Moxa boxes and cylinders hold the burning moxa at a fixed distance and allow larger areas to be treated with less attention. They are convenient but less precise, and the patient must be warned that the temperature can rise unnoticed.
Other methods each have a distinct rationale. Lamp moxibustion uses a focused infrared source; medicinal vesiculation, or tian jiu, applies a herbal paste that produces a controlled blister, chiefly for asthma at the summer solstice; thunder-fire needles use a medicated stick; and spreading moxibustion spreads moxa over a wide area of the back with ginger or another medium, used for chronic cold and for immune disorders.