Addendum: Safety Standards for Gua sha (press-stroking) and Ba guan (cupping)

Complement Ther Med. 2014 Jun;22(3):446-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2014.03.012. Epub 2014 Apr 13.

Abstract

Our previous article Safety Standards for Gua sha (press-stroking) and Baguan (cupping) discussed the risk of transfer of blood-borne pathogens with Gua sha and Ba guan, identified Gua sha and Ba guan 'instrument criticality' as semi-critical and offered recommendations for safe practice based on hospital disinfection standards. Based on the article's feedback, we feel the need to clarify that Gua sha and Ba guan instruments, if intended for reuse, must undergo high level disinfection (HLD) or, in the case of 'wet-cupping', sterilization. We update our recommendations to be amenable to both private practice and education settings.

Keywords: Ba guan; Baguan; Cao gio; Chinese medicine; Coining; Cupping; Gua sha; Guasha; High level disinfection; Integrative medicine; Safe practice; Scraping; Spooning; Traditional East Asian medicine.

MeSH terms

  • Acupuncture Therapy* / instrumentation
  • Acupuncture Therapy* / standards
  • Bloodletting* / instrumentation
  • Bloodletting* / standards
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Medicine, Chinese Traditional* / instrumentation
  • Medicine, Chinese Traditional* / standards
  • Patient Safety / standards*
  • Sodium Hypochlorite
  • Sterilization

Substances

  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Sodium Hypochlorite