This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Chapter 148: 148 Rise Yang expelling evil

Given the current situation, the patient’s condition has worsened. To induce vomiting or a bowel movement, a larger dose of medication than before would be required.

However, doing so would undoubtedly damage the patient’s original qi, and it would take at least two to three weeks of rest to recover properly.

It’s almost June, right in the middle of the busy farming season; otherwise, the patient wouldn’t have been working in the fields under the scorching sun at noon.

Yu Haiting’s current course of treatment isn’t necessarily wrong, but the sequence is out of order.

”He can’t vomit now because his stomach qi is relatively weak. Forcibly inducing vomiting would also harm his stomach.”

”Then what should we do?” Yu Haiting was still thinking of increasing the dosage to try and induce vomiting. He hadn’t expected Du Heng to dismiss the method he’d just conceived with a single sentence.

”It’s simple. The ancients used melon stalk as an emetic, and naturally, we can too. However, if only melon stalk is used when the stomach qi is inherently weak, the qi will be too deficient to push upwards. The patient will often feel like vomiting but be unable to, or if they do vomit, it will be very little and ineffective. Therefore, Ginseng should also be added.

Ginseng itself doesn’t treat vomiting, but it can stabilize the stomach qi. With Ginseng, the yang qi becomes abundant and powerful enough to expel the evil qi upwards. This way, the patient can vomit while also protecting their stomach qi.”

The explanation was clear enough, and Yu Haiting understood.

However, compared to typical prescriptions that often contain dozens of medicinal ingredients, this formula with only two seemed a bit too simple. ”Dean, are there any other medicinal ingredients?”

”No, these two ingredients are sufficient. This formula is called Ginseng and Melon Stalk Powder. Drinking it will induce vomiting. If he still can’t vomit, you can assist with other methods, like tickling the back of his throat.”

Yu Haiting thought for a moment and nodded. ”Alright then, Dean, please write the prescription.”

The two returned to Yu Haiting’s office. Du Heng took a prescription paper and swiftly wrote it out in a few strokes, then signed his name.

Yu Haiting took the slip and glanced at it. He didn’t have any particular thoughts about the content, but he did find Du Heng’s handwriting exceptionally beautiful.

He gestured to the new junior college student. ”Xiao Li, take this prescription to the Pharmacy to have the medicine dispensed, then take it to the decoction room to be prepared. If there’s anything you don’t understand, go find Dr. Wu.”

Xiao Li hurried over, took the slip, and went out.

Du Heng, however, called Xiao Li back. ”When you have the Pharmacy prepare the medicine, be careful with the Ginseng. Don’t use too much; stick strictly to the dosage I prescribed. It’s better to use a little less than too much. Even a slight excess of Ginseng could make him vomit his stomach out. You absolutely must remember this.”

Yu Haiting waved his hand. ”Hurry along now, and don’t let anything go wrong.”

After Xiao Li left, Du Heng looked at Yu Haiting’s manner and said with a chuckle, ”You really have the air of a supervising teacher. The kid just finished his school assignments this morning, and you’re not even letting him rest for a bit.”

Yu Haiting also found a stool and sat down. ”He needs to be kept in line. I don’t know what on earth that boy was doing during his studies; he’s learned absolutely terribly.”

He then asked, ”What exactly was going on with that patient just now? It was clearly a case of mild heatstroke, so how did it become what you called cholera?”

”He probably omitted some details, which led to your misjudgment. After feeling dizzy and nauseous, he likely went home to rest. At that point, it was probably still heatstroke. However, modern people have a rather bad habit: when it’s hot, they especially like to drink iced water, and they tend to gulp down a lot of it in one go.

Yang Kailong’s situation was likely similar; he probably drank iced water before going to rest or sleep. That’s what caused the evil qi to stagnate in his abdomen, creating this stuck, neither-up-nor-down situation.”

Yu Haiting was an experienced doctor; he just hadn’t thought of it at that moment. Now that Du Heng had mentioned it, he immediately realized he hadn’t asked detailed enough questions, and also that the patient, likely thinking drinking water wasn’t a significant issue, had automatically omitted it.

