Dia's Blog

Recently, I have had three female patients inquiring about facial cosmetic acupuncture. These patients wanted to work on specific areas on their face, for example crow's feet and laugh lines. The acupuncture program at NUHS does offer a course in Microsystems and Advanced Acupuncture where we discuss cosmetic acupuncture. Many people in recent years have used acupuncture for "face-lift" or "facial-toning" treatments. 

I have one patient in her early 50s who I treated last trimester for cosmetic facial acupuncture. She reported that she felt a tightening sensation on her face after five acupuncture sessions. After 10 acupuncture sessions, she had visible changes observed on her facial laugh lines. Prior to her treatment, the patient had very deep laugh lines and now you can barely see them. She was very satisfied with the results. I must clarify that this was not her chief complaint but a secondary objective she wanted to work on. 

I believe her amazing results are due to acupuncture, but I also believe her results were due to her overall health. My patient gives herself daily facial massage and uses moisturizer with sunscreen. She has a balanced diet, exercises, and drinks a lot of water, which I believe contributed to her amazing results of rejuvenation in the laugh line area. 

Our facial complexion is a reflection of overall general health. I know that cosmetic acupuncture does work, but results may vary from patient to patient. There is advantage to using a holistic approach to address our skin aging without going under the knife or injecting toxins into our body to look or feel better. 

Word to the Wise: Patients should not expect to wake up from their treatments looking 20 years younger! In addition, as mentioned earlier, results vary from patient to patient. There are contraindications with cosmetic acupuncture and there may bruising and bleeding on the face. I also recommend that patients come in once a month for maintenance treatment once they have optimal results. 

Thank you for your continued support of the AOM program. Good luck on Midterms!

I wanted to share with you a wonderful community service event for which I volunteered this past Friday, June 7th at Downers Grove North High School. The event was called Relay for Life. What is Relay for Life? 

At Relay For Life events, communities across the globe come together to honor cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that has already taken too much. The funds you raise truly make a difference in the fight against cancer. 

Relay teams camp out overnight and take turns walking or running around a track or path at a local high school, park or fairground. Relay events are up to 24 hours in length and, because cancer never sleeps, each team is asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times. 

Pat Genardo, assistant director of the National University Health Sciences LRC, organized this Relay for Life event. She has been participating in Relay for Life for 17 years, and has been on the planning committee for ACS for 15 years. Pat became involved with ACS when her mother passed away from cancer 17 years ago. Pat's sister also was diagnosed with cancer but is a survivor. Her team this year was called United Against Cancer and raised over $5,000 in donations. Any students interested in earning community service hours can contact Pat Genardo at 630-889-6597 or pgenardo@nuhs.edu for upcoming events. 

I wanted to thank ACS and Pat for planning this event. I was honored and humbled to be among the survivors of cancer and their caregivers. I met so many wonderful people. I always live by the motto, "Love Life." What an inspiration to us all that we celebrate the gift of life through such a wonderful organization like ACS.

Thank you for your continued support of the AOM Blog! Carpe Diem (Latin) - Seize the Day!

I wanted to try an alternative therapy for my allergies and annoying cough that I developed a week and a half ago. A colleague recommended that I try salt cave therapy. I had never heard of it but was willing try it out. 

Salt cave therapy is touted as an all-natural way to help relieve symptoms from allergies, asthma, even bronchitis and common cold. Salt therapy started in early Europe during Roman and Medieval times. 

The Salt Cave Therapy is literally a cave-like setting in which you are completely surrounded by salts (surface, room, floor) and natural minerals. The therapeutic level of treatment is 45-50 minutes where you sit and relax as air enriched with sea iodine is introduced in the room. 

How does it work? Well, when you breathe the salt particles into your body, it supposedly allows anti-infectious property power to help stimulate your immune system to help bring overall balance to your body and also help you recover quicker from symptoms you are currently experiencing. 

I experienced the Salt Caves last Thursday afternoon at a spa in Naperville called Timeless Spa and Salt Cave. I really enjoyed the experience. The cost was $25 dollars for 48 minutes. I had a private adult session, which was very relaxing. The spa also has adult and children sessions. The best way to describe my experience at the salt cave would be, "It was like being at an ocean beach breathing in salt water air." The staff was very friendly. I wore my regular clothes into the salt cave but had to wear white socks. The spa provided mediation music, lighting, zero gravity chairs, and blankets. You are allowed to walk around the room and enjoy some reflexology for your feet but are asked to remain in the zero gravity chairs when the treatment starts. I did not fall asleep but I did focus on deep breathing exercises. 

