Oakland, CA – Can Acupuncture Help Children Prevent Illness? Yes It Can!

Children stay healthy throughout the year using acupuncture

Acupuncture is a great tool to help children stay healthy throughout the year!

Are you worried about the upcoming cold, flu, and COVID season? Do you wish that your child wouldn’t bring home so many illnesses? Getting your child in a healthy and balanced state can help them fend off the illnesses that their friends and classmates have.

As we know from our adult lives, when we are too stressed, sleeping too little, experiencing too many strong emotions, or eating a poor diet, we are more likely to get sick and to feel more ill with each virus.

Acupuncture can be used for children to help them stay strong and healthy throughout the year by balancing their bodies. Here’s how it works!

Acupuncture for Overall Balance

Children are very easily thrown out of balance. One night of poor sleep, a few days of missed naps, a big family event, or a stressful exam or event at school can lead children to spiral into wild emotions, struggle with eating and sleep, and be at risk of falling ill.

Acupuncture works to balance the body by:

• Helping the body move into a state of “rest and digest” instead of being in a state of “fight or flight”
• Promoting healthy digestion by increasing absorption and promoting movement through the digestive tract (peristalsis)
• Enabling deeper, longer sleep by relaxing the nervous system
• Reducing overall inflammation

Acupuncture for Immune Support

In addition to supporting the overall balance of your child’s body and health, acupuncture can directly support the immune system. Specific acupuncture points are known to enhance immune system function. This can be helpful both before a child is exposed to viruses as well as when a child is dealing with an illness.

When your child is actively sick we may use cupping in addition to acupuncture or acupressure to help the child recover faster and to relieve specific symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath, excess mucus, headache, and stomachache.

The Experience of Childhood Acupuncture

When we treat younger children we typically use a massage style approach and NO acupuncture needles. This decreases children’s fear about the appointment and enables them to relax with the rhythmic massage-style appointment. We use a Japanese system called shonishin which was designed specifically for children.

Many children feel relaxed during appointments and ask their parents to return soon for more treatments!

How to Get Started

If you’re interested in receiving pediatric acupuncture, contact us at Inspire Family Acupuncture for a free consultation to understand if it’s right for your family. We offer individual personalized appointments as well as periodic wellness clinics specifically for children. Here’s to your family’s health!