Did you know that when the “needle” of acupuncture is combined with “fire”, it becomes the more effective “fire needle”? A doctor from Fuzhou has introduced fire needle techniques from outside the province, successfully treating numerous common and difficult diseases over the past eight years, gaining countless fans. She is Zheng Minqin, the director of the Traditional Specialty Diagnosis and Treatment Center at Fuzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.
Learning ‘Needle Kung Fu’ from Xinjiang
“Fire needle therapy involves heating the needle tip until it is glowing red, then quickly inserting it into acupuncture points or directly into the affected area.” Recently, during an interview with Zheng Minqin, she explained that fire needle therapy has effects such as warming Yang and supporting the body’s defenses, expelling evil and dissipating heat, and promoting the discharge of pus. Conditions that can be treated with regular acupuncture can generally also be treated with fire needles, often with faster and better results for acute arthritis, various skin diseases, and women’s cold-related menstrual pain.
Zheng Minqin first encountered fire needles during her time in Xinjiang. In 2012, in her thirties, she represented Fuzhou’s medical talent on a three-year aid mission to Xinjiang, stationed at the Qitai County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Changji Prefecture. One cold day, a plump woman came in with severe swelling in one knee due to an acute arthritis flare-up, making it difficult for her to walk. The hospital’s Uyghur doctor immediately inserted two fire needles into the woman’s joint.
“The next day, during my rounds, I found that the swelling in the woman’s knee had actually subsided. After a few more sessions of regular acupuncture to consolidate the effect, she was discharged in good health,” Zheng Minqin recalled.
Intrigued by fire needles, Zheng searched online and learned that fire needle therapy has a long history and can treat a variety of conditions, especially in the cold northern regions during winter. “I thought, since Fujian has a lot of humidity, many people have phlegm-damp and Yang deficiency constitutions, fire needles should also be useful here,” Zheng said.
Thus, Zheng bought many potatoes to practice fire needle techniques, later even practicing on herself. With a bachelor’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and a master’s in acupuncture and tuina from Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, along with years of clinical experience, she quickly mastered the fire needle technique. After returning from her aid mission in 2015, she brought the fire needle technique back to the municipal hospital.
In 2018, taking the opportunity to study at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, she learned from Professor Lin Guohua, a representative inheritor of the Lingnan fire needle school, that “fire needles can also be retained in the body.”
One Needle Turns Patients into Fans
During the interview, Zheng Minqin opened a small iron box and joked, “This is my fire needle arsenal, do I look like Rong Mama?” Inside the box were various fire needle instruments of different sizes, some thick and some thin, and some made of three needle tips bundled together, used for different diseases and conditions.
Zheng usually heats the needle tips with an alcohol lamp and inserts them immediately. She admitted that fire needle insertion is more painful than regular acupuncture, so considering the patient’s tolerance, she often uses fire needles with a diameter of only 0.3 mm for treatment, reserving thicker needles for more severe conditions, with the thickest being about the size of a toothpick.
The temperature of the burned fire needle can reach 800°C, and many patients are initially apprehensive, but after experiencing the immediate pain relief, they exclaim it is “magical.” Zheng Minqin’s “needle kung fu” is quick and precise, and after one treatment, many patients become loyal fans. Nowadays, her clinic is always bustling with patients.
Recently, a university student in Fuzhou had white, lichen-like eczema all over his fingers, causing unbearable itching. Zheng used fire needles to puncture the eczema area, and after several treatments, the eczema completely disappeared.
A few days ago, another university student developed shingles on his waist, with excruciating pain. Zheng first used a fine fire needle to quickly puncture the skin, then used a fine needle for surrounding acupuncture and retained the needle, followed by electrical stimulation. The shingles quickly crusted over, and the pain disappeared.
Over the years, Zheng Minqin has also used fire needles to treat facial paralysis, vitiligo, acne, bruises, arthritis, and more.
In 2021, the hospital established a Traditional Specialty Diagnosis and Treatment Center, with Zheng Minqin serving as the director. Currently, in addition to providing treatments primarily using fire needles, she and two colleagues also offer three-edged needles, ear needles, scalp needles, plum blossom needles, as well as navel therapy, moxibustion, electric moxibustion, and warm acupuncture, allowing the treasures of traditional Chinese medicine to better serve the public.
Zheng Minqin
Associate Chief Physician
Clinical Expertise:Combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine for treating shingles, eczema, urticaria, and other dermatological diseases; facial paralysis, post-stroke sequelae; dysmenorrhea, menstrual irregularities, and menopausal syndrome.
Outpatient Hours:Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday mornings; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday afternoonsClick▷▷▷ 【Make an Appointment】
Source of this article: Fuzhou App
Original link: Treasure Doctor | Combining ‘Needle Kung Fu’ with ‘Fire’ to Achieve Enhanced True Skills