Hey everyone, it's Sarah here, the registered acupuncturist here at BodyTx Massage and Health. This is Iris, one of our evening receptionists. We're here today to discuss the number one fear around acupuncture and that is needles.

Not very many people love them. We usually have a traumatizing experience as a child with blood draws or immunizations where we've had a painful experience.

Well, acupuncture is completely different. Our needles are a little bit different. A hypodermic needle has a big hole in it that is designed to cut the tissue to get into the vein to draw blood or provide immunizations.

Acupuncture needles do not have that. About ten or more of those needles fit in the hole of the hypodermic needles, so that gives you an idea of how small they are. And they're also designed to glide through the tissue and bypass the nerves, which makes it less painful.

They're fairly thin. They're a little bit thicker than a human hair, pretty thin, and they're fairly comfortable.

Iris here is one of those people who do not love needles, and is a little bit nervous today, and I have bribed her to do this video with me. So we'll see how it goes.

It's fairly thin. And I'll just dispose of that. They're also completely sterile, one time use. So there's no reusing needles here. So that's a question that's often asked as well. So, no need to worry about that.

Okay. So, I'm just going to tell you how the procedure is done. So, the guide tube, you're going to feel that on your skin more than anything. That helps bypass the nerves so you don't feel it as much, okay? So, you feel that on your skin? Quick tap. And that's one needle there.

Alright guys, so that's how it's done. Pretty easy-peasy. The average is eight to ten needles. If you're uncomfortable, we take things nice and slow to make sure you're comfortable and are relaxed. At any time, you can please let me know if you're feeling uncomfortable and we can stop at that point.

If you have an questions about acupuncture or how it can help you, please feel free to email me at Sarah@bodytx.ca

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