External therapies: Moxa

Dose is not a number

灸法 Jiǔ Fǎ

In indirect moxa the source never touches the skin: the stick is held two or three centimeters away, or ginger or salt is placed in between. The dose is the combination of distance, time and what the person reports, and it is adjusted constantly because the ember advances and the stick shortens.

Pleasant, diffuse warmth

The reference: hold it there

Warmth that bites or stings

Move away immediately

A still hand

Not steady heat: the ember advances

Skin visible throughout

The format where you see what is happening in real time

Common mistake: Timing without looking. The clock does not know where the ember is right now.

Put the skin scale in order, from least to most

1. Mild redness that fades within hours↑↓
2. Superficial burn: red, painful skin, no blister↑↓
3. A blister↑↓
4. A deeper injury needing assessment↑↓

An accidental blister appears after a moxa session. What do you do?

1. Burst it and disinfect
2. Leave it open to the air so it dries sooner
3. Cover it with a clean dressing and re-check it
4. Apply more moxa around it to “close” it

Skin safety or environmental safety?

• Avoid skin with altered sensationSkinEnvironment
• Ventilate throughout the sessionSkinEnvironment
• Stop at central pallorSkinEnvironment
• Collect ash in a metal containerSkinEnvironment
• Check the person can report what they feelSkinEnvironment
• Ask beforehand about asthma or COPDSkinEnvironment

Each format with what characterizes it

Why is the accumulated ash removed from the stick regularly?

1. Because it dirties the patient's clothes
2. Because it insulates, and the real heat changes without you noticing
3. Because it puts the ember out if too much builds up
4. Because it is what times the session