When it comes to our little ones, their health and well-being are our top priorities. Did you know that acupuncture isn't just for adults? It can be a wonderful way to support your child's health naturally and gently.

What to Expect From a Pediatric Acupuncture Session:

In a typical pediatric acupuncture session, your child's practitioner will take time to understand your child's unique needs and health concerns. The session may include a gentle examination of the child's pulse and tongue, which are crucial aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnostics.

For needle-based acupuncture, child-friendly, tiny, and virtually painless needles are used. For non-needle techniques, treatments may involve gentle acupressure, cupping, massage, or techniques like Shonishin, a specialized Japanese acupuncture method for children.

Some conditions and issues that we’ve used Pediatric Acupuncture to help treat include:

Digestive Issues: Acupuncture can help with digestive problems like colic, constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux.

Sleep Disorders: It can assist in improving sleep quality and addressing issues like insomnia and night terrors.

Respiratory Conditions: Acupuncture may be used to alleviate symptoms of allergies, asthma, and frequent colds or respiratory infections.

Emotional and Behavioral Challenges: Acupuncture can aid in addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavioral difficulties.

Allergies and Sensitivities: Pediatric acupuncture can alleviate symptoms of allergies and sensitivities to food or the environment.

Developmental Delays: For children with developmental delays, acupuncture may be part of a comprehensive therapy plan to support their progress.

A Final Thought

It's important to note that pediatric acupuncture is a gentle and safe approach, and practitioners like Lisa are specially trained to work with children. If you're considering acupuncture for your child, consult with a qualified and experienced pediatric acupuncturist who can tailor the treatment to your child's unique needs.

When we eat foods and drink beverages, they are converted in the stomach into a soupy mixture with digestive juices at 100°F just above normal body temperature. At that temperature, the enzymes and acids break down the food efficiently.

When we eat or drink foods that are cold, they must be warmed up by the body to 100°F. That takes a fair amount of energy. While the ingested materials are being warmed up, the stomach, and it’s digestive juices function inefficiently. The more we consume at cool temperature, the more energy it takes to warm it up and the less efficient the digestion. On the other hand, if food is consumed warm, (near 100°F) it is digested efficiently and our bodies need not expend unnecessary energy warming it up.

Foods that are inadequately digested enter the intestines and cannot be easily absorbed. Therefore we miss out on some other nutrients, and the undigested food is used by the intestinal bacteria, producing gas, bloating and intestinal cramping. Diarrhea will be worsened by these conditions.

BE MINDFUL OF THE FOLLOWING:

1/ Avoid very cold foods and beverages: be especially careful, about iced beverages, ice cream, and the like.

2/ Whenever possible, allow fresh foods to warm to room temperature, and cook foods, (and eat them while still warm if possible).

3/ When taking herbs, use warm water or tea to swallow them or follow up with some warm beverage.

A warm soup is an ideal way to get nourishment. It is already predigested by the cooking process, and it needs minimal digestive activity to make it absorbable. There are some ingredients that can be included to further warm up a meal: such as garlic, ginger, and green onions.

Although we don’t understand the mechanisms of Long-COVID, acupuncture can help to speed up the recovery process. In addition, acupuncture can strengthen the immune system and also stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system helping the body to relax and rebalance.

Our very own, Amy Hausman, L.Ac. shares her thoughts on navigating the Coronavirus from a Chinese medicine perspective and the steps you can take to build up your immune system.

Who doesn’t love that feeling when you’ve been craving some chocolate and you finally get your hands on the dark, velvety stuff, and you pop it in your mouth and the world just feels nice for a second?

A few brilliant–and might I add, probably “crunchy”–acupuncturists decided to add therapeutic grade essential oils to their practice. The result? Amazingly elevated results and highly enjoyable treatments for their clients.

Protecting our most valuable resource.

The theory of Qi was developed in ancient China to assist in understanding natural phenomena: everything in the universe results from the movements and changes of Qi, or ‘energy’.