Ear acupuncture therapy treats and prevents diseases by stimulating certain points on the auricle with needles. 

Auricular points are specific stimulating points on the auricle. When disorders occur in the internal organs or other parts of the body, various reactions may appear at the corresponding areas of the auricle, such as tenderness, decreased cetaceous electric resistance, morphological changes, and discoloration. Therefore, these sites are also referred to as tender spots, conductant points or reflex spots. Thus, making a diagnosis, those phenomena can be taken into consideration. Stimulating the sensitive sites serves to prevent and treat diseases.

Ear acupuncture therapy has long been used in China, and is recorded in Chapter 24 of Miraculous Pivot that " Jue headache with the symptoms of acute pain in the head, and hot sensations in the vessels in front of and behind the ear should be treated by bloodletting in order to reduce the heat, then to be followed by needling at the points of Foot Shaoyang Meridian. " In the twentieth chapter of Miraculous Pivot it says, " When the pathogenic factor attacks the liver, it will cause pain in the ribs on both sides... for the pain caused by internal blood stagnation ... needle at the blue vessels around the ear to relieve the dragging pain. " In other classical medical literature there are descriptions on stimulating certain auricular areas with needle, moxibustion, massage, and herbal suppository to treat and prevent diseases. Those methods are still used as folk remedies

Examination Methods of Ear Acupuncture

When an internal organ or a part of the body is diseased, reactions can be detected at the corresponding areas on the auricle. For example, a reaction can be detected at Point Stomach when the stomach is ill. Clinical practice has proven that stimulating these reaction points yields good therapeutic results. Therefore, detecting reaction points should be combined with consulting an auricular acupoint chart in the application of ear acupuncture. The following are commonly used methods of detection :

PRECAUTIONS

1. If sudden dizziness, nausea, stuffiness of the chest or other fainting symptoms occur during treatment, the patient should be managed in the same manner as during ordinary body acupuncture. During initial visits, patients should be in a reclining position in order to avoid fainting
2. Strict antisepsis is necessary to avoid infection of the auricle. In case of inflammation or redness of the needle hole or distension and pain of the auricle, timely
   and appropriate measures should be taken such as applying 2% iodine or oral administration of anti-inflammation drugs. Needling is contraindicated if frost-bite or inflammation is present on the auricle in order to avoid diffusion or inflammation
3. Ear acupuncture is not advisable for women during pregnancy if there is a history of miscarriage. Aged and weak patients with hypertension and arteriosclerosis should have proper rest before and after needling
4. While there are extensive indications for ear acupuncture, it still has its limitations. The therapeutic effects for some diseases are not satisfactory, or only symptomatic relief is achieved, therefore, in treating some disorders, it is necessary to combine some other therapies

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