Nocturnal enuresis
StarEssentials of Chinese Acupuncture (Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing Colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980) — the standard prescriptions of the Chinese colleges.
Points
-
Back-Shu of the Kidney; tonifies kidney qi
-
Back-Shu of the Bladder; strengthens bladder control
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
-
Front-Mu of the Bladder; with the two shu points regulates kidney and bladder
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
-
Meeting point of the three foot yin; warms and opens the channels
Moxibustion.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
-
Jing-Well of the Liver, whose channel circles the genitals; warms and opens the channels
Moxibustion.
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
Treatment Principle
Tonify kidney qi to restore the bladder's control of urine.
Indications
Method
Reinforcing method or moxibustion.
⚠ Cautions
Exclude organic causes before relying on acupuncture, as the book itself advises: urinary tract malformation, spina bifida occulta, brain disease, threadworm, and also urinary infection or diabetes. SP6 is contraindicated in pregnancy. Use gentle technique in children; empty the bladder before needling CV3.
About
The colleges' prescription for bedwetting, built on the Back-Shu and Front-Mu points of the kidney and bladder.
Rationale
The kidney and bladder are an interior-exterior pair, so their Back-Shu points with CV3, the bladder's Front-Mu, regulate both organs. Moxa at SP6, where the three foot yin meet, and at LV1, on the channel that encircles the genitals, warms and opens the channels and strengthens the effect.
Clinical Notes
Add HT7 if the bedwetting comes with dreams; add BL20 and ST36 if appetite is poor. The book considers acupuncture effective where enuresis reflects immature nervous control of urination, and directs that organic causes be treated in their own right. An ear-acupuncture option is also given.
Sources
- Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Nocturnal enuresis, p. 365–366.
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