Brief Analysis of Lip Color in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Ruddy, moist lips indicate healthy digestive system.
Dark, dry, or dull upper lip suggests colon disease, accompanied by stiff shoulders, bad breath, oral sores, throat discomfort, and ear/nose blockage.
Pale, bluish upper lip indicates cold deficiency in the colon, with symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, abdominal cramps, chills without cold, alternating hot and cold sensations.
Deep red lower lip indicates stomach heat, with symptoms like stomach pain, heavy limbs, hiccups, bloating.
Pale lower lip indicates stomach cold deficiency, with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, cold stomach, stomach spasms.
Red or purple inner lips suggest liver fire, irritability, rib-side distension and pain, inability to eat.
Yellow inner lips indicate hepatitis, and if dull, the liver and gallbladder are definitely unhealthy.
Bright red lips indicate fever, heart fire, and respiratory inflammation.
Dull, dark lips indicate digestive system dysfunction, with symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, headaches, insomnia, poor appetite.
Whitish lips indicate blood deficiency, weak circulation, cold extremities in winter, and susceptibility to anemia if nutrition is poor or lifestyle is unhealthy.
Yellow, dry lips indicate impaired spleen function, weakening immune system and auxiliary hematopoietic function, making one prone to infections.
Bluish-purple lips, known in modern medicine as "cyanosis," indicate hypoxia or drug poisoning. Often accompanied by flushed or pale face, chest tightness, occasional stabbing pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, and ecchymosis or petechiae on the tongue.
Cracked lips, characterized by fissures or grooves on the lips, historically known as "lip fissure" or "dry cracked lips," indicate deficiency of riboflavin (vitamin B2), excessive stomach heat, or yin deficiency with fire.