Support Your Immune System

Some Helpful Handouts

This one shows you how to make acupressure seeds and beans and a good ear map to help treat allergies, insomnia, anxiety and general immune.

Here is a Video showing you how to make ear acupressure seeds.

This is a great body acupressure how to handout with points for many conditions and some meridians to massage for these difficult times.

Two Zines – Mood Enhancement Zine and Wound Care Zine - Print, fold lengthwise, fold short edges to the middle, cut along dotted line and refold into a Zine or small booklet.

Check out these self help acupressure videos from our umbrella co-op People’ Organization of Community Acupuncture. These were developed especially to help you during COVID times when clinics are closed.

Here are some easy No-Sew Mask instructions.

Nothing replaces masks, physical distancing, and reducing your contacts right now. That is the only real defense that we have against the disease getting out of control in NM. Always stand six feet or more apart (If you both stretch out your arms, your fingertips should still be a foot apart), don’t jog or play sports with others, stay home as much as possible, limit to groups of two-five, and ALWAYS wear a face covering in public now.

This website shows you the best materials to make a mask. This one shows you a simple pattern. And even better, this one shows you how to make so-sew masks from t-shirts or cotton fabric you have in your home. Make four or five per person and number them then rotate them or wash each day of use. In Hong Kong when they ran out of masks people used a kleenex inner layer, paper towels filter layer and hung a transparent file folder around their heads as a face shield! See here. This is for more high risk with droplet protection and throw away mask materials. If you don’t have a mask, use a bandana, scarf, T shirt, pillowcase, or dishtowel. Something is better than nothing!

Here are some things that we know help support your immune system and some Chinese medicine tricks.

• Laughter

• Calling or Zooming Friends

• Sleep

• Good Food

• Exercise

• De-stressing

• Warm Shower

• Gardening

• Hiking

Here are some more ear acupressure points to support the immune system. See top of pager for more.

Immune Support Ear

To be honest, we find this map from Terry Oleson a little much – so we use Shenmen, Zero and one Lung point for immunity. The Shenmen point can also be used for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and general pain. It is really calming.

You can buy earseeds (sometimes called Vaccaria Seeds) online. You can also get them from our website using the supplies button – $10 plus $5 P&P for a hundred seeds.

How to make your own ear acupressure seeds.

You can make your own using mustard seeds, quinoa, or a similar sized spherical seed and first aid tape. The best tape is the first aid paper tape, usually white, sometimes “flesh colored” It stays on the longest. If you have bought the seeds, keep the plastic flat that they come on, then when empty fill each little hole with a seed. Put the tape over the top and use a scalpel or an exacto knife to cut in between the seeds into little squares. Then stick on your ears on the appropriate spots. If you dont have a plastic flat, lay a 2 inch strip of firt aid tape out then set the seeds on at regular intervals. Cut up into squares. This is really tricky and you will probably stick the tape to itself until you are good at it. Be gentle with them after a shower because they come out easily when wet. But when dry they are pretty solid and can stay in for one to two weeks.

IMPORTANT If you show any signs of fever, dry cough, fatique, and flu call the New Mexico COVID hotline 855 600 3453. Do not rely on alternative medicines as COVID is a deadly disease and can kill you.