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Meniere's Disease

How Chinese medicine differentiates Meniere's disease, the six patterns you'll actually meet in practice, and the points for each. 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. Meniere's disease needs an ENT diagnosis to rule out other causes of vertigo and hearing loss before acupuncture is considered as a complementary approach.
General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for Meniere's disease — 15 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

PointKey action
ST-40Resolves Phlegm and Dampness, opens the chest, subdues rebellious Qi.
SP-9Regulates the Spleen, resolves Dampness, opens the Water passages.
Ren-12Harmonizes Stomach-Qi, resolves Dampness and Phlegm.
LR-3Subdues Liver-Yang, promotes the smooth flow of Liver-Qi.
G.B.-20Expels exterior Wind, subdues Liver-Yang, clears Heat, benefits the head.
Du-20Extinguishes interior Wind, subdues Liver-Yang, raises Yang, benefits the Brain.
BL-23Tonifies the Kidneys, nourishes Kidney-Essence, strengthens the lower back.
KI-3Tonifies the Kidneys (Yin and Yang), strengthens Essence.
G.B.-39Gathering point for Marrow. Subdues Liver-Yang. Expels Wind.
ST-36Benefits Stomach and Spleen, tonifies Qi and Blood.
Ren-6Tonifies Qi and Yang, raises sinking Qi, tonifies Original Qi.
SP-6Strengthens the Spleen, resolves Dampness, nourishes Blood and Yin.
ST-44Clears Heat. Regulates the Intestines and resolves Damp-Heat.
BL-17Gathering (Hui) point for Blood — moves Blood.
SP-10Cools Blood, invigorates Blood and eliminates stasis.
The Six Patterns

reinforcing   reducing   even method.

1. Phlegm-Dampness in the Middle-Burner

Clinical manifestations: A heavy, foggy-headed dizziness; nausea or vomiting of watery phlegm; fullness in the chest and stomach; a poor appetite; heavy, sluggish limbs.
Tongue: Pale, swollen with scalloped edges and a thick white greasy coating. Pulse: Slippery, Soggy, strongest at the right middle position.
Treatment principle: Dry Dampness, transform Phlegm and strongly stop nausea and vomiting, while strengthening the Spleen to resolve the underlying fluid accumulation.
Transform Phlegm-Dampness
Harmonize and support
Note: no moxa. No deck slide on this site matches this combined Phlegm-Dampness-in-the-head-and-middle-burner picture, so no pattern link is given here.

2. Liver-Yang Rising View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: A throbbing or distending headache at the temples or vertex; vertigo with a heavy-head, light-feet sensation; irritability and a quick temper; a flushed face and red eyes; ringing in the ears; difficulty sleeping with vivid dreams.
Tongue: Red, redder at the sides, thin dry yellow or scanty coating, possibly trembling. Pulse: Wiry, forceful, especially at the left middle position.
Treatment principle: Calm the Liver, subdue rising Yang and extinguish internal Wind, anchoring the upward-surging disturbance affecting the head.
Note: no moxa.

3. Kidney-Essence Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Chronic, lingering dizziness or vertigo; tinnitus or gradually worsening hearing; soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees; poor memory and difficulty concentrating; fatigue and a lack of vitality; frequent nighttime urination.
Tongue: Pale, thin, little or no coating, possible fine cracks. Pulse: Fine, Deep, weak at both rear (Kidney) positions.
Treatment principle: Nourish Kidney-Yin and Essence to replenish the Sea of Marrow, restoring the reserves depleted by ageing or overwork.
Note: moxa applicable.

4. Qi and Blood Deficiency

Clinical manifestations: Vertigo that worsens with movement or exertion; a pale or sallow complexion and pale lips; constant, deep fatigue and weakness; heart palpitations, especially after activity; a poor appetite and spontaneous sweating.
Tongue: Pale, possibly thin or tooth-marked, thin white coating. Pulse: Fine, weak, especially at the right middle position.
Treatment principle: Tonify Qi and nourish Blood while strengthening the Spleen, lifting clear Yang to the head to restore nourishment to the brain.
Note: moxa applicable. No deck slide on this site combines Qi deficiency and Blood deficiency into one pattern, so no pattern link is given here.

5. Phlegm-Heat

Clinical manifestations: Vertigo with a heavy, foggy sensation and a bitter taste in the mouth; nausea or vomiting of sticky yellow phlegm; restlessness, irritability and a feeling of heat in the chest; a red face; thirst with a preference for cold drinks.
Tongue: Red, possibly swollen, thick yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Slippery, Rapid.
Treatment principle: Clear Heat and transform Phlegm while harmonizing the Stomach, resolving the turbidity disturbing the head's sensory orifices.
Note: no moxa. Matches Damp-Heat in the Gall Bladder — dizziness, tinnitus, a bitter taste, nausea/vomiting and a thick sticky yellow coating with a Rapid pulse are shared, though the deck slide is framed more broadly around hypochondrial and digestive Damp-Heat than around vertigo specifically.

6. Blood Stagnation

Clinical manifestations: Vertigo with a sharp, fixed headache; a dark or purplish complexion; symptoms that are worse at night.
Tongue: Purple or dusky with stasis spots and distended dark sublingual veins. Pulse: Choppy or Wiry.
Treatment principle: Invigorate Blood and dispel stasis, unblocking the brain's circulation and restoring clear Yang to the head's sensory orifices.
Invigorate Blood
Support
Note: no moxa. This site's "Liver-Blood stasis" slide shares the purple tongue and stasis features but is framed around hypochondrial pain and gynecological bleeding with no headache or vertigo mentioned, so no pattern link is given here.
Related conditions

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