I am seeing a 76 year old woman with low back and knee pain. She has a distended varicose vein on weizhong-Bl 40 on the right side. My instinct is to bloodlet but I am hesitant due to the fact that it is a varicose vein. Does anyone have experience with bloodletting who could share their advice? Thanks in advance.
bloodletting varicose vein
I think it would be safe if...
dabtcm
Hi Erin...I think it would be safe provided this patient is not on any blood-thinning medicatiions such as Coumadin or even 81mg. Aspirin (baby Aspirin) or any supplement(s) that have known blood thinning properties such as EFA's (essential fatty acids), Gingko, etc.
I have done this on elderly patients with great success + also it is emperically known to be an indication for low back pain + also especially if there is significant Blood Stasis (which there usually is in the elderly).
As an additional tip I would bloodlet and cup over the area to ensure a 'successful procedure' + also to ensure that the trauma to the tissue is minimal and then apply YunanBaiYao powder over the area afterwards to prevent any bleeding and then also cover and advise the patient to keep the area clean to avoid infection. Aditionally you did not give any pulse/tongue or other info. including whether or not this patient is on any supplements or Rx.'s. Also, sonsider that low back pain Bi is sucessfully treated with Shu Jing Huo Xue Tang (Clematis and Stephania Combination) , but you should assess if this is appropriate for your patient.
Best of luck in her care and management.
Just what I wanted to
Just what I wanted to hear....thanks. I did forget to mention that she is not on any kind of blood thinners, and no history of bleeding problems or diabetes. As far as tongue and pulse, they both point toward deficiency, which also makes me a bit hesitant to bloodlet, but I feel confident that the stasis is ruling over her back pain so I will give it a go. Thanks for the advice.
Joined: 2007-06-16