How does Chinese medicine treat vascular headache?

Vascular headaches endanger the health of many people and seriously affect people's lives. Currently, only traditional Chinese medicine can cure vascular headaches. However, the configuration of Chinese medicine is a very particular process, and the amount will have a decisive influence on the efficacy of the medicine. So, how to configure Chinese medicine for vascular headaches?

Liver depression and qi stagnation type: often induced by emotional distress. Symptoms include pulsating headaches that recur repeatedly, chest tightness and shortness of breath, abdominal distension, pale or dark red tongue, and a strong, stringy pulse. The treatment is suitable for soothing the liver and relieving depression, regulating qi and relieving pain. The prescription is Chaihu Shugan San with modifications: 30 grams of mother of pearl, 15 grams each of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Chuanxiong, 12 grams of raw white peony root, 10 grams each of Curcuma, Bupleurum, Vinegar-soaked Corydalis, and Tribulus terrestris, 6 grams of stir-fried Citrus aurantium, and 5 grams of whole scorpion powder (take in divided doses). Decoction in water, 1 dose per day. If you have bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat, red urine and constipation, add fried Scutellaria baicalensis and Gentiana scabra; if you have nausea and vomiting, add Pinellia ternata and Rhizoma Anemarrhenae; if you have dizziness and tinnitus, add Gastrodia elata and Uncaria rhynchophylla; if you have abdominal distension and loss of appetite, add Hawthorne and malt.

Wind-Yang ascending disturbance type: often triggered by emotional excitement and anger. Symptoms include migraine, splitting headache, dizziness, tinnitus, irritability, flushed face and eyes, chest and flank pain, bitter mouth and dry throat, red tongue, and a strong and stringy pulse. The treatment should be to calm the liver and suppress yang, extinguish wind and unclog the meridians. The prescription is Tianma Uncaria Decoction with modifications: 30 grams each of Lithospermum officinale, mother of pearl, malt, and raw oyster, 10 grams each of Gastrodia elata, Achyranthes bidentata, Bombyx batryticatus, Citron slices, and Uncaria rhynchophylla, 9 grams of stir-fried Gardenia jasminoides, 5 grams each of raw white peony root and whole scorpion powder (taken in divided doses). Decoction in water, 1 dose per day. For those with bitter taste in the mouth and constipation, add gentian; for those with phlegm, add arisaema, white mustard seeds, and calamus; for those with nausea and vomiting, add pinellia and tangerine peel.

Liver-kidney yang deficiency type: headache is lighter in the morning and heavier in the evening, or aggravated by exertion, sore waist and weak knees, tinnitus and deafness, dry throat and mouth, restlessness and insomnia, red tongue with little thin coating, and weak and stringy pulse. The treatment is aimed at nourishing the liver and kidneys, warming the yang and invigorating the qi. Recipe: 30 grams of wild yam, 15 grams of cooked rehmannia, wolfberry, and yam, 10 grams each of cornus officinalis, chrysanthemum, moutan bark, gastrodia elata, and tribulus terrestris. Take it in decoction, 1 dose per day. If the headache is severe, add vinegar, Corydalis yanhusuo, and scorpion.