What Touwei does
Touwei 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
- Expels Wind
- Relieves pain
- Benefits eyes
Location
Half a cun measured from the landmark shown in the diagram and the location text, at the temporal corner of the forehead, on the border of the temporalis muscle.
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.
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: 15 degrees, transverse Depth: Standard depth half a to one cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is used where the pattern is cold or deficient, in short sessions.
Skin uses
Touwei is a Stomach channel point at the temporal corner of the forehead, recorded to expel Wind, relieve pain and benefit the eyes. The location is the basis for a local, cautious skin reading: lesions on the temple and forehead are sometimes considered through it, and the Wind action is traditionally linked with symptoms that come and go. Its classical record describes head wind and eye pain rather than the skin. No skin-specific classical indication is recorded for the point, and the reasoning above is an indirect rationale, 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 |
Classical record
Touwei and Cuanzhu - these two points primarily treat head wind with pain as if splitting, eye pain as if the eyes are being extracted, with tearing and unclear vision.
Classical citation for this point.
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
No special hazard is recorded for this point; use standard care for the region and adjust depth to the patient.
Deficiency and constitution
In a depleted patient the point is worked gently and briefly.
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 Touwei do in skin practice?
It is used where the skin picture includes eye pain headaches dizziness heavy head tearfulness blurred vision eyelids twitching muzziness of the head, always as part of a combination chosen for the pattern.
How is it needled?
10-15° (Transverse). Standard depth 0.5 - 1.0 cun. De qi: Local distension and soreness spreading outward from the point. Sensation may radiate across the forehead or temple area. Some patients experience a pulling sensation around the temporal region.