Cupping Marks:
Lung Area
1. If purple-red spots appear on both sides during cupping, it indicates bronchitis.
2. If rosy patches appear during cupping, it indicates lung heat, accompanied by symptoms such as thirst and chest pain.
3. If small rashes appear during cupping, it indicates respiratory tract inflammation, such as pharyngitis or rhinitis.
4. Light purple or red marks indicate tonsillitis.
5. Light purple or red marks indicate lymphatic swelling.
6. White marks indicate lung deficiency.
7. Enlarged pores indicate wind invasion, exposure to wind and cold, with symptoms such as neck stiffness, scapular pain, or accompanying shoulder periarthritis.
Heart Area
Cupping Marks
1. If connected purple-red marks appear during cupping, it indicates obstruction in the heart meridian, which may present with chest tightness and shortness of breath.
2. If small patches appear during cupping, it indicates insufficient blood supply to the brain, leading to symptoms such as dizziness and a feeling of numbness in the head.
3. Purple-red stripes indicate cervical spine diseases.
4. White marks indicate myocardial ischemia.
5. If large pores appear with mist, it indicates rheumatic heart disease.
6. White marks indicate qi and blood deficiency.
7. Depressed marks indicate insufficient heart blood, weak pulse, and shortness of breath.
8. Red marks indicate excessive heart fire.
Gallbladder Area
Cupping Marks
1. If small depressions appear during cupping, it indicates gallstones.
2. If purple-red spots appear around the cupping area, it indicates dysfunction in gallbladder excretion, which may present with symptoms such as bitter taste, rib pain, and jaundice.
3. White marks indicate low gallbladder function.
4. Light purple circles indicate fear and timidity.
5. Patchy red rashes indicate cholecystitis.
Liver Area
Cupping Marks
1. If rosy rashes appear during cupping, it indicates excess heat in the liver meridian, which may present with symptoms such as headache, irritability, flushed face, yellow urine, and dry stools.
2. If the center of the cupping mark is blue, it indicates hepatitis.
3. If light purple circles appear around the mark, it indicates qi stagnation due to anger.
4. Purple circles indicate fatty liver.
5. If large rosy areas appear with swelling and hardness, it indicates alcoholic liver disease.
6. If the entire liver area shows purple or purple-red, it indicates high blood viscosity.
7. If dark purple and stiff marks appear, it indicates liver cirrhosis.
8. If purple-blue marks appear with white interspersed, it may indicate ascites.
Spleen Area
Cupping Marks
1. If rosy rashes appear during cupping, it indicates poor appetite or fullness after eating, with symptoms such as loose stools, dizziness, and fatigue.
2. If purple-red and raised marks appear, it indicates signs of spleen enlargement, accompanied by irritability and unstable temperament.
3. Red or rosy marks with enlarged pores indicate damp-heat in the spleen, with symptoms such as chills and spontaneous sweating.
4. Depressed marks indicate poor spleen function, weakness, sluggishness, and reluctance to speak.
5. Light purple or purple circles indicate qi stagnation and frequent irritability.
6. If the entire area shows purple or purple-red, it indicates high blood lipids and viscosity, possibly accompanied by high blood pressure.
Stomach Area
Cupping Marks
1. If rosy patches appear during cupping, it indicates stomach disease.
2. If the center is white, it indicates cold in the stomach, presenting with stomach pain that worsens with cold.
3. If red marks appear, it indicates excess heat, poor appetite, and food stagnation.
4. If light purple circles appear, it indicates emotional distress.
5. If light purple circles appear around the mark, it indicates superficial gastritis.
6. If dark purple circles appear, it indicates chronic gastritis.
7. If depressed marks with light purple appear, it indicates atrophic gastritis.
8. If depressed marks with gray-white appear, it indicates poor stomach function and slow peristalsis, with reduced appetite and abnormal stools.
Large Intestine Area
Cupping Marks
1. If purple-red cupping marks appear, it indicates heat in the large intestine, which may present with dry stools, bad breath, and dizziness.
2. If light purple circles appear, it indicates retained stool and dryness in the large intestine.
3. If white marks appear, it indicates invasion of wind-cold, primarily in the abdomen.
4. If rosy marks with enlarged pores appear, it indicates damp-heat in the large intestine, poor digestion, frequent stools, or rapid bowel movements after meals.
5. If gray-white marks with depressed areas appear, it indicates slow peristalsis in the large intestine, possibly accompanied by constipation lasting three to five days.
