You should not feel any pain nor should you bleed when the needles are removed. Acupuncture is a holistic medicine, treating both mind and body. Elizabeth Terrell and her husband Bill, also trained in acupuncture, point out often in Western medicine only the symptoms are treated, as with a headache. Aspirin temporarily relieves the symptom. But if the stress causing the headache is not treated, the headache will return.
Acupuncture provides long-term relief by treating the cause, rather than just the symptom.
Traditional acupuncturists might combine needle therapy with nutritional counseling and herbal remedies. You may renew old health problems or cause new ones by ignoring good nutrition or depriving yourself of adequate sleep. Several months ago Terrell faced a stressful time in her life. She was not getting the rest she needed, nor eating proper foods. Her asthma, which acupuncture had controlled for six years, resurfaced.