Cupping

Also horning; fire cupping. A method of treatment involving the application of suction to skin to draw out blood and sometimes pus. Cupping is also called fire cupping because the suction is produced when, for example, a lighted alcohol swab placed inside the cup burns the oxygen to create a vacuum after the cup has been placed on the skin.

The method of treatment now called cupping was mentioned in Prolonging Life and Preserving the Origin (寿世保元 shòu shì bǎo yuán, xiè xiè) (281–341, Jìn) by Gě Hóng (c. 281–361) as horning.

Fire cups used to be made of animal horn, bamboo, or earthenware, but globe-shaped glass ones are now preferred because they enable the practitioner to see the flame and so prevent it from burning the patient. The recent development of cups with suction pumps (suction cups) makes cupping safer and more convenient than before.

Application: Cupping is used to treat wind-damp impediment (bì) pain, colds, phlegm-rheum, cough and panting; stomach pain, abdominal pain, back and lumbar pain, leg qì pain; initial-stage welling-abscess (yōng) and flat-abscess (jū). Individual forms of cupping include stationary cupping, push-cupping, flash-cupping, and pricking and cupping.

Contraindications: Cupping should not be applied where there is generalized heat with headache, clouded vision and heavy head, convulsions, arched-back rigidity, or clenched jaw. It should not be used on parts of the body affected by skin disease or areas where the flesh is thin or bones show through, or on major blood vessels. It should not be applied to the abdomen in pregnancy or to areas affected by water swelling.