Chapter 455: Chapter 455: A Test for You
Aunt Li took the medicine Song Sisi had packaged, noted the usage and dosage, and left with a spring in her step.
Li Xu continued to see patients.
After a short while, his phone pinged.
He picked it up and saw a new message in his old class’s group chat.
Hu Qiming had sent a voice message. His voice was heavily nasal, with a distinct stuffiness. "Agh, I can’t take it anymore! My nose is running like a faucet, and I’m so congested I can barely breathe. I guess it’s Yang Xiu’s fault; my rhinitis is acting up again. @Li Xu, Divine Physician Li! Quick, write me a prescription! Save me!"
Someone quickly replied in the group.
Miaoli sent a "giggling behind her hand" emoji. "Dr. Hu, aren’t you a doctor, too? Allergic rhinitis shouldn’t be too complicated for you, right? Can’t you just write your own prescription and take some medicine?"
Li Baojie chimed in, teasing, "Yeah, Brother Hu. You’re a respected doctor at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. You still need to ask Li Xu for help? Where’s your pride?"
Jiang Peng posted a "doge head" emoji. "Hu Qiming, show us what you’ve got."
Lu Junwei also joined in on the fun: "Looks like Li Xu’s medical skills are still more convincing."
Hu Qiming immediately typed a reply, stating matter-of-factly, "What do you guys know? This is a classic case of ’a doctor can’t heal themself.’ Besides, what if the prescription I write for myself isn’t accurate? And on top of that, Li Xu is so skilled that a single dose of his medicine works. It’d be foolish not to ask a Divine Physician like him for help, right?"
Li Xu looked at Hu Qiming’s "cry for help" and his classmates’ banter, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
However, he didn’t refuse. After all, it was common for classmates to help each other out.
He replied directly in the group, "Old Hu, tell me your specific symptoms."
Hu Qiming immediately sent another voice message: "Headache, yellow nasal discharge, severe congestion. My whole head feels stuffy, and it’s hard to breathe properly."
After listening, Li Xu mulled it over for a moment.
Based on the symptoms, Hu Qiming’s condition was completely different from Aunt Li’s, who had a clear runny nose.
He replied, "Your condition is due to wind-heat invading the lungs, with pathogenic heat accumulating in the nasal passages. The headache is caused by pathogenic heat disturbing the clear orifices of the head. The congestion and yellow discharge indicate that the heat pathogen has stagnated, scorching the bodily fluids and transforming them into turbid mucus."
This was different from Aunt Li’s condition, which was wind-cold constricting the exterior and obstructing the lung’s diffusing function.
Therefore, the medication for a clear runny nose and for yellow nasal discharge would naturally be different.
Aunt Li’s clear runny nose was caused by an invasion of wind-cold pathogens. The nasal passages lost their warmth, and bodily fluids couldn’t be vaporized, causing them to leak out. Thus, the main principle of her treatment was to diffuse the lungs and dispel cold.
Hu Qiming’s yellow discharge, on the other hand, was from a wind-heat pathogen. The heat was stagnating internally, and the bodily fluids were being cooked into phlegm-heat. Therefore, his treatment needed to focus on clearing heat, diffusing the lungs, opening the orifices, and expelling turbidity.
’He had a plan.’ Li Xu said in the group, "I’ll recommend a formula for you called Five-Flavor Plaster Soup. Write this down: Schisandra, raw gypsum, almond, Purified Pinellia, Yuan Shen, Poria Cocos, Knotweed, and ginger."
After listing the herbs, Li Xu explained the formula’s principles and effects in detail. "This Five-Flavor Plaster Soup primarily targets your kind of condition: wind-heat invading the lungs with an accumulation of pathogenic heat. The raw gypsum in the formula is the sovereign herb. It’s intensely cold and clears heat, directly dispelling the heat in the lungs and stomach. It can quickly alleviate symptoms of excess heat like headaches, congestion, and yellow discharge. Almond diffuses the lungs and directs qi downward, dispels phlegm, and stops coughs. It helps the lung qi to circulate, which improves congestion..."
