? No one I see appears to be starving. In fact, most are rich in calorie intake yet deficient in minerals and nutrients, despite taking multivitamins and other supplements. 

The problem is that they eat refined food. Refined is nice in a human being, but horrible in food. White flour, white sugar, refined oils - you can find these robbers of health even in organic products. Common canola and other oils, like vegetable, sunflower, and corn, are some of the worst substances you can put in your body. Try to find "convenient" foods without those ingredients and your shopping cart is likely to be pretty empty.

What to do?  Rules of  thumbs, or a large notecard:

1.  Read the label. If you see words like refined white flour or sugar, evaporated cane sugar or syrup, or any oil besides olive or grape seed, put the product back quick. 
2. Read the label. If you can't pronounce any of the ingredients or have to take a breath to get through the entire name, then those ingredients are likely not to be whole food, so don't put it into your body. Put the product back. Your body needs real to goodness food.
3. The safest place to shop are the 2 ends of the store: the produce and the freezer section. Be careful of foods in the middle aisles. 
4. Organic is better, but not if it has refined ingredients mentioned in rules 1 through 3. White organic bread is still refined flour and all the benefits have been beaten out of it. Cane products (evaporated, juiced or powder) cause inflammation and spikes in your sugar level, leaving you tired and puffy. Even if it is organic. Put it back. 

I know you are busy, but you need to learn to cook, even if simply. Those packaged foods are fast and you might find them tasty, but if you change your diet now to whole foods, you are less likely to be seeking the help of a health practitioner later. Please believe me on that one.

To good health!