My son developed atopic dermatitis when he was 11 years old.

At that time, he weighed 48kg and was 148cm tall, making him taller than his peers in the fourth grade but somewhat overweight. He perspired so much that his clothes would get soaked, and his pillow would be wet when he slept at night. He often slept on the bare floor without a blanket due to his high body heat.

[Korean Today] A picture of applying mini moxibustion on Taeyeon (by the author). After the first day of moxibustion, surprisingly, my son’s itching was reduced, and the red, raised symptoms of atopic dermatitis subsided, allowing him to sleep without scratching throughout the night. For the first week, we applied it daily, and from the second week, every other day. After about a month, the symptoms of atopic dermatitis nearly disappeared. It was astonishing and miraculous that my son, who didn’t improve with hospital medications and ointments, recovered from atopic dermatitis after just a month of moxibustion. © Reporter Park Chan-doo

However, as summer came, a palm-sized patch of atopic dermatitis began to appear on his buttocks. Initially, we thought it was just eczema due to excessive sweating, so we took him to the hospital for injections and ointments, but it didn’t improve. It worsened, spreading to his thighs, calves, groin, abdomen, back, and armpits, covering his entire body.

I suggested trying acupuncture and moxibustion, but he was too scared to try it at his young age. So, we continued with hospital treatment.

Since childhood, my son had a hoarse voice, and despite visiting various hospitals, we couldn’t find a specific cause. With broad shoulders and chest, a preference for meat, and being overweight, we suspected he might have a Taeeum constitution. Given his body heat and frequent consumption of cold drinks from the refrigerator, it seemed his spleen and stomach functions were impaired, leading to decreased lung and large intestine function, causing his hoarse voice and possibly the atopic dermatitis.

After about four months of hospital treatment until November without improvement, I insisted on trying acupuncture and moxibustion. He refused acupuncture, so we settled for indirect moxibustion, which involves using a mini mugwort cone that burns in 2-3 minutes, making it not too hot, which he managed well.

Since he was a child and conscious of his appearance, we chose acupuncture points that were not easily visible to others. Although we couldn’t target the precise points, we focused on enhancing lung function with Taeyeon, liver function with Taechung, and the functions of the liver, spleen, and kidneys with Samumgyo. We wanted to use Joksamni and Gokji but avoided them due to the risk of blisters and scarring.

After the first day of moxibustion, my son surprisingly experienced reduced itching, and the red, raised symptoms of atopic dermatitis subsided, allowing him to sleep without scratching. He was so amazed by the results that he continued with the moxibustion willingly. For the first week, we did it daily, then every other day from the second week.

After about a month, the symptoms of atopic dermatitis nearly disappeared. It was astonishing and miraculous that his condition improved with just a month of moxibustion, even though months of hospital treatment with medication and ointments had failed. Who would believe that just using Taeyeon, Taechung, and Joksamni could lead to such recovery?

When we visited the hospital, the doctor was amazed at his recovery but attributed it to the medication. I didn’t mention the moxibustion because I doubted they would believe it, and I didn’t want to risk being dismissed as speaking nonsense.

Afterward, my son continued moxibustion twice a week, and for a year, there was no recurrence of atopic dermatitis.

One thing I forgot to mention is that during the first month of moxibustion, my son grew 4-5 cm taller. He had never grown that much in a single month before. Afterward, he continued to grow rapidly, becoming one of the tallest in his class. Perhaps stimulating growth hormones through frequent use of Taechung or Samumgyo contributed to his growth.

Furthermore, he stopped sweating excessively, and his voice became clear. After that, he did moxibustion once or twice a week on weekends until he graduated from elementary school and then stopped. Now, at 27 years old, he has not suffered from atopic dermatitis again.

I am once again amazed by the mysterious efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion. I am deeply grateful to my teachers at the Goryeo Acupuncture and Moxibustion Research Institute, including Hyun-gyo Lee, Young-hoon Koo, Ki-ho Lee, and Nam-soo Kim, for teaching me these skills.

In line with Nam-soo Kim’s philosophy of “Learn to share,” and following in my father’s footsteps, who practiced acupuncture for free throughout his life, I continue to strive to relieve many people from the suffering of illness without charge.

<저작권자 ⓒ 코리안투데이(The Korean Today) 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>