Published in Acupuncture Today, Volume 18, Number 12, December 2017

In the last decade, I have seen a steady increase of so-called “behavioral disorders” in children in my practice, ranging from PTSD, OCD, hyperactivity, attention deficit, depression and anxiety.

And in the last decade the number of children taking prescription drugs for mood and behavior problems has skyrocketed. But how will these pharmaceuticals affect them in the long run?

Most of the pills prescribed for children target 2 chemicals in the bain: neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine which can affect both frontal and prefrontal cortex lobes, but also bring on severe side-effects. The side effects I have seen most routinely are: nausea, stomach pain, dry mouth, constipation headaches, brainfag, nervousness and insomnia. A lot of children end up needing to take several different drugs to counteract unwanted side-effects and the toxic levels bring a heavy load on their liver and needless to say on their developing minds.

Here is the case history of one of my patients, whom I followed from early childhood until present time.

D, female, 16 years old.

D was first brought to my practice when she was 3 years old. Her birth mother was a meth addict. The baby was exposed in utero and diagnosed with developmental disabilities. A caring and loving family adopted her from birth.

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Published in Acupuncture Today, Volume 16, Number 3, March 2015

When I moved to the island of Bali in 2005, I offered my services in
Bumi Sehat, which means Healthy Mother Earth, a free birthing
center for poor and disadvantaged local women located in Ubud.
There I began working with newborns, infants and children one day
a week, putting to use the pediatric sho-ni-shin techniques I had
learned from Dr. Miki Shima and my experience in treating children
in the West.

Sho-ni-shin is a Japanese acupuncture system used for treating
children. It utilizes specially crafted tools of various sizes and shapes,
which are used on the skin to create different types of stimulation
along the meridian pathways and on acupuncture points. The sho-nishin
is a hands-on treatment and does not create any discomfort for
the child. It is quite effective in treating both mild acute and chronic
health problems. It can also be used once a month on healthy
children for health maintenance and disease prevention.
Children in Bali are considered to be a most precious and sacred gift.
Bali has the reputation of being a wonderful place to give birth and
raise small children because they are so loved and cared for.
In the course of a morning at the clinic, I would treat 20 to 30 children
who arrived from all parts of Bali. Volunteer translators assisted my
work by handling the paperwork and filling the herbal prescriptions.
This allowed me to rapidly move from one child to another. The
children ranged in age from neonates to early teens.

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Published in the Journal of Chinese Medicine, number 87, June 2008

Transient ischaemic strokes (TIAs) are transient focal disturbances of neurological function. Attacks may revert spontaneously or leave lasting sequelae, especially if not attended to in the first few days. Symptoms include temporary derangement of consciousness, transient paralysis, loss of sight or speech, or failure to recognise familiar faces etc. One or more TIAs often precede a major stroke. Treatment by acupuncture and Chinese herbs, long with appropriate lifestyle changes, can be very important in preventing sequelae and recurrence after such trokes. And, as the following article shows, Oriental medicine can be used right from the onset to treat such attacks successfully.

It is rare for most acupuncturists with private practices to treat an acute crisis unless they are also working in a hospital setting. I have seen and treated many sequelae of strokes in my practice, but I never thought I would be called to treat a stroke as it was happening. It has almost been five months since the stroke from the time this article was written and the patient has not only fully recovered but he is in even better health than before.

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The Journal of Chinese Medicine – www.jcm.co.uk

Published in “Singapore’s first International Homeopathy Conference 2007” magazine

The life force is affected by the quality of air we breathe, the kind of food we eat, our laughter and our tears, our tightness or our let-go and the way we react towards everything that comes our way. Our life force is the source of our health; it’s our most precious treasure. Taking good care of it plays a primordial role in keeping the body healthy.

As the complexity and the amount of information on how to take care of our health increases, so does the confusion in most of us. Information is useful only in the measure that we can rightly apply it. However, when we start to understand who we are, our unique nature, our tendencies, personality and idiosyncrasies, we will know the specific needs of our body. No two persons are alike, not even twins. How amazing, nature never duplicates! Yet, we’re all of the same essence; so when our self is known to us, we can understand the whole. We stop looking at things from the narrow and limited viewpoint of the mind. We stop polarizing issues. “Divide and rule” is the motto of politicians. “See the whole picture and live well” is the ground for health. Every food, for example can be good for certain conditions and aggravating for others. Nectars can kill and poisons can cure. Nothing is just good or just bad, but contain the seed of both. It all depends on how it is being used and the attitude of the onlooker. The wise man will transform hell into paradise; the ignorant turns even heaven into hell.

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Apri, 2006
It’s 10 AM on Monday morning and I just pulled up into the small yard of “Bumi Sehat”, the birthing clinic where I’ve been treating the local children of Ubud since October 2005. Ubud is about one hour’s drive from my house and the road takes me through jungly areas with swift rivers cutting through deep gorges, terraced and manicured rice fields as far as the eye can see, temple gates with striking stone carvings, villages and bustling markets. However I never dare to take my eyes off the road for too long in order to enjoy the side views. Driving in Bali is like going through a course of obstacles, constantly dodging motorbikes, pedestrians and huge trucks, which usually suddenly appear around a bend at full speed.

