Chapter 500: Chapter 212: The Lungs Are Delicate Organs, Fond of Purity and Clarity

Mao Yong has been feeling a bit under the weather with a cold lately and thought he would avoid the hassle of hospital prescriptions by just picking up some meds from the clinic.

To be honest, the medication cost at hospitals is usually cheaper than at clinics or pharmacies. However, going to the hospital requires registering first, then waiting in line, and when it’s finally your turn, the doctor might not even prescribe the medication you were hoping for. You might end up taking home a bunch of meds you didn’t originally want. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

In the end, the total cost could actually be much higher than buying from a clinic or pharmacy, possibly several times more.

Even without extra prescriptions, just the registration fee alone might equal the cost of medication.

Moreover, that’s only for seeing a regular doctor. If it’s a specialist or scarce appointment, the registration fee alone could go up to dozens or even hundreds.

Of course, money isn’t the main concern.

The key issue is that a hospital visit is just too troublesome.

A problem that might be solved in half an hour could take two or three hours at the hospital, possibly even longer if there’s a crowd.

So, generally, people avoid going to the hospital unless necessary.

Due to his child’s illness, Mao Yong ran to the nearest Lu Family Clinic early in the morning, having passed by it several times and knowing it opens early. Dr. Li Feng, who attends here, used to work at the county hospital and is quite competent.

He was ready to leave with the medicine, but what happened next made him stop dead in his tracks, just as he was about to step out.

Lu Xuan was diagnosing Yan Xiaoping by feeling her pulse, but he didn’t think much of it.

In fact, he thought to himself, what could a young man in his twenties possibly know? Surely he was just bluffing.

But when he heard that Lu Xuan only charged a bit over ten yuan for the consultation, and the herbal medicine had to be fetched by Yan Xiaoping at the pharmacy, he was somewhat taken aback.

This small consultation fee clearly wasn’t much of a con.

But that was all; when it came down to it, he still couldn’t quite believe a young man in his twenties could have any remarkable medical skills. Someone like Lu Xuan was probably fresh out of school, and even if he worked at a hospital, it would likely be as an assistant to other doctors, with slim chances of consulting on his own.

Yet, just as he was about to leave with these thoughts, the sight of Lu Xuan performing a bone-setting on a child genuinely astonished him.

Even though it’s nothing serious, any hospital can reset such a simple dislocation. Still, it’s the first time he’d seen it done so effortlessly like Lu Xuan did.

It took less than a minute, with the advice only to avoid carrying heavy objects and not fall on the previously dislocated area in the following days.

Had it been a hospital, even after the bone was set, they’d likely put on a plaster for immobilization.

Coupled with X-ray fees, it would easily cost several hundred, if not more.

Lu Xuan still only charged a bit over ten yuan.

If Yan Xiaoping was potentially a shill earlier, this child certainly wasn’t.

"With such remarkable bone-setting skills, his medical ability couldn’t be that poor, right?"

Mao Yong hesitated but was somewhat intrigued and, after hesitating a while, gritted his teeth and approached Lu Xuan: "Excuse me, doctor, how should I address you?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Lu Xuan instinctively glanced back, spotting the middle-aged man who had bought medicine at the clinic, and responded, "My last name is Lu."

"Hello, Dr. Lu!"

Mao Yong greeted politely before speaking in a low voice, "Dr. Lu, I wanted to ask if herbal medicine can treat toxic pneumonia?"

"Toxic pneumonia?"

Lu Xuan was taken aback and asked, "Is the person nearby? I should take a look at the situation first."

Mao Yong shook his head, "Still hospitalized, but the doctor said the situation is not looking good."

Lu Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Without seeing the person, it’s hard to say if herbal medicine would work, but you can first tell me the specifics of the situation and the symptoms."

Toxic pneumonia, a term from Western medicine, is one of the more severe types of pediatric pneumonia.

Of course, adults also run the risk of getting it, but the probability is much lower compared to children.

However, toxic pneumonia as introduced in Western medicine falls under the category of warm disease in Chinese medicine.

Lu Xuan hadn’t encountered toxic pneumonia in his time practicing at the Health Center and United South Chinese Medicine Association, as it primarily affects children.

Children suffering from toxic pneumonia are generally admitted to the Women and Children’s Hospital for treatment, and because it comes on so quickly and severely, few seek Chinese medicine unless absolutely necessary.

However, back in school, Lu Xuan’s master’s advisor did mention toxic pneumonia and specifically lectured on its symptoms and clinical manifestations.

Toxic pneumonia has a rapid onset and comes on with high fever, drowsiness, coma, convulsions, and circulatory and respiratory failure.

In Chinese medicine, toxic pneumonia is seen as an invasion by heat toxin, causing intense heat in the Qi division, damaging lung fluids, and then entering the nutrient and blood divisions, disturbing the mind.

For intense heat in the Qi division, it’s advised to calm the asthma and detoxify, disperse the lung and resolve phlegm, using Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction with Houttuynia, Silver Flower, Bamboo Cortex, and Bamboo Juice; for heat entering the nutrient and blood divisions, it’s advised to clear the nutrient and detoxify, calm asthma and resolve phlegm, using Qing Ying Decoction with modifications.

If the righteous Qi fails to repel the pathogen and Yang Qi is exhausted, resulting in heart failure, use Ginseng and Aconite Decoction to replenish Qi and prevent collapse; if combined with toxic encephalopathy, add Antelope Horn and Uncaria Decoction or Shensidan.