Fire Needle Therapy for Skin Diseases

Fire needle therapy may be particularly useful for certain chronic, localized, thickened, or keratotic skin lesions. However, it is not appropriate for every skin condition or every stage of a disease.

Fire needle therapy requires a specific type of needle. The acupuncture needles commonly used in clinical practice in the United States are much thinner than those used in China, making them too soft for fire needle treatment.

The photos below show fire needle treatment for lichen simplex chronicus that I performed on one of my colleagues. Some of the treated areas have already formed scabs.

It is normal to still have some itching after fire needle treatment. Part of the itching may be due to new tissue forming, while another part may be caused by the condition flaring up again. Therefore, please follow up promptly if the itching persists or returns.

The feeling is not particularly pleasant. When I was in my fourth year of university, one of my classmates helped me use fire needle therapy to treat the pustules on my face. I could feel the tiny blood vessels in my face pulsing with my heartbeat, as if they were expanding with every beat. It felt like my whole face was doing it.

If a patient cannot tolerate the pain, there is no need to force the treatment. If the patient moves suddenly because of the pain, it can make the use of fire unsafe. In that case, the potential risks may outweigh the benefits.