Is Hijama Painful?
It looks so painful does it hurt?
Yes you’ve done some research and looked at YouTube. The dreaded YouTube where you saw cups full of blood being drawn from all over people’s body’s. ‘Oh my God it looks so painful!’
Yes it may look painful because of the amount of blood coming out from the person having the cupping done and definitely many of us have an aversion to blood and we associate bleeding with being something negative and in many cases it is.
However did you take the time to look at the body language of the person who was having the hijama on them? Do they look stressed or under any kind of strain, resistance or pressure? Did they look like they were in pain?
How about their reactions to the hijama? Were they screaming, crying, wincing or shouting in discomfort?
These are all indicators to how someone would react if they are in pain.
Hijama is so painful
No it's not. The most painful- if you could call it painful, is the suction of the cups and it's more of an uncomfortable feeling. This will vary from person to person and some people have more sensitive skin that others or a very low pain threshold. In general I have only had a handful of clients if that who have complained about the cups hurting.
In my 8 plus years of practicing hijama regularly I have had clients who have made the following complaints:
The suction of the cups being too tight.
This is easily dealt with as all you need to do as the practitioner is loosen the suction of the cups. I have had 2 clients (out of more than 450 that I have experienced treating) who have complained about the cups being too tight when they were barely touching their skin. The cups were so loose that they were falling off!
Some people have very sensitive skin and are not used to being touched or having anything attached to their skin. I think in some cases when people have more sensitive reactions it could be perhaps partly psychological. If you have told yourself that it is painful and you are convinced of that you want to believe it, then it will be painful.
Burning sensation or stinging after hijama
I always prewarn clients that I am going to apply blackseed oil after the hijama treatment over the incisions and that it may sting a little. I personally like the sensation. Some clients have experienced no stinging at all and others really feel stinging only for a period of a few minutes before it dies down and eventually stops.
The stinging or the sensation from the blackseed oil will vary from person to person depending on the body’s reaction and the pain threshold of the individual. Stinging can also occur for other reasons such as the incisions being exposed or rubbed against harsh fabrics soon after the hijama or soaps that have been used to wash the body before the incisions have had enough time to close.
I always advise clients to wait for a period of 24 hours after the hijama before taking a shower and if they do before that time that they should not use any kind of abrasives to scrub the area of incisions or use any soap on them.
The incisions may be and should be very shallow but they are still open wounds so it is important to care for them properly to avoid any infection.
I also advise clients to wear loose clothing, cotton if possible and to use olive oil or coconut oil on the incisions to help them heal quickly and also protect them.
Sometimes if the client is affect by magic they may complain about the cups because it is hurting the jinn. If you already know that the person is affected you can try to reassure them that the pain will feel less soon and encourage them to recite the ruqya if possible in order to not focus on the cups.
The most uncomfortable part of the hijama for every client that I have ever treated has without doubt been the suction of the cups and in most cases it is something that clients quickly become used to and enjoy.
Having a good degree of suction where the cups are tight enough means that the blood will be drawn quickly to the surface of the skin so that it ready to be released after the incisions are made. It also helps being able to look for colouration so that you can get an understanding of the issues in the particular area of the body.
It is easy to check the cups if they are too tight. If the practitioner can move the cup by touching it while it is still attached to the skin then the cup is not at its tightest. Obviously this does not mean that it's not feeling very uncomfortable or painful. So if the client is having too much discomfort the practitioner can loosen it slightly or can ask the client if they will be able to bear it for about a minute, as after that it will start to feel more loose as the circulation of the blood is drawn to the surface of the skin.