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Fire Cupping
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About Fire Cupping
The beginning of fire cupping dates back to thousands of years in China. It is a part of Chinese medicine often used with acupuncture, gua sha, and moxibustion. Back then, cattle horns were used with fire to create the suction and sometimes even the practitioners would suck the air out themselves though a hole in the horn. This treatment was applied to suck out blood and pus for the treatment of boils and has since then evolved to use with various Chinese therapies.
Today, fire cupping is most commonly used with bamboo and glass cups. Bamboo is more commonly used in China and glass by western practitioners. Bamboo cups are very light, safe, and durable. Practitioners like them because they can be easily carried without worry of breaking the cups and they last for many years. However, the disadvantage of bamboo cups are that they are not transparent so you can not see the amount of suction being applied to the skin. Glass cups are preferred by some practitioners because they are generally easier to sterilize, use, and come in many sizes. You can easily see the amount of suction inside the cups. The main disadvantage of glass cups are they can break if dropped and cost more to replace.
The Fire Cupping Procedure
The fire cupping procedure is fairly simple. A cotton ball is soaked with 95% alcohol and held with a pair of forceps. The cotton ball is then let with a flame. With the glass cup in the other hand, it is placed next to the patient close to the treatment area. The fire from the cotton ball is then placed in the cup while rotating the cup at the same time to evenly heat the air and cup. Then the cup is placed on the skin. As the heated air cools, it will automatically create the negative pressure and create suction. For greater suction, a larger flame should be used. To adjust the suction pressure, the skin can be pressed down next to the opening to let air into the cup to lessen the amount of suction.
Where to Buy Fire Cupping Jars
Since the introduction of plastic and rubber cupping sets, glass or bamboo cupping suppliers are harder to find though medical distributors. However, online specialty stores in cupping or alternative medicine still carry them. For glass fire cupping sets, there are generally two kinds. The first are flat top cupping sets. They are also known as southern cupping sets. They feature a flat surface at the top of the cup so you can place the cup on a surface upside down after cleaning or sterilizing them. The second kind are round top, or northern, cupping sets. These glass cups are usually more popular with practitioners. Any of these fire cups can be purchased at this Chinese Cupping website.
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