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(Li Dongyuan)

Treats internal injury of the Spleen and Stomach, characterized by blacking out of the eyes, dizziness, headache as if splitting, heaviness of the body as if weighed down by mountains, nausea, restlessness, and cold limbs. This is called Phlegm-Jue of the Foot-Taiyin (Phlegm-Jue: a syndrome caused by phlegm obstructing the Taiyin channel).

Headache (In cases of Phlegm-Jue, damp-phlegm rebels upward. When phlegm rebels, the upper part becomes excess, thus causing headache, dizziness, and visual obscurations of black spots. Li Dongyuan stated: Taiyin headache must involve phlegm; Shaoyin headache involves cold feet and rebellious Qi. Although the Taiyin and Shaoyin meridians do not directly ascend to the head, phlegm and rebellious Qi can become congested in the diaphragm.)

Banxia (Prepared with Ginger Juice), Maiya (1.5 qian), Shenqu (Stir-fried), Baizhu (Stir-fried, 1 qian), Cangzhu (Soaked in rice water), Renshen, Huangqi (Honey-fried), Fuling, Zexie, Chenpi, Ganjiang, Huangbai (Washed with wine), Tianma.

Take five qian per dose.

This formula acts on the Foot-Taiyin (Spleen) meridian. For headache caused by Phlegm-Jue, only Banxia can eliminate it (because Banxia dries phlegm and harmonizes the Stomach); for dizziness and blacking out of the eyes, which are caused by internal deficiency-wind, only Tianma can settle it (Tianma does not move even in wind, hence named "Wind-Stabilizing Grass"); Huangqi and Renshen are sweet and warm, capable of clearing deficient fire and tonifying the Middle Jiao; Baizhu and Cangzhu are sweet, bitter, and warm, capable of eliminating phlegm and benefiting Qi (eliminating dampness removes phlegm; strengthening the Spleen benefits Qi); Fuling and Zexie clear heat and guide water downward; Chenpi regulates Qi and raises Yang; Shenqu digests food and sweeps away stagnant Qi in the Stomach; Maiya resolves knots and assists the transportation of Wu and Ji Earth (the Stomach belongs to Wu Earth, the Spleen to Ji Earth); Ganjiang is acrid and hot, used to scour mid-jiao cold; Huangbai is bitter and cold, washed with wine to treat dryness caused by ministerial fire at the bottom (Li Dongyuan said: Wind pathogen is received from above; wind-cold injures the upper body, and evil enters from outside, causing headache, heaviness, and aversion to cold—this is Cold Damage headache; headache with tinnitus and dysfunction of the nine orifices arises from the intestines and stomach, this is Qi-deficiency headache; heart vexation with headache indicates disease in the Hand-Taiyin and Hand-Shaoyin meridians, this is Damp-Heat headache; if Qi rebels upward without descending, causing headache at the vertex, this is lower deficiency and upper excess, involving the Foot-Taiyang and Foot-Shaoyin meridians, severe cases entering the Kidney, this is Cold-Damp headache; if pain is on one side of the head, first select points from the Hand-Shaoyang and Yangming meridians, then the Foot-Shaoyang and Yangming meridians—this is migraines. There is Jue-ni headache caused by severe cold penetrating to the bone marrow; since marrow governs the brain, brain rebellion causes headache and toothache. There is True Headache, where pain extends throughout the brain, with cold limbs reaching the joints, which is fatal and untreatable. Headaches are generally treated with wind-dispelling herbs because the high vertex can only be reached by wind herbs; substances with thin flavors belong to Yin within Yang, rising from earth to heaven. Taiyang headache, with aversion to wind and cold, floating-tight pulse, is primarily treated with Chuanxiong, Qianghuo, Mahuang, etc.; Shaoyang headache, with string-taut-thin pulse and alternating chills and fever, is primarily treated with Chaihu, Huangqin; Yangming headache, with spontaneous sweating, fever, aversion to cold, and floating-slow-long-excess pulse, is primarily treated with Shengma, Gegen, Baizhi, Shigao; Taiyin headache, necessarily with phlegm, body heaviness, or abdominal pain (phlegm-stagnation), with a sinking-slow pulse, is primarily treated with Cangzhu, Banxia, Nanting; Shaoyin headache, with non-circulation of the three Yin and three Yang meridians, cold feet, and rebellious Qi constituting Cold Jue, with a sinking-thin pulse, is primarily treated with Ma Huang Fu Zi Xi Xin Tang; Jueyin headache at the vertex, or with vomiting of saliva/foam, cold limbs, and sinking-slow pulse, is primarily treated with Wu Zhu Yu Tang; Blood-deficiency headache is primarily treated with Danggui, Chuanxiong; Qi-deficiency headache is primarily treated with Renshen, Huangqi; Combined Qi and Blood deficiency headache is treated with Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang with small additions of Chuanxiong, Manjingzi, Xi Xin. Qing Kong Gao is for Wind-Damp headache; Bai Zhu Ban Xia Tian Ma Tang is for Phlegm-Jue headache; Qiang Huo Fu Zi Tang is for Jue-ni headache. If dampness resides in the head, bitter emetics should be used; one must not rigidly adhere to a fixed formula. Ang notes: Using bitter emetics, such as Gou Di San...)