Acupuncture is a very safe form of therapy, without the side effects associated with conventional pharmaceutical therapies. It is safe in diabetics and most people on blood-thinning medications. Only disposable, sterile needles are used. Prior to the industrial age, gold and silver acupuncture needles were sterilized on the flame. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved acupuncture needles for use by licensed acupuncturists in 1996 and requires that only sterilized, individually packaged, and disposable needles be used. This eliminates the possibility of transmitting any communicable diseases via a contaminated needle. 

Very few complications from the use of acupuncture have been reported to the FDA. Benevolent Acupuncture only uses sterilized disposable needles.

The number of treatments needed depends on many individual factors such as the duration of illness, general state of energy, body constitution, lifestyle, and frequency of initial treatments, which are all taken into consideration. Generally speaking, acute conditions take fewer number of treatments than more chronic diseases, although there are instances where acupuncture has brought quick therapeutic effects to many chronic problems.

In the initial period of treatments, two or three treatments per week are generally required. Subsequent treatment frequencies will decrease to once a week or once a month, until there is only a need for an occasional preventative check-up as the condition improves.