Skin conditions: what can we help you understand?
Search a skin condition or a symptom and read what Traditional Chinese Medicine says about it: the patterns behind it, the herbs and formulas used, and what conventional medicine says.
Not sure of the name? Browse by symptom or sign instead.
Browse by category
Acne痤疮
Acne is treated by location and by what the lesions contain. Forehead and cheek papules, deep nodules and jawline breakouts that flare before a period are read as three different internal…
Age spots老年斑
Age spots are read as the face showing deeper change: declining Kidney and Liver Yin, sluggish Blood, or accumulated phlegm. Most are harmless, and a spot that changes needs review.
Anal irritation肛门瘙痒
The anus is the lowest opening of the Large Intestine, where the body is most vulnerable to dampness and heat sinking downward. Bleeding or a new lump is a medical question first.
Athlete's foot脚湿气
Athlete foot is read as dampness that has sunk to the lowest point of the body. The feet are where accumulated damp heat collects, and that is why the same problem returns to the same place.
Atopic dermatitis四弯风
The Chinese name for atopic dermatitis means four bends wind, after the creases of the elbows and knees where it settles. It is read as a condition of constitution, not of the surface alone.
Boils疖
A boil is not read as an isolated infection but as the body pushing heat and toxin outward. Where it appears, and how quickly it comes to a head, is what tells the practitioner which…
Breast blister乳疱
A blister on the breast is read as internal heat or dampness surfacing where the Stomach and Liver channels pass. A spreading, hot, painful breast with fever needs urgent medical care -…
Breast eczema乳房湿疹
Breast eczema is read through the Liver channel, which runs through the breast. Dampness and heat on the skin, or dryness from Blood deficiency, both point back to an internal pattern.
Breast pruritus乳痒
The breast is read through the Liver channel, which runs directly through the chest. Itch here is Liver heat, dampness or Wind - and a breast lump is a medical question, not a pattern.
Bruising瘀伤
A bruise is stuck blood: blood that has left the vessels and stopped moving. The Liver keeps Qi and Blood flowing, the Spleen keeps blood inside the vessels, and most patterns describe one…
Bruising easily易发瘀斑
Easy bruising is read as the Spleen failing to hold Blood inside the vessels. It is the commonest explanation in this framework, but unexplained or widespread bruising needs blood tests.
Bullous dermatitis天疱疮
Bullous dermatitis is read as heat and dampness bursting out as blisters. It is also a skin condition for which medical treatment is essential, since widespread blistering risks fluid loss…
Burning hot skin to the touch肌肤灼热
Skin that feels hot to the touch means heat has risen to the surface - either an outside invader, an internal excess, or a deficiency that produces heat from emptiness.
Candidiasis念珠菌病
Recurrent yeast overgrowth is read as an environment problem rather than an invasion: the body has become too damp and too warm, and the organism simply thrives in what that environment…
Cellulitis发
Cellulitis is a medical emergency first. The tradition describes it as Toxic-Heat lodged in the deeper tissues, and that description explains the speed and severity - not a reason to delay…
Chickenpox水痘
Chickenpox is read as epidemic toxin: heat and dampness entering through the mouth and nose. The vesicles are the surface sign, but the patterns that matter are the ones affecting the…
Chilblains冻疮
Chilblains are read as a local cold injury in which deficient Yang fails to warm the limbs. They recur because the internal fire is not reaching the extremities.
Chronic urticaria慢性瘾疹
Chronic hives are read as Wind that keeps returning because the body defence is not holding it out. That shifts the treatment from chasing the trigger to strengthening the shield.
Contact dermatitis接触性皮炎
Contact dermatitis has an obvious external cause, and the tradition treats it as an external pathogenic invasion: the skin is overwhelmed at the point of contact, and the rash is the…
Cool or clammy skin sensation皮肤湿冷
Cool clammy skin means the body warming energy is not reaching the surface. Sudden cold clamminess with chest pain or breathlessness is a cardiac emergency and comes before any pattern.
Corns鸡眼
A corn is read as something stuck: Qi, Blood or moisture trapped in the foot where friction presses. Removing the pressure removes the cause, which is why footwear matters as much as herbs.
Cracked breast skin乳裂
Cracked nipple skin is read through the Liver and Stomach channels, which pass through the breast and nipple. Fissures with fever or spreading redness need medical care first, especially…
Cracked skin皮肤皲裂
Cracked skin is read as skin that has lost its moisture and flexibility. When the internal fluids and Blood are low, or the channels are cold and obstructed, the surface splits.
Cyanosis青紫
Cyanosis means blood is not receiving enough fresh Qi, so its colour darkens. Blue lips or fingertips that appear suddenly is an emergency before it is a pattern.
Dandruff白屑风
Dandruff is read as an internal signal, not a surface problem. Whether the flakes are greasy and yellowish or dry and white points to opposite patterns with opposite treatment.
Dark face面色黧黑
A dark, dull or purplish face is read as Qi and Blood failing to reach the surface - because flow is blocked, because supply is low, or because cold and phlegm are sitting in the channels.
Dark nipple colour乳头色黑
Nipple colour is read through the Liver and Stomach channels and the Directing and Penetrating vessels. A sudden change in one nipple, retraction or discharge is a breast-clinic matter…
Dark skin面色晦暗
A dull, darkened complexion is read as Blood not reaching the surface cleanly or Yang not warming it. Sudden generalised darkening is a medical sign, not a cosmetic one.
Dark yellow skin阴黄
Yellow skin has two faces in this framework. Bright orange is damp heat; a dull, smoky, dark yellow is yin jaundice, from cold-damp or from Blood that has stopped moving.
Dermatomyositis皮肌炎
Dermatomyositis is read as Heat-Toxin or Wind-Damp lodged in skin, muscle and channels. The skin is the Lungs territory, the flesh belongs to the Spleen, and both show the strain.
Diaper rash红臀
Diaper rash is read as heat and dampness trapped in the Lower Burner. The skin stays warm and wet, so the question is whether the pattern is damp heat, toxicity, or blood stasis after long…
Drug rash药疹
A drug rash is read as a clash between the drug toxic nature and the body internal landscape. The first step is always medical: stop the suspected drug and get assessed, because some drug…
Dry and hot skin皮肤干热
Dry and hot skin at once means fluids are low while heat is present. The reference distinguishes heat that is drying the surface from heat generated by depletion underneath.
Dry scalp头皮干燥
The scalp sits at the highest point of the body, and the reference says it is often the first place to show when Blood and Yin run low. Dryness here is a supply problem reaching the top.
Ear eczema旋耳疮
Ear eczema is read through moisture: delicate skin around the ear where dampness rises and gets trapped in the channels. Severe ear pain or hearing change is a medical matter first.
Eczema湿疹
Eczema is not one thing in Chinese medicine. Its appearance - red and weeping, or dry and thickened - is read as the signature of a particular internal imbalance, and the treatment follows…
Elbow swelling肘肿
The elbow is a crossroads where several channels pass. Swelling there is read as Qi and Blood blocked by injury, or damp heat settling into the joint - but a hot swollen joint with fever…
Erysipelas丹毒
Erysipelas is fire toxin in the skin: a bright red, raised, clearly bordered plaque that spreads fast and burns. It needs antibiotics promptly, and the tradition reads the same process as…
Erythema infectiosum传染性红斑
Fifth disease is read as Wind-Heat lodging in the Lungs, which govern the skin. The slapped-cheek rash is the surface sign of a mild childhood illness - but pregnancy and some blood…
Erythema multiforme猫眼疮
The traditional name means cat-eye sore, from the target-like rings of this eruption. Some cases are an infection reaction; widespread blistering or skin peeling is a medical emergency.
Erythema nodosum结节性红斑
Erythema nodosum is read as heat and dampness settling in the deeper tissues, producing tender nodules on the shins. What the nodules feel like - hot or cool - decides the pattern.
Erythromelalgia红斑性肢痛症
Erythromelalgia is read as heat and Blood disturbance producing burning redness of the hands and feet. The pattern decides whether the heat is in the Blood, in the channels, or arising from…
Face itching面痒
The face is the most exposed part of the body and the most visible mirror of internal heat. Facial itch is read as Wind on that surface, stirred by heat, dampness, dryness or cold.
Facial plaque黧黑斑
A facial plaque is read as pigment that has settled where Qi and Blood are not moving cleanly. The name 黧黑斑 also appears on the Melasma page, and a plaque that changes needs skin-cancer…
Facial swelling面肿
The face is where the three organs that manage water show their state. Puffiness here is read as a fluid problem of the Lungs, Spleen or Kidneys - but sudden swelling with throat tightness…
Folliculitis毛囊炎
Folliculitis is read at the follicle, where dampness that has accumulated inside meets heat and pushes out through the skin. The bump is the visible end of that process.
Foot and lower leg skin rashes and fungal infections下肢癣
Rashes on the lower legs are read as dampness sinking downward, and that is why fungal infections return there. Spreading redness with fever or an open sore is a medical matter first.
Foot dorsum redness足发背
Redness on the top of the foot is read as heat, dampness or stagnation affecting the channels that cross there, especially the Stomach channel. Red streaks moving up the leg mean infection…
Foul body odour狐臭
Foul body odour is read as dampness and heat steaming outward through the skin. The smell itself - pungent, musty or sour - points to which channel is congested.
Frostbite冻疮
Frostbite is read as a contest between external cold and internal Yang. Cold freezes the flow of Qi and Blood in the small channels, and the stage of the injury decides whether it is…
Fungal infection癣
A fungal infection is read as the body becoming a hospitable environment: dampness and heat accumulating until pathogens can settle. Killing the fungus without changing the environment…
Hand eczema手部湿疹
Hand eczema is read as fluid and Blood imbalance reaching the surface, and hands make it worse because they meet water, soap and work all day. The pattern decides whether to drain, nourish…
Heat rash痱子
Heat rash is blocked sweat pores, but the reference says the root is internal: dampness and heat that the skin cannot vent. The weather triggers it; the pattern explains why it keeps…
Henoch Schonlein purpura过敏性紫癜
Henoch-Schonlein purpura is a systemic condition, not only a rash. In this framework it is Heat agitating the Blood, and the reason it matters is what the same process does to the gut and…
Herpes simplex infection热疮
Cold sores are read as heat rising to the surface, with the Stomach channel running around the mouth and nose. Recurrence is the tell: it points to depletion rather than fresh exposure.
Herpes zoster infection蛇串疮
Shingles is described as internal heat and dampness that finally breaks through, and its belt-like distribution follows the Liver channel along the ribs.
HIV associated pruritus艾滋病瘙痒
Itch in HIV is read as Blood, Spleen and Liver depletion showing on the skin. The HIV care comes first, and any new widespread rash on medication needs urgent review, because drug reactions…
Ichthyosis鱼鳞病
Ichthyosis is read as skin that cannot hold moisture because Blood and Yin are low, leaving fish-scale dryness. Most forms are inherited, so the aim is management rather than cure.
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura紫癜
ITP means the blood is leaking because the vessels are not held. In this framework that is either heat agitating the Blood or the Spleen failing to contain it - and the platelet count is a…
Impetigo黄水疮
Impetigo is described as dampness and heat meeting on the skin surface, producing the honey-coloured crust that gives the condition its Chinese name, yellow water sore.
Itchy ears耳痒
The ear is a crossroads of channels in this framework: the Kidney opens into the ear, and the Liver and Gallbladder channels pass through. Itch is read as heat, wind or deficiency arriving…
Itchy genitalia阴痒
Genital itch is read through the Liver channel, which runs through the groin, and the Kidneys, which govern the lower orifices. Damp heat predominates, but dryness points to deficiency.
Itchy scalp头皮瘙痒
Scalp itch is read as Wind rising to the highest point of the body. What stirred the Wind decides the treatment: heat, dampness, Blood deficiency or stress.
Itchy skin皮肤瘙痒
Itch is given a name in this framework: Wind. Wind moves, comes and goes, and worsens at night, which is why the treatment depends on whether the skin is dry, red, oozing or hot.
Itchy vesicular rashes湿疹
A vesicular rash is read as dampness and heat surfacing as small blisters. Whether it weeps, burns or scales determines whether the treatment clears, drains or nourishes.
