Transcript for:
15 Most Effective Acupuncture Points for Clearing Heat

I'm so excited to have you join me today as I'm  diving into the 15 most effective acupuncture   point for clearing heat heat manifests in various  ways in the body and as practitioners it's really   important to discern between excess heat and  deficiency heat or Ying deficiency it's not   just about needling points it's also about  understanding the underlying imbalances and   applying our knowledge to promote balance and  well being for all our patients today I'm going   to guide you through the key differences between  excess heat and deficiency heat or deficiency then   we'll dive into the 15 most effective acupuncture  points for clearing heat and their use in clinical   practice welcome back to my channel if it's your  first time here I'm Clara and I create Chinese   medicine and acupuncture content for students and  practitioners making it easy to grasp and fun to   learn don't for don't forget to hit that subscribe  button so you don't miss out on any future videos   let's go when we go back to Foundation that the  basis of everything is the Yin Yang theory if you   haven't seen my video right here check it out it's  all on the Yin Yang theory and understanding the   differences however today I wanted to talk about  the specifics between Yang excess which is excess   heat and Yin deficiency which is deficiency heat  because it's really important to understand the   key differences is in the symptoms so it's more  of a tonifying versus excess heat it's more of a   clearing so it's a very different treatment  however some acupuncture points can do both   clear excess heat and nourish Yin deficiency  now let's start with excess heat excess heat is   manifesting as acute or chronic so acute would  be a fever would be having an infection what   chronic which is what we see mostly in clinical  practice it's red face red tongue with a yellow   coat on it a full strong rapid pulse often there  is a person that feels hot during the day sweats   easily when they're hot they have tendency to  have constipation with smelly stools because   heat dries fluid and when the bowel movement  is large and full bowel movement it will be   smelly which is excess heat as well also the  person may be very irritable or angry easily   right like a volcano with lots of anger coming  out that could come in insomnia could come in   as well which would be excess heat would be the  insomnia where we don't sleep at all or we wake   up during the night and we cannot fall asleep as  in liver fire for example now when it comes to   Yin deficiency it is going to be smaller symptoms  so for example with excess heat and in deficiency   the person is really thirsty specifically for cold  drinks because they want to cool off with excess   heat the person will gulp a lot of fluid with Ying  deficiency the person will sip the fluid all day   so see big versus small now the Ying deficiency  person would have red cheeks and the Yang excess   would had red face the Yin deficiency person would  also have constipation but when they have a bowel   movement it will be little Pebbles little beads  little sheep Pebbles so differences between the   excess heat which has large formed bowel movement  or stools that makes sense the person with Yin   deficiency because Yin is night time will be hot  at night with night sweats while the Yang excess   youngest daytime the person will sweat easily  during the day and feel hot during the day the   Yin deficiency will have a thin rapid pulse so  it's still rapid because there's heat but it's   very thin because of the deficiency compared to  the Yang excess with the pulse is large big full   rapid the tongue of a Yin deficiency will be  red just like the excess heat however the Yin   deficiency will have a crack tongue no coat while  the Yang excess will have a yellow coat so see   there's a lot of differences here so it's really  important to make the key different symptoms for   a treatment however because Chinese medicine is  always complicated it's never just anything is one   way and that's it can someone have Yin deficiency  heat and excess heat yes they can and that's very   common with liver a lot of people have liver yang  rising or liver fire and they also have liver Yin   deficiency at the same time so when that happens  we can combine our treatment and usually we clear   the excess heat first and then we nourish the  yin you can do it at the same time if you want   to clear the heat first do it with acupuncture  and then nourish yin with diet that is a good   idea as well when we do treatment does that make  sense okay so today we are talking about the 15   most effective points when it comes to excess  heat I wanted to share a story with you because   when I grew up my mom had excess heat and Ying  deficiency around menopausal symptoms so she had   the night sweat she was tossing and turning