Editing Temperature play (section)

====Fire cupping====
[[Fire cupping]] is where the air inside a cup (almost always glass) is heated then placed on the skin - the cooling air creates a low-pressure pocket that pulls the skin partially into the cup. Experienced cuppers can create varying strengths of suction by controlling the heat of the cup.

Fire cupping was appropriated from [[Traditional medicine|traditional]] and [[holistic medicine]] communities. Cupping was used in [[Western medicine]] to encourage blood movement as recently as the [[American Civil War]]. It is still used (often with the same name) by masseurs and in [[Chinese medicine]] (where it is said to have predated traditional needle acupuncture) as well as in traditional [[Arab medicine]]. For this reason, cupping sets can be found in some Asian stores. Some merchants will only sell sets to licensed massage therapists.

Methods include:
* Wiping alcohol directly on the skin, igniting it, and then quickly placing the cup over the area (frequently criticized as having a higher risk of burning the skin and greater difficulty creating/controlling suction);
* Holding the cup over an open flame until it is warm and then applying it to cool skin (some people feel this is the safest - though some feel that heating the glass (rather than the air) causes room for additional danger. This is also the hardest method for beginners wishing to create a strong suction);
* Placing small disks with cotton balls soaked in alcohol on them onto the skin. The cotton is then ignited and a cup is placed over the disk. (In theory, the leather shield protects the skin, but the method is sometimes criticized as too complicated and more likely to burn the skin when performed inexpertly.)
* Applying fuel directly inside the cup - the cup is then usually put on the skin with the fuel still burning (the flame will quickly extinguish from want of oxygen).

Fire cupping typically leaves small, round marks on the body that may last for hours or for days. If a single area is cupped again and again, a deep bruise may form and not disappear for some time.

Fire cupping is often combined with blood play, and is then usually termed blood- or wet-cupping. (This variant also comes from traditional medicine). The skin is pierced (commonly with needles or scalpels) before the cups are applied; the suction then draws blood out of the wound.