4-Month-Old Baby Dies After Doctor Treated Her Cough With Acupressure Instead Of Medication

The debate about the efficacy of traditional medicine has been going on for a long, long time, and will probably continue for many more decades.

Some believe it’s safer and more effective than western medicine, while others believe it’s a huge spinning ball of horseshit.

For today’s article, I’ll have to deduct one point from traditional medicine because it allegedly led to the death of an infant.

Acupressure Death

A four-month-old baby from China died after a doctor treated her cough with acupressure therapy instead of medication.

The baby’s mother first noticed that her child was coughing on the morning of 30 November. And so, just as any concerned parent would, she took her child to the doctor.

Unfortunately, this doctor was what those in the medical field call “a dumbass”.

After examining the young girl’s throat and lungs with a stethoscope, the doctor concluded that she seemed fine and that there was no need to give the girl medicine or injection because she was only four months old.

If you were going to say that, why see her at all?

Lady: Doctor, my child is having a terrible cough. I think she’s really sick.

Doctor: How long has this been going on for? 

Lady: About two d-

Doctor: Wait, how old is she? 

Lady: Four months.

Doctor: GET THE HELL OUT OF MY CLINIC!

Advised to Use TCM

After telling the child’s mother that there was no need for medication, he said that she should undergo acupressure, a form of massage therapy, at the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) department to treat her cough.

In case you don’t know what it is, acupressure is an alternative medicine technique where physical pressure is applied to acupuncture points with the aim of clearing blockages.

Thanks, Wikipedia.

So, the baby underwent acupressure therapy for 20 minutes, as advised by the doctor.

Fainted

However, while the mother was carrying the infant home, she noticed that there were pink bubbles forming in the girl’s nostrils.

Now, I have never seen pink bubbles forming in anyone’s nostrils, but unless you stuffed bubble gum up your nose, it’s probably not a good sign.

The infant also seemed to have fainted because she wouldn’t wake up. So, the mother rushed her child to the hospital where doctors tried their best to save her.

But sadly, the four-month-old was pronounced dead at the hospital. Doctors say she died from multiple organ failure.

Therapy Centre’s response

After the girl’s death, the acupressure therapy centre responded, saying that their staff are qualified and emphasised that the girl was in good condition when she left the centre.

They also said that they would cooperate with the authorities for further investigation.

Who’s to blame?

Now, is there any way to conclusively say that acupressure therapy caused the baby girl’s death? No.

But one thing’s for certain; the girl was definitely sick with something when her mother brought her to the doctor. If the doctor had actually administered medication instead of being a smarty mcsmartypants, then maybe she would still be with us.

So, maybe this was not so much a problem with traditional medicine, as it was with incompetent doctors.

Be careful who you go to for medical treatment, especially when it’s for your child.