Jock itch股癣
Jock itch is read as dampness pooling in the groin, where the Liver channel runs and the skin stays warm and occluded. It returns unless the environment and the internal pattern both change.
Keloids蟹足肿
A keloid is read as a scar that keeps growing because heat, stasis or toxicity remains in the tissue. Its traditional name, crab-foot swelling, describes the clawed spread beyond the…
Lateral malleolus redness外踝红肿
The outer ankle is a crossing point for the Gallbladder and Bladder channels, so redness there is read as obstruction: damp heat, stagnation, or a deficiency that leaves the joint…
Lichen planus紫癜风
Lichen planus is read as Purpura Wind: heat disturbing the Blood so that it leaks from the vessels or erupts as papules. Its oral and genital forms are treated with the same logic.
Macular rash斑疹
A macular rash is flat colour with no raised edge, and the reference reads its faintness or brightness as a measure of how deep the heat has gone - from the surface to the Blood.
Macules斑
A macule is a flat change in colour that does not fade on pressure or rise above the skin. The reference reads facial dark spots as a visible sign that Qi and Blood are not flowing cleanly.
Melasma黄褐斑
Melasma is read as the face showing an internal stasis. Classical texts call it face dust or dark patches, and the reference is explicit that its root lies deeper than the surface.
Moist skin sensation皮肤湿润
Skin that feels persistently moist is read as fluid metabolism out of balance. The temperature of that moisture - hot, clammy or merely damp - decides whether to clear, drain or warm.
Mottled skin肌肤甲错
The traditional name for mottled skin means armour-like scaling, skin so dry and rough it looks like fish scales. It is read as a sign that Blood and fluids are not reaching the surface.
Neurodermatitis牛皮癣
Neurodermatitis is read as a disorder of the Blood showing on the skin. The thickened, leathery plaque is the end point of a long cycle of itch and scratching, not the beginning of it.
Oily or clammy skin sensation皮肤粘腻
Skin that feels oily or clammy is read as dampness: a heavy sticky fluid that builds when fluid metabolism is impaired. The Spleen and Stomach are the organs at the centre of it.
Oily skin面垢
Facial oil is read as the visible state of digestion and emotion. Greasy shine is dampness; waxy oil is damp-phlegm; a flushed oily face points to Liver fire.
Oily sweat油汗
Oily sweat is read as damp heat pushing a sticky turbid fluid out through the skin, with the Stomach and Spleen most often involved. Sudden profuse oily sweating with weakness or confusion…
Papules丘疹
A papule is a small raised lesion with no fluid in it. The reference reads the papule as the lungs failing to protect the surface, or as an internal pattern pushing outward through it.
Paronychia沿爪疔
Paronychia is read as heat and dampness entering through a tiny break around the nail. It usually needs medical care, and red streaks spreading up the finger need it immediately.
Pemphigus天疱疮
Pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering disease that needs medical treatment. The tradition reads it as heat, dampness and toxin, and that reading is explanatory - not a substitute for…
Perioral dermatitis口周皮炎
The mouth is the Spleen opening and the Stomach channel runs around the lips, so papules here are read as digestive heat rising. Topical steroids often make it worse, which is why they need…
Petechiae紫斑
Petechiae are pinpoint bleeds: blood that the vessels failed to contain. Whether they appear with a fever or gradually over weeks changes the urgency entirely.
Pityriasis rosea玫瑰糠疹
Pityriasis rosea is read as Wind-Heat or dampness on a surface that is already vulnerable. The herald patch and the oval scaling lesions are the surface expression of that process.
Psoriasis白疕
Psoriasis is read here as a disorder of the Blood rather than of the surface. The plaque is the visible end of a process, and its colour and thickness are treated as the diagnostic clue.
Psoriatic arthritis白疕痹
Psoriatic arthritis is read as two problems meeting: a Blood-level skin condition and a painful obstruction in the joints. The treatment has to answer both.
Purple face面紫
A purple or dusky face is read as Blood that is not moving, with the Heart governing the vessels. Sudden purple or blue discolouration, especially with chest pain or breathlessness, is an…
Purpura紫癜
Purpura is blood escaping the vessels without a break in the skin. The reference describes two routes: heat making blood reckless, or a weak Spleen failing to hold it in.
