Acupuncture for Fasters

A few weeks ago, a sister asked me about acupuncture during Ramadhan. She specifically wanted to know how acupuncture helps with fasting.

Last week, I asked an acupuncturist who also fasts (she’s not Muslim however). She frequently treats Muslims for the side effects of fasting. She said that acupuncture balances out the energy levels.

She also said that some people only come in for acupuncture during Ramadhan. While others who come in for regular vists stop showing up in Ramadhan. She said they really need to continue their treatments during this time.

As Muslims, look for an acupuncturist that uses distal acupuncture points. Needles are placed in the arms below the elbows (roll your sleeves up), in legs from below the knee down, the feet, hands, etc. You remain fully clothed. Acupuncture needles can even be placed thru your socks, khimar and underscarf, etc.

Does acupuncture hurt? Not really. The needles are so tiny –the width of a human hair– that you really don’t feel them. Some people do experience a sensation of heaviness or even an electrical sensation which goes away in a few seconds. It means the needle was inserted where one’s energy flow has stagnated. The most sensitive location is the feet. Needles placed there can feel prickly. Again, it goes away quickly.

Are needles re-used? Most acupuncturists use disposable one-time-use needles.

Can I afford acupuncture? Yes. You can. For those living in the U.S., the Community Acupuncture Network (CAN) is a non-profit organization of practitioners, patients, and supporters whose goal is to make acupuncture more affordable and accessible by promoting the practice of offering acupuncture in community settings for a sliding scale ranging within $15-40 a treatment [you pay the amount you can afford to pay]. Find a Community Acupuncture Clinic near you: CAN Clinics.

If anyone has any other questions about acupucnture during Ramadhan, leave a comment.

And here is a video about acupuncture that is very helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blSPT29a-dc.

Image source: Tri-State College of Acupuncture.

Fasting for Medical Patients – Suggested Guidelines

Excerpts from

Health Concerns For Believers Contemporary Issues

(Shahid Athar , M. D.)

As mentioned earlier, the sick are exempt from fasting. But some, for whatever reasons, do decide to observe fasting. For physicians treating Muslim patients, the following guidelines are suggested.

Diabetic Patients: Diabetics who are controlled by diet alone can fast and hopefully, with weight reduction, their diabetes may even be cured or at least improved.

Diabetics who are taking oral hypoglycemia agents like Orinase along with the diet should exercise extreme caution if they decide to fast. They should reduce their dose to one-third and take the drug not in the morning, but in the evening at the time of ending the fast. If they develop low blood sugar symptoms in the daytime, they should end the fast immediately.

Diabetics taking insulin should not fast. If they do, at their own risk, they should do so under close supervision and make drastic changes in the insulin dose. For example, they should eliminate regular insulin altogether and take only NPH in divided doses after ending the fast or before the pre-fast breakfast.

Diabetics, if they fast, should still take a diabetic diet during the pre-dawn meal, the ending of the fast meal, and dinner. The sweet snacks common in Ramadan are not good for their disease. They should check their blood sugar before breakfast and after ending their fast.

Hypertensive or Cardiac Patients: Those who have mild to moderate high blood pressure along with being overweight should be encouraged to fast, since fasting may help to lower their blood pressure.

They should see their physician to adjust medication. For example, the dose of water pill (diuretic) should be reduced to avoid dehydration, and long acting agents like Inderal LA or Tenormin can be given once a day before the pre-dawn meal. Those with severe hypertension or heart diseases should not fast at all.

Migraine Headache: Even in tension headache, dehydration or low blood sugar will aggravate the symptoms, but in migraine during fasting, there is an increase in blood free fatty acids which will directly affect the severity or precipitation of migraine through release of catecholamine. Patients with migraines are advised not to fast.

Pregnant Women (normal pregnancy): This is not an easy situation. Pregnancy is not a medical illness. Therefore, the same exemption does not apply. There is no mention of such exemption in the Quran.

However, the Prophet said that pregnant and nursing women do not have to fast. This is in line with God not wanting anyone, even a small fetus, to suffer. There is no way of knowing the damage to the unborn child until delivery, and that might be too late.

In my humble opinion, during the first and third trimester (three months) women should not fast. If however, Ramadan happens to come during the second trimester (4th-6th months) of pregnancy, a women may elect to fast provided that

1) her own health is good, and

2) it is done with the pen-nission of her obstetrician and under close supervision.

The possible damage to the fetus may not be from malnutrition, provided the Iftaar and Sahoor are adequate, but from dehydration, from prolonged (10-14 hours) abstinence of water.

Therefore, it is recommended that Muslim patients, if they do fast, do so under medical supervision.

Source

[Ramadhan Health] Getting Enough Water & Signs of Dehydration

Ramadhaan is occurring during the summer months in some parts of the world. And we certainly hope you are drinking enough water during those non-fasting hours.

How much water is enough? Medical opinions vary. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. You can read more here: Water: How much should you drink every day? – MayoClinic.com

Be sure to check with your health care provider about the amount of water that
is right for you.

Below are some of the signs of not getting enough water. Make sure children are drinking plenty. They tend to dehydrate quickly as do people who sweat a lot.

Signs of Mild to Moderate Dehydration

• thirst
• chronic pains in muscles and joints
• lower back pain
• headaches
• constipation
• yellow or amber colored urine
• dry sticky mouth
• dizziness
• tiredness or sleepiness in children
• chapped lips  **if fever blister develops, rubbing plain yogurt heals the lips

Signs of Extreme Dehydration
Requires Immediate Medical Attention!

• confusion
• lack of sweating
• no urine output
• sunken eyes
• fever
• lack of elasticity in skin
• rapid heartbeat

“…Thirst isn’t always a reliable gauge of the body’s need for water, especially in children and older adults. A better barometer is the color of your urine: clear or light-colored urine means you’re well hydrated, whereas a dark yellow or amber color usually signals dehydration” [Mayo Clinic].

