A place where I share my deepest darkest thoughts!

Today I got cupping therapy ‘hijama’ done for the first time. All I knew about it, was that it is really good for you, it is a sunnah, it is painless and it cups out the bad blood in our cells. My cousin does this therapy herself in Karachi and I was here incidentally on the ‘right dates’ (as per Sunnah).

I was recommended a general therapy but you can get cupping done to address specific issues as well, such as skin problems, rheumatic diseases, fertility issues, high blood pressure, migraines, anxiety & depression, varicose veins, etc.

I loved how neat, clean and professional the setup is at her clinic. The attention to detail at each and every contact point was very obvious. The cubicle I was in was also so relaxing and well done, that I almost fell asleep during the therapy. I changed into a very comfortable (and surprisingly fashionable) gown and lay down on my stomach on a very comfy massage table.

My cousin put two cups on my back, one under my neck and one a little lower than that. This sucked my skin up a bit and she then put small cuts on this skin with a small razor/scalpel to allow the cells to bleed out the ‘bad’ blood. She would periodically remove the cups and wipe the blood off with an antiseptic cloth/gauze and replace the cups and she did this about 2-3 times until the blood became clear (plasma).

She then bandaged it and gave me an ointment to apply to it after every 2 hours and I was instructed to have a bath after two hours as well. It is recommended that nothing is taken (food) for two hours before and after the treatment and ideally you should take a CBC test with you before going in for a cupping session.

It is a really great ointment and it contains petroleum jelly, homeopathic remedies and lavender & tea tree essential oils

The cupping, cutting and bleeding out was not painful, it could be called uncomfortable but not painless. If you have a low thresh-hold for pain then it might prove to be painful for you. I consider myself to have a high thresh-hold however I have finicky family members who underwent this therapy without causing a fuss.

I’m not sure how beneficial this therapy has been for me but I feel somewhat comforted by the fact that I got this one and the bad blood is out. It may be purely psychological but I am feeling a little lighter and calmer than usual. Also I learnt that I bled less and have relatively thicker blood which means I need to drink more water and I may be somewhat anemic.

Wishing best of luck to all those of you who are considering going in to get this procedure done and I hope I was able to allay some of your fears and address some of your concerns.