Gua Sha - A Traditional Cold Treatment

Yesterday I got "trúng gió", which is a Vietnamese term meaning "catch a cold" with symptoms of fatigue, headache, nausea, and abdominal pain. I think the cause might be that I was indoors for days, not getting outside to get some fresh air, sedentary, and let the fan blow directly at my feet while I was sleeping all night. Since we couldn't leave the house to buy medicine because of the "not leaving home" directive from the city government, my wife helped me better with a traditional treatment called Gua sha. This is the treatment we learned from our grandmother.

Origin and name

Gua sha is a traditional cold remedy that originated in China. This remedy was introduced to Vietnam during 1000 years of Chinese invasion more than 160 years ago. It later became a popular cold remedy in Vietnam before Western medicine flourished. In Vietnam Gua sha is known by the name "cạo gió", which means "to scrape wind" and "bắt gió", which means "to catch wind".

Tools and techniques

To practice this remedy, we need gua sha stone, spoon, coin or silver chain... along with ingredients like medicated oil, betel leaf, garlic, ginger or white wine...To practice "scraping wind", we apply one of the above ingredients to the skin, and then use one of the above tools to scrape the back, shoulders, arms, chest and abdomen until red streaks appear on the skin. And to practice "catching wind", we use our hands to pull the skin on the forehead, temples, neck and nape to form red or purple spots, then use one of the ingredients above to apply to those skin areas. After being "scraped wind" and "caught wind", the patient needs to wear tight, warm clothes, rest, and avoid the wind. To recover faster, the patient can eat hot porridge and spicy foods such as pepper, garlic, onions to sweat to detoxify. After receiving this treatment yesterday, I ate a bowl of hot porridge. After that I felt so much better after just one sleep.

Principles

Symptoms such as fatigue, headache, nausea, and abdominal pain are caused by poor blood circulation causing local hematoma and toxic accumulation. "Scraping wind" and "Catching wind" help to form points of hematoma or hemorrhage on the skin at acupuncture points. It thereby improves blood circulation and stimulates new oxygenated blood flow to the areas, thus promoting metabolic cell repair, regeneration, healing and recovery. However, if your symptoms are due to other causes, this treatment is not recommended. But I hope that you will never use this remedy and stay healthy!