Pus and discharge脓漏
Pus is heat and toxin cooking the body fluids and tissue. The character of the discharge - thick and foul, or thin and watery - is what tells the practitioner whether to clear or to support.
Pustule脓疱
A pustule is heat and dampness fighting at the surface, with the heat cooking the fluids into pus. The density of the pustules and the redness of their halos tell the practitioner how…
Raynaud's disease雷诺病
Raynaud's is read as Qi and Blood failing to reach the fingers and toes. The colour change during an attack, and what triggers it, tell the practitioner why the supply is failing.
Red and swollen feet足红肿
The feet are the lowest point of the body, so heat, fluid and blood all tend to sink there. Red swollen feet may be damp heat, toxicity or a deficiency - and spreading redness with fever is…
Red elbow肘痈
A red swollen elbow is read as heat and toxin collecting where several channels cross. When it throbs with pus and fever, it is an abscess and needs medical drainage, not herbs alone.
Rhinophyma酒齄鼻
Rhinophyma is read as heat that has settled in the nose for years, thickening the tissue. The earlier patterns are heat and blood; the late pattern is stagnation with a nodular, thickened…
Rosacea酒渣鼻
Rosacea is described as heat that rises. The Stomach channel reaches the nose and cheeks, so internal heat from food and alcohol is said to have a direct route to the face.
Scabies疥疮
Scabies is a parasitic invasion that needs a scabicide, for the whole household. The tradition calls the mite parasitic toxin, and asks why some people react with far more inflamed skin…
Scleroderma皮痹
Scleroderma is read as skin impediment: pathogenic factors obstructing the channels of the skin, while deficiency underneath means the skin is not nourished. The two run together.
Scrotal eczema肾囊风
The Liver channel runs through the genital area, so scrotal eczema is read as damp heat congesting that channel. The source gives this condition one pattern, and treats it thoroughly.
Sebaceous cysts粉瘤
A sebaceous cyst is read as phlegm nodule: dampness thickened into something that sits under the skin. The rule that matters is clinical - a painless soft nodule is one thing, a hot painful…
Seborrheic dermatitis面游风
Seborrheic dermatitis is read as heat and dampness rising along the Stomach channel to the face, which is why the same redness and greasy scaling keeps returning to the same areas.
Senile pruritus风瘙痒
Itch in later life is read as dryness from declining Blood and Yin. The skin loses its moisture and Wind moves in - but persistent itch with weight loss or jaundice needs medical review…
Severe drug induced skin reactions重症药疹
A severe drug eruption is a medical emergency. The tradition calls it drug toxicity, and its role here is explanatory only - stop the culprit drug and get emergency care immediately.
Shoulder redness肩红
Shoulder redness is read as heat, blood stasis, dampness or cold obstructing the channels that cross the shoulder. A hot swollen shoulder with fever needs infection excluded first.
Skin abscess痈
An abscess is read as a local battle between defensive Qi and an invading pathogen, with heat and dampness collecting into pus. Deep, spreading or facial abscesses need medical drainage,…
Skin blisters水疱
Blisters are read as heat and dampness trapped under the skin. Two questions decide everything: is the fluid clear or cloudy, and is the blister spreading with fever?
Skin burns烧伤
A burn is fire toxin scorching the skin and penetrating inward. The acute phase is excess heat; the aftermath is depletion, and that is where the reference says the danger shifts.
Skin dryness皮肤干燥
Dry skin is read as a supply problem. The Lungs spread moisture to the surface, the Spleen makes it, the Liver stores the Blood that carries it, and the Kidneys are the root of all fluid.
Skin erosion皮肤糜烂
An erosion is a superficial loss of skin that has not scarred - the surface is broken and weeping. The reference reads it as dampness working its way out, and treats infection as the…
Skin hypersensitivity to touch皮肤感觉过敏
Skin that hurts or stings to touch is read as a weakened surface defence letting Wind and Heat irritate the nerves. Sudden swelling or breathing difficulty is an emergency first.
Skin infection疮疡
A skin infection is read as the visible sign that the body balance has tipped. The sore is local, but the pattern behind it is not.
