Acupuncture caused dangerous lung damage

Acupuncture, also known as acupuncture andChen-Jiu therapy is still well spread in China and is used in other countries as an alternative medicine. Despite the skepticism of many people to its benefits, it still remains a popular method of treating diseases of the nervous system and internal organs, and is also considered a good remedy for chronic pain. However, sometimes acupuncture can be life-threatening - especially if the therapeutic needles are in the hands of an inexperienced therapist.

The essence of acupuncture is thatthe therapist inserts thin needles into various reflexogenic points on the human body. According to Chinese traditional medicine, “vital energy” circulates in these areas of the human body, and by acting on them with needles, it is possible to improve a person’s health.

Damage to the lungs during acupuncture

Probably a 79-year-old resident of PortugalWell heard about the healing effect of this therapy, and therefore appealed to the hospital in Lisbon with chronic back pain. She was prescribed and underwent an acupuncture session, but after that the elderly woman had other problems - several days later she went to the same hospital with difficulty breathing.

Doctors quickly discovered the cause of the disease - herthe right lung was pierced, and air accumulated between the tissues surrounding her lung. The hole was made by a therapeutic needle, which was inserted under the patient's shoulder blade. This zone is considered to be particularly dangerous, because there the lung can be located only a few centimeters from the surface of the skin. Apparently, the therapist chose the wrong angle and did not calculate the depth, and eventually damaged the woman’s lung.

Fortunately, after surgery underlocal anesthesia and a course of painkillers, the woman went on the mend. She was a victim of a very rare case, because in all Chinese literature over the past 30 years, only 201 cases of puncturing the lung during acupuncture have been described. Experts believe that patients must be aware of the existence of such a risk, and therapists, in turn, know all the dangerous points.

Acupuncture benefits

Opinions about the benefits of acupuncture vary -someone thinks that the procedure works because of the placebo effect, and someone believes that therapy can calm the pain in the body and solve other health problems. The technology is considered to be scientifically proven only in China, but in other countries it is better known as part of alternative medicine.

At the moment, the generally accepted evidenceThe benefits of acupuncture do not exist. All arguments boil down to the fact that, according to the philosophy of Taoism, any disease is considered to be a consequence of a violation of the circulation of vital energy. Acupuncturists are engaged in the fact that affect the point of circulation and lead to its flow in the normal state.

In medicine, there are many frightening andin its own interesting cases. For example, at the 2019 Euroanaesthesia Congress, Australian surgeons told how a fire broke out in the chest of one of the patients in their hospital. How it happened, you can read in our material.

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