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Also wind dormant papules; papular wind lumps; wind itch. Commonly called wheals or hives.

Biomedical correspondence: urticaria.

Wheals that come and go, so named because they remain latent between eruptions. Being itchy and of unfixed location, they bear the attributes of wind; hence an alternate name papular wind lumps.

Causes

Dormant papules can arise when wind evil invades owing to looseness of the interstices, or when toxin from insect bites gets trapped in the fleshy exterior and flows into the channels. Another cause is accumulated heat in the stomach and intestines that can neither discharge through the bowels nor thrust out through the exterior and so becomes depressed in the skin. In some cases, they are brought on by eating fish or shrimp.

Dormant papules usually start abruptly with itchy skin, which, when scratched produces, raised wheals of different sizes. They are most commonly observed on the inner face of the arm and usually disappear without trace. Hot red papules accompanied by a red tongue and floating rapid pulse are wind-heat. White wheals associated with aversion to cold, thin white tongue fur, and a tight floating pulse are wind-cold. Persistent recurrent eruptions indicate qì-blood depletion.

Treatment

Medicinal therapy: Wind-heat is treated with Wind-Dispersing Powder (消风散 xiāo fēng sǎn); wind-cold with Schizonepeta and Saposhnikovia Toxin-Vanquishing Powder (荆防败毒散 jīng fáng bài dú sǎn), and persistent conditions with Chinese Angelica Drink (当归饮子 dāng guī yǐn zi).

Acumoxatherapy: Select hand and foot yáng brightness (yáng míng) and greater yīn (tài yīn) as the main channels. Main points: LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), SP-10 (Sea of Blood, 血海 xuè hǎi), SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo), BL-17 (Diaphragm Transport, 膈俞 gé shù), BL-40 (Bend Center, 委中 wěi zhōng), and GB-31 (Wind Market, 风巿 fēng shì).

For wind-heat, add LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé), GV-14 (Great Hammer, 大椎 dà zhuī), and TB-5 (Outer Pass, 外关 wài guān), needling with drainage.

For wind-cold, add LU-7 (Broken Sequence, 列缺 liè quē) and GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí); needling with drainage and adding moxa. For qì-blood depletion, add BL-20 (Spleen Transport, 脾俞 pí shù) and ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), needling with supplementation. Cutaneous needle tapping may also be applied.

Point selection according to signs: If dampness is prominent, add SP-9 (Yīn Mound Spring, 阴陵泉 yīn líng quán). If itching is pronounced, add Itch Reliever (止痒穴 zhǐ yǎng xué). For food allergy, add ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ) and CV-21 (Jade Swivel, 璇玑 xuán jī).

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