Skin inflammation皮炎
Inflammation on the skin is described as a conversation between the internal organs and the outside world: the Lungs guard the surface, the Spleen manages moisture, the Liver moves Blood.
Skin irritation worsened by bathing湿疮
Skin that flares after washing is read as a struggle between internal dampness and external water. How the skin behaves - oozing, dull, or dry - decides the pattern.
Skin lesions皮损
A lesion is read as an organ speaking through the skin. Its colour, moisture and hardness say more about what is happening inside than its size does.
Skin numbness肌肤麻木
Numbness means the skin is not receiving Qi and Blood. Sudden numbness on one side of the body is a stroke warning and must be treated as an emergency, not a pattern.
Skin pigmentation黄褐斑
Pigmentation on the face is read as Qi, Blood and fluids not reaching the skin cleanly. The Liver, Spleen and Kidneys are the organs involved, and a spot that changes needs medical review…
Skin rashes皮疹
A rash is treated as a message about what is happening beneath it. The same red patch can mean heat pushed to the surface, dampness working its way out, or skin left dry because Blood is…
Skin swelling皮肤肿胀
Swelling is read as fluid metabolism going off track. Whether it is hot and red, puffy and heavy, or cold and pitting tells the practitioner what kind of fluid problem it is.
Skin tightness肌肤紧绷
Skin that feels tight is rarely a surface issue. The reference reads it as Qi, Blood or fluids not reaching the skin - either because supply is low, flow is blocked, or there is cold in the…
Spider veins蜘蛛痣
Spider veins are read as blood pooling in small vessels because the Liver is failing to keep it moving. Most patterns trace that back to stagnation, heat, or a deficiency that leaves the…
Subcutaneous lipomas and nodules脂瘤
Lipomas are read as Phlegm: not mucus, but a thicker stubborn pathological fluid that collects where the Spleen has failed to transform fluids. A lump that grows fast or becomes hard is a…
Sunburn日晒疮
Sunburn is read as fire toxin: an external heat pathogen strong enough to overwhelm the skin defensive Qi. How deep it went decides whether the treatment is cooling, moistening or both.
Swollen ankle踝肿
The ankle is a crossroads where several channels converge, so swelling here is read as blockage: Blood stopped by injury, or dampness sinking into the lowest joint.
Thickened or insensitive skin皮痹
Thickened, hard or numb skin is read as skin impediment: an obstruction lodged in the skin channels, with deficiency or dampness underneath. Rapid spread needs medical assessment, not herbs…
Tinea癣
Ringworm is described as dampness, heat and wind lodging in the skin, which can only take hold where the inside is already weakened.
Tissue necrosis组织坏死
Tissue necrosis means blood has stopped reaching tissue, and the tissue is dying. This is a surgical emergency: no herbal pattern replaces restoring blood supply, and delay costs tissue.
Urticaria瘾疹
Hives are read through the one feature they share with Wind: they arrive suddenly, move, and disappear. What decides the treatment is whether the wheals are hot or cold, and how easily the…
Vitiligo白癜风
Vitiligo is read as a failure of supply rather than a surface problem: the skin loses colour where Qi and Blood are not reaching it, and the pattern describes why they are not.
Vulvar eczema阴部湿疮
Vulvar eczema is read through the Liver channel, which runs through the genital area. Itch and redness are damp heat; dryness with night itch is deficiency - and persistent white or…
Vulvar leukoplakia外阴白斑
Vulvar leukoplakia is read as depletion of the Liver, Kidney and Spleen showing as white atrophic patches. It needs medical monitoring, because the condition carries a small risk of…
Warm skin皮肤发热
Skin that feels warm can mean heat stuck at the surface, heat generated inside, or heat from emptiness. The way it behaves - dry or moist, day or night - tells the practitioner which.
Warts疣
Warts are read as Wind-Heat toxins that have lodged in the local channels where defensive Qi is weak. The treatment is directed at both the toxin and the obstruction it settles into.
Wrinkled and shrunken skin皮肤皱缩
Loose, wrinkled or shrunken skin is read as losing its support: deficient Qi, Essence or fluids. Sudden shrivelling with sunken eyes and confusion is dehydration or shock and needs…
Nothing matches those filters. Try clearing one, or use the full search.