The eyes in Traditional Chinese Medicine communicate with the Liver, especially the sense of sight. Each part of the eye reflects another part of the body:
Red Eyes
A red, congested eye may be:
- Internal cause: Excess of Liver-Fire
- External cause: Infection.
The Yang channels (Tai Yang, Shao Yang and Yang Ming) surround the eyes. If they become blocked, Yang Ming cannot descend. If only the corners are very red, it may indicate: excess of Heart-Fire, great emotional excitement. Inflamed eyelids would relate to Heat and Fire in the Spleen.
Lacrimation
When there is wind or intense light it is expansion, the movement of Wood. If there is excessive lacrimation, there is a Liver problem. The tear is the fluid of the Liver that helps to release emotions.
Itching and dryness of the eyes
Dryness of the eyes indicates that the Fire of the Gall Bladder cannot descend. And that the Liver does not nourish the eyes, the Blood cannot ascend to them (due to deficiency of Xue or Yin, deficiency of Body Fluids). Points such as GB-37, GB-42 may help.
Eye Pain
Yang type
During the day. The cause is normally external, a pathogenic factor attacks the Yang channels.
Yin type
At night. Internal cause, normally emotional: Liver-Qi stagnation.
Yi Mu
This refers to glaucoma, cataracts, floaters. The visual field is reduced, something impairs vision. In Chinese it is called "blindness of the Liver". Most cases occur in elderly people. It is usually Full-Heat. It is related to the escape of Yang because the Jing of the Kidney does not store. It may be aggravated by some emotional problem, see: the seven passions. If you only treat the Liver it does not work; it is necessary to stimulate the storing function of the Kidney. GV-4, CV-4, BL-18
Night blindness
The Liver has the function of storing the Blood that nourishes the eyes. Treat the deficiency of Qi-Xue to nourish them.
Eyelids
Relationship with Spleen: if they are swollen and flaccid, as if full of water, they indicate that Earth is weak and there is Phlegm. Relationship with Kidney: if they are dark (black is the colour of the Water element) they relate to weakness of the Kidney.
Pupils
Before death they dilate: exhaustion of Kidney-Jing. Intoxication by drugs and other substances also dilates the pupils: they indicate escape of Yang, Internal Wind (risk of apoplexy).