all  night she'd be very irritable very angry all the   time because she was stressed so there was a lot  of bursts and although I loved my mother sometimes   it was really scary because she had a loud voice  and I'm very sensitive and as a child I was very   sensitive so that was always a tough balance for  us to navigate was she had a strong personality   and I was very sensitive and I would cry easily  when she had the big loud voice another thing that   my mom did is she smoked two packs of cigarettes  per day yep and so so she had a lot of heartburn   and acid reflex and when I told her it's because  she smoked and it affected her esophagus she was   like no it has nothing to do with this okay so she  has a lot of stomach heat coming up which is very   common right stomach heat is heartburn acid reflux  bad breath acid regurgitation so those symptoms   come up from stomach heat when there's a lot of  acidity and smoking can lead to that as well we   can have Lung heat long heat is very common as  well which is to cough we can cough phlegm that   is thick and green or yellow that is excess heat  or phlegm heat in the lung we can have like I said   earlier liver yang Rising liver fire with lots  of anger irritability temporal headaches that   feel better on the cold compress that is excess  heat in the liver we can have a lot of heat in   different organs like large intestine heat when  there is constipation with stools that are large   we can have damp heat which creates diarrhea  with smelling stool as well so there's lots of   heat that can affect different organs those are  the most common one we see in clinical practice   okay ready let's dive in those beautiful effective  acupuncture points to clear excess heat and how   to differentiate them so we know which one to  use best in clinical practice let's start with   the best point to clear Heat anywhere in the body  which is large intestine 11 large intestine 11 is   fantastic because it will clear heat for acute or  chronic disorders acute like fever infection Hives   sore throat but also chronic for people that have  excess heat or inflammation in the body which can   show up as a lot of irritability like we said  earlier with smelly stools with inflammation   anywhere in the body that comes up sometimes  as feeling out of control getting really angry   getting really rageful and usually those people  end up having bowel issues like diarrhea when   they get really angry so that's a ghost point  and if you haven't seen my ghost Point video   yet the link is up here or up here somewhere in  there check it out now large intestine 11 is my   favorite point for this but I'm going to give you  a little Caution because it's located at the elbow   crease at the end of the lateral elbow crease  a lot of people use it when there is tendonitis   which is fine or lateral epicondylitis which is  fine if the symptoms of the pain are pain that is   relieved with a cold compress or that is worse  on heat right but if the pain is due to blood   deficiency or it's been there for a long time and  the person has numbness tingling that's traveling   down the forearm or the extensors that is not  the best point to use because there is blood   deficiency and if the person says I put heat on  it and it feels better you do not want to clear   the heat right so we do not want to use log 11 in  this case we can use the points on the extensors   like large intestine 10 9 8 and anything around  it does that make sense that's why it's really   important to do a diagnosis even when it comes  to pain spleen 10 is fantastic to clear heat   from the blood so when there is blood heat it  affects mostly the pericardium and the liver so   what happens is we can use it for menstruation  when there's heavy bleeding with pain or cramps   that's usually blood heat with blood stasis in  the liver and that is a really good point to   use when it comes to menstruation it's also a  great point to combine with Large intestine 11   when there is a lot of hives or heat affecting the  skin even eczema for example it works really well   so I love to use that point for that perspective  because remember in TCM or in the Five Element   Theory the Earth generates metal or the spleen and  stomach generates lung and large intestine which   are connected to the Skin So when there is hives  it's great to use large intestine point and also   spleen 10 stomach 44 is the best point to clear  fire how do we know the difference between heat   and fire think about this fire is worse than Heat  make sense so when there is heat we talked about   all the symptoms of excess heat fire is the same  there is exactly the same symptoms however there   is an amplification and the symptom that is added  is bleeding when there is fire it moves and rushes   the blood so there's excess bleeding or abnormal  bleeding so it could be red bloodshot red eyes it   could be Heavy menstruation it could