The Foreign Substances Identified as "Traces of Gold Needle Therapy"
An X-ray image showing dozens of thin lines resembling parasites inside the head of a Korean woman in her 60s has been revealed, drawing attention. The foreign substances were identified as 'traces of gold needle therapy.'
X-ray image of a woman in her 60s revealed by Yang Seong-gwan, a family medicine specialist. Dozens of white foreign substances were found in the head area. Photo captured from Yang Seong-gwan's Facebook.
Family medicine specialist Yang Seong-gwan recently posted on his social media (SNS) a photo of the head X-ray of a female patient in her 60s, referred to as Patient A, who visited him with a headache, along with a post titled "Korean-style medical treatment."
Yang said, "The patient's X-ray showed numerous foreign substances about 1 cm in size," adding, "Parasites? Electric chips? If this were abroad, this photo would be considered a 'case report' featuring a unique patient case." He continued, "But Korean doctors would first chuckle upon seeing it," clarifying, "Those foreign substances are not parasites or electric wires but marks from gold needles."
Gold needle therapy is a treatment method where thin pure gold needles less than 1 cm in length are inserted into painful areas; it is also called 'gold thread embedding therapy.' Practitioners believe that the gold needles provide continuous stimulation to the area, enhancing therapeutic effects. However, concerns about inflammation worsening and secondary infections caused by residual foreign substances have led to a significant decrease in the number of clinics performing this procedure compared to the past.
Yang said, "(Traces of gold needle therapy) are mainly seen in areas like the knees or lower back, but this time it was observed in the head," adding, "The diagnosis could be made based on this single photo alone." This was because the gold needles were limited to the crown area. Yang diagnosed the patient with 'tension-type headache.'
He explained, "If it were a migraine, it would be on one side; if trigeminal neuralgia, it would be around the eye; and if it were brain cancer, cerebral infarction, or cerebral hemorrhage, the patient would not have been able to walk in normally." He added, "The brain MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and MRA (magnetic resonance angiography) test results were normal, and there were no abnormal findings such as brain hemorrhage, brain cancer, or cerebral infarction, so tension-type headache was certain," and said, "I explained to the patient not to worry too much since detailed examinations had already been conducted."
After the post gained attention, Yang posted additional articles about gold needles. He said, "Since medicine is practiced by people, there are regional characteristics," and added, "Korean doctors are experts in acupuncture-related matters because they see it frequently."
Yang posted an X-ray photo of gold needle therapy published in the medical journal New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and stated, "In the NEJM, which is centered in the US and Europe, acupuncture-related images often appear as unusual cases, but in Korea, they are very common cases." He also said, "Pneumothorax caused by acupuncture is very common, and cellulitis caused by bacterial infection is frequently seen. There are even cases where needles come out during gastroscopy."
He added, "Of course, even after reading this post, some people will stubbornly insist on receiving gold needle therapy, but many will develop distrust toward it," and said, "If only 10,000 people stop receiving gold needle therapy after reading my post, hundreds of people in the future will avoid suffering and sequelae caused by gold needles."
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