Fire cupping: Encyclopedia - Fire cupping
Fire cupping
Fire cupping is a method of applying acupressure by creating a vacuum next to the patient's skin.
Instead of using a vacuum pump, a vacuum is created by air (heated by fire) in a glass cup placed flush against the patient's skin. As the air cools in the cup, a vacuum forms that pulls up on the skin, stimulating the acupressure effect.
There are several ways of heating the air in the cup with fire:
1. One can swab rubbing alcohol (70% or 90%) into the bottom of a cup, then light it and place the cup immediately against the skin. By creating the seal the immediate loss of oxygen puts the fire out, preventing the person from being burned.
2. One can hold the cup inverted over a flame (e.g. a lit candle), heating the air, then place the cup immediately against the skin. Care must be taken not to heat the glass itself.
3. One can ignite a flame with a small alcohol-soaked cotton wad resting on a small pad of leather or other insulating material that rests directly on the patient's skin, then place the cup immediately over the flame, putting out the fire.
The first 2 methods heat the glass to some extent and have a risk of burning the patient. The third method risks the cotton falling off the insulating pad onto the patient's skin, and leaves the pad and cotton wadding inside the adhering cup which could be considered cumbersome.
Baby oil massaged onto the skin first causes a better seal to form. It is often possible to slide the adhered cup around on the skin, preserving the suction seal as it glides. Care must be taken not to move the cup over protruding moles, skin tags, scabs, etc.
The longer a cup is left on, the more of a circular mark (like a hickey) is created. The skin pores are more open, and the patient may have a feeling like sunburn.
Fire cupping is also known as a form of fire play in the BDSM community.
See also
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Fire cupping", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki | 