be blood  in the urine or blood in the stools or nose   bleeds when there is bleeding or vomiting blood  or bleeding ulcers in the stomach or bleeding   gums anything that is bleeding with excess heat  symptoms that is going to be fire and also when   there is fire the tongue is much more dry and  there is strawberry prickles on the top strawberry   prickles if you don't know what that is you can  watch my video on the tongue it'll be up there   for you as well now when it comes to stomach 44  I love that point specifically for stomach issues   for acid reflex regurgitation bad breath bleeding  gums and also for vomiting if it's chunky sour   pieces of in the vomit I know that sounds really  gross but watery vomiting is due to excess cold   chunky pieces is due to excess Heat let's not mix  them together stomach 44 fantastic also because it   clears fire it brings the fire down and allows  the person to calm down so it's great if the   person has lots of dreams at night is manic or  has a lot of excess fire that brings them into   a rage or a state of manic Behavior make sense  that's a fantastic point I think that heart 5 is   misunderstood or it's not used enough in clinical  practice heart five is the Luo Connecting Point of   the heart to the small intestine and because of  that it is really a good point to use when there   is interstitial cystitis because remember that the  small intestine in TCM is in charge of separating   the clear from the turbid for water metabolism  to come out as urination it is more related to   fluids than solids so when there is a bladder  infection we can look at the bladder in TCM like   damp heat in the bladder or heat in the bladder  but if there is a inflammation like in cystitis   then we have to look at the small intestine and  heart 5 is a great Point specifically combined   with liver five and Large intestine 11 because it  clears heat perfect when it comes to Interstitial   cystitis heart 8 is a Yin spring point and pretty  much all Yin spring point will clear heat so heart   8 is really good for hysteria for when people get  into a manic or hysteric behavior have a lot of   excess fire it cools that mind it calms the mind  brings the fire down also remember that the heart   opens into the tongue so if there's canker  sores or bleeding canker sores in the tongue   this is a really good point for that as well  the difference between mouth sores and tongue   sores is the stomach opens into the mouth so if  they are in the cheeks or in the mouth that's a   stomach heat fire if they are on the tongue that's  more of a heart does that make sense this is how   we distinguish the key symptoms when we make  a diagnosis and that leads to better treatment   kidney 1 has to be there the most grounding point  on the body so kidney 1 is great because it does   both it helps with yin deficiency and it clears  heat for excess heat excess fire specifically for   people that feel scattered brain and cannot ground  themself on top of it they have a tendency to be   very irritable and have insomnia but that's the  kind of insomnia where they are tired they want   to fall asleep they're exhausted but they cannot  sleep if you combine kidney 1with DUO 20 to help   patients that cannot fall asleep even though  they're very tired it's a perfect combination   the highest point in the body with the lowest  point in the body perfect for a great night   sleep it works like a charm kidney 2 is another  Yin spring point and they are part of the 5 SHU   transporting points if you haven't seen my video  on the5 SHU transporting Points check it out up   there because it's one of my most popular now the  yin spring point like I said before clears heat   kidney 2 is really good when it is for coughing  blood specifically combined with with lung 6   which is a Xi Cleft point of the lung which is  great for bleeding of coughing blood so those two   combine lung 6 and kidney 2 are great for coughing  blood however we need to figure out why the person   is coughing blood we need to look for the root  cause but it can help for sure now the second   thing if there is very heavy menstruation bleeding  abnormal normal bleeding with uterus prolapse that   is a good point kidney 2 because it is related  to the reproductive system make sense kidney 2   is great when it comes to smelly diarrhea because  as we said earlier that's an excess heat and you   combine it with spleen 9 and with gallbladder 34  and large intestine 11 and it's fantastic you can   also do the digestive Diamond which is Ren 6 Ren 9  and stomach 25 that is a good combo when it comes   to smelly diarrhea now I think that bladder 65  is also underutilized it's a great point to help   detoxify after an insect bite bladder 65 helps to  body release its natural antihistamine to try to   fight that insect bite so I think that's a great  Point that's underutilized for acute issues for   chronic issues it's great to