They claimed cupping increases IQ in children: They spread through copy-paste advertisements
Following the revelation that cupping therapy was being performed on young children at an institution in Istanbul's Beylikdüzü district, the Ministry of Health had launched an investigation. However, while cupping for children continues to spread, one health center has claimed that the practice increases IQ levels.
12punto
The rise in cupping therapy practices performed on infants and children has caused widespread public reaction, leading the Ministry of Health to launch an investigation.
According to a report by Mustafa Kömüş from BirGün; officials from the Private Natural Life Polyclinic in Ankara, Natural Clinic in Trabzon, and the Private Fatih Nur Polyclinic in Istanbul stated that they perform cupping on children.
CUPPING FOR 4 THOUSAND 800 LIRA
The Private Natural Life Polyclinic announced that they perform cupping on children aged 4 and older, and that the session fee is 900 lira. Natural Clinic Trabzon stated that the procedure is performed if the child wants it and needs it, and that the price is 4 thousand 800 lira.
The Private Fatih Nur Polyclinic reported that this procedure is performed for 1000 TL and can be applied to children over 2 years old. The information found on the websites of the institutions performing cupping is even more striking. There are even those who claim that cupping increases IQ. The following is stated on the website of the Private Fatih Nur Polyclinic regarding the subject:
“Children who undergo cupping are protected from diseases. You will see that while other children get sick, they do not catch diseases. Cupping will act as a natural vaccine. For school-age children, it will have very positive effects on height growth, attention, and success. It increases appetite. It reduces nervousness and aggression. Children who have had cupping are calm. It increases IQ. It strengthens blood production. It regulates the menstrual cycle in girls. It is effective in the treatment of hyperactivity.”
COPY-PASTE ADVERTISING
Copy-paste advertisements are being published on the websites of some institutions. The following expressions are used on these sites:
“In addition to clinical studies conducted on children, according to our observations and case experiences in our clinic, there are very positive results. Performing cupping on children in a controlled manner with a small number of cups provides positive effects on children's immune systems and development.”
In these advertisements, only the age is changed, with some institutions stating it is done for children aged 2, some for 4, and others for 6 and older.
HOW DID IT COME TO THIS
The Ministry of Health published a regulation titled “Traditional and Complementary Medicine Practices” in 2016.
In 2018, practices such as cupping, hypnosis, and leech therapy, which are considered within the scope of “alternative medicine,” were included in this regulation. Subsequently, certificates were issued for these at universities. Cupping began to be performed in the centers that were opened. This situation increased to such an extent that it reached children.
NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS
The Istanbul Medical Chamber and the Turkish Pediatric Association held a press conference yesterday following the revelation that cupping was being performed on children. In the statement made at the Istanbul Medical Chamber's building in Cağaloğlu, it was stated that cupping on children should be considered child abuse.
Speaking at the statement, Istanbul Medical Chamber President Prof. Dr. Osman Küçükosmanoğlu used the following expressions:
“In recent days, we are encountering messages regarding cupping applications on infants and children with increasing frequency. Adults taking these risks and turning to such treatments, and expecting healing/benefit from these practices, even if controversial, can be accepted as a personal choice. However, these practices have absolutely no place in infants and children from a scientific perspective. When evaluated in terms of children's rights, within the framework of the principle of the ‘best interests of the child,’ which is included in both the Civil Code and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, cupping on a child should be accepted as ‘child abuse.’”
Turkish Pediatric Association President Prof. Dr. Haluk Çokuğraş emphasized that statements without scientific basis negatively affect children. Çokuğraş said the following:
“Recently, we have been seeing that methods whose scientific efficacy and safety have not been proven, especially cupping, are being applied without completing the necessary consent and ethical processes. It is inevitable that such practices will lead to irreversible damage to children. As pediatricians, our most important duty is to protect the children entrusted to us from all kinds of negative effects. We will always oppose the application of methods on children whose efficacy and safety have not been scientifically proven, which is essentially a form of child abuse, and we will ensure that the necessary measures are taken.”