Are You Hydrating Yourself and the Kids?

How much water is enough? Medical opinions vary. The Institute of Medicine advises that in order to replace the water lost in a normal day, men need to take in roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women need 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. You can read more here: Water: How much should you drink every day? – MayoClinic.com

You may want to change your water drinking pattern to earlier in the day and later in the day. This will get your body ready for when you can’t eat or drink during Ramadhaan.

But the main focus before Ramadhan starts is on hydrating your body well. You don’t want to start this upcoming Ramadhan in a state of dehydration — Signs of Dehydration.

Be sure to check with your health care provider about the amount of water that
is right for you.

Get Medical/Dental Work Done Now

Avoid waiting until Ramadhan to get a tooth drilled, filled, or pulled! The same goes for any medical tests or procedures.

Call your doctor or dentist. Do it before Ramadhan gets here. You still have time.

Resources

2-1-1 Information & Referral Search — free and confidential information and referral for help with food, housing, employment, health care, counseling and more. Dial 2-1-1 from your phone. Or, use this link 211.org. Enter your city and state. Then click on the link(s) provided.

Free/Low-Cost/Sliding-Scale Clinics  — NeedyMeds is a database of over 11,000 free or low cost medical and dental clinics with a sliding scale based on income:

• Disease-Based Assistance
• Free/Low Cost Clinics
• Discount Drug Cards

Walgreens Prescription Discount Card — low-cost membership to a prescription discount program. Apply in the pharmacy department or use this link: Walgreens

• 90-day supply of generics for less than $1 week
• 10% Reward when I buy Walgreen brand items
• 10% Reward in photo department

Partnership for Prescription Assistance  – helps qualifying patients without prescription drug coverage get the medicines they need through the program that is right for them. Many will get their medications free or nearly free. Call 888-477-2669 or use this link PPA.

Care Note Books — printable medical information sheets. Print, fill out, and store in a binder. Makes filing out those forms at the doctor’s office a lot easier.

• http://www.medicalhomeinfo.org/CareNoteBook/
• http://www.vermontfamilynetwork.org/Pub-CareNotebook.html
• http://cshcn.org/planning-record-keeping/care-notebook
• http://www.ccids.umaine.edu/archive/maineworks/carenotebook.htm

Are You Still Sippin’

Pre-Ramadhan Healthy Habit: Hydration

Hopefully you are still keeping up June’s a new habit … drinking water!

And you found a water bottle that you like and that inspires you to sip on!

Whatever type of water bottle or cup you decide to use, keep it filled, and keep it nearby. Then sip, sip, sip or drink, drink, drink during the day. You don’t want to enter Ramadhaan this particular time of the year in a state of dehydration!

Be sure to check with your health care provider about the amount of water that
is right for you.

Sha’baan Healthy Habit: Fasting & Hydration

Ramadhaan is just weeks away inshaAllah. The month preceeding Ramadhaan presents a great opportunity for Healthy Habits.

The first Healthy Habit for Sha’baan (July) is fasting! Fast more this month.

There are many health benefits that come from fasting (Positive Effects of Fasting on Physical Health). Additionally, you are preparing your body for Ramadhaan. And fasting Sha’baan means you are emulating the Prophet–sallallahu alayhe wa sallam.

• . . . “I have never seen him fasting so much as he would in Sha`baan.” [al-Bukhari and Muslim]   –  Read More Here

The second Healthy Habit for Sha’baan (July) is water! Continue with last month’s healthy habit which was drinking water!

How much water is enough? Medical opinions vary. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. You can read more here: Water: How much should you drink every day? – MayoClinic.com

You may want to change your water drinking pattern to earlier in the day and later in the day. This will get your body ready for when you can’t eat or drink during Ramadhaan.

But the main focus before Ramadhan starts is on hydrating your body well. You don’t want to start this upcoming Ramadhan in a state of dehydration — Signs of Dehydration.

Be sure to check with your health care provider about the amount of water that
is right for you.

Signs of Dehydration

Below are some of the signs of not getting enough water. Make sure children are drinking plenty. They tend to dehydrate quickly as do people who sweat a lot.

Signs of Mild to Moderate Dehydration

• thirst
• chronic pains in muscles and joints
• lower back pain
• headaches
• constipation
• yellow or amber colored urine
• dry sticky mouth
• dizziness
• tiredness or sleepiness in children
• chapped lips

Signs of Extreme Dehydration
Requires Immediate Medical Attention!

• confusion
• lack of sweating
• no urine output
• sunken eyes
• fever
• lack of elasticity in skin
• rapid heartbeat

“…Thirst isn’t always a reliable gauge of the body’s need for water, especially in children and older adults. A better barometer is the color of your urine: clear or light-colored urine means you’re well hydrated, whereas a dark yellow or amber color usually signals dehydration.”

Source–[Mayo Clinic]

Positive Effects of Fasting on Physical Health

Fasting brings many benefits to both the mind and body. It induces relaxation and energizes the mind, body, and emotions. It also promotes greater spiritual awareness.

The Digestive System
The digestive organs, the stomach, liver, intestines, pancreas, gallbladder, and liver, get a chance to rest from work of processing food as well as a chance to create new substances that our bodies need.

Detoxification of the Circular System
The detoxification of chemicals inthe blood and lymph system allows for these systems to be cleaned so that they function better. “Each cell has the opportunity to catch up on its work; with fewer demands, it can repair itself and dump its waste for the garbage pickup” [Haas 5].

This detoxification also clears the skin making it look vibrant.

Source: Dr. Elson, Hass, MD., Healthy.Net