Reflexology has a positive affect on Furuncle and carbuncle

The furuncle is a common surgical condition usually occuring on the head, face, hand or foot. Mild cases are without serious general symptom, but severe cases may suffer from chills and fever in the early stage, fever, thirst, constipation, dark urine, yellow and greasy tongue coating, and rapid pulse in the middle stage; and the symptoms may gradually disappear with the healing of local lesions in the late stage.
   
The carbuncle is a pyogenic infection of multiple neighboring hair follicles and sebaceous glands or a confluence of several furuncles, common in aged people or patients with diabetes mellitus. At the early stage, a local dark red and slightly elevated infitrative skin lesion appears with a peripheral hard swelling region but without a clear margin; and at the suppurative stage, many pus plugs appear that may perforate into a form like the mouth of a volcano.
   
Furuncles and carbuncles have similar etiology, pathogenesis, and symptomatology, and respond to similar therapy, so they are discussed here in combination.
   
Treatment:
Foot massage: The massage is applied to reproductive gland (36), lymph nodes (upper body, 39), lymph nodes (abdomen, 40) and adrenal gland (21) reflecting areas (Fig.97).
   
Foot acupuncture:
Meridianal acupoints: At Zuqiaoyin (GB 44) and Shugu (BL65) acupoints, a reducing acupuncture technique is applied and the needles are retained for 15 to 20 minutes.
   
External application of drugs: Raw Chuanwu (Sichuan aconite root) 3 gm, raw Caowu (wild aconite root) 3 gm, Xixin (wild ginger) 3 gin, Banxia (pinellia tuber) 3 gm and red date without pits 10 pieces are pounded to a paste for preparation of a large pill the size of a dove egg, which is put over Yongquan (KI 1) to treat inflammation of the lymph nodes near the furuncle or carbuncle on the contralateral side of body.
   
Foot bath: A warm decoction of Shuizhi (leech) 30 gm, Tubiechong (ground beetle) 10 grn, Taoren (peach kernel) 10 gm, Sumu (sappan wood) 10 gm, Honghua (safflower) 10 gin, Xuejie (dragon's blood) 10 gm, Niuxi (bidentate achyranthes root) 15 gm, Fuzi (aconite lateral root) 15 gm, Guizhi (cinnamon twig) 20 gm, Earthworm 30 gm, Gancao (licorice) 15 gm, Ruxiang (frankincense) 10 gm and Moyao (myrrh) 10 gm in a wooden barrel is used to steam and wash both feet.