Du Heng continued, ”Then there’s the use of Huoxiang Zhengqi Tincture. This medicine is a summerheat-dispelling agent, with the effects of releasing the exterior, transforming dampness, regulating qi, and harmonizing the middle. It’s very effective for abdominal pain, fever, headaches, vomiting without diarrhea, or diarrhea without vomiting.

However, it contains perilla leaves and angelica dahurica, both of which are diaphoretic and exterior-releasing medicinals. For a patient like this, who is neither vomiting nor having diarrhea, these ingredients can actually aggravate the condition.”

Speaking of medicinal ingredients and their properties, the two began to delve deeper into the topic, discussing medication combinations and contraindications for many different illnesses.

As they talked more, Du Heng also benefited greatly. His knowledge of Western medicine had always been a weak point; sometimes, merely reading books was insufficient to truly understand a drug’s characteristics.

For example, everyone knows Viagra, or Sildenafil, which is a drug for treating erectile dysfunction. But it was actually developed as a medication for cardiovascular diseases, though its efficacy in that area wasn’t particularly impressive.

Then there’s Minoxidil, a drug for treating hypertension. However, after patients took it, they discovered an increase in body hair—hair grew abundantly in places it was supposed to and in places it wasn’t.

So now, it’s used to treat baldness and hair loss.

Those who follow entertainment news have likely heard reports about a certain female celebrity getting ”botulinum toxin” injections. Despite the word ”toxin”—literally ”poison” twice in Chinese—it can eliminate wrinkles and make the skin smooth and flat. It’s considered a miraculous beauty treatment, a must-have for female celebrities and wealthy women.

But this damn medicine is actually for treating muscle spasms!

Just as they were chatting animatedly, Xiao Li, who had gone to oversee the decoction of the medicine, came in. ”Dean, Teacher Yu, the patient has vomited.”

The two men exchanged a glance. They had been so engrossed in their conversation that half an hour had slipped by unnoticed.

”Let’s go and take a look.”

”Yes, let’s go see.”

The three of them had just reached the second floor when they saw Yang Kailong emerging from the bathroom.

Yang Kailong was leaning against the wall with one hand, perhaps feeling dizzy from vomiting so violently. He looked extremely weak, but his complexion had visibly eased a great deal.

Xiao Li might not have been very competent at his tasks, but he was very quick-witted. He immediately rushed over to support Yang Kailong, helping him slowly back to his hospital room.

Du Heng had him lie down, performed a brief check-up, and said, ”Alright, that should do it. Let Dr. Yu give you some fluids, and after that, you can go home.”

”Thank you, Doctor.” Just as Yang Kailong finished speaking, his stomach let out a distinct RUMBLE.

He turned to his son and said, ”Son, there’s money in my coat pocket. Take it and go to one of the shops outside to buy something for your dad to eat.”

Then, turning back to Du Heng, he asked, ”Doctor, are there any dietary restrictions I need to follow?”

”For the next couple of days, avoid raw, cold, hard, or cool foods, and don’t eat anything spicy. Actually, it’s best you don’t send your son out. From now until you’re discharged from the hospital, you cannot eat anything at all.”

”Huh?! But I just finished vomiting! My stomach is completely empty, and it feels awful. Besides, I haven’t eaten a thing for the past two days.”

”Then you’ll just have to endure the hunger for a little while. Your stomach was weak and depleted, and you’ve just vomited. If you eat now, your stomach has no digestive power; it will only injure it further. Taking care of an injured stomach later will be even more troublesome.”

After Du Heng finished his explanation, Yang Kailong’s stomach rumbled again, but he could only lie back down with a dejected expression.

”Drinking a little warm water can help alleviate the discomfort somewhat, but definitely do not eat anything.” Du Heng turned to the teenager beside him. ”You need to supervise your dad properly and make sure he doesn’t sneak any food.”

The young man nodded, his expression rather serious. It seemed he had taken Du Heng’s words to heart.

Du Heng smiled, exchanged a few words with Yu Haiting, and then left, leaving Yu Haiting to give the patient medical advice and handle other instructions.

He strolled leisurely to the Chinese Medicine Department office, intending to chat with Wu Buwei for a while. However, upon arriving, he saw there was a patient present, and Wu Buwei was engrossed in carefully performing a pulse diagnosis.