Crying Spells in Children at Night

How Chinese medicine differentiates night crying in children into the three patterns you'll actually meet in practice, and the points for each. Distinct from this site's own Night Terrors in Children page. Acupuncture only — no herbs.

This page is educational, for practitioners and students — it is not a diagnostic tool and does not replace a proper in-person assessment. Persistent inconsolable crying, fever, or a distended tender abdomen needs prompt pediatric evaluation before assuming a simple pattern.

General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for crying spells in children at night — 7 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

Point	Key action
REN-12	Tonifies Stomach and Spleen. Resolves Dampness and Phlegm. Regulates Stomach-Qi.
ST-36	Benefits Stomach and Spleen. Tonifies Qi and Blood.
BL-20	Tonifies Spleen and Stomach. Resolves Dampness. Nourishes Blood.
REN-8	Rescues Yang. Strengthens the Spleen. Tonifies Original Qi.
HT-7	Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices. Nourishes Heart-Blood.
P-7	Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices. Clears Heat and Toxic-Heat.
BL-15	Calms the Mind. Nourishes the Heart. Regulates Heart-Qi and invigorates Blood.

The Three Patterns

↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.

1. Spleen Yang Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Low, intermittent crying, cold hands and feet, pale face, comforted by warmth and abdominal pressure, poor appetite, loose stools, worsens at night, fatigue and listlessness during the day.

Tongue: Pale, puffy, tender body with teeth marks and a white slippery coating. Pulse: Deep, slow, weak.

Treatment principle: Warms the Middle Burner, strengthens Spleen-Yang, and dispels internal Cold to relieve abdominal pain and night crying.

REN-12 ⊥ ST-36 ↑ BL-20 ↑ REN-8 ↑

Note: moxa strongly indicated throughout, especially REN-8 (needle-free/indirect moxa in children). Direct exact-name match with this site's own Spleen-Yang-deficiency slide.

2. Heart-Fire Transmitting to the Small Intestine View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Loud, piercing cry, irritability and restlessness, flushed red face, crying worsens with light, dark scanty urine, thirst for cold drinks.

Tongue: Red body with a redder, swollen tip, possible sores on the tongue tip, thin yellow coating. Pulse: Rapid and overflowing, especially at the left Cun (Heart) position.

Treatment principle: Clears Heart-Fire, nourishes Yin, and promotes urination to guide excess Heat downward.

HT-7 ↓ P-7 ↓ Yintang (EX-HN-3) ↓

Note: no moxa. Matched to this site's own Full-Heat-in-the-Small-Intestine slide — the classic Heart-Fire-transmitting-to-Small-Intestine presentation this slide represents.

3. Heart Qi Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Sudden crying at night, often after a fright, startles easily at noises or touch, face shifts from pale to flushed during episodes, fatigue and listlessness during the day, weak quiet voice.

Tongue: Pale, puffy tongue with thin white coating, midline crack toward the tip possible in chronic cases. Pulse: Rapid but weak (empty or fine), especially at the left Cun position.

Treatment principle: Tonifies Heart-Qi, calms the spirit, and stabilizes the Shen following fright-induced depletion.

HT-7 ↑ BL-15 ↑ ST-36 ↑

Note: moxa applicable on ST-36/BL-15. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Heart-Qi-deficiency slide.

Related conditions

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