Cupping guides
Palpitations and extra heartbeats: what happens in the body, the common causes (stress, coffee, sleep deprivation, menopause, iron deficiency, thyroid), when to seek care, and what calms them: breathing, the vagus nerve, habits and relaxation
Your heart pounds in your throat, skips a beat and then pauses, or races when you lie down to sleep. Palpitations are one of the most common reasons for worry and doctor visits, and in the vast majority of cases the cause is harmless: stress and adrenaline, coffee and energy drinks, lack of sleep, alcohol the night before, menopause, iron deficiency, low blood sugar or an overactive thyroid. Almost everyone has extra beats, and they are noticed most at rest. Here we go through what happens in the body, the common causes, which signs mean you should call emergency services (chest pain, fainting, breathlessness) and which should go to your doctor within a few weeks (sudden fast regular racing that starts and stops abruptly, irregular pulse that persists), how the investigation works, and what calms them: slow exhalation, vagal manoeuvres, fewer stimulants, sleep, movement and relaxation. Cupping does not treat the heart, but calm cupping of the back and neck is one of several ways to get the nervous system to shift down.
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Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit and groin: what lymph nodes do, why they swell, how long is normal, when to seek care, and what you can do (and not do) with lymphatic massage and cupping
You feel a tender lump in the neck, under the jaw or in the armpit, and the first thing you think is the worst. In reality, swollen lymph nodes are almost always a sign that the immune system is doing its job: the nodes are filter stations where white blood cells meet bacteria and viruses from the throat, teeth, skin or a nearby wound, and they grow while they work. Here we explain where the lymph nodes sit and what they do, the common causes (colds, strep throat, dental infection, glandular fever, wounds and eczema), how a harmless node feels compared with one that should be examined (hard, fixed, painless, growing, larger than 2 cm, above the collarbone, with night sweats and weight loss), how long it is normal for them to be swollen, and what you can do yourself: rest, fluids, warmth during infection, light lymphatic massage of the healthy surroundings to help drainage once the acute phase is over, and why you should never press on, massage or cup over the swollen node itself.
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Poor blood circulation: the signs, the common causes, when to seek care, and how to improve your circulation with movement, warmth, habits and cupping
Cold feet, white fingers, heavy legs in the evening, numbness when you sit still, skin that turns mottled: "poor circulation" is one of the most common self-diagnoses, and sometimes it is right. Here we sort out the difference between the harmless (cold hands and feet from constricted surface vessels, sitting still, low blood pressure) and what should be examined (atherosclerosis in the legs with pain on walking, deep vein thrombosis, severe Raynaud's attacks, wounds that don't heal, diabetes), which signs are which, and what actually improves circulation: daily movement and the calf pump, leg strength, warmth from outside and inside, quitting smoking, blood pressure and blood sugar in balance, and cupping as a local, temporary but tangible increase in blood flow in skin and muscle. Including when not to cup.
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