What Are The Side Effects Of Acupuncture?

What Are The Side Effects Of Acupuncture?
By Karina Jacobsen

Although the incidences of serious side effects from the
practice of are rare, they do exist. Many of the
side effects are minor, but since involves
puncturing the skin with needles, the potential does exist for
harmful effects to occur.

But first of all, let’s define what is. Acupuncture
is a form of traditional Chinese medicine which has been
practiced for centuries in China and has spread around the globe
in modern times. It is widely practiced in many countries
including the United States. involves piercing the
skin with needles along the energy meridians of the body in an
attempt to heal illness or treat addictions.

Now let’s look at some of the minor side effects which may
occur. These are harmless and should clear up on their own
without further treatment and include bruising, bleeding after
removal of the needle, and psychological effects which might
cause dizziness and fainting. These side effects are similar to
what one would experience with a shot or having blood work
drawn.

We will now examine the rare but serious side effects of
Acupuncture.

Infection

Since the needles pierce the skin, there is the potential for
introducing bacteria into the bloodstream and causing an
infection at the puncture site or elsewhere in the body. An
important consideration is the sterilization process of the
needles to be used so that the chance of the needles being
contaminated is reduced.

Also improperly sterilized needles can
transmit AIDS/HIV as well as other deadly diseases such as
hepatitis and encephalopathy (mad cow disease.)

Nerve damage

Nerve damage can occur as a result of a nerve being pierced or
nicked when inserting the needle.

Organ punctures

Inserting the needle deep into the lung can cause a
pneumothorax to develop which means air will escape out of the
lung and be trapped there causing the lung to collapse. The same
potential exists for the other vital organs of the body. There
is the chance a kidney or the protective sac around the heart
could be punctured. There is also a risk of stroke induced by
Acupuncture if the needle is inserted improperly at the base of
the skull.

Luckily, acupuncturists are highly trained to avoid the above
harmful consequences of and indeed they are quite
rare. To reduce your risks make sure you go to a licensed
qualified practitioner and ask about their procedures for
sterilizing needles.

About the Author: Karina Jacobsen is a staff writer at
http://www.alternativehealthadvisor.com and is an occasional
contributor to several other websites, including
http://www.wellness-digest.com.

Source: http://www.isnare.com

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