Apr 3, 20234 min read

HIJAMAH - A Magical treatment!!!

Hijamah is a treatment model that is widely practiced by Unani Doctors in India. It takes its root from an Arabic word that means "to diminish in volume" and mainly refers to the reduction in the volume of the blood or to the vacuum effect used to draw blood from the body. According to classical texts, it refers to drawing the blood from the body for therapeutic purposes - acts as preventive, palliative, and curative.

Here the sterile cups are pumped at specific points to pull up the skin and increase the blood supply to the superior layers of the skin. The vacuum applied by these means causes the tissues beneath the cup to be drawn up and swell, thereby increasing the blood flow to the affected area. After a certain period of time, the vacuum is released and the physician makes small superficial incisions and again the vacuum is created using cups. After some period of time, that of dry cupping, the blood is collected in the cups, which carries all the impurities and toxins, which are removed carefully by the physician.

Traditionally bamboo cups were used but now in recent years, plastic or glass cups are used as they are easy and comfortable to use for both physicians and patients.

TYPES OF CUPPING THERAPY

Cupping in the modern sense can refer to:

1) Dry cupping - Here the blood is drawn to the surface but not released, hence it improves the blood flow to the surface as well as releases some heat from the pores, but it is a temporary effect.

Duration- 15-20minutes.

2) Wet cupping - While in this first dry cupping is done to improve the surface circulation and after a certain period of time (7-10minutes) the cups are removed and superficial cuts are done using blades with care. Once the cut is made the skin is pulled up with cups and kept for 7-10 more minutes.

Even amongst those who practice cupping "dry cupping" is regarded as a relaxation therapy and often practiced as a relaxation massage technique whereas "wet cupping" is considered as a curative modality.

BRIEF HISTORY

The earliest historical evidence of the use of Hijamah is from the ancient Egyptians. Egyptian medical textbook (1550 BC) describes "bleeding" used to 'remove pathogens from the body '. Hippocrates and Galen were also great advocates of Hijamah. Hippocrates bled specific points for a specific illness. Galen's approach was based on two key Unani concepts of that time. Firstly, that blood did not circulate well in the body, and that it eventually went stagnant until it was “let out”. Secondly, the concept of the balance of the four humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) was the source of health or illness, in which case bloodletting is used to bring about a balance between these humor. Mapping out the blood vessels of the body, Galen would cut his patients in different areas; depending on what area he wanted to treat.

In the middle east Ibn Sina, the famous Muslim physician said: ‘Hijamah is not preferred in the beginning or the end of the month. It is preferred in the middle of the month when the toxin substances in the body accumulate and become agitated.

In the East till date bloodletting therapy have been practiced as an integral part of medical practices. The oldest Chinese medical textbook, the Nei Jing states that “if there is stagnation it must be first be resolved through bloodletting before the application of acupuncture or moxibustion.”

Indian classical ayurvedic textbook Susrutha Samhita mentioned about leech therapy as bloodletting therapy. Later on, in 19th century Europeans used leeches for the same purpose.

North American natives are reported to have used buffalo horns for wet cupping. The horns were hollowed with a small hole at the top through which the cupper would suck the air out of, in order to create a vacuum in the horn which would then pull up the blood from the incisions previously made with a blade.

By the end of the 20th century bloodletting therapy started dying in western countries due to implementation and domination of new technologies in medical field. But in recent years it got its value back among Muslim communities and the courses offered to the medical practitioners and the public.

WHEN AND TO WHOM HIJAMAH SHOULD BE PRESCRIBED...?

It can be prescribed when the person is healthy or to treat any specific illnesses. For general health it is usually recommended once in a year and also it is said that if it is done on the 17th, 19th or 21st of the lunar month it can prevent and cure major illnesses. The reason to this is the effect of the moon on the blood. Just as the moon has an effect on the high tides in the sea, similarly the full moon brings all the impurities from the blood to the surface. Even many research studies show the effect of moon on physiological changes in the body like hormonal, behavioural and aggravation of symptoms in diseased conditions.

It is mostly contraindicated in cases of haemophilia, excessive sweating, patients under anticoagulant medications, pregnancy, anaemia.

WHO SHOULD PRACTICE HIJAMAH?

It needs a proper training and one should have to follow few strict precautionary methods as it is an invasive method of treatment. There is higher risk of transmitting infections HIV, Hepatitis etc... if proper precautionary methods are not followed.

Since it involves piercing of the skin and exposure to blood and other body fluids and there is therefore a high risk of spreading of infections such as HIV and Hepatitis, not to mention the possibility of serious side effects, authorities in many countries have appropriately seen fit to legislate its use to qualified and registered health practitioners such as acupuncturists, medical practitioners etc... In India it is most commonly practiced among B.U.M.S Doctors. To conclude it is one of the finest invasive treatment in alternative medicine which can give best results to the patients and help them to live a peaceful life.