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Hijama Wet Cupping FAQ's 

Your Questions Answered

Hijama Wet Cupping FAQ's: FAQ

What is Hijama Wet Cupping?

Wet cupping 'Hijama', is an ancient traditional practice it involves disinfecting the skin, then applying a sterile blade to the skin to make many small incisions. These are usually the size of paper cuts. This allows blood beneath the skin to be removed. This type of blood is traditionally thought to be the "bad" blood. The idea is that once this blood is removed, it will be replaced with new "clean" blood, hence allowing for better flow.
While research is investigating the validity of these arguments it is clear that Hijama may assist with many conditions as well as with general well-being

What is the difference between Wet Cupping Hijama and Dry Cupping?

During the process of "wet" cupping, there is blood that is removed from the body with the use of cups. However for "dry" cupping, cups are applied, however no blood is removed from the body.

What can Wet Cupping Hijama be useful for?

  • Neck Pain 

  • Headaches 

  • Shoulder Pain 

  • Elbow pain 

  • Wrist Pain

  • Hand Pain

  • Mid Back Pain 

  • Low Back Pain

  • Hip Pain 

  • Knee Pain 

  • Ankle Pain

  • Gastrointestinal, respiratory and some cardiovascular conditions (Hijama may assist with symptom management but will not cure the root cause of these issues. Please see a medical professional for management of these conditions) 

Is Hijama Wet Cupping Safe?

The short answer is "YES". 

When you attend our clinic, you will complete a health screening form and answer a few questions to help us ensure that it is safe for you to perform the procedure. 

The procedure itself is safe as we use sterile single use blades and brand new cups cups every time. 

We do NOT reuse any piece of equipment for the procedure. Everything is disposed of after completion. 

All practitioners who perform the procedure are a minimum of 4-5 years university trained health professionals who have passed rigorous exams to ensure they have complied with infection control procedures and are extremely competent. 

Can Hijama Be unsafe?

Hijama Wet Cupping is unsafe for individuals who are taking blood thinning medications. This may include but is not limited to medications such as aspirin, warfarin, clexane etc. If you would still like to do Hijama in this case you will need to speak to your GP and he may advise stopping your medication for a few days before the procedure. We will require a letter from he GP that it is safe for you to perform the procedure. 

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Hijama is also not safe for someone who has a terminal illness or condition such as active cancer. 

What should I do before my Hijama Wet Cupping treatment?

  1. Have a good night sleep the day before 

  2. Fast from food for 2 hours before the treatment. Drinking water is permissible anytime before the treatment as well as small sugary snacks such as small amounts of fruit/lollies. Please do not starve yourself the whole day. We only recommend fasting from heavy foods 2 hours before the treatment. 

  3. Please have a shower the day of the procedure before the treatment.

  4. Please clip any hairs which may be present at the site of cupping before coming in to perform the procedure. 

  5. Please wear loose fitting clothing to the treatment. 

What should I do after my Hijama Wet Cupping Treatment?

  1. Do not engage in any strenuous physical activity for the rest of the day. 

  2. Drink plenty of water and eat after the procedure (please do not consume red meat the day of the procedure, all other foods are permissible)

  3. Please do not consume red meat for the day of the procedure after completion. Consumption is permissible the following day as per usual. 

  4. Please wait 4-5 hours at least before showering 

  5. Please do not expose the cupped area to the sun for at least 7 days (this includes the neck region which may be difficult to cover). 

  6. As the incision points are healing, they may before a little itchy please refrain from itching them. You may use moisturiser to assist with managing the itchy sensation. 

How long does it take? 

A full Hijama Wet cupping treatment may take up to 30 minutes depending on the amount of cups used.

How many cups will you use? 

This entirely depends on the surface are that we are cupping, the reason for the cupping procedure as well as if the patient has performed cupping previously. Generally, if its the first time we will be a little conservative and opt for less cups used. The average number of cups used in a treatment is 9 but this can vary up to 15 or as low as 1-2.

Does it hurt?

The process may feel a little foreign in that there are cups being placed onto the skin which feels like a suction. If this feeling is uncomfortable we can always adjust the amount of suctioning used. Additionally the incisions made with the blade are like paper cuts and at times people report that it is quite ticklish as opposed to painful.

How long before the cupping and incision marks go away?

Generally, the incisions are like little paper cuts and they usually feel a little itchy as they heal and scab up. They usually take 3-5 days to completely go away. The actual cupping marks may take a little longer and depend on many factors such as the colour of your skin and how much blood was extracted from the procedure. in general the cupping marks begin to fade in 3 days and may take up to 14 days to completely disappear. 
It is also important to avoid exposure to the sun as the cupping marks are healing.

Do you supply the cups? 

We have plenty of cups here in the clinic that we can use for the procedure. All cups used are brand new and have never been used before. The blades we use are also sterile and single use. All equipment used will be disposed of after treatment.

Can a child do Hijama wet cupping? 

We do not perform Hijama wet cupping for anyone below the age of 18.

Are there recommended dates to perform Hijama Wet Cupping? 

Generally, Hijama wet cupping is done for two reasons. 

1. General reasons 

2. Specific reason such as pain etc

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If one is performing Hijama for general reasons then they may do it in the 17th, 19th or 21st of the lunar month. However if Hijama is done for a specific reason such as pain then doing it as soon as possible is much more recommended instead of waiting for these dates to aid with symptoms management. 

Is there a difference between blood donations and Hijama Wet Cupping

Yes, there is a large difference between these two. 
1. Blood donations extract blood from the veins that is in direct circulation in the body 
2. Hijama wet cupping extracts blood directly from beneath the skin and not blood from direct circulation.

Why does blood clot during Hijama Wet Cupping?

There is quite a complex explanation to this however, when the blood extracted from the Hijama process makes contact with air from the outside the body it clots.
When the blood is inside the body, all the oxygen in the blood is already bound to haemoglobin, hence it will not clot.

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