Last month, we started the discussion about headaches. Headaches are among the top reasons people seek out acupuncture treatments. The subject is vast and varied, so we will take a look at it from different angles.
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, there are many differentiations when determining the underlying cause for headaches. The first is distinguishing whether the headache is an exterior or interior type. These differentiations have very specific headache symptoms.
Today we will discuss the exterior kind of headaches, which include Wind-Cold, Wind-Heat, and Wind-Damp.
Exterior headaches derive from exterior causes, with the number one variable being Wind. A Wind invasion often affects the top part of the body and can lead to headaches. Wind can bring with it three other pathogenic influences: cold, heat, and damp. These create Wind-Cold, Wind-Heat, and Wind-Damp-kind of headaches.
Wind-Cold headache symptoms include stiffness in the back of the head and neck. Wind and cold conditions cause the tendons to constrict and tighten. These headaches often come on quickly and can be intense, but they only last a short period of time. In this kind of Wind-Cold invasion, there can also be generalized body aches, an aversion to cold, some chills, a fever, shoulder stiffness, no thirst, some shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, and a runny nose with white nasal discharge or nasal congestion.
Wind-Heat headaches are often felt deep in the head with a swollen and pressure quality. They also appear quickly, accompanied by the feeling that the head is being “cracked.” These headaches may not last long. Other symptoms include a slight aversion to cold, possibly slight chills, fever, thirst, a runny nose with yellow nasal discharge, a sore throat, potentially swollen tonsils, and red eyes.
Wind-Damp headaches often include the cold symptoms with added damp symptoms. Wind-Damp headaches give a heavy headed sensation, as if the head is wrapped in cloth. These headaches are aggravated by damp weather. Other symptoms include poor concentration, cloudy thinking, aversion to cold, chills, possibly a fever, oppression in the chest and above the belly button, a sensation of whole body heaviness, and a runny nose with white nasal discharge.
This is only the beginning of many headache blogs to come… Traditional Chinese Medicine is fascinating! As all these different symptoms demonstrate, looking at the body as a whole is important when working out a treatment plan. Not all headaches made equal. There are many different kinds of headaches and whole body symptoms that come with certain headache pathologies.
If you are a headache sufferer, acupuncture and herbs can help give relief and assist in balancing the root causes, once we do the detective work to determine what they are!
Contributor
Acupuncturist, herbalist, Maya abdominal practitioner, and reflexologist Christina Morris is the founder of Element Natural Healing Arts. Writing about health and wellness gives her an outlet to express her care and concern for her beloved community. She believes everyone can achieve better health and happiness–emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.