ACUPUNCTURE
Tou Wei: TCM Acupoint Guide
Name
Tou Wei (Touwei)
Location
On the lateral side of the head, at the corner of the forehead, 4.5 cun lateral to the midline and 0.5 cun above the anterior hairline. Note: locate GB-15 Toulinqi, which lies directly above the pupil when the patient looks directly forward, and DU-24 Shenting on the midline, 0.5 cun posterior to the anterior hairline; this point lies on the continuation of the line drawn between these two points, at twice their distance.
Needling
- Transverse insertion front to back, 0.8 to 1.5 cun. Sensation: pain and distention extending outward from the point of insertion.
- Puncture subcutaneously, 0.5 to 1 cun.
- Transverse insertion, 0.5 to 1 cun.
Command Functions
- Point of the Yang Wei vessel
- Meeting point of the Stomach and Gall Bladder
Actions
- Expels Wind
- Relieves pain
- Brightens the eyes
- Clears Heat
- Stops lachrymation
- Relieves dizziness
Indications
- Dizziness due to phlegm
- A feeling of cloudiness or heaviness of the head
- Frontal headache due to Dampness or phlegm
- Eye problems
- Excessive lachrymation due to Wind-Heat
- Migraine
- Psychosis
- Facial paralysis
- Splitting headache with chills and fever
- Dimness of vision
- Bursting eye pain
- Headache
- Blurred vision
- Ophthalmalgia
- Cerebral congestion
- Vertigo
- Facial pain
- Eyelid spasms
- Sore eyes with excessive tearing
- Wheezing with irritability and fullness in the chest
- Vomiting
- Dyspnea with agitation and oppression
- Hemiplegia
Combinations
| Points | Indications |
|---|---|
| LI-4 Hegu joined to SI-3 Houxi, LIV-3 Taichong joined to KI-1 Yongquan | Psychosis |
| LU-7 Lieque | Migraine headaches |
| GB-14 Yangbai, SJ-17 Yifeng, ST-4 Dicang, LI-20 Yingxiang | Facial paralysis |
| UB-2 Zanzhu | Eye tics, headache with eye pain, head Wind with splitting pain, bursting pain of the eyes, lachrymation, pain between the eyebrows |
| PC-7 Daling | Splitting headache with bursting eye pain |
| DU-20 Baihui, DU-21 Qianding, DU-23 Shangxing, DU-24 Shenting, SJ-23 Sizhukong, GB-20 Fengchi, LI-4 Hegu, UB-2 Zanzhu | One-sided or generalized head Wind |
| UB-1 Jingming, GB-20 Fengchi, GB-15 Toulinqi | Lachrymation on exposure to Wind |
Contraindications
Use moxibustion with caution. Ancient texts prohibit moxibustion.
Notes
A major local point for dizziness due to Dampness and phlegm in the head, and an important point to treat headaches.
Sources and further reading
We cite classical materia medica and modern reference works. This article is health education, not medical advice.
- Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Han dynasty.
- Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578.
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia, current edition — identity, quality and safety monographs.
- NCCIH and WHO reference material on traditional medicine safety.
Spotted an error or a better source? Tell us — corrections are logged on our editorial policy page.
Did this article help you?
Your answer shapes what gets rewritten next.
Keep readingRelated entries
Something this article did not cover?
Ask us directly. We reply within two days, and good questions become public articles.
Ask a question →