"The entire formula clears heat, diffuses the lungs, transforms phlegm, and opens the orifices. It should effectively relieve your symptoms."
After listening to Li Xu’s explanation, Hu Qiming replied in the group, "Damn, Li Xu, you explain things so clearly. But you haven’t given me the specific dosages yet."
Li Xu smiled and typed, "The dosages? This is a perfect chance to test you. Figure them out yourself. If you get them right, one dose should be enough to see a significant effect, maybe even a full recovery. If you don’t get them right, it will still have some effect, but you might need to take a few more doses to get better. This is a true test of your TCM fundamentals."
Hu Qiming’s spirits were instantly lifted. He sent a "fighting!" emoji in the group. "Alright. Li Xu, just you watch! I’ll definitely get the dosages right. It’s just the amounts, right? I, Hu Qiming, am no slouch!"
Seeing this, the other classmates in the group started stirring the pot again.
Miaoli sent a "smirking" emoji. "Hu Qiming, don’t bite off more than you can chew! I bet you’ll mess up the dosages. It’ll take you at least three days to get better."
But Jiang Peng expressed his faith in Hu Qiming: "Miaoli, don’t underestimate Old Hu. He’s in touch with Li Xu all the time. He’s probably picked up a few things just by being around him. He might just get the dosages right and be cured in one dose."
"We’ll see about that," Miaoli replied.
...
Meanwhile, Hu Qiming was sitting in his office at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The formula for the Five-Flavor Plaster Soup Li Xu had given him was displayed on his computer screen. He alternated between looking at the computer, picking up a Pulse Pillow to take his own pulse, and examining his tongue coating in a mirror. His brows were tightly furrowed, his expression serious.
Pen in hand, he scribbled on a piece of paper, trying out different dosage combinations and muttering to himself, "Schisandra... astringes the lungs and stops coughs... raw gypsum... clears lung and stomach heat... almond... diffuses the lungs and directs qi downward..."
The dosage of Chinese medicine is crucial; a tiny error can lead to a huge discrepancy in the outcome.
A good TCM practitioner uses herbs precisely and with the right dosages, often achieving immediate results and curing the illness with a single prescription.
On the other hand, an average practitioner, even if they prescribe the same formula, might achieve poor results if the dosages are inaccurate. In a worse-case scenario, they could delay proper treatment or even aggravate the condition.
This was one of the major criticisms leveled against traditional Chinese medicine—for the same prescription, one doctor could cure a patient while another couldn’t.
"Sigh, these dosages are so hard to pin down."
Hu Qiming scratched his head in frustration. He didn’t want to lose face in front of his classmates, and he especially didn’t want Miaoli to laugh at him.
Just then, Lin Guorui returned from his rounds in the inpatient department and pushed the office door open.
Seeing Hu Qiming staring at the computer screen with a gloomy expression, muttering to himself, he asked curiously, "Xiao Hu, what profound subject are you studying that’s got you so worried?"
When Hu Qiming saw it was Lin Guorui, he sighed as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and explained his predicament. "Director Lin, you’re just in time! My allergic rhinitis is acting up, and Li Xu gave me a formula called Five-Flavor Plaster Soup. But he told me to figure out the dosages myself, saying it’s a test for me. I’ve been racking my brain for ages but just can’t get it right."
Upon hearing this, Lin Guorui’s interest was piqued. "Oh? A test from Dr. Li? Then it certainly won’t be simple. Tell me your symptoms. Let me take your pulse."
Hu Qiming described his symptoms in detail. Lin Guorui then took his pulse and examined his tongue coating.
A moment later, Director Lin understood the situation.
"Mm, it is indeed wind-heat invading the lungs with an accumulation of pathogenic heat. This is a good formula for it."
As he spoke, Lin Guorui took the pen from Hu Qiming’s hand and quickly wrote down the specific dosages on the paper. "How about this: 3 grams of Schisandra, 9 grams of raw gypsum, 9 grams of almond, 9 grams of Purified Pinellia, 9 grams of Yuan Shen, 9 grams of Poria Cocos, 9 grams of Knotweed, and 9 grams of ginger. Go get the herbs compounded according to these amounts and give it a try."
