Bloodletting Therapy for Urticaria
Bloodletting therapy is a type of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine. Clinically, based on the theory that “when qi flows, blood flows; when blood flows, wind disappears,” bloodletting is used to treat urticaria with significant efficacy.
Bloodletting typically involves disinfecting and pricking the bilateral ear rims, bilateral fingertip ends, and bilateral toe tips with a three-edged needle, releasing blood every three days, with five sessions constituting one course.
Urticaria, commonly known as “windsore,” is a temporary reaction caused by increased vascular permeability in the skin and mucosa, leading to plasma extravasation and resulting in transient erythema and edema. This condition often results from constitutional weakness, consumption of fish, shrimp, and other stimulating foods, dietary irregularities leading to intestinal heat, or pre-existing physical weakness with poor defensive qi, allowing wind-heat or wind-cold pathogens to lodge in the skin and muscles. Additionally, emotional distress, liver qi stagnation, obstructed qi circulation, and internal heat generation from stagnation can deplete yin-blood, leaving the body vulnerable to wind pathogens and triggering the condition.
The clinical course of urticaria can be divided into acute and chronic phases. The acute phase often starts suddenly, rapidly developing wheals of varying sizes, appearing pale red or whitish, with intense itching, burning, or stinging sensations. Wheals may spread throughout the body or remain localized. They rise and fall alternately, disappearing without leaving marks. Causes are usually identifiable, and wheals resolve quickly once the trigger is removed. The chronic phase involves recurrent episodes, with fluctuating severity, difficult-to-identify causes, and lasting for years.
Clinically, treatment must comprehensively analyze the patient's constitution, symptoms, tongue appearance, and pulse pattern, individualizing diagnosis and treatment according to patterns. Patterns include wind-cold, wind-heat, blood-heat, spleen deficiency, and blood deficiency. When using bloodletting therapy, the volume of bleeding should be determined based on the severity of urticaria. For new, severe cases with real patterns such as wind-cold, blood-heat, or wind-heat, more bleeding is required; for chronic deficiency patterns like spleen or blood deficiency, less bleeding is needed. After needle withdrawal, allow natural bleeding and spontaneous cessation; alternatively, blood may be drawn via elbow vein or intravenous injection. Bleeding volume must not be excessive—the total blood loss from all selected points should not exceed 200 ml to avoid danger.
After bloodletting therapy, patients usually immediately feel reduction in wheals and disappearance of burning, stinging sensations, with no other discomfort. Some may experience general weakness or dizziness, which can be managed by consuming nutritious food and ensuring adequate rest and sleep; recovery typically occurs within three to four days. For acute real-heat conditions, consecutive bloodletting twice may be performed; for chronic deficiency patterns like spleen or blood deficiency, bloodletting every one to two weeks is recommended. After one to three sessions of bloodletting, most patients show obvious improvement; some require six to eight sessions before skin returns to normal. Bloodletting therapy for urticaria and other allergic conditions is simple, easy to perform, and generally does not require additional antiallergic medications.