Burns Incl Therm Inj. 1988 Aug; 14(4): 323-5.

Burn hazard from cupping--an ancient universal medication still in practice.

Sagi A, Ben-Meir P, Bibi C.

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Soroka University Hospital, Beer-Sheva, Israel.

The ancient universal medication of cupping is still practised by devoted believers and people who, for various reasons, have lost faith in other more modern modalities of medical treatment. Faulty technique in producing the vacuum in the cups was the aetiology of the burns in several patients. The history, theories and indications for cupping are reviewed.