Acupoints for health care | Sore throat: Massage Shaoshang and Zhaohai to relieve pain

01 What is sore throat?

Sore throat, with redness, swelling and pain in the throat and discomfort in swallowing as the main clinical symptoms, is commonly seen in colds, acute and chronic pharyngitis (laryngitis), tonsillitis and other diseases.

02 Etiology and pathogenesis

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the causes and mechanisms of sore throat can be divided into two categories: excess and deficiency. Excess syndrome can be caused by wind, heat, fire and toxic substances invading the throat, or excessive heat in the lungs and stomach, which causes wind, fire, heat and toxic substances to accumulate in the throat along the meridians; deficiency syndrome can be caused by deficiency of both the lungs and kidneys, which causes the virtual fire to ascend and burn the throat.

Sore throat is often caused by exogenous wind-heat or eating spicy and dry food. The disease is located in the throat and is related to the lungs, stomach, liver, kidneys and other internal organs.

03 Symptoms

Positive symptoms (heat and toxicity attacking the upper body)

The main symptoms are red, swollen and painful throat, burning and dryness, cough with yellow sputum, fever and sweating, red tongue with yellow fur, yellow urine, constipation, etc. Generally, the onset is acute, the disease progresses rapidly, and the throat pain is obvious.

Deficiency syndrome (yin deficiency and internal heat)

The main symptoms are slight swelling and pain in the pharynx, dry throat and itching, dry cough, foreign body sensation in the throat, hoarseness, hot hands and feet, red tongue with little coating, etc. It usually has a chronic onset, a long course, and often recurrent attacks.

04 Treatment Principle

Shaoshang: A point on the hand Taiyin lung meridian, located on the finger, on the radial side of the thumb tip, 0.1 inch above the corner of the nail root.

Shao means small; Shang is one of the five tones, corresponding to the lungs; Shaoshang is the well point of the hand Taiyin Lung Meridian. When the Qi and blood of the lung meridian reach this point, they are like a shallow stream.

The well point of the hand Taiyin lung meridian corresponds to "wood" in the five elements, and has a strong effect of dredging, regulating and venting, so it can clear away lung fire and drive out evil spirits. It is often used to treat exogenous wind-heat and sore throat caused by stagnation of the lung meridian.

In daily life, frequently kneading Shaoshang can effectively prevent and treat sore throat caused by colds, acute and chronic pharyngitis. If it is in the acute stage, let a few drops of blood from Shaoshang acupoint (pay attention to disinfection) to drive away evil spirits, which can immediately relieve sore throat.

Zhaohai: An acupoint on the Kidney Meridian of Foot Shaoyin, an intersection point of eight meridians, connecting to the Yin Qiao, located on the inner side of the foot, in the depression below the tip of the inner ankle.

Zhao means to irradiate. Hai means big water, which was considered by the ancients as the largest body of water. The kidney meridian qi and blood form a larger area (water area) through Shuiquan acupoint to this acupoint. Pressing and stimulating Zhaohai acupoint is like the sun shining in nature, evaporating water, absorbing heat and generating vitality, so it can relieve sore throat caused by virtual fire, exogenous wind-heat, and excessive heat in the lungs and stomach.

The Kidney Meridian of Foot Shaoyin goes up from the soles of the feet, along the throat, and runs beside the root of the tongue. According to the route of this meridian, if the Kidney Meridian is diseased, symptoms such as "hot mouth, dry tongue, swollen throat" and "dry and painful throat" may appear. Therefore, Zhaohai acupoint, which belongs to the Kidney Meridian, can treat "swollen and sore throat".

05 Notes

Pressing and stimulating the corresponding acupoints can effectively relieve sore throat, but you should pay attention to actively treating the primary disease, keeping a good mood, getting more rest, drinking water frequently, avoiding tobacco and alcohol, not eating spicy food, keeping bowel movements smooth, reducing excessive talking, speaking properly, actively exercising, strengthening your physical fitness, and improving your immunity. If the sore throat is severe, you should seek medical attention in time and receive regular treatment to avoid delaying the condition.

This article summary was published in the 7th edition of "China Traditional Chinese Medicine Journal" on March 10, 2022, under the heading "Health Care"

About the Author

○ Engage in research on acupuncture theory and clinical practice, research on acupoint optimization and compatibility rules, and research on external treatment of meridian points.

○ He presided over and participated in 18 national and provincial scientific research projects, published 21 core journal papers as the first (corresponding) author, was the deputy editor-in-chief and co-editor of 7 academic works, and won 1 second prize in science and technology from the Chinese Acupuncture Association.

○ Specializes in allergic diseases (rhinitis, eczema, urticaria, etc.), myopia in children and adolescents, spleen and stomach diseases (chronic gastritis, abdominal distension, diarrhea, indigestion, gastroptosis, gastric ulcer), insomnia, headache, facial paralysis, tinnitus and deafness, periarthritis of the shoulder, pain in the neck, shoulder, waist and legs, trigeminal neuralgia, sciatica, dysmenorrhea, herpes zoster and other painful diseases, chronic prostatitis, constipation, hypertension, sequelae of stroke, sub-health conditioning and other traditional Chinese medicine treatments.

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