Cost: $40 per treatment. (15 min) Recommendation: 3 treatments on select dates, but one treatment will still benefit you. Booking: Call 708-848-4626 or book online under Acupuncture, then find “San Fu Moxa”
Dates Offered:
Sun, 6/30, Mon 7/1, Tues 7/2
Sun 7/14, Mon 7/15, Tues, 7/16
Sun 7/28, Mon 7/29, Tues 7/30
About the Treatment
Written by: Maureen McLaughlin, LAc at Serenity Acupuncture
San Fu Moxa is a unique treatment where ground herbs are mixed with fresh ginger juice into a paste, rolled into a ball about the size of a dime, and then taped to points to treat diseases and weaknesses.
This treatment is applied during the “dog days of summer, ” the most Yang days of the year, to remedy chronic conditions that are worse during the winter. We can think of this as “Treating Winter Disease During Summer.” During the San Fu period, the pores are open and the body is most receptive to cold-expelling treatment.
You can get this treatment one time a summer or once every 10 days (as per the dates Serenity Acupuncture will be offering it) totalling three times. (The maximum benefit comes with being treated during each “Fu” period; however, you will still benefit even if you only get it once.) Furthermore, Chinese Medicine teaches that after three years in a row of San Fu Moxibustion the condition will be healed.
The types of conditions that specifically respond to San Fu Moxibustion include the following: all diseases cold in nature – respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic cough, emphysema, those easily chilled or catching frequent colds, chronic rhinitis, sinusitis and pharyngitis, in addition to patients with a generally weak constitution. Other diseases include chronic diarrhea and enteritis, arthritis caused by cold dampness (particularly in the elderly), dribbling or frequent urination, numbness, facial paralysis and stroke.
What does this look like in practical terms? Your acupuncturist will select two or four points for your San Fu to be applied to. The hot herbs may irritate the skin and may cause anything from an “irritation,” to a minor burn or blister (normal). Obviously, the plaster is only for external use, and patients should be instructed never to ingest these herbs. The plaster should be left on for four to six hours. The appropriate feeling is a warming and tingling sensation. However, if the patient feels too strong a burning or painful sensation, the application should be removed.
Any patient with decreased sensation, such as those with diabetes and some elderly individuals, should avoid the treatment, as they might not detect if their skin is being irritated or burnt. If the patient has a skin disease, allergies to herbs, recent vomiting or significant bleeding, or has other heat conditions, the treatment should be avoided. If you have any questions as to whether your condition precludes you from getting San Fu Moxibustion, please call Maureen McLaughlin, the Serenity Acupuncturist doing the San Fu Moxibustion treatment.
After applying the herbal moxa, patients should be instructed not to eat cold, fatty, sweet or greasy food, or spicy pungent foods. If a blister or burn occurs, the patient should keep the area dry and clean, and should not pop the blister. The irritation or blister can cause a mild skin discoloration that may or may not go away. This is not applied to the face for this reason. Patients who have received San Fu Moxibustion from Maureen McLaughlin, LAc have reported greatly improved winters free of URIs, flus, pneumonia, asthma, and bronchitis, for example.
You will be asked to sign a consent form to receive San Fu Moxibustion. Treatments are 15 minutes in duration. This treatment is only offered to people age 12 and up.
Again, here are the dates available. Choose 1-3 and click here to book your appointments!
Sun, 6/30, Mon 7/1, Tues 7/2
Sun 7/14, Mon 7/15, Tues, 7/16
Sun 7/28, Mon 7/29, Tues 7/30