As an acupuncture student, you spend the better part of three to four years memorizing exact anatomical locations of hundreds of acupuncture points and a recipe list of common indications for their use. It is a necessary task to get a basic understanding of Chinese medicine. And it is required to have this knowledge under your belt to be able to pass the NCCAOM national board exam in order to get licensed in most states.
But I am eternally grateful to Dr. Richard Tan and Master Tung for showing me the true power of acupuncture meridian theory. Understanding that the human body is holographic in nature with each body area reflecting the whole body, opens the door to dozens of possibilities in the treatment of almost any condition. And, though I do tend to stick to some common point combinations that almost never seem to fail me for common ailments, for a certain percentage of people who don’t fall into the majority, they have taught me how to put on my thinking cap and try a fresh approach.
I was recently reminded of the beauty of this way of thinking when I picked up Miriam Lee’s book “Master Tong’s Acupuncture” to refresh my memory on the location of acupuncture points that I knew to be used for cold sores. The points are called Upper Lip (77.15) and Lower Lip (77.16). The first point is located at the lateral inferior edge of the patella and the attachment of the ligament patellae. The second point is one cun (about an inch) below that. These points are commonly bled by pricking them with a three edge needle to treat lip sores.
I was recently reminded of the beauty of this way of thinking when I picked up Miriam Lee’s book “Master Tong’s Acupuncture” to refresh my memory on the location of acupuncture points that I knew to be used for cold sores. The points are called Upper Lip (77.15) and Lower Lip (77.16). The first point is located at the lateral inferior edge of the patella and the attachment of the ligament patellae. The second point is one cun (about an inch) below that. These points are commonly bled by pricking them with a three edge needle to treat lip sores.
But it was one of Miriam’s case histories that caught my eye. Here is an excerpt: “Because the names of these points translate to upper lip and lower lip and because in Chinese the labia of the vagina are called large and small lips, I got the idea that maybe these two points might be able to treat herpes genitalia. When a doctor’s wife came in to see me with very inflamed labia due to severe herpes, I decided to try this idea. I bled both points on both legs and black blood ran copiously out. That night, four hours later, the woman called me to say that the pain, itching and inflammation had ceased.”
She later went on to say that she also used the points for herpes genitalia on men with the same success.
I pass this information on to practitioners who may need a treatment protocol for herpes genitalia. But I hope this story also encourages you to think outside the box for some of your more challenging cases.
About the Author
Joyce Marley is a NYS licensed acupuncturist and is trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine. She incorporates many of Master Tung’s acupuncture points in her treatments.