Moxibustion

Form of traditional Chinese medicine in which dried and powdered leaves of Artemesia vulgaris are burned either on or in proximity to the skin. The purpose is to affect movement of a person’s energy or “qi” through a specific healing channel in the body. Often used in combination with acupuncture.

The application of heat to specific points of the body to treat certain ailments; a form of acupuncture. Moxibustion is a method of healing used in traditional Chinese medicine in which dried leaves of moxa, or Chinese mugwort, are burned at or near specific acupoints on the skin to treat such conditions as stiff neck, back problems, and fatigue. In some cases, moxa is formed into a pea-sized cone that is placed point up on the skin, lit, and left to smolder until the skin becomes warm. Sometimes pieces of smoldering moxa are placed on the handle of acupuncture needles so that the heat warms the skin and is drawn down into the body via the needle. Smoldering sticks of moxa may also be held near the skin. In no case is the skin itself burned.

A form of treatment favored in Asia, in which cones of sunflower pith or down from the leaves of the plant Artemisia moxa are stuck to the skin and ignited. The heat produced by the smoldering cones acts as a counterirritant and is reputed to cure a variety of disorders.

In traditional Asian and alternative medicine, cauterization and counterirritation used to treat disease by means of a cylinder or cone of cotton wool, called a moxa, placed on the skin and fired at the top.

The utilization of a combustible plant substance that is set alight and applied to or in proximity of a specific area of the dermis with the intention of mitigating discomfort or anxiety.