Bleeding Babies in Badakhshan

The bleeding of infants via the skin (pile) and the roof of the mouth (qüm) is practiced in Badakhshan, the easternmost province of Tajikistan. Like folk practices elsewhere, pilé and qüm exist at the interstices of modern society and reflect a complex religious, historical, and social response to poverty, marginality, and the global processes associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In this article, I attempt to move beyond an ethnomedical analysis by examining these bloodletting practices in the context of their contemporary meaning, as a moral response to suffering and to the social changes that have taken place in the post-Soviet period.

Thirty-two cases of acne treated with blood-letting puncture, cupping and Chinese-drug facemask

To observe the therapeutic effect on acne treated with blood-letting puncture, cupping and Chinese-drug facemask. Thirty-two patients with acne were treated with above-mentioned therapeutic method. Cure, improvement and ineffectiveness were respectively found in 24, 7 and 1 case, with a curative rate of 75.0% and a total effective rate of 96.8%. The combination of blood-letting puncture, cupping and external application of Chinese-drug facemask is effective in treating acne.

Effect of blood-letting puncture at twelve well-points of hand on consciousness and heart rate in patients with apoplexy

OBJECTIVE

To observe the effect of blood-letting puncture at Twelve Well-Points of Hand on consciousness and heart rate in patients with early apoplexy.

METHOD

Under observation were patients with disturbance of consciousness within 3 days after the apoplectic seizure. The patients were divided into a large injury team, a moderate injury team and a mild injury team. Each team was again randomly divided into a puncture group and a control group, with routine treatment in both groups but blood-letting puncture only in the puncture group. Quantitative changes in consciousness, blood pressure and heart rate of the patients were observed.

RESULT

Blood-letting puncture at Twelve Well-Points of Hand can improve the consciousness and raise the systolic pressure in patients of the mild injury team, and accelerate the heart rate in all the patients in the puncture group.

CONCLUSION

Blood-letting puncture at Twelve Well-Points of Hand can improve the consciousness of patients with brain injury in small area.

Did some 18th and 19th century treatments for mental disorders act on the brain?

Review of 18th and 19th century psychiatric therapies raises the possibility that several may have altered the activity of vasopressin or Na-K-ATPase. Bleeding, whirling, nausea created by medicines, and vagus nerve stimulation by application of electricity through the skin all perturb the hypothalamic hormone, arginine vasopressin, while helleborus and digitalis inhibit the sodium pump enzyme, Na-K-ATPase. These approaches were used with reported benefit many years ago, acting on the brain in ways ongoing research suggests may play a role in affective disorders. Study of long-abandoned treatments may clarify their mechanisms of action and the characteristics of responsive patients.

The leech and the physician: biology, etymology, and medical practice with Hirudinea medicinalis

The history of the word "leech" and the practice of leeching reveal interconnected social histories. We give the linguistic and medical histories of the word, and explore its biology and clinical history. Our historical account extends from the earliest known record of leeching to current research. Despite historical variation in its reputation as a therapeutic technique, leeching remains useful today in a number of applications. Further investigation may well disclose even more uses for the leech, particularly for its enzymes with anesthetic, anticoagulant, and antimetastatic properties.

[The leech therapy of infectious myocarditis]

The novelty of the work consists in application of hirudotherapy (leeches) to treat infectious myocarditis, which therapy has been embarked on for the first time in the treatment of this medical condition. Coagulation methods used by the author are modern, the methodical approach is adequate. The role of hirudotherapy versus heparin therapy is shown.

Leech therapy for complicated varicose veins

Several methods of limb bandaging have been described to reduce the oedema and enhance ulcer healing in complicated varicose veins, with varying success rates. Leech therapy has never before been tried for the same. We evaluated the effectiveness of medicinal leech therapy in producing venous decongestion, reversal of oedema, hyperpigmentation and healing of varicose ulcer(s). Whether the leech selectively sucks venous blood was also investigated. Hirudo medicinalis (medicinal leech) was applied to the area surrounding the varicose ulcer(s) in 20 patients with varicose veins with complications and the patients monitored for ulcer healing, and decrease in hyperpigmentation, oedema and limb girth. The partial pressure of O2 (pO2) of 7 patients' arterial and venous blood was compared to that sucked by the leech. After leech therapy all the ulcers showed healing, while 95 per cent of patients showed a decrease in oedema and limb girth. Seventy five per cent patients demonstrated a decrease in hyperpigmentation. The mean pO2 of blood sucked by the leech was 40.05 +/- 7.24 mmHg, which was similar to the mean pO2 of the patients' venous blood (34.33 +/- 8.4 mmHg). Thus it appears from this study that the medicinal leech sucks venous blood and aids ulcer healing, and can probably therefore be used as an effective adjunct in the management of complicated varicose veins. This however requires further evaluation by controlled trials.

Observation on therapeutic effects of blood-letting puncture with cupping in acute trigeminal neuralgia

In the present paper, 45 cases of acute trigeminal neuralgia were treated and observed by comparative method. Results showed no significant difference in transient analgesic effect (P > 0.05) but a significant difference in therapeutic effect (P < 0.01) between the treatment and control groups. This indicates that blood-letting puncture with cupping is an effective therapy for the disease.

Making sense of the technique of venepuncture

Venepuncture is a skill being undertaken by an increasing number of nurses. This paper describes the steps to be taken together with some of the measures employed to avoid problems.

Suprahepatic vein oxygen tension in alcoholics with severe and mild liver damage

We measured suprahepatic vein and arterial partial oxygen pressure in 35 alcoholics with severe (N = 7) or mild (N = 28) histological liver damage and without evidence of clinical liver failure. The suprahepatic vein was punctured with a fine needle, using a percutaneous approach. Suprahepatic vein partial oxygen pressure was lower and arterial-suprahepatic gradient higher in alcoholics with severe liver damage compared to those with mild damage (35.1 +/- 1.7 vs 44.1 +/- 2.1 and 58.9 +/- 3.7 vs 45.9 +/- 2.4 mm Hg, respectively; P < 0.001). Suprahepatic puncture was well tolerated and devoid of complications. It is concluded that alcoholics with severe liver damage have lower oxygen tensions in the suprahepatic vein, a phenomenon that supports the hypoxic theory of alcoholic liver disease.

Use of a phlebotomy service in a paediatric unit

This article evaluates the literature and research concerning venepuncture and the use of a phlebotomy service in an acute paediatric setting. It also highlights concerns expressed by nursing and medical staff about the introduction of such a service.