By John Connell

Last updated at 15:53, Friday, 15 June 2012

Covered from head to toe in eczema, Ruth Irving was forced to retire from her job as a primary school teacher.

Ruth Irving

Experts told her she would “just have to live with it” and prescribed a steroid cream which proved ineffective.

When she was 25 she sought an alternative cure – acupuncture – and has not suffered from a serious outbreak since.

Determined to help others to overcome their afflictions, she retrained as an acupuncturist and has just opened a practice within the Therapy Centre on Lowther Street in Carlisle.

She said: “Acupuncture helped me recover.

“I was very distressed and could see no light at the end of the tunnel. Gradually, with weekly acupuncture over many months, my skin healed. I resolved to help provide others with safe, complementary health options and enrolled on a four-year acupuncture course.

“Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years – much longer than allopathic [conventional] medicine. Many people are now turning to acupuncture to help with conditions as wide ranging as back pain to insomnia.”

Ruth added: “Eastern medicine is, I believe, the health solution of the future.”

But she is keen to stress that this new business is not offering obscure treatments and untried alternative therapies. We offer complementary treatments that work alongside whatever western healthcare you are undergoing. Our therapists are all highly qualified professionals who are fully insured and dedicated to their fields.

“For example, in my seven years of acupuncture practice I have supported increasing numbers of infertile couples through IVF treatment.

“Fertility treatment is incredibly tough and can take its toll emotionally. Acupuncture used in conjunction with IVF is growing in popularity as it helps reduce stress and balance fertility hormones.”

Carlisle Therapies offers a range of complementary therapies including, acupuncture, counselling, massages, physiotherapy, hypnotherapy and reflexology. Ruth, a qualified and experienced acupuncturist, holds weekday, evening and Saturday clinics.

The 37-year-old comes from Kirkbride but her family moved to Jamaica and then Africa during her childhood.

She returned to Cumbria because this is “where my heart is” and now lives in Mealsgate.

Ruth also works as an independent practitioner from the North Lakes Clinic on Main Street, Cockermouth and is a member of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC), the UK’s leading regulatory body for the practice of acupuncture.

The BAcC Codes of Safe Practice and Professional Conduct are recognised as the gold standard by the Department of Health. Because traditional acupuncture aims to treat the whole person rather than specific symptoms in isolation, it can be effective for a wide range of conditions.

To find out more about acupuncture, call Ruth in confidence and without obligation on 07788 616 488.

First published at 14:11, Friday, 15 June 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk