How long after acupuncture can you take a shower?

The recommended time to wait before taking a shower after acupuncture is 2-3 hours.

After acupuncture, the patient's body will experience physiological reactions such as open pores and accelerated blood circulation. These reactions require a certain amount of time to return to normal. Therefore, patients need to pay attention to certain matters for a period after acupuncture, including the timing of showering.

During acupuncture, the needles stimulate specific points, opening the body's "Qi gates" to allow smooth flow of Qi and blood. At this time, the body is in a relatively open state. If the patient takes a shower immediately, especially a cold shower or showers in an air-conditioned room, it may easily allow cold pathogens to enter the body, affecting the treatment effectiveness and potentially causing illnesses such as a cold. Therefore, it is recommended to wait at least 2-3 hours after acupuncture before showering, to ensure the body has sufficient time to adjust and close the "Qi gates."

Moreover, although the skin incisions caused by acupuncture needles are very small, there is still a certain risk of infection. During showering, bacteria in the water may enter the body through these tiny wounds, increasing the chance of infection. Therefore, to prevent infection, patients should avoid contact with water immediately after acupuncture and wait at least 1-2 hours, until the minor wounds on the skin have naturally healed, before showering. This is considered safer.