What could be the cause of bleeding (more than a few drops) from an acupuncture session?

Answer 1

A small vein could have been hit (?)

Answer 2

Hi JAKS, in fact, bloodletting is a preferred technique, bleeding is recommended because it can drain the excess, alleviate congestion and stasis, and remove the pathogens.

An entire chapter of the Lingshu is devoted to the luo vessels in which questions are answered about blood-letting therapy. It is said that: "When the blood and qi are both abundant and the yin qi is plentiful, the blood will be slippery so that needling will cause it to shoot out." On the other hand, "When much bleeding takes place with needling, but the color does not change and there are palpitations and depression, it is because needling the luo channel causes the channel to empty." The change in color that is anticipated occurs when the bad blood, which is described as thick and black, has been eliminated and normal red blood appears.

This procedure is done by first applying pressure to restrict the blood flow of the area, to increase the visibility of the veins and to cause the blood to flow out more easily when the vein is pricked. The point is then swiftly and decisively pricked to a superficial depth of about 0.1 cun and a few drops of blood are allowed to escape. Lastly, the point is pressed with sterile cotton until the bleeding ceases.
Jason Homan

Answer 3

There are several causes: 1. You hit an artery, went too deep; patient could be on a blood thinner and/or have high BP, and of course, all of the above. In TCM, patient may be very spleen qi deficient (ie, spleen qi not holding the blood in the vessel).

Answer 4

The obvious, would be that a blood vessel with significant blood pressure had been punctured, and you were slow to clot.