ventosa in vogue again

the traditional ventosa cup. vacuum is induced by using fire to heat the inside and applying the cup on the body with sleight of hand.
the newer ventosa cups with suction pump
to an anxious first timer, ventosa is more acceptable than needles.

a few weeks ago in a party, i saw a young lady in spaghetti straps with ventosa marks on her back. i think her doctor or whoever put the ventosa forgot to tell her to keep herself warm and to avoid drafts.

and yesterday i found a flyer on our gate. it advertized ventosa-massage therapy in a spa nearby.

ventosa, otherwise known as chinese cupping, is becoming popular again. it was almost a lost healing art form. it was the common home remedy for cough, for flu and for tummy pains.

what is ventosa? it is a traditional form of medical therapy that uses negative pressure or suction to warm and/or  remove blockages in the body. this means it can remove colic, muscular pains and relieve knotted muscles. in the past, ventosa was used to drain pus and toxins from skin infections and animal bites. they are kept on for 20 minutes usually. one time i fell asleep with cups on my abdomen. it was a bad case of a bum stomach. i woke up in the morning with blisters. most of the time, the cups leave round dark marks that may stay on for days.

there is one clinic which uses ventosa to suck blood out of the skin. they use strong machine pumps to aid suction. i am not too familiar with this system but it is believed that this "detoxifies" the body.  it looks like a modern modification of the traditional method.  anyway, if done properly on a condition that requires it, it can probably be helpful. but being a traditionalist, i would rather use the old, tried and tested way.