Every parent knows how stressful and worrisome it is to have a sick baby, even if it is just with a cough or cold. Fortunately, TCM has treatment protocols for babies with coughs and colds that you can do yourself at home.
For adults, coughs and colds are unpleasant but relatively easy to deal with though acupuncture, herbs, or any other method that you’ve found to be tried and true. But when babies get sick it can be a rather miserable time.
Is there Acupuncture for Babies?
In general, no. Acupuncture is not often applied to children under 12 years of age. This is for two reasons: the first is pretty self-explanatory in that there can be a real fear or pain factor involved with needling little ones. The second reason is that children under 12 tend to be very sensitive to touch. Just by kneading, pressing or massaging, children can gain the same effect of acupuncture but without the needles. The best part is that parents can do this at home.
Treatment for Common Cold in Babies & Children
This is a basic prescription for little ones with colds. This is generally done once a day, twice a day in severe cases. The pressure of each manipulation is quite light.
- Open Tianmen (Zanzhu): 50x. This is a strip that starts between the eyebrows and goes up to the hairline. Using the pads of your thumbs alternately, sweep upwards from the eyebrows to the hairline.
- Part-Push Kangong: 50x. This is a strip that lies along the eyebrows. Using both thumbs, start at the eyebrow and push outwards to the temple region.
- Knead Taiyang: 50x. This is the depression in the temple: between the lateral end of the eyebrows and the hairline. With your middle finger, gently press and rotate in this area.
- Knead Erhou: 50x. Behind the ears, straight down from the edge of the auricle and slightly posterior, and at the base of the skull. Use thumbs or finger tips to knead the area.
- Conduct Huangfeng Rudong: 20x. This is the area that runs from directly under the nostrils to the lips. Press and knead this area (without obstructing the nasal passages).
For babies with more chills, add:
- Knead Ershanmen: 50x. On the dorsal side of the hand, in the depressions just proximal to the knuckles of the middle finger, knead this area.
- Push Sanguan: 100x. This is a strip that runs from the palm of the hand near the base of the thumb to the outside crease of the elbow. With the pad of your thumb, wipe from wrist to elbow.
For babies with more fever, add:
- Clear Feijing: 100x. This point is on the baby’s hands, along the ring finger. Using your fingers, wipe from the palm to the tip of the ring finger.
- Push Tianzhugu: 100x. On the back of the neck, along the spine, from the hairline to the base of the neck. Using your thumb or fingers push down along this line.
For babies with cough, add:
- Push-knead Tanzhong: 50x. This is on the midline of the chest between the two nipples. With your middle fingers, knead the area and sweep the fingers down towards the end of the sternum in a wiping motion.
- Knead Feishu: 50x. This point is directly between the spine and shoulder blades, and level with the horizontal spine of the shoulder (3rd Thoracic vertebrae). Knead this area with the thumbs or fingers.
For babies with congestion, add:
- Knead Rupang & Rugen: 30x. These points are below and on the outsides of the nipples. Using your index and middle finger, knead these areas.
- Rub Xielei: 50x. This strip runs from under the arms to the navel. Using the palms of your hands, rub from back to front.
For babies with trouble sleeping, add:
- Clear Ganjing: 300x. This point is on the baby’s hands, along the index finger. Using your fingers, wipe from the palm to the tip of the index finger.
- Pinch-knead Xiaotianxin: 10x. On the palm side of the hand, on the fleshy part below the thumb, closer to the wrist, knead this area.
Giving your baby this therapy will help them to quickly recover from anything they have contracted. If you have any questions or comments, or if you would like any more information on what baby Tuina can treat, please feel free to contact us.
Caroline Prodoehl, TCMP
References:
Enqin, Zhang (Ed.) (1988). Chinese Massage: A Practical English-Chinese Library of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Publishing House of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.