6. If red spots appear, it indicates enteritis; if purple spots appear, it indicates chronic enteritis; if light purple spots appear, it indicates a history of enteritis.
Small Intestine Area
Cupping Marks
1. If purple-red spots appear, it indicates dysfunction of the small intestine, primarily presenting with abnormal urination and defecation, abdominal cramping, and bloating.
2. White marks with enlarged pores indicate invasion of wind-cold, primarily in the abdomen, accompanied by bowel sounds and gas.
3. If gray-white marks with depressed areas appear, it indicates slow peristalsis in the small intestine.
4. If purple-red spots appear, it indicates enteritis.
5. If dark red circles appear, it indicates ulceration.
6. If dark purple marks appear, it indicates toxins in the intestines.
7. If light purple spots appear, it indicates a history of inflammation.
8. If dark purple circles appear around the mark, it indicates constipation and retained stool.
Kidney Area
Cupping Marks
1. If purple-red spots appear, it indicates kidney qi deficiency, such as chronic nephritis, with frequent clear urination, nocturia, and lower back pain.
2. If white marks appear, it indicates kidney deficiency with water retention, severe swelling below the waist, reduced urine output, and in severe cases, abdominal distension and scrotal swelling.
3. If small depressions appear, it indicates granular kidney stones; if white sandy granules appear, it indicates sandy kidney stones.
4. If enlarged pores appear and do not subside for a long time, the left kidney indicates wind-cold in the lower back, while the right kidney indicates rheumatism in the leg joints.
5. Purple spots indicate past injuries to the lower back, such as sprains, bruises, or other trauma.
6. If purple or light purple circles appear internally, it indicates water retention in the kidney area.
7. If there is a significant color difference between the two kidneys, such as the left kidney being purple-red and the right kidney gray-white, it indicates uncoordinated kidney function, with excess yang and deficient yin, or vice versa.
8. If both kidneys show purple-red and hardened marks, it indicates hyperfunction.
Bladder Area
Cupping Marks
1. If purple-red bruises appear, in males, it indicates prostatitis, frequent urination, urgency, painful urination, or difficulty urinating; in females, it indicates menstrual irregularities or other gynecological diseases.
2. If purple-red patches appear with dull colors, in males, it indicates prostate enlargement; in females, it indicates cervical erosion.
3. If purple-red spots appear in the lower area, it indicates hemorrhoids.
4. If the outer circle shows white and the inner circle is light purple, it indicates signs of diabetes; if the center of the cupping mark is red, it indicates current exacerbation, with at least two signs present.
5. If peeling occurs, it indicates chronic diabetes symptoms.
6. If the entire cupping area shows gray-white with depressed areas, it indicates reduced sexual function.
7. If irregular light purple circles appear, it indicates past trauma and kidney dysfunction.
8. If dark purple spots appear in females, it indicates gynecological diseases, with the upper area indicating uterine diseases and the diagonal upper sides indicating appendiceal or ovarian diseases.
9. If dark blue spots appear in females, it indicates uterine fibroids.
Note: Leave the cups on for 5 to 6 minutes before removing them, and assess the skin after cupping to determine the disease. This method is based on clinical experience and should not be used as a theoretical basis; it is for reference only.
Observation of Cupping Marks, Imprints, Shapes, and Colors:
1. If the cupping mark is dark purple and dull, it indicates blood stasis, such as menstrual obstruction, dysmenorrhea, or insufficient blood supply to the heart. If the affected area is severely cold or the mark does not fade for several days, it indicates a long-standing condition. If large areas of black-purple marks appear, it suggests significant wind-cold exposure, and treatment should focus on dispelling cold and removing pathogens.
2. If the cupping mark is purple with patches, it generally indicates cold gathering and blood stasis.
3. If the cupping area shows scattered purple spots of varying depths, it indicates qi stagnation and blood stasis.
4. If light purple with blue appears with patches, it indicates blood issues, accompanied by blood stasis; if it appears at the kidney shu point, it suggests kidney deficiency, and if at the spleen shu point, it indicates qi deficiency with blood stasis.
5. If the cupping mark is bright red, it generally indicates yin deficiency and deficiency of both qi and yin.
6. If no marks appear after cupping, or if they appear but quickly return to normal color, it indicates a mild condition.
7. If the color is pink with no spots and quickly returns to normal skin color, it indicates no disease.
Note:
Normal diagnostic color: pink
Liver and Gallbladder: slightly blue
Lung and Intestines: slightly white
Bladder and Kidney: slightly black are all normal
Heart: slightly red
Spleen and Stomach: slightly yellow
