The Pain-Relieving Patent Medicine Kunming Shanhaitang Tablets

Kunming Shanhaitang Pian is a Chinese patent medicine whose sole ingredient is Kunming Shanhaitang (also called Yunnan Shanhaitang). It is included in the 2005 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. The manufacturing process is complex; patients are not advised to prepare it according to the pharmacopoeia method but may simply buy the finished tablets.

Kunming Shanhaitang is the root, whole herb and fruit of Begonia yunnanensis, a plant of the Begonia genus (Begoniaceae). The tablets are made by extracting the active constituents of the crude drug. Kunming Shanhaitang Pian dispels wind and dampness, soothes the sinews and unblocks the collaterals, and clears heat to relieve pain. It is indicated for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematosus. The oral dose is two tablets, three times daily.

These are the actions listed in the drug insert, but in fact in Yunnan folk medicine Shanhaitang is used for a wider range of conditions. Yunnan Chinese Materia Medica records: "(The) root and fruit of Kunming Shanhaitang: activate blood and remove stasis, move qi and stop pain. The root treats menopausal menstrual disorders, hematemesis, bone fractures, and infantile vomiting and diarrhea; the fruit treats infantile hematuria and hernia." Kunming Folk Common Herbs records that it can also treat excessive gastric acid and stomachache. In Yunnan folk medicine, this herb is a commonly used painkiller.

The pain-relieving effect of a single Chinese herb is usually unsatisfactory; several pain-relieving herbs may be combined to enhance analgesia. For example, Kunming Shanhaitang tablets may be combined with another patent medicine, Yuanhu Zhitong tablets. If treating hyperacidity, it may also be used together with antacids, giving better pain relief.

Many patients with pain problems are reluctant to take opioids, which is understandable: opioids are addictive and have relatively strong side effects — for instance, some painkillers cause severe constipation. Combining several patent medicines as an alternative to opioid analgesics is also a reasonable option.

For cancer pain, Kunming Shanhaitang tablets and Yuanhu Zhitong tablets are best used together with drugs that have both anti-tumor and pain-relieving effects, such as Xi Huang Wan (Bezoar Pill). For Xi Huang Wan, pills or capsules made with artificial musk and artificial calculus bovis may be chosen, as they are less expensive.