Wind Cold Pattern. Symptoms include: sporadic pain, stiff, aching shoulders; an aversion to cold temperatures; aggravation of the condition by wind; absence of thirst; a thin-white tongue coating; and a floating-tight pulse. Leading herbs for this pattern include ligustici wallichii (chuan xiong), schizonepetae (jing jie), and ledebouriellae (fang feng).
Wind Heat Pattern. Symptoms include: a painfully-swollen sensation in the head; severe, "splitting" pain; fever, or an aversion to warm temperatures; red face; red eyes; thirst; constipation; dark-colored urine; a red tongue body with a yellow tongue coating; and a floating-rapid pulse. Top herbs for this pattern include ligustici wallichii (chuan xiong), actractylodis (bai zhi), and chrysanthemum (ju hua).
Wind Dampness Pattern. Symptoms include: heavy-feeling pain; a "muzzy," or confused feeling; a feeling of heaviness in the whole body; chest congestion; aggravation of symptoms by damp weather; difficult urination; loose bowels; a sticky-white tongue coating; and a soggy pulse. Useful herbs for this condition are notoptergii (qiang huo), duhuo radix (du huo), and ligustici wallichii (chuan xiong).
Liver Yang Pattern. Emotional disturbance (especially feelings of anger) is the primary origin of this pattern. Symptoms of the pattern include: pain with dizziness; anxiety; anger; insomnia; hypochondriac (under the ribcage) pain; red face; a bitter taste in the mouth; a thin-yellow tongue coating; and a wiry-strong pulse. Top herbs for this pattern include gastrodiae elatae (tian ma), and uncariae (gou teng).
Kidney Deficiency Pattern. General weakness is the basic cause of this pattern. Symptoms include: low-level pain with a feeling of "emptiness"; dizziness; sore back; fatigue; spontaneous seminal emissions (in men), or abnormal vaginal discharge (for women); ringing in the ears; sleeplessness; red tongue; and a thin-weak pulse. The leading herbs include rehmannia (shu di huang), corni officinialis (shan zhu yu), dioscoreae (shan yao), and lycii chinensis (gou qi zi).
Blood Deficiency Pattern. Chronic illness or loss of blood is the cause of this pattern. Symptoms include: pain with dizziness; heart palpitations; fatigue; pale complexion; a pale tongue body with a thin-white tongue coating; and a thin-weak pulse. Leading herbs include angelica sinensis (dang gui), paeoniae lactiflorae (bai shao), rhemannia (sheng di huang), and ligustici wallichii (chuan xiong).
Blood Stagnation Pattern. Symptoms include: chronic pain; pain in a fixed location; sharp pain, such as pain from a head injury; a purple tongue body with a thin-white tongue coating; and a thin or thin-choppy pulse. Top herbs for this pattern include persicae (tao ren), carthami tinctorii (hong hua), and paeoniae rubra (chi shao).
Phlegm Retention Pattern. Chronic over-weight or the habitual consumption of sweet and fatty foods are the main cause of this pattern. Symptoms include: dull head pain with a feeling of heaviness and/or muzziness; a sensation of fullness and oppression of the chest; a feeling of nausea and phlegm retention in the throat; a white-sticky tongue coating; and a slippery or wiry-slippery pulse. Herbs for this pattern include pinelliae (ban xia), citri reticulatae (chen pi), and atractylodis (bai zhu).
When a headache sufferer considers the treatment options available, he or she should remember that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine provide a safe, drug-free treatment that is stable over time and has no adverse side effects.
