Orchitis

How Chinese medicine differentiates orchitis, the four 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. Sudden testicular swelling and pain needs urgent medical evaluation to rule out torsion or a serious infection before acupuncture is considered.

General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for orchitis — 9 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

Point	Key action
LR-3	Subdues Liver-Yang, promotes the smooth flow of Liver-Qi, invigorates Blood.
LR-2	Drains Liver-Fire, subdues Liver-Yang.
SP-9	Regulates the Spleen, resolves Dampness.
L.I.-11	Clears Heat and cools Blood, resolves Dampness.
L.I.-4	Removes obstructions from the channel, stops pain.
SP-10	Cools Blood, invigorates Blood and eliminates stasis.
ST-40	Resolves Phlegm and Dampness, subdues rebellious Qi.
SP-6	Strengthens the Spleen, resolves Dampness, nourishes Blood and Yin.
BL-23	Tonifies the Kidneys and nourishes Kidney-Essence.
Du-4	Tonifies Kidney-Yang and warms the Gate of Life. Expels Cold.
Ren-4	Nourishes Blood and Yin. Strengthens the Kidneys and Original Qi.

The Four Patterns

↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.

1. Damp-Heat in the Liver Channel View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Sudden testicular swelling, redness, and burning pain; a bitter taste in the mouth; dark, scanty urine; scrotal heaviness.

Tongue: Red body with redder sides, thick yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Wiry, slippery, rapid.

Treatment principle: Drain excess Fire from the Liver and Gallbladder, clear Damp-Heat from the lower body.

LR-3 ↓ LR-2 ↓ SP-9 ↓

Note: no moxa. Direct match with Damp-Heat in the Liver — the deck slide explicitly names pain, redness and swelling of the scrotum among its symptoms.

2. Toxic-Heat

Clinical manifestations: Severe burning pain in the testicles, sudden onset, often following mumps; a high fever; intense thirst; irritability; a dry mouth with dark, scanty urine.

Tongue: Red body with prickly thorns and dry yellow coating. Pulse: Rapid, forceful.

Treatment principle: Clear Heat and resolve toxicity while dispersing swelling.

L.I.-11 ↓ L.I.-4 ↓ SP-10 ↓

Note: no moxa. No deck on this site has a Toxic-Heat/Fire-poison category, so no pattern link is given here.

3. Qi-Phlegm

Clinical manifestations: A hard, fixed nodule in the epididymis; mild dull pain fluctuating with emotional stress; a throat lump sensation; sighing, irritability; chest stuffiness.

Tongue: Normal-colored body, possibly slightly swollen, white greasy or slippery coating. Pulse: Wiry, slippery.

Treatment principle: Move Qi and dissipate nodules through Phlegm transformation.

LR-3 ↓ ST-40 ↓ SP-6 ↓

Note: no moxa. No deck on this site has a Qi-Phlegm/nodule-specific category for the epididymis, so no pattern link is given here.

4. Kidney Yang Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: A dull, cold testicular pain, worse with cold, better with warmth; lower back/knee soreness; frequent nighttime urination; overall fatigue.

Tongue: Pale, puffy, tender with teeth marks, wet white coating. Pulse: Deep, slow, weak.

Treatment principle: Tonify Kidney-Yang and warm the Gate of Life Fire to dispel deep Cold.

BL-23 ↑ Du-4 ↑ Ren-4 ↑

Note: moxa applicable. Direct match with Kidney-Yang deficiency.

Related conditions

Spot an error, or have more to add? Send it to admin on WhatsApp and it'll be corrected/added here.

+91 99083 14510