Is It Safe To Use Local Anesthesia Before Hijama/Wet Cupping Therapy?

 

Local anesthesia before Hijama/wet cupping therapy is not recommended for long-term benefits.

What Is Local Anesthesia?

Local anesthesia can be used in the form of a cream or a spray to numb a part of the body to avoid pain during any surgical procedure, in our case to prevent pain during the process of Hijama cupping therapy.

How does Local Anesthesia Work?

When anesthesia spray or cream is applied to any body part, it blocks the nerves that carry pain signals to the brain. Local anesthetics stop the transmission of neuronal signals by interfering with the function of ion channels in the neuron membrane. To prevent depolarization, local anesthetic molecules are thought to bind to sodium channels, stabilizing them in an inactive state. The local anesthetic must get through the cell membrane to have an impact because this effect is mediated from within the cell.
Nerve fibres exhibit varying sensitivities to local anesthetics: small fibres are more susceptible than larger ones, and myelinated fibres are blocked before their non-myelinated counterparts of the same diameter. Consequently, the loss of nerve function progresses in a specific order: first, loss of pain sensation, followed by temperature, touch, proprioception, and finally, skeletal muscle tone. This explains why patients may still perceive touch but not pain during local anesthesia. It is often used for minor surgical procedures like dental surgery, sealing open wounds and removing moles. It can last from 30 minutes up to 12 hours depending upon the type or location of local anesthesia.

Local Anesthesia & Hijama

Hijama cupping therapy is a non-invasive alternative technique that involves placing suction cups to create a vacuum on the upper part of the skin. This process includes minor incisions to draw out stagnant blood, promoting the body’s natural healing response and encouraging the production of new blood cells.

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As a Hijama practitioner, I frequently encounter questions about the process, particularly regarding pain. One common inquiry is whether Hijama is painful and how we can minimize any discomfort. What should be used on the skin before Hijama? Do you use any local anesthesia to alleviate pain during cupping sessions?

Is Hijama Painful & Can We Minimize Any Discomfort?

Hijama can be somewhat uncomfortable and may involve a bit of pain, but a glimpse of the therapy is worse than the experience. When a cup is applied with negative pressure, it may feel like a pinch, while the incisions can resemble a scratch from sharp nails. Some individuals even experience a ticklish sensation. Despite the slight discomfort, the primary goal of Hijama is to enhance the healing process, making it a tolerable experience for many.

What Should Be Used On The Skin Before Hijama?

It is strongly recommended to cleanse the skin with an alcohol swab or antiseptic solution before making incisions to reduce bacteria and lower the risk of infection after a cupping session. Alcohol swabs are a standard infection control measure used to prepare the skin for procedures such as incisions, injections, and other medical treatments. They can reduce the bacterial load on the skin by 47–91%, minimizing the risk of contamination. Since blades or needles used for incisions break the skin’s protective barrier, alcohol solution prevents bacteria from entering through the cut, reducing the infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) advises rubbing the incision site with a 60–70% alcohol solution for 30 seconds, then allowing the area to dry for another 30 seconds. However, there is ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of this practice and whether it is strictly necessary for preventing infection.

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Is It Safe To Use Numbing Spray Or Cream Before Hijama?

Some clients request to use local anesthesia to avoid pain and discomfort. Numbing sprays or creams are available in the market for that purpose. Using numbing spray or cream is not recommended before Hijama because such numbing sprays carry dangerous chemicals which could disrupt the biomechanics of Hijama.

Let’s examine the biomechanical processes involved in numbing sprays or creams, it is evident that their application in Hijama treatment is dysfunctional. Numbing agents, such as anesthetics, cause vasoconstriction — the narrowing of blood vessels — which restricts blood flow to the area being treated. This reduction in circulation makes it impossible to effectively draw out blood stasis, which is the primary goal of hijama therapy. If any blood stasis were to be extracted under these conditions, it would be minimal compared to the results achieved without anesthesia.

Vasoconstrictors, such as epinephrine, are among the most powerful numbing agents, as they cause blood vessels to constrict and reduce bleeding. So, it is unreasonable to use such agents during Hijama. The primary objective of Hijama is to remove stagnated blood and applying a vasoconstrictor can’t serve the purpose of Hijama.

Thus, the use of numbing spray in cupping therapy is unsafe, useless, and goes against the basic idea of removing blood stagnation, which makes the technique inconsistent with its stated therapeutic benefits.