What Zhaohai does
Zhaohai is a Kidney point at the inner ankle. This page sets out where it sits, how it is needled, what the tradition uses it for, and which skin cases in this compendium name it.
Actions
- Nourishes the Kidney Yin and clears Empty-Heat
- Invigorates the Yin Stepping Vessel
- Regulates the Uterus and menstruation
- Calms the Mind
- Benefits the throat and eyes
Location
One cun below the tip of the medial malleolus, on the inner ankle, over the subtalar joint between talus and calcaneus.
How to find it
Start at the bony landmark and feel your way to the hollow the written location names; the point is usually tender under the finger.
Deqi
De qi here is usually a local heaviness, distension or ache, and it 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 half a to half a cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion carries the same restrictions here as needling.
Skin uses
Zhaohai is a Kidney channel point at the inner ankle, recorded to nourish Kidney Yin, clear Empty-Heat, invigorate the Yin Stepping vessel and calm the Mind. The Yin-nourishing and Empty-Heat actions are the indirect basis for a skin reading: depleted Yin is traditionally associated with a dry, thin surface and a low-grade warmth, so where that picture is central the point is considered alongside it. Its classical record mentions lassitude and night epilepsy, not the skin. Since no skin-specific classical indication is recorded for the point, the reasoning 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
For lassitude of the four limbs, rely on Zhaohai to eliminate it.
Classical citation for this point.
For epilepsy occurring at night, moxa the Yin Qiao [Zhaohai].
Classical citation for this point.
Safety
Who should treat this point
Acupuncture and moxibustion are practitioner procedures. The material here is educational, not a self-treatment guide.
Caution
Use in pregnancy is restricted, vessels lie close to the point and a nerve runs in the deeper layer. Needle with care, set the depth by the patient's build, and change or leave out the point where one of those applies.
Deficiency and constitution
Where the patient is depleted, work the point gently and briefly.
Before treatment
Educational material only. Skin that is spreading, painful or blistering, or that comes with a 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 Zhaohai do in skin practice?
In this skin collection it appears in depleted pictures with dryness and low-grade heat: red or dry eyes, a dry throat, night sweats, insomnia and dryness with itch. It is always one part of a combination chosen for the pattern, so the reason it is there changes from case to case.
How is it needled?
The needle goes in at 90 degrees, perpendicular, to a standard depth of 0.3 to 0.5 cun. The response is an ache and distension at the ankle that can spread across the inner foot or run up the inner leg. Because the point sits in a bony gap between small tendons, that response is often fainter than at other points.
Is it safe?
The point sits in a bony hollow between two small tendons, tibialis posterior and flexor digitorum longus, and either of them can be pierced with a painful result. The posterior tibial artery and vein and the tibial nerve lie deeper, so depth is judged for the individual. Marked ankle swelling blurs the landmarks, and in pregnancy the point is used with care, since tradition links it to regulating menstruation and the uterus.