Compound Liquorice Tablets

Gosh, during some slight stress recently and changeable weather conditions I picked up a nasty cough. Slightly productive from a dry start. Had for over a week now! I am my own worst patient and did nothing about it. I especially didn’t want all the western mixtures for it, although it was generously offered to me by the practice nurse where I am working in the medical surgery. 

I spoke to a TCM practitioner friend of mine and he offered for me to try some China import herbs he had in his dispensary. They are in tablet form. Surprisingly its is one herb: Gan Cao or liquorice.

I have been taking them and they have been extremely effective in taking the phlegm out of my cough and therefore reducing irritation and reducing my cough. I love them!

Bondi Not for Profit, Communal, Community Acupuncture

Yesterday was the second week I practiced from Bondi Beach with the not for profit communal community acupuncture experience!

Here a stream of thought overview:

Sunlight, warm weather. I got in at 12pm with two people waiting. Saying hello re-arranging the tables and chairs and setting up my massage table. Only one table due to organising difficulties. Using floor for as second table!

First patient calls daughter to come for treatment. Another person arrives. Take out needles of first 2 people and start new person. People coming and going in the open room. I make a cup of tea. A lovely girl from Germany turns up. Met before: she is on a mission to learn about acupuncture. No problem. Get permissions for her to observe and she happily chats to the next patient as he is face down on the table getting acupuncture. I’m treating his tiredness. 

Daughter of first patient arrives. She has viral conjunctivitis, just like one of my patients from last week! Guess what? Turns out by coincidence she is a doctor too, just like the patient last week! I do the same treatment around her eyes and she is on the towel on the floor face up. The only available space. 

Soon another patient. Girl with a fairy tattoo on her back, in tow her blond haired 10 year old son who starts to open my needle packets…Thanks for the help, but I don’t think I need that assistance right now! Haha. 9 patients later Lance and his dog Elvis turn up at 5pm to start their group for environmental sustainability (Transitions Bondi, here's their link: http://www.transitionsydney.org.au/tsgroup/transition-bondi). They both need a treatment. No problem…

 The lovely person from Germany, Lance(on the ground)  and Elvis the dog getting acupuncture at Bondi

Lance and Elvis the dog getting acupuncture!

More info here:

Bondi Not for Profit, Communal, Community Acupuncture

Viral Conjunctivitis and Acupuncture

I saw my viral conjunctivitis patient again. She stated,  “It’s worked!”, 

I felt a little bit under stress with my last patient, who was also a doctor. I decided to go for a rather dramatic treatment with some close to the eye acupuncture points.

I’m very happy to say that this patient got a lot of relief the next day and signs and symptoms had cleared up for her. This was great as she was in a lot of discomfort.

As we chatted she reflected that when she has had the issue in the past it would take 2 weeks to clear up. I saw her on day 5 of her condition and it was all ok by day 6. That’s a reduction by half the time of recovery. Overjoyed!

Also I didn’t give her a black eye. Double bonus :P

Like looking for a Tiger in the Jungle.

Another week and another momentous amount of discovery as I forge on to be a great positive, courageous, outrageous success at what I do in Chinese medicine!

Firstly I had a lovely patient who came in to clinic. Brand new business owner under all sorts of financial and business pressure. Ouch. He came in for a chat and I decided to do an acupuncture treatment for him. The day before he got a check in the same clinic, that I work in, with one of the doctors. His blood pressure was through the roof! I mainly did calming points and some well known blood pressure points.

Like “hunting a tiger”. Why do I say that? I’m always trying to broach that gap between theory and reality in Chinese medicine. What is reality in Chinese medicine come to think of it!? Ha ha. It depends… The patient came back to clinic the day after for a follow up with the same doctor and I happened to be in clinic too. What do you know? He isn’t on meds and his blood pressure was dramatically reduced. I chatted to the doctor about it. We like it!

Another lovely patient came into clinic. This time a doctor as a patient. Me: a little bit nervous. We chatted. Turns out this person has a bad case of viral conjunctivitis, both eyes. In fact I could clearly see it. The redness and the discomfort was obvious.

As you would expect with any professional, they follow their profession, as would I. Anyway after using steroid drops and so on the eyes were still very uncomfortable. What do I do? Well firstly the face is a tough place. I know some people who can’t go near the throat, let alone the face. However luckily for me one of my most constant patients at the UTS clinic when I was at university as a student was a face patient. They had terrible jaw pain that I was constantly treating them each to give them relief. Back to the doctor. I decide to go for all the indicated points for such a case. Mainly around the eyes. Ever done Stomach one? It’s above the eye socket bone, in the hollow below the actual eye. I suddenly realise I am doing this to a doctor. “What is the mechanism for this and that”, “How can you prove that a meridian is real?”. 

Anyway I went for it. I did Gall Bladder 1, Stomach 1. Actually I backed out of Bladder 1. I decided on Bladder 2 as I have read that this can be just as effective. I did go through informed consent with the fact that there maybe micro bruising though… I hope that there isn’t a black eye..! After I put the  needles in I left, but turning off the lights as requested, poor old Liver energy stress. When I came back in to check there was deep snoring. All was well. I’ll have to give you and update of results next week!

Happy Hunting!