The Needles, Explained for People Who Are Afraid of Needles

If the only thing standing between you and trying acupuncture is the word needle, you're not alone. It's one of the most common hesitations Dr. Helen Liu hears at Acuherb Clinic in Ellicott City. So let's talk about what the needles actually are, and what you'll actually feel.

The room where it happens

Treatment at Acuherb Clinic happens on a massage table with fresh linens, under a heat lamp, in a room with floral wall art rather than anything clinical looking. It's a small, quiet space, and it's the same room Dr. Liu has been using since she opened the practice in 1997. None of that changes what a needle is or does, but it's worth knowing the setting isn't sterile-hospital in feel, even though the needles themselves are sterile in fact.

They're not what you're picturing

When most people imagine acupuncture needles, they picture something closer to the needle a nurse uses to draw blood or give a shot: thick, hollow, built to push fluid through. Acupuncture needles aren't that. They're very thin, solid, made from stainless steel, and nothing like a hypodermic needle. At Acuherb Clinic, every needle is sterile and used exactly once, then thrown away. Nothing is reused between patients.

What you'll actually feel

Inserting the needle into the skin is not painful. Most people feel a slight sting when it goes in, and for many people that fades within a second or two. That's the honest, direct answer Dr. Liu gives patients who ask, and it's worth repeating because it's so different from what people expect walking in the door.

Why it's considered safe

Acupuncture is very safe when only sterile, disposable needles are used and conventional clinical technique is followed, which is exactly how Acuherb Clinic operates. In 1993, the FDA classified the acupuncture needle as a medical device, which put it under the same regulatory oversight as other medical instruments used in the United States.

You don't have to stop what you're already doing

One of the most common questions Dr. Liu gets is whether patients need to pause their regular medication or stop seeing their own doctor to try acupuncture. The answer is no to both. Acupuncture treatment can be given at the same time you take other medicine, and Dr. Liu encourages patients to continue their regular visits to their primary physician throughout treatment. This isn't an alternative to your existing care. It runs alongside it.

What the record says, for the skeptical

Using acupuncture to treat disease has a recorded history of more than 2,000 years in China. In the US, a National Institute of Health panel endorsed the use of acupuncture in November 1997. Specifically, the NIH concluded there was clear evidence that needle acupuncture is effective for postoperative and chemotherapy related nausea and vomiting, nausea of pregnancy, and postoperative dental pain. Further back, in 1979 the World Health Organization cited 104 different conditions where it found acupuncture could play a role, spanning things like migraines, sinusitis, and osteoarthritis. These are findings from those organizations, not claims made by this clinic, but they're part of why acupuncture has moved from fringe curiosity to something US medical insurance has covered for pain management and chemotherapy related nausea since as early as the 1990s.

Electro-acupuncture

Alongside traditional needling, Acuherb Clinic also offers electro-acupuncture. If that's a fit for your treatment, Dr. Liu will explain it to you directly, in person, before it becomes part of your session.

Who's holding the needle

Dr. Helen Liu is NCCAOM certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbology and Maryland State licensed in acupuncture, nationally certified and Maryland licensed in 1995. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in medicine from Hunan Province University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1984 and completed a three-year postgraduate program in Chinese herbal medicine before ever opening her own practice. That's the training standing behind every needle she places, not a weekend certificate.

What other patients say about it

Janet Oquendo, a Google reviewer, wrote: "Helen is amazing. I have sought out other acupuncturists for months only to be disappointed at the lack of change in my condition. After going to Helen my symptoms began to improve significantly. She is amazing. The BEST acupuncturist I have been to." Acuherb Clinic carries a 5.0 star rating on Google across six reviews, every one of them five stars.

Being nervous about needles before your first visit is normal. Most patients find the reality is a lot smaller than what they imagined beforehand: a brief sting, then nothing. If you have more questions before booking, call the clinic at (410) 313-8226 and ask Dr. Liu directly.