The difference between Niuhuang Jiedu and Shangqing

I believe everyone has heard of the two medicines Niuhuang Jiedu Tablets and Huanglian Shangqing Tablets. Both medicines have the effects of clearing away heat, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory and reducing fire, but the difference in the efficacy of the two medicines is still very large. However, people often don’t know the specific differences between the two medicines, and are hesitant when choosing medicines. They don’t know which medicine is better. Today, the editor will introduce to you the difference between Niuhuang Jiedu and Shangqing.

1. The names of the medicines are similar, but the effects of “getting angry” are very different

"Niuhuang Jiedu Tablets", "Huanglian Shangqing Tablets" and "Sanhuang Tablets" are currently the most commonly used Chinese patent medicines for "reducing fire", but why do they all have the word "Huang" in their names? Why are there so many types of Chinese patent medicines for “reducing heat”?

That’s because the commonly used antipyretic herbs in traditional Chinese medicine are “Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Phellodendron chinense”. Their names themselves contain the word “Huang”, so the Chinese patent medicines that use them as the main ingredients will naturally also have this word.

Moreover, there are many types of "getting angry" in traditional Chinese medicine, including real fire, false fire, heart fire, liver fire, stomach fire, etc., which are related to the coldness, heat, deficiency and excess of the internal organs, and their pathogenic pathologies are also different, so there are so many kinds of fire-reducing medicines corresponding to them.

2. A comprehensive analysis of yellow films: read carefully before taking medication

1. Niuhuang Jiedu Tablets

It originated from "The Standard of Diagnosis and Treatment" by Wang Kentang in the Ming Dynasty. The medicines in the prescription include bezoar, realgar, borneol, gypsum, scutellaria, rhubarb, platycodon, licorice, etc., which have the effects of "clearing heat, purging fire, and detoxifying".

However, except for Scutellaria baicalensis and Rhubarb, the other raw materials are bezoar, realgar and other medicines with strong "clearing heat and detoxifying" effects, so it is better at detoxification and is usually used for dry mouth, bitter mouth, mouth and tongue ulcers, red and swollen eyes, dry and hot nose, nosebleed, toothache, bad breath, constipation and other conditions caused by "heat and toxicity invading the body".

Also, because the borneol and other medicinal materials in it are good at entering the heart, they can open up the orifices and refresh the mind, and "the heart opens up to the mouth", so it is effective for treating diseases such as pharyngitis, faciomandibular inflammation, glossitis, gingivitis, etc. caused by heat syndrome.

Please note that this recipe cannot be used for internal heat caused by false fire, such as if you have symptoms such as heat in the five hearts (hands, soles of feet and chest), night sweats, dizziness and tinnitus.

2. Huanglian Shangqing Tablets

It originated from "Wanbing Huichun" by Gong Tingxian in the Ming Dynasty, and was modified by adding and subtracting ingredients from "Xigan Mingmu San". The medicines in the prescription include Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Phellodendron chinense, Gardenia jasminoides, Gypsum, Rhubarb, Forsythia suspensa, Schizonepeta tenuifolia, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Angelica dahurica, Mentha, Vitex rotundifolia, Chrysanthemum, Platycodon grandiflorum, Inula japonica, and Licorice.

In this prescription, "antipyretic drugs" account for a large part, so its main function is to "clear fire and detoxify, and disperse wind-heat", that is, it is aimed at various diseases caused by exogenous wind-heat pathogens.

The biggest feature of Huanglian Shangqing Tablets is that although it is used for real fire like Niuhuang Jiedu Tablets, it is more suitable for fire caused by more obvious symptoms of eye discomfort, especially when there are symptoms such as excessive eye discharge, dizziness, red and swollen eyes, and pain.