Dragon’s Blood Stops Bleeding and Heals Wounds

Dragon's Blood

Also known as Xue Jie, Daemonoropis Resina, or Draconis Sanguis.

I’ll admit it… I’m a nerd! I love the idea of dragons and when I learned about this herb I was instantly in love! Not only does it have a great name but the visual of Dragon’s Blood is beautiful! Dark red, iron-like and shiny, it’s just amazing!

Dragon’s Blood is actually the resin secretion from Daemononrops draco. Mature fruit is collected and dried, then put in a basket with rough sea shells. The basket is shaken so all the resin falls off the fruit, then it is sifted and wrapped in a cloth bag and boiled until it melts. After it melts, it is removed from the bag and cooled and often stamped with a gold mark to identify the product.

Dragons blood fruit is used in Chinese medicine to heal skin wounds and stop bleeding. 

You will find Dragon’s Blood (xue jie) in Alpine Herb’s remedy called Myrrh Liniment. The reason I added this in my recipe is because the resin generates flesh, assists sores and wounds to heal and stops bleeding. When combined with Olibanum aka Frankincense (ru xiang) and Myrrha (mo yao) they all promote movement when blood as stagnated, stop pain, generate flesh, reduce swelling, and assist the healing of sores.

Myrrh Liniment is used for any sprains, strains, brusies and more. 

References: Bensky, D., Clavey, S., Stoger, E. (2004). Chinese Herbal Medicine material Medica. 3^rd Edition. Eastland Press, Inc.

Acupuncture Treatment for Children

Did you know that acupuncture can help children too? I have a 5 year old boy that came in for treatment for acid re-flux that was extremely painful and deeply worried his parents on what to do for him. After only 3 treatments and an herbal formula, the re-flux is gone and he is pain free.

I've also treated a 9 year old for juvenile arthritis which is dramatically worse during his growth spurts. In conjunction with his rhumatologist, we have developed a treatment plan that eases his pain during times of growth and has eliminated it otherwise. This child came in for treatment daily for the first week and then twice a week for a couple months. Now I see him during his growth times. 

As most of us know kids seem to get a lot of colds and I see many children for this. Often I do cupping therapy for colds on children.

A 11 year old girl has been receiving treatment for the sadness she feels from being bullied at school. She is able to process these emotions through acupuncture. 

A 15 year old boy with cluster migraines for several months came in and through pulse balancing his migraines have not returned and he said to me, "I feel like I can just be myself again".

I think as adults we often think children have it easy, but they get stressed and have pain and heartache too. Through the treatment of acupuncture they can better process and digest their lives so they well adjusted people as they get older, instead of holding onto baggage that they don't need.


Jennifer Parks, L.AC.
Jade Star Acupuncture

Pulse Diagnosis

I just recently took a CEU class(Continuing Education Credit) to learn how to balance the pulses better and I'd like to share a little about pulses since this is something we learn as a foundation but it is important to hone our skills as acupuncturists. Dr. Martha Lucas from Colorado taught the 3 day class and she really opened my eyes to what we the objective truly is when reading pulses. Pulse balance is the exact objective of an acupuncture treatment.

To me, the goal as an acupuncturist is to open pathways to let the patient be able to create their own healing process.

Through pulse diagnosis we can see many aspects of a patients life, from childhood to adulthood. When feeling the pulse in the Spleen position it not only tells about the current digestion of the patient but also if the patient has had spiritual nurturing in their life or not. By understanding the root or core of a patient via their pulses it allows me to treat current conditions fully and to the best of my ability. Point selection is still important however instead of using protocols out of text books, pulse balancing allows me to truly treat each person as an individual each time they come in for the imbalances they have at the moment. When your pulses are balanced your Qi is balanced and you feel like the best version of yourself. If you want to feel what balanced is liked, give us a call to schedule your appointment.