After the treatment, I felt more relaxed. My coughing and sneezing stopped. I was able to breath easier. This lasted for three days. They recommend 5-10 sessions. I would definitely go back next week and bring my three-year-old son who has been recently diagnosed with asthma. There are a few other salt caves in Chicago and Glen Ellyn if you are interested in salt therapy for allergies, asthma and upper respiratory issues. 

Recommendations: If you are interested in the salt caves you should check with your physician, especially if you are currently under doctor's care for serious conditions. It is also not recommended if you have thyroid issues or are pregnant. 

Thanks for the continued support of the AOM Blog. Have a great week!

If you have never had acupuncture or herbal treatments, the intern or clinician always asks to see your tongue. I still have regular patients that I see in the main clinic in Lombard who think the practice of sticking out their tongue for five seconds is very silly and awkward, but it is a necessary diagnostic tool in Chinese medicine.

In fact, the tongue is one of the most important diagnostic areas in ancient medical traditions. Your tongue, containing water, electrolytes, mucus, and enzymes, is a very sensitive organ and its appearance changes with many physical changes in the body. In TCM, the tongue represents the organs in in our body, for example the tip of your tongue represents the Heart and Lung, the sides of the Liver and Gallbladder. 

Have you are ever curious about what your tongue looks like? Wonder if you're coming down with a cold? Stick out your tongue and say "Ah!" Or at least give it a glance. Get in front of the mirror and look at your tongue right now. What does your tongue look like? Here is what you want to see: A normal tongue should be pink, muscular without tooth marking or discoloration, and have a very thin clear coating.

When I exam patients' tongues I am looking at the color of the tongue, texture, and if there is a coating on the tongue (usually white, yellow, black, or clear) or no coating. I look at the tip, both sides of the tongue and back of the tongue. In addition, I ask patients to show me the underneath of their tongue where sublingual veins are located.

I always advise patients not to brush their tongue if they think they are coming into the clinic. The reason for this is because I need to see the tongue's true physical state. If you brush your tongue, it is physically altered, and this will affect the accuracy of the tongue diagnosis.

Your tongue is one of the easiest ways to check your health status.

Thank you for you continued support of the AOM Blog! Have a wonderful week and stay dry!

Summer is slowly approaching. What does this mean? Summertime is a season full of energy, heat, longer daylight, and sunny days. Summer is the season of yang, a time when the body undergoes vigorous metabolic (body energy) processes. 

Cherry Tree

According to TCM, summer is yang as mentioned earlier, but summer is also based on the five elements. Summer is fire, color is red, emotion is joy, and the organ associated with fire is heart and small intestine. Fire is symbolic because in TCM it is the maximum activity or greatest yang, which means that it is a time of heat, outgoingness, and moving outward in nature and in our lives. In human anatomy, the heart, mind, and spirit are ruled by the fire element. We should give greatest focus on our heart, mind, and spirit for staying healthy in summer. 

It is important to make sure our body is balance during the summertime. When we are balanced in the summertime, our heart is strong and healthy, the mind is calm and sleep is sound. But if we are not balanced in summertime we create an imbalance in the fire element, which may cause either lack of joy (depression) or an excess of joy (mania). Indicators of an imbalance in the fire element include agitation, nervousness, heartburn, and insomnia. 

Cherry tree in bloom

Dia's Helpful Tips for the Summertime (Yang)

1. Eat more cooling foods, such as watermelon, cucumbers, mint, dill, seaweed, broccoli, cantaloupe, sprouts, bamboo, asparagus, lemon, peaches. Eat more fish and seafood.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Eat in moderation and stay away greasy heavy foods.
4. Wear lighter and brighter colors with lighter fabrics, for example linen and cottons.
5. Go to bed later at night and wake up early.
6. Yin Tang, otherwise known as the hall of impressions, I also heard referred to as the "third eye."This point is located in the middle of forehead centered between your eyes. This powerful point, which is used to calm the mind, enhances one's ability to focus, soothe emotions, promote sleep, and relieve depression. If you don't have time to come see us at the Whole Health Center in Lombard, I also instruct patients to treat themselves by tapping Yin Tang 100 times a day with the index or middle finger.

Thank you for your continued support of the AOM blog. Have a great week!