A headache localized to one side is called a migraine. Jisheng Fang’s "migraine," Rumen Shiqin’s "pain in the forehead," Lanshi Micang’s "pain in half of the head," and Mingyi Lei'an’s "pain in the corner of the head" all refer to migraine.

Migraines are often stubborn and not easily cured quickly, but they cannot be completely separated from general headaches in clinical practice. When differentiating, it is advisable to refer to the "headache" section for comparison.

bubble_chart Pattern Analysis

1. Ascendant Hyperactivity of Liver Yang︰Distending pain and vertigo, dry eyes, tinnitus, irritability, restless sleep, or hypochondriac pain, dry mouth and flushed face, red tongue with scant coating, wiry or thin and rapid pulse. Often caused by emotional distress, liver depression transforming into fire, prolonged damage to yin; or due to habitual liver-kidney yin deficiency, hyperactive liver yang alone, disturbing the seven orifices, leading to migraine, often aggravated by emotional fluctuations. The key diagnostic points are: headache, vertigo, irritability, poor sleep, impatience, hypochondriac distension, etc. Treatment should focus on enriching yin and pacifying the liver, using formulas that nourish yin and subdue yang.
2. Static Blood︰The course of the disease is prolonged, the pain is fixed in location, and the pain is stabbing in nature, accompanied by forgetfulness, palpitation, and in women, menstrual irregularities. The tongue texture is purplish-dark, or there may be purpura, and the pulse is wiry or deep and choppy. It is mostly caused by qi depression leading to blood stasis; or if the course of the disease is prolonged, prolonged illness enters the collaterals, resulting in stasis obstructing the vessels. The key points of pattern identification are: fixed pain location, stabbing pain like a锥刺, and purplish-dark tongue texture. Treatment should focus on invigorating the blood to unblock the collaterals, using the formula Orifice-Opening Blood-Activating Decoction with modifications.
3. Internal Retention of Water and Fluid︰Dull and painful, fullness and oppression in the chest and epigastrium, nausea and vomiting of thin fluid, or stomachache with preference for warmth, reversal cold of limbs, poor appetite, tongue coating white and greasy, pulse manifestation wiry and slippery. Mostly due to inherent deficiency of spleen yang, impaired transportation and transformation, leading to accumulation of water-dampness and formation of phlegm-fluid retention. Cold-fluid obstructs the meridians, preventing clear yang from ascending, resulting in dull and painful head; phlegm-fluid retention obstructing the chest and epigastrium causes fullness and oppression in the chest and epigastrium, stomachache with preference for warmth, poor appetite, nausea, and vomiting of thin fluid; the spleen governs the four limbs, and deficiency of spleen yang fails to warm and reach the extremities, leading to reversal cold of limbs. The key points of pattern identification are: dull headache, nausea and vomiting of thin fluid, reversal cold of limbs. Treatment should focus on warming the middle and descending counterflow, using Evodia Decoction with modifications.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Lanshi Micang．Headache: "For pain on one side of the head, first treat the hand transmission from shaoyang to yangming, then treat the foot transmission from shaoyang to yangming. This is migraine."
2. Mingyi Lei'an．Head Wind: "Migraine, lasting five to seven years, with dry stool accumulation, red swollen eyes, and vertigo. ... Diagnosis shows rapid and forceful pulse, indicating severe wind-heat. This pain at the head angle is due to the triple energizer ministerial fire channel, a sign of excessive yang dryness metal."
3. Linzheng Zhinan Yi'an．Recurrent Headache: "Right-sided migraine, with nasal discharge and obstruction, sore throat, cold sweats upon waking, and recurrent headache due to external pathogens lingering for several days. The pathogens have mixed with the essence, qi, and blood, causing obstruction. How can this be resolved by mere dispersion and cooling? For head treatments, it is essential to clear and uplift. Acupuncture at Fengchi and Fengfu points should be applied, and medication should aim to unblock the pathways."