A magic vial of Yunnan Paiyao

As gunshots rang out, he fell from his horse bleeding from where the bullet had entered his chest. As blood ran from the wound, he could feel his life slowly slipping away. Images of his small daughter and wife, who were both far away, ran through his mind.

Quickly he reached for the vial, opening it to swallow the small red pill within and then taking the powder beneath it he quickly poured it in to the fresh wound. His breathing started to return to normal and he felt like he would be able to make it off the battlefield to find help. There was still some bleeding from the wound but no longer enough to take his life.

Sound like something from a fantasy movie? Surprisingly it isn’t.

Yunnan Baiyao, also known as Yunnan Paiyao, is a special formula know to every Chinese herbalist. It was developed in 1902 in China and has been an important remedy ever since. The formula is owned by the Chinese government and the secret of what exactly is in the magic red pill is highly guarded. It is rumored that it is made from gallstones cultivated in very special cows among other things but even the workers in the factories do not know exactly what is in it. We do know that pseudoginseng is probably the most important component of it. When pseudoginseng has been studied alone it has been shown to reduce bleeding times in half.

I use Yunnan Paiyao often in my patients and have been highly impressed with how well it works.

When my husband first moved in with me his cat, Sabutai, was suffering from horrible mouth cancer. One day which he was eating, the tumor in his mouth began to hemorrhage. In a matter of seconds there was blood all over the bathroom and he was just a small cat. Not knowing exactly what to do, I rushed to the medicine cabinet and grabbed one of the little red pills and pushed it down his throat. Within 60 seconds the bleeding had almost completely stopped and he did not hemorrhage again for the rest of his illness.

Another time I was at the vet clinic I used to work at and saw one of my old clients in the waiting room with their older dog, Alki. They quickly explained that they had just found out that Alki had a large tumor on her spleen that was bleeding into her abdomen and that she needed emergency surgery and most likely a blood transfusion. I quickly ran home and grabbed a vial of Yunnan Baiyao and brought it back. We administered the small red pill before she went into surgery and not only did she get through the surgery well and not need a blood transfusion but the surgeon was surprised at how little bleeding there was considering what was happening.

Also see Cosmo – star dog who was a wonderful dog I worked with who lived an extra year because of this herbal.

So why don’t we all have a vial of Yunnan Paiyao sitting around for emergencies? I’m not sure. I know I do! And the western vets I work with do as well.

In our family we often use the powder for any kind of cut or wound. It is not only good at stopping the bleeding but helps keep wounds from getting infected and is not painful to apply like many of the wound cleaning agents. It is safe and can be licked and eaten by cats and dogs without worry.

But isn’t it expensive you ask? Guarded by the Chinese government and that effective!

No! Usually you can buy Yunnan Baiyao for about $10 for a vial or a package of 16 pills of powder. You can even buy this on Amazon.com often.

Currently it has been a little harder to find Yunnan Baiyao. I recommend The Modern Herb Shop .

When are the best times to use it?

If an animal is going into surgery, especially if there is concern about excessive bleeding, I recommend giving the powder or capsules of powder for three days before and after the surgery. The little red pill can be given right before surgery but while the animal is still awake. Dosage depends on the size of your animal (except the red pill). Cats usually do better with the powder mixed with a little water in a syringe because the capsules are too larger for them to swallow where dogs usually do better with the capsules unless they are very small.

Nasal bleeding can be a very hard problem to control especially if there is a tumor or chronic condition which causes it. Yunnan Paiyao can be used to control nasal bleeding.

Yunnan Baiyao can also be used in many of the end stage diseases where surgery is not an option but there is bleeding in the body which can not be controlled. This is a great herbal to use with hemangiosarcoma and any other bleeding cancer or tumor. The powder capsules can be used daily for this and the red pill once again only for emergency.

There are also many reports of it clearing up existing infections and can be safely poured directly into wounds. Although if a wound is infected I usually reach for the antibiotics.

Yunnan Paiyao can safely be used in any cut or wound although deep wounds should be evaluated to see if sutures are needed. Yunnan Paiyao will actually promote healing and help a wound to close faster.

In addition pseudoginseng helps sensitive tumor cells to radiation treatments and can be used in animals with cancer that are undergoing radiation to make these therapies more effective.

With Yunnan Bai Yao in most dogs I dose at one pill twice a day unless they are very large and then I double that. In cats and very small dogs the pills can be opened and half the powder can be used. In hard to medicate animals the powder can also be mixed with water and syringed into the mouth.

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4 Responses to “A magic vial of Yunnan Paiyao”

  1. Liz Stonehouse Says:

    Our 13 yr old cockapoo suffers from CHF. She had a splenectomy last Oct which showed a tumour that was hemangiosarcoma. This past week another ultrasound has shown a tumour inside her liver. I have opted not to have chemo on her and was wondering is Yunnan Bai Yao would help her paliatively? She has had a couple of episodes where she has passed out and our vet feels that it was very likely from the tumour bleeding.
    Please help.

  2. Lena McCullough, DVM Says:

    Hi Liz,
    I have used yunnan bai yao in a number of dogs with suspected hemangiosarcoma with very good results. I usually give the regular pills daily (for a dog her size I would open and split the pills in half) and save the red one for if there is pass out episode or emergency. I have one dog that was diagnosed with suspected hemangiosarcoma (wasn’t biopsied) after an episode of collapse and given days to live. We put her on yunnan bai yao and acupuncture and eight months later the tumor is actually smaller and she is doing well! At this point she is not even on the yunnan bai yao anymore. I always tell people to run it by their vet first but I have seen this stuff save so many lives and extend others. If your vet hasn’t used it before and wants to talk to me they are also welcome to email me.
    I hope your little one can have many more months of quality life.
    Sending healing thoughts,
    Lena

  3. nancy schutt Says:

    Could you list in a posting what items you would recommend being in a home first aid kit, for dogs, or for that matter for humans as well?
    I have ordered the Yunnan Baiyao, but i am also interested in having in particular, something that would induce vomiting. Once my dog ate what i thought might be slug poison, but hydrogen peroxide did not work for inducing vomiting. Another time he ate nearly an entire box of chocolates that he had to climb on a dining room table to get. That time involved an emergency room visit, an injection, and a pound of chocolate instantly expunged. I’d like to have something at home for such an emergency.
    thanks so much!

  4. Lena McCullough, DVM Says:

    Wow, the peroxide didn’t work, he must be a tough little guy. You can also use syrup of epicac but I have personally had the best success with the peroxide although you need to use a lot (one teaspoon per 10 lbs of dog). Vets can also use the trick of putting apomorphine in the eye. Unfortunately you need a prescription for that one.

    That’s a great idea to get a first aid article up. I’ll work on it!