Chapter 739: Treatment

Chapter 739: Chapter 739: Treatment

Lin Guorui asked again, "Before each fever, do you feel cold or get the chills?"

The older woman shook her head, stating firmly, "No. The fever just hits directly, and I feel waves of heat all over my body."

Lin Guorui continued his methodical questioning.

The patient experienced no chills prior to the onset of the fever. She had a dry cough with scant, thick sputum that was difficult to expectorate. She suffered from shortness of breath, panting even after minor activities like getting out of bed to use the restroom. Her appetite was poor, accompanied by generalized muscle soreness and fatigue, but she experienced no dry or bitter taste in her mouth. Her urine color was normal, and she had loose, unformed bowel movements twice a day.

Through this series of questions, Lin Guorui formed a general outline of her condition.

"Stick out your tongue and let me take a look," Lin Guorui said.

The older woman obediently complied.

Li Xu also took a glance.

The tongue body was enlarged and dark red with prominent teeth marks along the edges. The coating was white, thick, and extremely greasy, as if a heavy layer of paste had been smeared over it.

"Give me your hand. Let me check your pulse."

She extended an arm covered in needle marks from IV drips.

Lin Guorui placed three fingers on her pulse point and concentrated.

About two minutes later, he finished checking her pulse. Turning to Li Xu, he said, "Dean Li, the pulse is slippery and rapid. Based on the symptoms and the tongue examination, do you have any additional diagnostic insights?"

Li Xu shook his head, his expression calm. "No, the symptoms are very typical. Let’s go back and discuss the prescription."

Lin Guorui nodded, closed the medical chart, and prepared to leave.

"Hey... wait a minute," the normally fiery older woman, who had been forcing a cold demeanor, suddenly called out.

Both Li Xu and Lin Guorui stopped and looked back at her.

"Is there something else? Are you experiencing any other discomfort that you haven’t mentioned?" Lin Guorui asked patiently.

A look of shame appeared on Qiao Li’s face as she stammered, "Um... I’m sorry, doctors. I might have had some misunderstandings about traditional Chinese medicine before. I had a bad attitude and said some harsh things. Please... please don’t take it to heart."

Lin Guorui found it a bit amusing, but with a doctor’s benevolent heart, he gave a gentle nod. "It’s fine, ma’am. When people are sick and in physical distress, it’s completely understandable to be in a bad mood. We doctors don’t hold grudges against our patients."

With that, he turned to leave again.

Seeing this, she hastily called out once more, "Hey, um..."

"Is there still something else?" Lin Guorui couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Qiao Li bit her lip and asked cautiously, "Since... I offended you, you’ll... still treat me properly, right? You won’t prescribe me anything that will make me suffer?"

This was her biggest worry. She was afraid the doctors were petty and would deliberately make things difficult for her by messing with her prescription.

Lin Guorui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he replied solemnly, "Rest assured, ma’am. In our eyes, there are only patients, not enemies. Healing the sick and saving lives is our bounden duty. The prescription will definitely be the most appropriate and safe for your condition."

This time, Lin Guorui didn’t look back. He walked away briskly, as if afraid the woman would stir up more trouble.

Li Xu, meanwhile, had already reached the doorway. He was busy pondering which formula to use.

"Hey..."

The fiery Qiao Li wanted to say a few more soft words to butter them up, but seeing that the two had already slipped out the door, she pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, "Running faster than rabbits. I even swallowed my pride to apologize. Would it kill you to say a few comforting words?"

In the corridor.

Li Xu and Lin Guorui discussed the medication as they walked.

"This patient’s condition is indeed quite serious," Lin Guorui said with a grave expression. "Although she is currently conscious, her tongue is dark red with teeth marks, the coating is thick, white, and greasy, and her pulse is slippery and rapid. This is a classic case of ’damp-toxin stagnating in the lungs, impeding the flow of Qi.’

"The most troublesome part is her history of ovarian cancer. Even though it hasn’t relapsed, her spleen and stomach are inherently weak, and her vital Qi is deficient. The damp-toxin pathogen is accumulating and turning into heat within her body, causing a fierce battle between the vital Qi and the pathogen, which is why her high fever won’t subside. If we can’t intercept the progression of the disease in time, once the damp-toxin invades the pericardium or causes pulmonary exhaustion, the subsequent situation will be extremely dangerous. She could be transferred to the ICU at any moment."

Li Xu nodded in agreement. "Moreover, she previously used a massive amount of antibiotics and Western antiviral drugs. These are bitter and cold substances that damage the stomach. This has made her spleen and stomach even more deficient and cold, forming a complex situation of ’heat above, cold below, with internal accumulation of damp-toxin.’"

However, both of them were highly experienced. Faced with such a complex and critical case, they found it tricky but did not panic.

After a quiet discussion, they quickly finalized an extremely precise treatment plan. Then, Lin Guorui headed to the nurses’ station to issue the medical orders and prepare the medication.

About ten minutes later.

Xiaozhou, a traditional Chinese medicine nurse from the comprehensive internal medicine department, walked in pushing a treatment cart.

Several IV bottles hung from the cart.

Xiaozhou walked up to Qiao Li’s bed and verified the bed card. "Bed 3, Qiao Li. It’s time for your IV."

Hearing this, the stubborn Qiao Li, who was leaning against the headboard sulking, fired up again.

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you hooking me up to another IV drip? I just told Director Lin that I’m done with Western medicine. I asked you Chinese medicine doctors to treat me, so why are you still giving me an IV?"

"Ma’am, this *is* Chinese medicine," Xiaozhou replied without even looking up as she skillfully bled the air from the IV tubing.

"Who are you trying to fool?" Qiao Li said angrily. "I might not understand medicine, but I’m not blind! Chinese medicine is a decoction. You drink it from a bowl! Since when is Chinese medicine put in glass bottles and given through an IV? Do you think I’m a three-year-old?"

Upon hearing the commotion, Uncle Guo and Xu Huimin, who had been resting with their eyes closed, swiftly sat up in their beds and familiarly crossed their arms, ready for a show.

Hey! There was more drama to watch. It was just like a soap opera, one episode after another, full of climactic moments.

Xiaozhou was too mentally exhausted to even get angry with her. After all, she had seen plenty of bizarre patients over the past few days. Maintaining her patience, she pointed to the label on the IV bottle and explained:

"Times are changing, ma’am. This is Xuebijing Injection, a product of modernized traditional Chinese medicine. It’s purely extracted from Chinese herbs and is a specific medicine used to treat severe infections, clear heat, detoxify, resolve blood stasis, and cool the blood.

"Didn’t you claim to be a professional Chinese medicine hater? Don’t you read those experts’ science posts online every day? How could you not even know about such a famous Chinese medicine injection?" Xiaozhou retorted, her tone neither too yielding nor too harsh.

"Uh..."

Qiao Li’s face flushed beet red. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

She was indeed a "professional Chinese medicine hater," but she was the kind of professional "keyboard warrior" netizen who only read headlines and blindly followed the narratives spun by so-called "science influencers" on Zhihu and Weibo.

When it actually came to professional pharmacology and the development of modern Chinese medicine, she didn’t know jack shit.

Xiaozhou couldn’t be bothered to waste breath on her. She simply picked up the needle and asked coldly, "One word—are you going to use it or not? This is the treatment plan Dean Li and Director Lin personally finalized for you. If you won’t use it, I’ll take it away. This medicine is expensive, and others are queuing up waiting for it."