Also hemilateral headache; side head wind. Pain in the temple or the corner of the head, either on the left side or the right, or switching from one to the other. Pain may stretch into the eye, and enduring pain may affect vision. In some cases, there are other accompanying signs such as nausea and vomiting. Hemilateral head wind is attributed to wind evil assailing the lesser yáng (shào yáng) or liver vacuity and binding depression of phlegm-fire. In former times, it was believed that pain on the left was attributable to wind or blood, or to exuberant blood vacuity fire, whereas pain in the right was due to phlegm or heat, or to qì vacuity complicated by phlegm.
Medicinal therapy: Dispel wind and free the network vessels; soothe the liver and sweep phlegm; or supplement the liver and nourish the blood. Use Clear Sky Paste (清空膏qīng kōng gāo) or Hemilateral Headache Decoction (散偏汤sàn piān tāng).
Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on GB, LR, ST, SP, and back transport points. Main points: GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí), GV-20 (Hundred Convergences, 百会 bǎi huì), Greater yáng (tài yáng) (太阳tài yáng), joining GB-8 (Valley Lead, 率谷 shuài gǔ), TB-3 (Central Islet, 中渚 zhōng zhǔ), and GB-34 (Yang Mound Spring, 阳陵泉 yáng líng quán); needle with drainage. To soothe the liver and sweep phlegm, add PC-6 (Inner Pass, 内关 nèi guān), LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo), ST-40 (Bountiful Bulge, 丰隆 fēng lóng), and ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), needling with even supplementation and drainage; if there is phlegm-fire, prick Greater yáng (tài yáng) (太阳tài yáng) to bleed, and needle LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ) and ST-44 (Inner Court, 内庭 nèi tíng) to drain. To supplement the liver and nourish the blood, add BL-18 (Liver Transport, 肝俞 gān shù), BL-17 (Diaphragm Transport, 膈俞 gé shù), and BL-20 (Spleen Transport, 脾俞 pí shù), and needle with supplementation. See head wind; headache.