Two Chinese Patent Medicines for Vascular Headache
Vascular headache is mostly caused by hypertension and cerebrovascular lesions. The patient's headache is throbbing; in early-stage patients it can be relieved by adequate rest but worsens again with fatigue or lack of sleep. Such headaches require a combination of symptomatic and etiological treatment. This article introduces two Chinese patent medicines that can relieve vascular headache.
The first is Dachuanxiong Oral Liquid (or granules). Its ingredients are Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuanxiong) and Gastrodiae Rhizoma (Tianma). Another Chinese patent medicine, Tianshu Capsules, has the same ingredients and effects as Dachuanxiong Oral Liquid; patients may choose according to their own preference and the stock of local pharmacies.
Dachuanxiong Oral Liquid has the effects of activating blood and resolving stasis (huoxue huayu), pacifying the liver and extinguishing wind. It is indicated for headache, head distension, dizziness, and stiffness/discomfort of the neck due to blood stasis obstructing the collaterals and liver yang transforming into wind, as well as numbness of the upper and lower limbs or of one side of the body, and ecchymoses on the tongue.
Dachuanxiong Oral Liquid has a certain therapeutic effect on headache caused by cerebral infarction and hypertension. The Gastrodiae Rhizoma (Tianma) in this formula has a certain effect on repairing cranial nerves, and the ligustrazine contained in Chuanxiong has antithrombotic and anticoagulant effects. So this formula not only relieves headache but also dredges cerebral blood vessels and improves cerebral circulation.
However, it should be noted that it must not be used by those with a bleeding tendency or by pregnant women, as it may cause bleeding.
The other Chinese patent medicine that can treat vascular headache is Tianma Toutong Tablets (Gastrodia Headache Tablets). Its composition is Gastrodiae Rhizoma (Tianma), Angelicae Dahuricae Radix (Baizhi), Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuanxiong), Schizonepetae Herba (Jingjie), Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui), and Olibanum (Ruxiang, vinegar-processed).
Tianma Toutong Tablets have the effects of nourishing blood and dispelling wind, dispelling cold and relieving pain. They are indicated for migraine or frontal headache, aversion to cold, nasal congestion, etc., due to external contraction of wind-cold, blood stasis obstruction, or blood deficiency failing to nourish.
Tianma Toutong Tablets have a few more ingredients than Dachuanxiong Oral Liquid; the added Angelicae Dahuricae Radix (Baizhi) and Schizonepetae Herba (Jingjie) are herbs that dispel wind, disperse cold and relieve pain, while Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui) and Olibanum (Ruxiang) activate and generate blood and resolve stasis to stop pain, so their effects are somewhat richer than those of Dachuanxiong Oral Liquid. But the main therapeutic effect of both is to dredge cerebral blood vessels, so both are indicated for vascular headache. Both medicines can also be used as adjunctive therapy for the sequelae of stroke.