Is There Anything Negative about Acupuncture?
When looking at the possibility of using any new treatment method you must first look at whatever negative aspects there are to it. This is the same with acupuncture. This Chinese traditional medicine inserts very fine needles under the skin to relieve pain or treat various medical conditions.
An Unknown
The questions on the minds of so many people, who are afraid of something unknown is, are there side effects? They want to know if anything can go wrong with this treatment. The answer is a reassuring one; almost nothing can go wrong.
If you want to avoid complications during acupuncture therapy the first thing to do is be certain that the acupuncturist that you are seeing is properly licensed. In the United States sometimes these professionals are also medical people but they need not be. They must attend school to get their licenses and then they can practice. Most European countries demand that acupuncturists be doctors who have specialized in that field. When you go see the acupuncturist if you do not see proof of a license ask to see it. If they cannot provide that proof you should leave.
The next question asked usually has to do with the needles. Are they clean? In America the laws are very specific. Acupuncturist’s who are licensed but are not medical doctors must use disposable needles. These disposable needles must be used one time on a single patient and then be thrown out. This is not an option it must be done like this. Health care providers who are medical doctors who have decided to also practice acupuncture have the option of using disposable needles or reusable sterilized needles. They are given this option because as doctors they are accustomed to sterilizing the instruments they use in their daily practices.
Do not expect the acupuncturist to wear gloves. Acupuncture only rarely is accompanied with bleeding. If you research you will find that there are no cases of an infectious disease being passed from the patient to the acupuncturist or the other way around. That is a very reassuring statistic.
There are many studies that have been conducted to see of having acupuncture treatment is likely to leave the patient with any long lasting side effects. The answer to this is no. But some patients do experience side effects during or immediately after the treatment period. These may include a feeling of heaviness in the limbs, nausea or rarely some bruising at the insertion points. Yet, when you compare this to the side effects of so many prescription medications it seems a small risk to take. The benefits of acupuncture seem to outweigh the small possibility of a momentary side effect.
Although many doctors and researchers are still uncomfortable with acupuncture even after all these decades, they cannot refute the evidence that this method does have positive results for a high percentage of the patients that are seen. So, as long as the patient finds themselves a licensed practitioner who uses disposable or sterilized needles there is nothing to worry about.
