What Qihai does
Qihai is treated here as a practical point rather than a curiosity: where it sits, how it is needled, what the tradition says it does, and the skin conditions in this database that name it.
Actions
- Tonifies Original Qi Lifting sinking Qi
- Strengthens the Kidneys and tonifies Yang
- Regulates Qi and harmonies Blood
Location
One and a half cun measured from the landmark shown in the diagram and the location text, on the midline of the abdomen, 1.
How to find it
Find the bony landmark first, then feel for the hollow or tender spot the location describes. The point is usually sensitive when pressed. The abdomen is measured as five cun from the umbilicus to the upper edge of the pubic symphysis, and the point sits 1.5 cun below the umbilicus, which is also 3.5 cun above the symphysis. Have the patient lie flat with the abdomen relaxed, divide that span into five equal parts rather than guessing in finger widths, and drop a plumb line from the umbilicus to stay on the midline. In a heavy or postpartum abdomen the umbilicus can sit low, so the five cun division is more reliable than the distance from the navel alone.
Deqi
De qi at this point is felt as local distension, heaviness or aching, and may travel a short way along the channel.
A cun is a proportional body measurement, not a fixed length: one cun is about the width of the thumb at the knuckle, 1.5 cun about two finger widths, and 3 cun about the width of four fingers. On an average adult one cun is roughly one inch, but it scales with the person, which is why the texts measure in cun rather than centimetres.
Technique
Needling
Angle: 90 degrees, perpendicular Depth: Standard depth one to one and a half cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Particularly recommended: ten to twenty minutes with a moxa stick, or five to ten cones, applied to the lower abdomen with the bladder empty. The reference rates warmth at this point as more effective than needling alone for deficient qi and yang, and it is the usual first choice in a cold, tired patient.
Cupping
Recorded as questionable at Qihai, so suction is not routine over the lower abdomen. The bladder and peritoneum lie below, and in pregnancy the area is avoided altogether.
Gua sha
Recorded as questionable. The abdomen is soft tissue over viscera, so scraping across the point is not part of standard care, and any gentle work is better placed on the surrounding area.
Skin uses
Qihai is recorded to tonify Original Qi, lift sinking Qi, strengthen the Kidneys and harmonise Blood, and its classical passage describes Yang collapse with cold limbs, where moxa is applied at Qihai and Guanyuan until the pulse returns. For skin, the reasoning is indirect: deficient Qi is traditionally linked with slow healing and a surface that does not hold, while the collapse passage matters only when skin signs accompany a systemic emergency, which is a situation for urgent medical care. Its sources contain no skin-specific classical indication, so the rationale above remains indirect and is not trial evidence.
No skin-specific classical indication is recorded for this point. The rationale above is an indirect, traditional reading of the point, not a promise of benefit.
Point classifications
| Classification | Value |
|---|---|
| Channel | Meridian |
Combinations
Deficient qi and blood behind the skin
REN-6 Qihai, ST-36 Zusanli, SP-6 Sanyinjiao, SP-10 Xuehai
This is the grouping this database uses in the deficiency patterns of age spots, bruising, boils and chronic urticaria. Qihai and Zusanli make qi, Sanyinjiao makes blood and Xuehai moves it, so pale, dry or slow-healing skin is treated from the source rather than the surface.
Classical record
Qihai treats all chronic qi diseases that do not resolve, organ qi that is deficient and exhausted, and insufficiency of true qi.
Classical citation for this point.
Under the name Bo Yang, this point is named the source of the membrane region, the meeting place of the qi in the lower abdomen.
Ling Shu (Spiritual Pivot), chapter nine, as recorded in the reference
When yang qi has collapsed and the four limbs are cold, moxa is applied in quantity at Qihai and Guanyuan, many cones at a time, until the pulse returns.
Bian Que Xin Shu (Bian Que's Heart Method), as recorded in the reference
Safety
Who should treat this point
Acupuncture and moxibustion are practitioner procedures. This page is educational and is not a guide to self-treatment.
Caution
Safety flags: the reference marks it as a dangerous point. Needle with care, adjust depth to the patient's build, and modify or avoid the point where a flag applies. Pregnancy is the first concern: strong stimulation and deep insertion are both avoided, and the reference puts vigorous treatment of the lower abdomen out of bounds. Reducing method is also excluded, because a point that exists to tonify should not be drained. Depth is the second concern, since a perpendicular needle pushed too far can pass the peritoneum and reach the small intestine, so the 0.8 to 1.5 cun range is a ceiling for a well-built adult rather than a target. In someone very weak, fasting or exhausted the point may give little response until qi is roused, and the reference suggests moxibustion or Zusanli ST-36 first.
Deficiency and constitution
In a depleted patient the point is worked gently and briefly. In a depleted patient the approach is warmth and time rather than strong stimulation: moxa is applied in short sessions and the needle is left with little manipulation. Very weak, fasting or debilitated patients may not register the point at all until qi is activated elsewhere, so the reference pairs it with Zusanli ST-36 to get a response. Sessions are kept short and the patient is watched for dizziness.
Before treatment
Educational reference only. Skin that is spreading, painful, blistering or accompanied by fever needs medical assessment.
Modern evidence and safety
General references for acupuncture safety and skin evidence. They are not specific to this point, and they are not a claim that needling it treats any condition.
- Acupuncture-related adverse events: systematic review and meta-analyses of prospective clinical studies. BMJ Open, 2021. PMID: 34489268.
- Acupuncture for atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 2024. PMID: 39638592.
- Manual acupuncture for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Surgery, 2025. PMID: 40696933.
- Acupuncture in Dermatology: An Update to a Systematic Review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2021. PMID: 32955916.
Evidence note
No controlled trial of this treatment in skin conditions was identified for this entry. What is described here rests on the classical and later materia medica record and on traditional clinical use, not on controlled trial evidence, and it is not a prediction of benefit. Where skin-specific research does exist it is linked above.
Common questions
What does Qihai do in skin practice?
It is used where the skin picture includes the conditions it is used with, always as part of a combination chosen for the pattern.
Why is moxibustion preferred at Qihai?
The point exists to add qi and warmth, and the reference finds the effect more obvious with moxa than with needling alone. Ten to twenty minutes with a stick, or five to ten cones, is the usual range. It is the natural choice in a cold, tired patient; where heat or stagnation dominates, the point is needled instead and the moxa left out.
Is Qihai safe in pregnancy?
No strong stimulation and no deep needling is the rule, and the reference advises great care with the lower abdomen throughout pregnancy. The point sits over the uterus and the bladder, and the risk is not worth taking for a skin complaint. Treatment in pregnancy belongs with a practitioner who knows the stage of pregnancy and the rest of the case.
What does Sea of Qi mean?
The old texts group the body's qi into seas, and Qihai is the lower meeting point of that sea, where qi gathers in the lower abdomen. The name explains its use: it is treated when qi is empty, sinking or unable to hold, rather than when a lesion needs a local effect.
Does Qihai treat skin conditions?
Indirectly. In this database it is named in the qi and blood deficiency patterns behind age spots, bruising, boils and chronic urticaria, next to Zusanli ST-36, Sanyinjiao SP-6 and Xuehai SP-10. It supports the making of blood rather than acting on the rash, so it is chosen when the skin looks pale, dry or slow to heal.