Japanese Acupuncture treatment to relieve the symptoms of adult onset Chickenpox

During the past week I have been fortunate enough to assist my eldest daughter, Naomi negotiate the associated symptoms of adult onset chickenpox.

As you may know adult onset chickenpox can be extremely severe resulting in diabolical headaches, overwhelming lethargy, high fever, aches and pains in every nook and cranny of the body and the dubious potential of permanent scarring from the lesions that result from such an infection.

Following is a brief case history of my treatment using Traditional Japanese Acupuncture to ameliorate the severity of the symptoms.

The ability to assist her in these circumstances is yet another reason why I am extremely grateful to be practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.

1st treatment
Tuesday
Symptoms

Diabolical headaches, overwhelming lethargy, high fever, aches and pains in every nook and cranny of the body including aching of the bones and the lesions that result from such an infection and night sweats.

All of the above symptoms were present, however the debilitating headaches that were particularly severe at night and continuing throughout the day dominated.

When Naomi called me early on Tuesday morning prior to learning that she had chickenpox we  agreed that she should seek an immediate medical examination to gain a fuller insight into her condition.

Acupuncture treatment was administered very soon after the medical examination, the doctor was unsure regarding the diagnosis of Naomi’s condition, however test results received the following day confirmed she had chickenpox.

Traditional Japanese Acupuncture diagnosis:

In this the first of the treatments I was mistaken in my diagnosis, having been swayed by the high level of aching in the bones I misdiagnosed Naomi’s syndrome as Lung deficient Liver excess fever syndrome.

Treatment.
Tonify with slightly deeper needling (approximately 3 mm) the water point of the Lung meridian Lu 5, a slightly shallower needling technique was used to tonify the metal point of the Kidney meridian Ki 7 and an extremely shallow tonifying technique was utilized on the fire point of the Kidney meridian Ki 2 (to control the amount of efficient heat affecting the upper heater particulate the heart)

The Liver meridian was dispersed utilizing the fire point  Liv2. and GB 41 was shunted to alleviate the heat accumulating in the gall bladder meridian at its uppermost level, the head.
Also shunted was the point SI 3 as the pulse showed great heat at the Taiyang level.

Back Shu points BL 13, 17, 18, 20, 23, 40, 58 also included in this phase of the treatment were the points GB 20, 21,30

Treatment was somewhat successful, spontaneously easing Naomi’s headache and all of her other symptoms.

Improvement lasted overnight but by the following day the headaches and many of the related symptoms were back again, she had enjoyed temporary respite but was still in trouble and experiencing great difficulty in moving at all without her head feeling like it was going to explode.

2nd treatment
Thursday
Traditional Japanese Acupuncture diagnosis

At this point I changed my diagnosis to Spleen deficiency Liver excess fever syndrome as a result of only being able to alleviate the symptoms temporarily.

Treatment
Tonify the earth point of the Pericardium meridian Pe 7 and earth point of the Spleen meridian Sp 3.
Tonify the fire point of the Kidney meridian Ki 2.
Disperse the fire point of the liver meridian Liv 2 and shunt GB 41.
Back Shu points BL 13, 18, 20, 23, 40, 58 also included in this phase of the treatment were the points GB 20, 21.
Naomi experienced immediate and sustained relief from her symptoms, especially the headaches.

3rd treatment
Saturday
Naomi was much improved although she was still suffering from less severe headaches and had developed some nausea on the Friday.

Treatment.
Tonify the earth point of the Pericardium meridian Pe 7 and earth point of the Spleen meridian Sp 3.

Disperse the fire point of the liver meridian LIV 2 and shunt ST 44,           GB 41, Si 3
Back Shu points BL 13, 18, 20, 23, 40, 58 also included in this phase of the treatment were the points GB 19, 20 plus GV 20.

Once again her improvement was immediate and sustained.

She reported this morning (Monday) that she was feeling much, much better.
No headaches at all and all other symptoms were pretty well resolved.
Fortunately she had experienced limited lesions and most of these have just about healed.

Tomorrow morning Naomi will be visiting the doctor for clearance to resume her work as a nurse and in the afternoon she will be having a back up Acupuncture treatment to reduce the potential of relapse.

I consider it a real blessing to have been able to help my daughter through her illness.

Adult onset chickenpox has the potential to cause some serious damage to the unfortunate sufferer with meningitis being extremely high on the list.

That she even feels like going back to work within a week of discovering the source of her headaches etc is extraordinary.

It is up to her medical practitioner to decide whether she can resume work without the risk of infecting others.

Once again I acknowledge and thank Masakazu Ikeda sensei for enlightening me regards the clinical potency, relevant theoretical understanding and extraordinary therapeutic flexibility of Traditional Acupuncture.

I trust this post me of some clinical value to you, my most esteemed reader.

Kind Regards,                                                                                                                                 Alan

PS.

You are welcome to peruse the following  culinary images captured during my recent sojourn to Japan.

img2009-03-10-200812_edit_2_blog The Golden Arches accompanied by a full moon

img2009-03-10-202606_edit_blogSake, Sake,Sake

img2009-03-10-202633_edit_blogMmmmm, da menu

img2009-03-10-203203_edit_blogSake !

img2009-03-10-203208_edit_blogCupid on the Loose

img2009-03-10-203536_edit_blogLe Chef

img2009-03-10-204324_edit_blogYakotori Chicken Allsorts Including heart, liver, feet, etc.

img2009-03-10-210240_edit_blogSushimi on da house

img2009-03-10-212321_edit_blogA fond farewell from Le Chef

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted in the vicinity of 30 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupunctureblog.com

For more info, please visit: http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

About Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture. As a staunch advocate of practically based workshops, Alan draws upon his 35 years clinical experience and 23 years post and undergraduate teaching. Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 70 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, Europe, and USA.

Comments

  1. Hi Al,

    it’s always a great feeling to get the opportunity to take care of family (and make a difference!)

    I am wondering what the difference is in needle technique between dispersing (as in LV 2) and shunting (as in GB 41)????

    Great post, thanks!

    -Adam

    • Cheers Adam, Thanks for the great feedback.
      Basically.
      When shunted the point is closed with the finger after withdrawing the needle.
      When dispersed the point is left open after withdrawal of the needle.
      Lotsa,
      Alan

  2. Thats some pretty smooth moves Alan!

    It’s good to hear of her speedy recovery. If I recall correctly, she was one sick puppy when she came in to the clinic.

    Have good’n kicking back with the fam over the holiday.

    Thanks for the insights 🙂
    -Andrew

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