Observation of Body Colors in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Introduction

• Observation of body colors, not tone.
• Body colors: red, yellow, purple, bluish, pale.

Red

• Redness in lips, nose, eyes, skin rashes:
  • Excess heat or yin deficiency.
• Red lips:
  • Excess heat in stomach (stomach & spleen related).
  • Yin deficiency if red and cracked.
  • Evaluate with symptoms and tongue.
• Red eyes:
  • Chronic red sclera indicates liver heat/fire.

Yellow

• Yellow palms:
  • Dampness.
• Yellow sclera/eyes:
  • Jaundice (affects liver and spleen, excess damp heat).
• Yellow nails:
  • Usually jaundice related.
• Oozing yellow skin:
  • Dampness.

Purple

• Purple color:
  • Blood stasis.
• Purple nails:
  • Liver blood stasis.
• Purple lips:
  • Blood stasis in digestive system.
• Purple bruises:
  • Spleen not holding blood in vessels.
• Big blood clots during menstruation:
  • Purple blood stasis.

Bluish

• Bluish color:
  • Excess cold, can result in bluish-purple (blood stasis).
• Blue lips:
  • Severe cold exposure.
• Blue fingers:
  • Excess cold, poor circulation (e.g., frostbite, Raynaud's disease).

Pale

• Pale color:
  • Deficiency (qi, blood, yang).
• Pale and puffy:
  • Yang deficiency, with swelling.
• Pale and dry:
  • Blood deficiency.
• Completely pale:
  • Qi deficiency.
• Pale lips:
  • Spleen qi deficiency.
• Pale menstruation blood:
  • Blood deficiency (pale blood), yang deficiency (pale pinkish and watery blood).

Case Studies

• Comparisons of actresses:
  • One very pale (blood deficiency).
  • Another pale with yellow hue (dampness, usually kidney and spleen deficiency).
• Red cheeks and lips:
  • Yin deficiency.

Observation of Eyes

• Purple eyes/lips:
  • Blood stagnation.
• Eye Area Observation:
  • Red sclera: Lung heat or liver heat.
  • Upper lid: Spleen issues.
  • Lower lid: Stomach issues.
  • Inner canthus: Heart fire.
• Circle under the eyes:
  • Black circles: Kidney deficiency.
  • Purple circles: Blood stasis, possibly stomach-related.

Observation of Eyelids

• Puffy lower eyelid:
  • Dampness affecting stomach.
• Greasy T-zone:
  • Excess dampness and phlegm.

Specific Eye Indicators

• Red inner canthus:
  • Heart fire.
• Red sclera:
  • Lung and liver fire/heat.

Observation of Nails

• Yellow nails:
  • Jaundice, damp-heat in liver.
• Ridges and pale nails:
  • Liver blood deficiency.

Observation of Lips

• Purple pale lips:
  • Blood deficiency and blood stasis.
• Red cracked lips:
  • Yin deficiency or excess heat.
• Purple dry lips:
  • Blood stasis and body fluid deficiency.
• Very pale and dry lips:
  • Qi or yang deficiency, evaluate for puffiness (yang deficiency potential).

Observation of Nose

• Dry nose:
  • Heat invading large intestine or stomach.
• Clear discharge:
  • Excess cold.
• Yellow discharge:
  • Excess heat.
• Blue nose:
  • Affects stomach/large intestine, related to acute abdominal pain.
• Red nose:
  • Lung heat or excess heat in lung.