calm the mind when  there's a lot of confusion let's say for people   that have Alzheimer with excess heat do not use  it if the person's very deficient makes sense   always use the right point for the right patient  by the way if you're enjoying my Graphics right   now and you haven't got your copy of my AcuPoints  Made Easy yet this is your time the link will be   below the video as you can see here is the PDF  and there is the hard copy they contain exactly   the same points which are 365 with all my Graphics  it took me two years to make I'm so proud of it   and so many students and practitioners have used  it for the last three years and the feedback has   been amazing so get your copy if you haven't done  that today because you are going to love it in   this video I chose two points that are located on  the palm unfortunately heart 8 and pericardium 8 I   know they're not easy to needle but they work so  well specifically when it comes to mental health   and pericardium 8 is a ghost point which is really  good for paranoia and hallucination specifically   due to excess heat including hysteria so those  are really good to calm the mind and it's used   for incontrollable laughter which often comes from  phlegm heat misting the mind because the person   is laughing but there is nothing funny and they  can't stop laughing very loud out loud so that   could also come into a disorder like schizophrenia  pericardium 8 perfect for that as well as paranoia   if there is excess heat liver 2 that's an easy one  it brings the liver yang down right when there is   liver Qi stagnation if someone has a lot of stress  their button is going to be pushed pushed pushed   and the volcano effect happens and there's a burst  of anger irritability specifically women at PMS   time when their Qi is stagnated because they're  super stressed and then they lash out and they're   moody oh boy watch out so liver 2 can also have  temporal headache at the end of the day when the   person is stressed and definitely irritability  anger and also waking up between 1 and 3:00 a.m.   which is the liver time that is a really good  point to bring the liver yang down and calm the   Mind liver 5 is a LUO Connecting Point like I said  earlier when I was talking about heart 5 as a LUO   Connecting Point this one connects the liver to  the gallbladder but also the LUO collateral ends   up around the external genitalia it's really a  very good point when there is external genitalia   issue specifically swelling and heat in the  testes for example but also for external   genitalia outbreak like herpes and for people that  have tendency women specifically to have a unary   tract infection after intercourse that is the best  point I use this also for cystitis when it comes   to inflammation and I combine that with heart five  specifically gallbladder 43 is another Yin spring   point and this one is fantastic when it comes  to migraine and headaches that are very hot to   the touch and that feel better when you put a cold  compress that is the fantastic point for that it's   also used for dizziness and vertigo when there is  a lot of heat rising up to the head gallbladder 44   is a Jing well point so great for fever however it  is used for dream disturbed sleep so when a person   has a lot of nightmares and they have excess Heat  this is the best point specifically combined with   stomach 40 because stomach 40 clears phlegm  when there is a lot of Mind issues when there   is recurring nightmares there is definitely phlegm  that affecting the stomach and the gallbladder so   gallbladder 44 perfect for that it's also used to  clear fire for vertigo and dizziness as well just   like gallbladder 43 but a little bit stronger in  carrying the fire and bringing it down du 14 if   you remember in the channel Meridian Theory all  yang channels converge or pass through D14 at C7   so all the yang meridians six of them converge  their so it's a hot bed for yang right so D14   is the best point to clear heat when it's acute  specifically fever in children because what you   can do is you can use cupping on the child's D14  to try to release that fever so that works really   well for fever but also for excess heat affecting  the person in an acute state and because it's   located in the upper part of the body it's really  good for asthma due to excess heat cough but also   the common cold due to wind heat so D14 great  for acute heat in the body that creates fever   there are many points when it comes to clearing  heat I wanted to give you the 15 most effective   ones in clinical practice that I think are just  fantastic it doesn't mean they're the only ones   it just means that I really think they're very  useful if you haven't seen my video on the 15   most effective acupuncture points to calm the  Mind check it out here because you are going   to love it I hope you have a fantastic day  and no matter what keep rocking it using TCM