Cracked lips

Also cracked parched lips. Dryness and cracking of the lips with bleeding in severe cases. It is observed in exuberant spleen-stomach heat (yáng brightness (yáng míng) repletion heat) and yīn vacuity with effulgent fire.

Patterns

Exuberant spleen-stomach heat (脾胃热盛 pí wèi rè shèng): In this pattern, cracked lips are accompanied by great thirst and intake of fluid, increased food intake and rapid hungering in cases with bad breath, constipation, large surging, slippery rapid, or sunken replete pulse, and a red tongue with yellow fur.

Medicinal therapy: Exuberant spleen-stomach heat can be treated by clearing and draining spleen-stomach repletion heat with Cool Clearing Beverage (清凉饮 qīng liáng yǐn).

Effulgent yīn vacuity fire (阴虚火旺 yīn xū huǒ wàng): In this pattern, cracked lips are accompanied by reddening of the cheeks, tidal heat, night sweating, vacuity vexation and insomnia, yellow urine, constipation, red tongue with little fur, and a rapid fine pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Treat by invigorating the governor of water to restrain the light of yáng using Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill (六味地黄丸 liù wèi dì huáng wán) plus ophiopogon (Ophiopogonis Radix, 麦门冬 mài mén dōng), Chinese angelica (Angelicae Sinensis Radix, 当归 dāng guī), schisandra (Schisandrae Fructus, 五味子 wǔ wèi zǐ), chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemi Flos, 菊花 jú huā), and lycium berry (Lycii Fructus, 枸杞子 gǒu qǐ zǐ), further adding anemarrhena (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma, 知母 zhī mǔ) and phellodendron (Phellodendri Cortex, 黄柏 huáng bǎi) if fire signs are pronounced.