Acupuncture Supplies

A wide variety of supplies are now available for practitioners of the ancient art of acupuncture. These acupuncture supplies run the gamut from needles to high tech devices for electro therapy and heat therapy.

The most basic acupuncture supplies that a practitioner will require are the needles and charts of the acupuncture points and meridians. These charts will tell the practitioner where to place the needles in order to relieve pressure and manipulate the flow of energy or qi through the body.

The charts are generally considered the most important supply. Some high tech acupuncture devices are able to pin point acupuncture points in the body automatically. Most practitioners will need a number of the charts and other basic supplies.

Acupuncture Needles

There are now a wide variety of acupuncture needles available. These come in all shapes and sizes and most of them are disposable.

One consideration that every acupuncturist has to keep in mind is bio hazard. Like any other needle stuck in the human body acupuncture needles can become contaminated with diseases such as HIV which cause AIDs. This means that no needle can be used twice in the same person.

It also means that a biohazard container for the disposal of contaminated needles needs to be among basic acupuncture supplies. Such a container will warn people that there are potentially contaminated needles in a container so they will be careful.

Most acupuncture needles will come in a box of 500. The typical needles used today are modern high tech painless needles manufactured in Japan and China. The typical box of 500 needles will cost a practitioner about $25.

There are also specialized needles such as bleeding needles that are designed to contain blood. A similar device to bleeding needles is an auto lancet which is a sterile device designed to poke pressure points.

If blood is to be drawn an acupuncturist will have to have a means of containing it and avoiding contamination. Not having such a means could put the acupuncturist and his or her patients in danger of contamination.

High Tech Acupuncture Supplies

Many acupuncturists are adding a variety of high devices to their practice. The most basic of these are electronic pointers and massagers. These are devices that locate pressure points automatically and apply the right amount of pressure.

Aculocators are electronic devices that help a practitioner locate the points necessary for acupressure or acupuncture. These devices do not apply pressure instead they locate the points and the acupuncturist decides what kind of pressure is to be applied. A similar device to an aculocator is a meridian imager. This device uses computer technology to locate the acupuncture meridians.

There are also a variety of electro therapy and other devices that can be used in an acupuncture practice. These devices stimulate the acupressure points with electricity and other high tech means.

Laser and ultra sonic devices use light or sound instead of needles to stimulate the pressure points they are the latest in acupuncture supplies. Such devices may be better with patients who are afraid of needles or concerned about contamination.

A wide variety of acupuncture supplies is available online. Acupuncturists should be able locate all the supplies that they need online.