Edited by Doctor Eugenio Ciuccetti
Moxibustion (or Moxa) is a particular therapeutic technique deriving from traditional Chinese medicine, characterized by the prolonged application of heat on points and meridians typical of acupuncture.
This heat is produced by burning - near the area to be treated - special cigars or cones of artemisia: a medicinal plant (the "artemisia vulgaris) whose leaves - harvested in spring - are then specially dried, pressed and pulverized.
Sometimes harmless redness of the skin may occur and it is therefore important that the operator - also on the basis of the specific sensitivity of the subject to be treated - knows how to dose well the movements to be performed, the distance to be kept (at least 3 cm from the skin) and the times of application (about ten minutes per point) In this way you will avoid unpleasant pains and burns.
Particularly indicated in case of joint and cervical pains related to cold and humidity or in those of bronchitis and asthma, Moxa should be avoided in case of high fever, arterial hypertension and on skin areas that are not intact. It is also not recommended for children. little ones.
During pregnancy it can have - with the appropriate precautions - important applications. For example - around the thirty-fifth week of gestation - it can be used to stimulate the turning of a fetus from breech presentation (now an indication for caesarean section) to cephalic presentation.
The point to be treated, in this case, is the "67 bladder". This point can be found behind the outer and rear corner of the nail of the little toe. Both feet will be treated in the same session. The treatment will then be repeated, even daily, for at least ten days.
The movements of the fetus can be monitored by ultrasound and, if necessary, a second cycle of treatments can also be scheduled.
