San Fu: A Summer Treatment for Winter Illnesses
Prevention
In Chinese Medicine there is a saying dong xia bing zhi —treat diseases of the winter in the summer. In American culture health is often mistreated. Mostly because we often don’t have the resources and time to think ahead. Our healthcare system operates on treatment once a disease is detected through testing and lab work. Sometimes that is not even the case. I bring this up only to help us to think outside of this paradigm. This is why rest, regular movement and eating well is so important to adopt even if we don’t think we are seeing the benefits of such efforts. Even if we do all the right things and things still don’t work the way we want to.
What is San Fu Moxa?
San Fu moxibustion is not the mugwort moxa or moxibustion some might be familiar with in East Asian Medicine. San Fu does use the concept of restoring yang or heat to the body, similar to traditional mugwort moxibustion. It is an herbal paste that is applied to acupuncture points on the three most yang days of the summer according to the stems and branches calculations of the lunisolar calendar. This practice dates back to the Qing Dynasty for the use of treating respiratory conditions like allergies and asthma. In modern times, research has shown that it can improve overall immunity, allergies and other conditions like digestion and arthritis.
What To Expect?
The herbal paste is applied most often on the back and knees but the points can be changed depending on your unique condition and constitution. The herbal paste feels cold at first and is affixed to the acupuncture points using a waterproof adhesive or tegaderm. The past is worn for a few hours. It should be removed when the skin is feeling hot, irritated or itchy. After removal there will be a red mark and it is common to have subsequent blistering. This goes away on its own after a few days. If blisters appear you may have wound that should be cleaned and treated like any other burn or cut.
I have been having San Fu treatment every summer for the last 10 years. Since then I have seen less colds in the Winters for myself. My patients who are consistent with getting San Fu report a reduction in colds and illness during flu seasons despite their high exposures. Some have also reported less use of their asthma inhalers. Research studies show that those who have the herbal paste treatment for all three days in the summer will have diminished symptoms in the winter. Those who have had treatment on all three days for three years have a marked improvement, with some resulting in no asthma and seasonal allergy symptoms. As with all treatments, each person responds differently.
I will be giving San fu at my clinic on the dates below:
Application takes approx 15 min. $38 each treatment. Payment is required to confirm your appointment. You must make an appointment. There is no cost to add san fu treatment to your regular acupuncture visit.
July 15 9:30- 1pm and 4-7pm
August 4 2pm-4pm
August 13 9am - 1pm
*mask must be worn when you visit, surgical masks are provided
The Importance of Layers of Prevention
Something I learned from the 2020 Covid Pandemic is that nothing is predictable and nothing is 100%. Using multiple layers of prevention is the best method. For me that means wearing a high quality mask 95% of the time when I am in an indoor closed space with people other than those who I live with. It also means avoiding gatherings during spikes in widespread respiratory illnesses. Using air purifiers and proper hygiene of hand washing and sanitizing surfaces. Even strong immune systems can get weakened by large quantities of viruses and/or strong viruses.