How to judge health from the five senses?

A fortune teller can tell a person's recent fortune or future luck by looking at his or her facial features. Of course, this is superstitious and cannot be trusted. However, Chinese medicine can tell a person's physical health condition by looking at his or her facial features. This has a certain scientific basis and should not be confused with the theory of fortune-telling. So, how does Chinese medicine know whether the body is healthy through the five senses? Today, I will briefly explain it from the perspective of the eyes among the five senses:

When looking at the eyes, one should mainly look at the spirit, color, shape and posture of the eyes.

(1) Eye spirit: The presence of spirit in a person’s eyes is the key point in observing their spirit. Those who can see things clearly, with a brilliant mind and full of spirit, have eyes with spirit. If the white of the eye is cloudy, the black of the eye is dull, and the spirit is lost, with superficial light exposed, then the eyes are dull.

(2) Eye color: If the eyelids are red, it is heart fire; if the sclera is red, it is lung fire; if there are red veins in the sclera, it is yin deficiency and excessive fire; if the eyelids are red, swollen and wet, it is card fire; if the whole eye is red and swollen, and tears flow in the wind, it is liver meridian wind-heat. If the eye discharge is pale, it means blood deficiency. Yellowing of the white of the eye is a sign of jaundice. Black spots appear around the eye sockets, which indicates water retention caused by kidney deficiency, or leucorrhea caused by cold and dampness.

(3) Eye shape

Slight swelling of the eyelids, shaped like bags under the eyes, is the initial stage of edema. Swelling of the lower face in the elderly is mostly caused by kidney deficiency. Sunken eye sockets are a sign of depletion of yin fluid or may be caused by exhaustion of essence and energy. If the eyeball is empty and the person is short of breath, it is lung distension; if the eye is bulging and swollen, it is goiter.

(4) Eye posture: The eyes look upward and cannot move, which is called eye reflexion. It is often seen in severe cases of convulsions, spasms, or mental deterioration.

Squinting is a manifestation of internal liver wind. Drooping eyelids are called "eyelid atrophy". Ptosis is mostly caused by congenital ptosis, which is due to congenital deficiency of both spleen and kidney. Ptosis of one eyelid or both eyelids is usually caused by acquired blepharoptosis, due to spleen deficiency or disharmony of qi and blood after trauma, resulting in poor circulation of blood vessels. Dilated pupils are usually a sign of kidney exhaustion and a near-death crisis.

Different eye shapes represent different diseases in the body, so friends can look at their eyes in the mirror and compare them with the above information to understand their recent physical condition. The shape of the eyes can determine one's physical condition, and the same is true for the other five senses, so you can tell whether your body is healthy from the five senses.