Hijama (Wet Cupping): What Evidence Supports, What It Does Not, and My Experience

Short answer: Hijama, or wet cupping, is a traditional practice in which suction is followed by superficial skin incisions and a small amount of blood removal. Some studies suggest short-term pain relief for certain conditions, but most research is low quality and does not establish broad health benefits. There is no good evidence that wet cupping removes toxins, bad cholesterol, blood clots, or ‘impurities’ from the body.

I tried wet cupping three times beginning in December 2022 and noticed changes that I interpreted as positive, including stronger erections and sharper vision. That remains a personal observation (N=1). I cannot tell from those sessions whether cupping caused the changes, whether they were temporary, or whether another factor was responsible.

What wet cupping actually does

Suction changes pressure in superficial tissues and produces temporary local blood-flow and skin effects. In wet cupping, the skin barrier is deliberately broken and blood is drawn into the cup. That makes wet cupping fundamentally different from dry cupping and adds infection and blood-loss risks.

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) concludes that most cupping research is low quality. Cupping may reduce pain, but the evidence is not strong enough to support claims for most other conditions. A 2024 systematic review of wet cupping for neurodermatitis found potentially favorable results in some comparisons, but rated the overall evidence low because of poor study quality and heterogeneity.

What Hijama has not been shown to do

• There is no established mechanism by which a small amount of superficial blood removal ‘detoxifies’ the body.
• The dark color of blood in a cup does not show that toxins, cholesterol, or stagnant blood were selectively removed.
• There is no good clinical evidence that wet cupping improves erectile function, visual acuity, immunity, or systemic circulation.
• Traditional concepts such as meridians or Qi may be meaningful within traditional systems, but they are not established anatomical mechanisms.

Safety matters more with wet cupping

NCCIH lists persistent skin discoloration, scars, burns, infection, worsening eczema or psoriasis, and rare serious complications. Repeated wet cupping can cause anemia. Because equipment can become contaminated with blood, inadequate sterilization can transmit blood-borne infections such as hepatitis B or C.

If someone chooses to undergo wet cupping, single-use sterile skin-piercing equipment and proper infection control are essential. People with bleeding disorders, significant anemia, anticoagulant treatment, impaired wound healing, or active skin infection should discuss the procedure with a clinician rather than treating cupping as harmless.

How I interpret my own experience now

My experience is still worth recording because personal observations can generate questions. What it cannot do is establish causality. The evidence-based version of my conclusion is therefore modest: I felt better after Hijama, but current research does not let me attribute specific systemic effects to the procedure.

Sources

• NCCIH: Cupping — evidence quality and safety.
• Zhai et al., 2024 — systematic review and meta-analysis of wet cupping for neurodermatitis; overall evidence quality was low.