Yellow facial complexion

Also yellow face. A sign of dampness or vacuity. Yellowing of the sclerae and generalized yellowing of the skin indicate jaundice. Jaundice characterized by a vivid yellow (often described as the color of tangerines) indicates damp-heat and is called yáng yellow. Jaundice characterized by a dark yellow coloration is caused by cold-damp and is called yīn yellow. Yáng yellow is seen mostly in cases described in Western medicine as acute icteric infectious hepatitis, acute cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, and toxic hepatitis; yīn yellow occurs in cirrhosis of the liver and cancer of the head of the pancreas. A pale yellow skin that is dry and puffy, accompanied by pale lips but no yellowing of the sclerae, is referred to as withered-yellow, which is a vacuity yellow. The condition characterized by this complexion is sometimes called yellow swelling and is normally caused by excessive loss of blood or depletion of blood and qì after major illnesses or by spleen-stomach damage resulting from intestinal parasites. It may thus be seen in diseases known in Western medicine as ankylostomiasis (hookworm infestation), anemia, and malnutrition due to poor assimilation.