Netizens Shocked By Video of Traditional Chinese Treatment Puncturing A Man’s Forehead
By Carl Samson
October 3, 2016
A video of a man being punctured in the head has shocked netizens as soon as it hit the web.
It is, in every sense, a modern bloodletting.
The footage, allegedly filmed in China, shows an unidentified man who lets another person puncture his forehead.
The man is presumed to have turned himself in for traditional treatment, and the other person is believed to be the “doctor.”
The procedure is reportedly used to treat headaches, but while it’s been done for ages, Chinese viewers were shocked (via Weibo):
“I am curious if the man is still alive.”
“I have heard of this therapy but is he bleeding too much?”
“Why didn’t he go for blood donation?”
The man is seen smiling and strangling his neck with a towel before the treatment. Shortly, the doctor touches his forehead in what looked like an attempt to palpate a viable puncture location.
After few seconds, the doctor punctures the man’s forehead with what appears to be a tube or a needle and blood immediately gushed.
Michael Chung, a lecturer from City University Hong Kong, told Daily Mail:
“Venipuncture, meaning cutting a vein to remove blood from the body, for therapeutic purposes is a commonly-used method in Chinese Medicine.”
Chung said it’s fairly common:
“It is quite commonly used in the treatment of pain, swelling, or other disorders that related to blood congestions. Usually, TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) practitioners will use lancets to let go a few drops of blood, or by means of ‘wet cupping.'”
However, the bloodletting doesn’t come without risks:
“The possible risk of venipuncture, in such scale as in the video, may include pain and bruise after puncture, dropped blood pressure, shock and infection.”
Bloodletting dates back at least 3,000 years ago to ancient Egypt, prevailing through the 19th century, the National Geographic said. Today, it may be used by doctors treating specific cases such as polycythemia and hemochromatosis, which refer to abnormally high red blood cells and excessive iron in the blood, respectively.
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