Cupping, also known as cupping, is a traditional external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine. Its principle is to exhaust the air in the pot by mechanical or heating method, and to absorb the skin by its negative pressure, resulting in tiny subcutaneous congestion in local areas. This kind of minor trauma can stimulate the body's own functions (such as nervous system and endocrine system), thus achieving the therapeutic effect. Cupping is not only a "special instrument" in Chinese medicine hospitals, but also more and more cupping products appear in pharmacies and shopping malls because of its obvious curative effect and convenient use and carrying. Look at cupping: There are many products on the market. In Beijing, the reporter visited some pharmacies. Cupping devices can be seen everywhere in the counters of medical devices, but cupping products are not difficult to find in the electrical counters of some big shopping malls. According to the reporter's rough statistics, the prices are basically around 100 yuan, and the materials are mainly plastic and resin. Of course, in the drugstore, the reporter also found a new cupping pot in 35 yuan. The reporter saw a resin cupping device with a price of 136 yuan in the electrical counter of Xidan shopping mall. After the salesman opened the box, there were 12 cans of different sizes arranged in the box, and they were equipped with magnetic heads. According to the salesperson, these magnetic heads can be used for magnetic therapy. In the thick instructions, the reporter saw that cupping seems to be treatable from rheumatic headache to gynecological diseases. A set of 136 yuan cupping seems a bit expensive. When the salesman saw the reporter "hesitate" because of the price, he said, "If you want to be cheap, you can go to the free market and buy it for 20 yuan, but the quality is not as good as this." When introducing the product to the reporter, the salesperson also introduced the use of the cupping device. The salesperson said: "Where does it hurt? It only takes ten minutes. It can be used by all ages. If you follow the instructions, there will be no problems and no side effects. " Coming out of Xidan Shopping Mall, the reporter came to Xidan Golden Elephant Pharmacy, which is not far apart. Besides the cupping device, there are two or three traditional glass cupping devices here. There are many cupping pots, including 6 50 yuan pots, 12 pots 100 pots. The salesperson said that the traditional cupping is stronger, while the cupping device is more convenient to use. When the reporter asked about the effect of cupping device, the salesperson said, "Cupping device is generally only used for health care, which can relieve pain and cannot cure diseases." Distinguish cupping: there is little difference between old and new products. Cupping is also called cupping therapy, extubation or straw. Generally, cupping is made of bamboo, glass, ceramics and plastics. It is usually used in combination with acupuncture to improve the therapeutic effect. Mainly used for rheumatalgia, lumbar muscle strain, headache, abdominal pain and asthma. For all kinds of cupping products on the market, Bai Xinghua, an associate professor at the College of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, believes that there is not much difference in function between traditional cupping and modern cupping devices, especially the difference in materials, which has little effect on the curative effect of cupping. However, pay attention to one thing. If it is aimed at cold diseases such as rheumatism and old cold legs, it is better to use traditional cupping that needs ignition. Because cupping is heated by fire, it feels very warm. The advantage of the new cupping device is that it is simple to operate and can be adsorbed on the affected part without ignition, which can achieve the same effect as traditional cupping. Cupping: Find out the cause of pain before you start. As for patients using cupping devices in their own homes, Professor Bai believes that it is necessary to find out the cause of pain before using them. If it is pain caused by some chronic diseases, such as lumbar strain or sprain, if the patient has a clear cause and doctor's advice, it can be used by himself, which is also beneficial to treatment. However, the causes of pain are sometimes very complicated. Therefore, Professor Bai does not advocate people to use cupping for self-diagnosis and treatment when the cause is unclear, because cupping that is not symptomatic will not cause harm to the body, but will delay the illness and may bring serious consequences. In addition, people with skin damage or bleeding-prone diseases (such as hemophilia, thrombocytopenia, purpura, etc. ) are not suitable for cupping therapy. So, how to use cupping correctly? Professor Bai's suggestion is that if large muscles such as the back need cupping, it is best to use a slightly larger pot, which has a large suction and good effect within the range that the human body can bear. In cupping, no matter whether it is a big pot or a small pot, you can't pull it with brute force. The correct technique is to press the skin on the edge of the jar with your fingers, and gently remove it after the air enters. Cupping time is 10- 15 minutes, and the longest time is 30 minutes. Cupping interval at the same site depends on skin recovery, usually two or three days. When cupping, you should also be careful not to heat the edge of the can mouth to prevent burns. The waist and abdomen of pregnant women should not be cup-shaped, and the heart, hair and places with skin diseases should not be used. Cupping: It is necessary to understand the three misunderstandings. Cupping is really convenient for self-treatment of some diseases, but in daily use, many people still have some misunderstandings about cupping. To this end, Professor Bai pointed out three misunderstandings about people's understanding and use of cupping therapy: First, although cupping has a certain therapeutic effect on various pains, it is not a panacea as an auxiliary treatment method of traditional Chinese medicine. As for the function introduction of cupping device product description, it is impossible to prove its effect without medical clinical experiments, so patients should treat this problem rationally. Secondly, for some cupping devices with magnetic therapy function on the market, Professor Bai said that the magnetic field of human body is very weak, and the magnets attached to the cans are very strong, which will interfere with the magnetic field of human body itself. If you use magnetized products too much, it will do more harm than good to some extent. He believes that the promotion and pursuit of "magnetic therapy" is more like a kind of fashion, because the role of "magnetism" is only recorded sporadically in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, and it has not really formed a system. Third, some non-medical institutions, such as bath centers, will also provide cupping and scraping services. Although it is convenient, it is recommended not to go, because some places are not strictly disinfected, which may cause cross-infection.