An Introduction to Acupuncture for Children
by Kelly Hora, M.Ac. Dipl. Ac

When my son Wes was born and every day since it has been my privilege to keep him safe, well fed, rested and having some fun.  No problem, right?  When he first began waking frequently through the night I sought out answers in books.  And I found some great answers amidst a lot of formulaic advice that just didn’t fit him or our family.  As tempting as it was to want one solution to fix this sleeping problem, deep down I am grateful that my son is more complex than that.  He began sleeping more soundly only when we were able to apply the information we learned from books within the context of who our son is as a unique person. 

I might have sorted this out sooner since it is exactly what I learned in acupuncture school.  Just because one person has asthma does not mean that I can give them the exact same treatment as someone else who has asthma.  The underlying imbalances leading to the symptom “asthma” are unique to each person, and thus require unique interventions. 

As a parent and as an acupuncturist I understand the enormous potential that holistic, preventative approaches to health care hold for children.  Acupuncture and other aspects of Chinese Medicine have helped strengthen children and prevent the development of chronic disease for centuries.  Looking towards prevention is the greatest gift you can give your child when it comes to wellness.  Acupuncture is an investment in correcting imbalances while children are young because the intervention is simple and longer lasting than waiting to treat an illness once it develops into a chronic state.

Many parents recognize that infants, toddlers and young children tend to have symptoms related to the digestive system.  According to Chinese medical theory, children's digestive systems are still developing until the age of six and typically do not function as well as adults.  This is one reason why it is common to see children complaining of various digestive upset from diarrhea to indigestion.  It follows that a child’s diet is an important factor to consider.  You may want to observe how the amount of food, regularity of feeding, food sanitation and possible allergies or sensitivities may affect your child. All of these factors can contribute to illnesses or lead to prevention.  Furthermore many seemingly unrelated illnesses, like asthma and inflammatory issues often show up in older children as a function of unresolved digestive in earlier childhood according to Chinese medical theory.  Western medical theory concurs, based on the understanding that unresolved inflammation in the digestive system can manifest as other symptoms and disease patterns over time.

Chinese medical history also refers to the “school of the Spleen and Stomach” because the prevailing theory held that treatment of these digestive organs would resolve most diseases in a person.  In Chinese medicine the Spleen refers to the spleen itself, which functions as a lymph organ that cleans the blood, as well as the pancreas which is an important hormone regulator for the digestive system.  When a child is experiencing indigestion for example, acupuncture can correct the imbalance in the body that leads to stagnation of food in the stomach or redirect the “stomach energy” back down when a child is experiencing nausea.  According to Chinese medicine there is a link between food stagnation and colic for example, so an acupuncturist treating a colicky child would resolve the digestive issues first and make dietary suggestions to help the treatment hold.