"Poxue Tang" for Breaking Blood and Relieving Pain
"Poxue Tang" (Blood-Breaking Decoction) comes from Bao Ming Ge Kuo (Song on Guarding Life). It is composed of equal parts (each 6-10 g) of Taoren (Peach Kernel, skin and tip removed, pounded), Honghua (Safflower, wine-washed), Chuanxiong (Sichuan Lovage Rhizome), Xiangfu (Cyperus Rhizome, steeped in children's urine), and Qingpi (Green Tangerine Peel). Decoct in water, strain, and take warm. This formula breaks blood and moves qi. It chiefly treats hypochondriac pain caused by static blood.
This formula is very simple. It is based on Tao Hong Siwu Tang (Peach Kernel and Safflower Four-Substance Decoction—Taoren, Honghua, Dihuang, Chuanxiong, Danggui, Baishao), minus Danggui and Baishao, plus Xiangfu and Qingpi. The whole formula contains only two categories of herbs: blood-activating, blood-breaking herbs (Taoren, Honghua, Chuanxiong) and qi-regulating pain-relieving herbs (Qingpi and Xiangfu). Hence its treatment principle is to activate blood, regulate qi, and stop pain, with the emphasis on pain relief.
There are many causes of hypochondriac pain, but most arise from digestive diseases, especially hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases—including cholecystitis, gallstones, gallbladder cancer, chronic hepatitis, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer—which easily cause hypochondriac pain; stomach problems may also cause it. Of course, this formula can also treat hypochondriac pain from traumatic injury.
Poxue Tang may be combined with other formulas for better pain relief. Combined with Danshen Yin (Salvia, Sandalwood, Amomum), it treats abdominal distension and hypochondriac pain caused by stomach disease. Combined with Jinlingzi San (Yuanhu, Chuanlianzi), the pain relief is more marked. Combined with Xihuang Wan, Biejia Jian Wan, or Dahuang Zhechong Wan, it treats hypochondriac pain caused by malaria spleen (liver cirrhosis or liver cancer), addressing both the branch and the root.
Using Poxue Tang as the base, we can build various formulas for treating cancer pain.