Expert: Heather Vandeburg L.Ac M.S.O.M. dipl.Ac - 12/19/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hello Ms Vandenburg,

Yesterday, a strange phenomenon happened with a patient doing an undirect moxa on his arm and leg. He visited me to cure a tennis elbow to the right arm. So I exposed GB34, LI 9 to 11 and a-chi points with a undirect moxa only, starting by right side. As usually, I was very careful asking frequently to the patient about the amount and quality of heat he was feeling, clearly saying that at the first pain he would ask me to stop it. He seemed not to be sensitive to my moxa and I decided to stop the exposure after some 5 minutes to avoid burns, I didn't see any red mark on the points. I did the other side at the same points and there, after only 1 or 2 minutes he asked me to stop the exposure as he was very sensitive that side. The point is that afterward  he sent me an "angry" e-mail complaining of blisters and burns.
I was very ashtonished of this reaction, as it wasn't a direct moxa upon the skin. After hundreds of moxas, it's the very first time that a patient complains about that kind of thing.
I wonder how it can have such differences of sensitivity between the Yin right side and the Yang left side of the body.I suppose that this is the sign of a important QI imbalance and that the surface upon the tennis elbow pain is less sensitive due to the stagnation of blood but what about GB 34 point? It's the very first time that I have such an unsatisfied patient, what would you advice to do to keep a good relation ship ? I already proposed him to refund the session what he appreciated but he still doesn't want to hear anything anymore about oriental medicine, which is a pity.
I thank you for your consideration

Pascal Moreaux

ANSWER: Hi Pascal,
It could be that the side of the pain was somewhat desensitized. I think a very important thing when working with moxa is education.  Letting him know ahead of time that blisters are possible and sometimes a good thing.  Explaining how to treat the blister as after care is also very important. I always have qing wan hun available for patients and I give some to take home. I make a practice of putting it on moxa sites as a preventative after the session. Make sure that you document all your conversations with him to protect yourself. I am used to seeing imbalances in the qi and a difference side to side.
Your in good shape if this is your first unsatisfied customer. It sounds like you did all that you could in the situation.  You may not be able to win him over.  But you did try to make things right to the best of your ability. And I am sure that you learned from the experience.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello again and thank you very much for your clear answer and advises,this is very nice to share experiences with more experimented colleagues. After 3 years or practice I still consider myself as an absolute beginner.
This is right that I've learn of this experience...here's the follow up : So after having refunded the session I called the person to have some news. His anger has diminished probably seeing how I was showing concern and wasn't "escaping" from the situation. He recognized his part of responsability saying that he should have warned me of the pain much sooner. I proposed him to have another free session, trying to reconcile him with oriental medicine. He told me that he was going to think about it and we left in good terms.
If you agree I'd have some other questions :
I don't know where to find qing wan hun ( Is it a cream ?)here in Belgium, do you know an internet supplier ? Does it have another name ?
I personnaly have a pain at SP9 point which doesn't disappear with thumb massage nor moxa. What would be the meaning ?
A last one : what do think about piercings and their possible interaction with energy flow and their use by alredy Qi unbalanced persons ?
Many thanks
Best regards
Pascal  

Answer
Hi Pascal,
The burn cream is Ching Wan Hung or Jing Wan Hong.  I buy mine at www.mayway.com. It is an Chinese herbal company.
To me Sp9 when painful indicates dampness internally.  
Most people get the two most contraindicated points to needles pierced, CV8 and ST17.  I definitely think that piercings disrupt the flow of qi. They can be a tipping point into disease for people who are already unbalanced.

Good luck with everything.

Heather Vandeburg LAc MSOM