With my doctor’s bag, I enter the large room with several massage tables where I give the treatments. There are usually several children and their parents already waiting for my arrival. A lovely Balinese woman who takes care of the administrative papers and serves as my translator greets me and helps me to set up a clean field for my equipment, consisting of my sho-ni-shin kit, a tiger warmer, many leave-on tacks or seeds and some half-inch seirin needles. I keep handy an othoscope, a thermometer and some bleeding needles.

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Published in the Acupuncture Today Journal, Volume 6, # 3, March 2005

Eczema is a general term for an itchy, red rash. It can range in size, from affecting a small area that looks like a little patch of dry skin, to the entire surface of the body, becoming an unbearable source of distraction and misery for the child and his or her parents.

In the acute phase, the skin blisters, weeps and oozes serum. In its chronic phase (which is not necessarily a development of the acute) it is dry, thick and scaly. In both stages, itching is present. The itching can be so severe that the child will scratch until the skin bleeds.

Eczema is an atopic dermatitis. By definition, dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin resulting from contact with a specific irritant. However, eczema occurs without contact and has more to do with internal factors than external factors.

According to May Loo, eczema is by far the most chronic skin condition in children. Its prevalence is increasing in industrialised countries and tends to persist into adulthood. Eczema can affect children of any age, starting at birth, or in the weeks following birth. In Chinese medicine, this time of life corresponds to the Water element and the kidney zang. The very source of life begins in the kidney jing , and takes 14 years for the full maturation of kidney qi. Therefore, when eczema begins in the first few months of life, treatment of the kidney is always indicated. Often the trigger seems to coincide with the first vaccination or the introduction of cow’s milk into the diet. The former introduces heat toxins in the system; the latter contributes to the accumulation of phlegm.

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Acupuncture Today Journal – www.acupuncturetoday.com

Published in the Journal of Chinese Medicine, number 73, Oct. 2003

Ménière’s disease is a disorder characterised by recurrent attacks of vertigo, with associated tinnitus and progressive deafness. The cause is unknown to Western medicine, though it may be related to a history of migraine headaches.
The attacks of vertigo are the most distressing symptom. They are usually severe, of sudden onset and may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The tinnitus is usually constant, but may vary in intensity and affect only one ear. There may be a feeling of fullness or pressure in the affected ear. Loss of hearing and deafness happen gradually.

I have had the occasion to treat three separate cases of Meniere’s disease with good results. Here, I will present those three case histories to illustrate the similarities and differences in each case and the treatment principles applied, from the view point of Chinese medicine. Two of these cases had been previously diagnosed with Menière’s disease while the other developed vertigo, which is the specific symptom of Menière’s during the course of treatment.

A short history of the pathology, patterns of disharmony, signs and symptoms and the treatment principle for each person will show the application of traditional Chinese medical concepts in the light of this little understood illness.

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The Journal of Chinese Medicine – www.jcm.co.uk

Published in “The Luo Down” (SWAC newsletter) Nov. 2002

To correctly diagnose our patients is one of the most important parts of formulating a successful treatment plan. The ability to listen to our patient attentively, without judgments or projections is as vital as having knowledge of all the different identification of patterns. Many patients we see in clinic these days present with very complex, and sometimes contradictory patterns. Prescription drugs, which some of our patients may have taken for years, often distort the natural signs that their illness should manifest. I remember a child who came in with diarrhea and severe chills, but he had red cheeks and a bright red tongue. This was clearly a case of internal cold, with misleading external heat signs.

In cases such as these, we need to tune in with our patient at a deeper level and look beyond the gross manifestation of the illness for subtle or more hidden clues such as a grayish hue on their face, or the tone of their voice, their body language, or their likes and dislikes … any of these examples can reveal a deeper layer of disharmony. This is where the theory of the five elements comes in. It can help determine the patient’s constitution and possibly one main element involved in the illness.

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Published in the Acupuncture Today Journal, Volume 3, # 10, Oct 2002

When I went through my academic training in Oriental medicine, pediatric acupuncture was neither mentioned nor offered as part of the curriculum, even as an elective. I discovered it quite by chance in the mid-1990s.

I needed to get some extra CEUs for my license and saw a workshop offered by Jake Fratkin on pediatric formulas. I had never treated children before, but I thought about it and decided to enroll. Quite unexpectedly, the seminar pricked my interest in the matter and led to my attending a series of other seminars dealing with pediatrics. Miki Shima’s presentation of shoni-shin was a major revelation to me as an alternative way to work with the qi of children in a gentle and non-intrusive way. I was also greatly inspired by the work of Julian Scott and the approach of Alex Tiberi.

I am grateful to all of these great teachers for their invaluable contribution to Oriental medicine, and in a personal way for opening my doors to the specialty of pediatric acupuncture. Treating children has become a big part of my practice and a constant source of joy.

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Acupuncture Today Journal – www.acupuncturetoday.com