UAE warns against unlicenced cupping therapy

Practitioners need to have licence from relevant ministry.

Dr. Amin Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for medical practice and licence cector in UAE Ministry of Health, has warned people about bloodletting (cupping) in houses or different establishments to avoid any negative consequences or side effects.

He emphasized the importance of doing cupping according to ministry's standards, which restrict practicing it without medical supervision in licenced and approved centers.

According to Emarat Al Youm, Al Amiri said that that the media should be careful about publishing articles related to medical subjects so as not to promote false information that could endanger people's lives.

"UAE is the first country to legally approve using cupping methods through obtaining licences," Al Amiri noted.

Al Amiri has also thanked the teams who identified centers that provide cupping services without license. He stressed on precautions that people must take before getting cupping treatment, adding that it is a type of "complementary" or "alternative" medicine.

"Cupping doesn't remove bad blood from the body, but it helps the body to reduce lactic acid and other excretions that make the body feel better after the process," Al Amiri noted.

However, according to the ministry's official records, 53 doctors, nurses and others were licenced practitioners until the end of 2017, including 11 citizens.  

Al Amiri said that the benefit of cupping as a cure to any health problem is not yet proven by medical research - yet it could be helpful.

The ministry stresses the importance of ensuring that cupping practitioners get a licence, and it is done by a doctor or nurse, or someone with a degree in various medical specialties.

The practitioner must at least have a high school certificate, provided that they are familiar with some medical fundamentals, which qualifies them to pass the ministry's special exam in addition to passing an interview with a panel of doctors specialised in the field of alternative medicine.