Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan
Quick Facts
- What it is: A classical Chinese herbal pill, led by dendrobium stem, taken for dry, tired or dim-sighted eyes.
- Main uses: Dry, gritty eyes, Blurred or dim vision, Poor night vision, Early cataract (clouding of the lens)
- Best for: Long-standing dry, tired eyes in people already under an eye doctor's care
- Active ingredients: Shi hu (dendrobium stem), Ju hua (chrysanthemum flower), Gou qi zi (wolfberry), Sheng di huang and shu di huang (rehmannia root), Ren shen (ginseng), Gan cao (licorice root), Ku xing ren (bitter apricot seed), Huang lian (coptis, contains berberine)
- Forms: Water-honey pills, Large honey pills, Concentrated tablets, Granules, Raw herbs for decoction (a strong tea)
- Time to effect: Two to four weeks for any change in eye comfort; reassess at eight weeks.
- Side effects: Usually mild stomach upset; licorice content can raise blood pressure and lower potassium with longer use.
Track this remedy in the app
Track Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan with reminders and record whether it helped, in the app.
What is Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan?
Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan, also called Dendrobium Pill for Night Vision, is a traditional Chinese herbal pill taken for tired, dry, blurry eyes. It is a single finished medicine (a TCM formula) sold as small pills, though the recipe blends more than twenty herbs, seeds and shells.
It is used in Chinese medicine for eyes that feel gritty or dry, for blurred or dim vision, for night-time vision trouble, and in the early stages of clouding of the lens (cataract). Practitioners pick it for people they see as having "yin deficiency" with heat rising to the eyes.
The honest verdict: the traditional record is long and consistent, but good human trial evidence is thin, and what exists is small and poorly reported. Long traditional use is not proof that a remedy works — that point applies to everything below and is not repeated in each section.
How does Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan work?
In Chinese medicine terms, the formula is said to nourish the liver and kidney, moisten dryness, clear heat and "brighten the eyes". Those are traditional ideas, not measured biology.
In modern terms, several ingredients contain antioxidant plant compounds, and lab studies suggest some may reduce oxidative stress (chemical damage to cells) in eye tissue. Wolfberry supplies carotenoids that the retina uses.
None of this has been shown to change vision in a well-run human trial. Treat the mechanism as a plausible idea, not a demonstrated effect.
What forms does Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan come in?
Most often sold as small round "water-honey" pills or larger honey pills in a jar or wax ball.
Other forms you may see:
Concentrated pills or tablets from patent-medicine makers. Loose raw herbs, weighed by a practitioner and boiled into a decoction (a strong tea). Granules that dissolve in hot water.
Buy only from suppliers who test each batch for heavy metals such as lead and mercury, for pesticides, and for hidden added drugs. Imported herbal pills have failed such tests in the past.
Where it comes from:
The formula is recorded in Chinese medical texts from around the Yuan and Ming periods, roughly the 14th to 17th centuries, and is usually traced to Yuan Ji Qi Wei (1345).
It has stayed in continuous use as a standard eye formula and appears in the modern Chinese Pharmacopoeia as a manufactured patent medicine. Its standing rests on one tradition, Chinese medicine, rather than on several separate ones.
Who should avoid Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan?
- Do not use if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant: several herbs in the mix, including niu xi (achyranthes), are traditionally avoided in pregnancy.
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding, as the safety of these herbs in milk is unknown.
- Do not use if you have high blood pressure (hypertension), because the licorice root in the formula can push it higher.
- Do not use if you have heart failure, an irregular heartbeat, or take digoxin, as low potassium from licorice can trigger dangerous rhythm problems.
- Do not use if you have kidney disease or low potassium (hypokalaemia).
- Do not use if you take warfarin or any other blood thinner, unless your doctor has checked it and agreed.
- Do not use if you take water tablets (diuretics), steroid tablets such as prednisolone, or immune-suppressing drugs like ciclosporin or tacrolimus.
- Do not use if you are about to have surgery: stop at least two weeks beforehand because of possible effects on bleeding and blood sugar.
- Do not use if you have diabetes and are on insulin or tablets, without your doctor's supervision, since ginseng can lower blood sugar.
- Do not use if you are giving it to a child; the bitter apricot seed content makes children's doses unsafe without expert supervision.
- Do not use if you have sudden vision loss, eye pain, flashes, floaters or a red painful eye — these need urgent eye care, not herbs.
- Do not use if you are already taking another licorice-containing herbal product or apricot-seed supplement, as the amounts add up.
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor or optometrist promptly if your vision suddenly blurs, dims or goes dark, if you see flashes or a shower of floaters, or if an eye becomes red and painful.
Stop the pills and contact your doctor if your ankles or face swell, you gain weight quickly, your blood pressure rises, or you feel muscle weakness, bad cramps, a thumping or irregular heartbeat, or unusual tiredness. These can be signs of the licorice effect.
Get emergency help for a severe allergic reaction: swelling of the lips or tongue, trouble breathing, or a spreading rash.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
4.8
