Special acupuncture treatment scheduled for asthma patients

The Hospital Authority is to launch a special acupuncture treatment for asthma and allergic rhinitis patients at its 13 clinics offering traditional Chinese medicine.

The treatment, commonly known as tian jiu, is only conducted on three selected summer days in a year according to Chinese tradition. Unlike other acupuncture techniques, it involves no needles but simply herbs that are placed on acupuncture points on the upper back.

According to Chinese-medicine theories, summer is the best time to treat and prevent 'winter illnesses' such as asthma and allergies, since herbs can work most efficiently in the human body during this period.

Vivian Wong Taam Chi-woon, integrative medicine adviser for the Hospital Authority, said the non- invasive acupuncture technique should be able to improve the patients' conditions, reduce relapses and even cure their illnesses.

The authority carried out months of research based on 200 medical papers from overseas, which showed the acupuncture technique was 'safe and very effective'.

'We found that the tian jiu treatment is not only backed up by Chinese-medicine theories with thousands of years of history, but is strongly supported by scientific evidence,' Dr Wong said.