1. Introduction

 Fire therapy is often applied on skin with warm wet towels as thermal conductors and 95% medical ethanol as the source of heat. It involves spraying ethanol on wet towels which cover some specific points along meridians and igniting and extinguishing the fire on the towels in order to dilate the capillaries. Fire therapy, a way of treatment and healthcare, is used to warm and unblock the meridians, promote qi flow and ease pain, expel wind and drain dampness, activate blood flow and dissolve stasis, strengthen yang and relieve dissipation(of yang qi), and even improve one’s look.

2. Major actions

Its major actions include：

·         Warms meridians and dissipates cold; promotes blood flow and relieves impediment

·         Promotes generation of qi and blood; unblocks meridians

·         Warms yang qi; restores yang and relieves dissipation (of yang qi)

·         Expels wind and releases the exterior; warms the interior and dissipates cold

·         Repairs the skin and betters one’s look

·         Prevents and treats diseases; prolongs life expectation

3. Treatment procedures

Tool preparation

95% ethanol, warm water, 6-8 cotton towels, a lighter and a syringe.

Position

Supine position for treatment on head, face, chest, abdomen and the anterior parts of lower extremities; lateral position for treatment on sides of head, hypochondrium, and lateral sides of lower extremities.

Applying fire therapy

Cover the targeted area with 2 dry towels, on which put 2-3 wet warm towels, and place some other dry towels around them as a protection measure. Spray 95% ethanol (with the syringe) on the wet towels, more on areas with specific points along meridians which are determined by specific diseases. Next, ignite the ethanol and put out the fire with a wet towel after about 20 seconds, when the patient feels warm. Repeat the performance 3-5 times.

External application of TCM medicinals

After repeat the performance 3-5 times, take all the towels away, and apply prepared TCM medicinals, which feature in warming meridians, promoting blood flow and expelling wind, on the treated area. Then cover the TCM medicinals with preservative film and wrap it up. Next, repeat applying fire therapy for 1-3 times, and the duration is determined according to the time when the patient feels warm.

Finish of the treatment

The patient is told to keep warm and avoid cold.

4. Indications

·         Headache, dizziness, insomnia, greater occipital neuralgia, neurasthenic syndrome, facial paralysis, and stroke sequelae;

·         Tinnitus, otitis media, blurred vision, dry eyes, epiphora induced by wind, nasosinusitis, rhinitis, stuffy nose, cervical spondylosis, stiff neck, neck fasciitis, cervical-shoulder syndrome, shoulder-hand syndrome, and periarthritis of shoulder;

·         Palpitation, diarrhea, stomachache, colonitis, constipation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, menopause syndrome, impotence, spermatorrhea, premature ejaculation, and prostatitis;

·         Chronic bronchitis, asthma, urticarial, reactive arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, thoracic facet joint disorder, protrusion of the lumbar intervertebral discs, and the third lumbar transverse process syndrome;

·         Biceps tendinitis, subacromial bursitis, tennis elbow, tenosynovitis, the injury of hamstring muscles, femoral head necrosis, sciatica, knee joint injury, the injury and cramp of triceps surae, calcaneodynia, and the injury of ankle soft tissue.

5. Contraindications 

·         Severe heart, brain and lung diseases or severe asthenia;

·         Diseases caused by wind-heat or acute conditions with signs of heat symptomss like redness, swelling, fever, and pain;

·         Severe allergy and malignant tumor;

·         Severe diabetes and renal dysfunction;

·         Being prone to bleeding or other blood diseases;

·         Active tuberculosis, hepatitis or other infectious diseases;

·         Skin diseases, or conditions with severe local lesion;

·         Time of menstruation or pregnancy

·         Mental diseases (especially for those who don"t cooperate with therapists);

·         Those with extreme fatigue, those who have just finished strenuous exercises, or those who are hungry.

6. Precautions

·         Fire therapy is not applicable to eyes, nostrils, mouth, lips, or breasts.

·         Rain, gale, storm, and etc. are unfavorable weather conditions for fire therapy; if it is applied under such bad weather conditions, the patient shall keep warm.

·         The treatment room should be properly ventilated and the ethanol should be taken good care of.

·         The therapist should abide by the manipulation instructions and treat patients with indications for fire therapy.

·         Patient is expected to drink a cup of warm water before and 2 after the treatment.

·         For the old and patients with severe diseases, the heat of fire therapy should increase gradually from lightly warm to hot.

·         Remember to wring the wet towels and be careful with the spraying of ethanol, which shall never be sprayed on non-targeted or protected area, lest there be any accident of burns.

Related articles and links

Fire Therapy for Lower Back Pain (Video)

Fire Therapy: Step by Step