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.