ancient method
It is impossible to determine exactly when and by whom the prototype of the medical jar was first used. It is known that healers from different countries of Asia treated many diseases in this way more than two thousand years ago.
Stefan Palos, a well-known specialist in oriental medicine, in the book “The Chinese Art of Healing. The history and practice of healing from antiquity to the present day ”(M., 2003) noted that back in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. Celestial healers used the horns of various animals instead of the usual glass jars. Then the horns were replaced by small vessels, which were made from improvised materials, mainly from clay.
Nowadays, the standard treatment procedure looks like this. The patient lies on his stomach, a nurse or an experienced healer lubricates his back or other sore spot with an ointment (usually petroleum jelly). Korntsang or knitting needle is pre-wrapped with cotton wool, so a simple wick is made. Then the wick, moistened with alcohol, is set on fire and literally for a second is placed in a jar, and it is immediately applied to the skin. The glass vessel sticks to the back, because the pressure inside the jar, due to the lack of oxygen, is much lower than outside.
The patient’s skin is pulled inward, blood rushes to this place. The patient, tightly covered with a blanket, lies motionless for no more than 15 minutes, and at this time 8-14 cans are usually located on his back at a distance of 3-5 cm from each other. Then they are carefully removed, first tilting slightly to the side. The skin, which as a result of the influx of blood in some places has acquired a purple hue, is carefully rubbed. And the patient needs to lie under the covers for another half an hour.
Chinese healers sometimes use a very radical method of cupping, which is also called wet. Notches are applied to the skin before placing cans with a special needle. This provides a powerful blood flow to the sore spot. In general, the healers of the Celestial Empire in previous centuries resorted to rather harsh methods of healing.
“Earlier, a jar was placed on the body along with the material set on fire in it. This caused burns on the skin, and this method is no longer used, ”wrote Stefan Palos.
Modern doctors call cupping therapy vacuum therapy, because with the help of a lit wick, an experienced nurse burns out almost all the air from a glass vessel.
