Chapter 747: Damaging Vitality

Chapter 747: Chapter 747: Damaging Vitality

Facial paralysis.

And a rather severe case of it.

In the short time it took him to walk into the consultation room, pull out a chair, and sit down, the man’s facial muscles showed almost no change in expression. It was as if he were wearing a rigid mask.

As experienced doctors, Li Xu and the others could tell at a glance that the man’s facial nerves were unresponsive. Moreover, scattered across his forehead, cheeks, and chin were dark red acne breakouts that looked rather alarming.

Sure enough, after some questioning, it was confirmed that the man indeed suffered from facial paralysis. He had been ill for over a month and had been seeing Western medicine doctors, taking hormones and receiving neurotrophic injections, but to no avail. His mouth was still crooked, and he couldn’t close his eyes completely.

"Doctor, this illness of mine is quite strange," the man complained to Li Xu with a bitter expression. "Before this, my company was pushing for year-end performance goals, so work was pretty busy. I frequently worked overtime, stayed up late, and had an irregular schedule. I suffered from internal heat, so my face kept breaking out in acne. Then one morning, when I woke up to wash my face, I suddenly realized water was leaking from my mouth. When I looked in the mirror, half of my face was paralyzed, turning into this ghastly state.

"Before this, I received continuous treatment at the neurology department of City First People’s Hospital for a month. I’ve tried everything—IV drips, physical therapy—but not only did it have zero effect, these past few days I’ve felt this half of my face getting stiffer. It even feels like it’s worsening."

Facial paralysis was actually a condition where traditional Chinese medicine, specifically acupuncture and herbal medicine, held an absolute advantage. Clinically, many facial paralysis patients turned to TCM after Western medicine failed them or when they were left with lingering symptoms past the acute phase. The combination of acupuncture and herbal decoctions indeed frequently yielded miraculous results in dispelling wind, unblocking the Collateral Meridians, and improving facial microcirculation.

Li Xu wasn’t in a rush to draw a conclusion. Instead, he turned to Li Lin, who was earnestly taking notes nearby, intentionally testing him. "Li Lin, what do you make of this patient?"

Li Lin put down his pen, pondered for a moment, and analyzed, "The patient has been suffering from facial paralysis for over a month, which puts him in the recovery phase, or even the sequelae phase. However, the illness hasn’t waned; instead, it’s worsening. This indicates that the conventional symptom-treating methods of ’dispelling wind, resolving phlegm, and unblocking the Collateral Meridians’ are likely no longer effective.

"For patients with such a prolonged course of illness, while we certainly can’t ignore expelling the pathogens, we must prioritize ’bolstering the vital qi’."

Although Li Lin was still an ungraduated master’s student, he was professionally trained and had a solid theoretical foundation. He knew that clinically, when facing patients with a long, unyielding illness, the first instinct must be to consider whether their "vital qi" was sufficient.

"Generally speaking, when an illness drags on and pathogenic factors linger, it will inevitably deplete the vital qi. Especially since the patient has undergone high doses of hormones and antiviral treatments from Western medicine over the past month, he most likely suffers from depleted vital qi and a damaged spleen and stomach. If we blindly use strong medicine to dispel wind and resolve phlegm at this juncture, I’m afraid his body won’t be able to handle it, and it will only backfire."

Li Lin’s analysis made Wang Xue nod secretly in agreement from the side, and a hint of appreciation flashed in Li Xu’s eyes.

At this point, it was necessary to mention the difference in treatment philosophies between Chinese and Western medicine.

Western therapies were often "precision strikes," targeting viruses, bacteria, or a specific pathological "point" of a disease, such as eliminating nerve edema. It was like a missile—powerful, but it rarely considered the body’s overall environment. Therefore, while some potent drugs, like high-dose glucocorticoids, eradicated pathogenic factors, they also significantly depleted and damaged the body’s own immunity. When patients received this kind of antagonistic treatment long-term, certain localized symptoms might temporarily ease, but their overall physical constitution would inevitably decline, leading to weakness and lowered immunity.

Of course, if medication was used improperly during TCM treatment, it could also harm the patient. After all, in any prolonged illness, the struggle between vital qi and pathogenic factors would inherently deplete the vital qi. By comparison, however, the systemic impact brought on by certain highly targeted chemical drugs in Western medicine was often more direct and severe.

From the perspective of TCM, no matter what the medicine was, it had its own specific "nature." TCM treatment valued this specific nature—the four properties, the five flavors, and the ascending, descending, floating, and sinking actions of herbs. Conversely, Western medicine prioritized a drug’s chemical composition—whether a certain compound could antagonize a specific receptor or kill a specific virus. However, Western medicine often overlooked the fact that a drug’s physical "nature" could also have a subtle, underlying effect on the body.

For example, suppose a patient’s condition was viewed in TCM as a cold syndrome of "cold congealing the meridians." If the antibiotics or antiviral drugs used by Western medicine coincidentally possessed a bitter and cold medicinal nature—like many heat-clearing and detoxifying antibiotics—then, while these Western drugs reduced inflammation and killed some of the virus, they would also further aggravate the "coldness" in the patient’s body. This would cause the meridians to stagnate even more, dragging out the facial paralysis without curing it.

"Mm, your analysis makes sense." Li Xu nodded and motioned for the man to stick out his tongue. He carefully examined the patient’s tongue coating before placing three fingers on the man’s wrist to quietly check his pulse.

"From a pathogenic perspective, your current condition is exactly as this young doctor said: ’The vital qi is insufficient to expel the pathogenic factors.’"

Li Xu withdrew his hand and explained to the patient, "Your chronic fatigue, late-night overtime, and irregular schedule have severely depleted the vital qi in your body.

"Under this state of ’internal deficiency,’ you are highly susceptible to invasions from external wind-cold and wind-heat pathogens.

"When the external pathogens invade your facial meridians, and your vital qi isn’t strong enough to drive them out, it creates a prolonged stalemate. The pathogenic factors linger and penetrate the Collateral Meridians, causing qi and blood stagnation. Your facial muscles lose their nourishment, which is why your facial paralysis hasn’t healed.

"However, your condition isn’t just about ’deficiency’."

Li Xu shifted the conversation. "I just looked at your face. The acne is red and swollen, your tongue is reddish with a yellow and greasy coating, and combined with your pulse, which is slippery and forceful... All of these factors combined present a classic sign of ’internal heat accumulation with damp-heat and phlegm-turbidity.’

"In other words, you’re not just suffering from a vital qi deficiency. Because you’ve stayed up late for so long and suffered from internal heat, your body has generated ’stagnant heat.’ Mixed with damp-phlegm, it’s now blocking your meridians."

As Li Xu spoke, he rapidly typed out a prescription on his computer. "Therefore, we can’t simply dispel the wind, nor can we solely tonify the deficiency. We must take a multi-pronged approach.

"Go back and take this prescription. Based on the classic Qianzheng Powder, I’ve added Astragalus Root and Codonopsis to strengthen the spleen and boost qi; Huang Qin and Forsythia Suspensa to clear heat and detoxify; and Scorpion and Stiff Silkworm to track down wind and unblock the Collateral Meridians.

"Come back for a follow-up after you finish these five doses. I will also incorporate acupuncture into your treatment. Because your condition has dragged on for so long, it will require a period of systematic conditioning. You need to be patient. Avoid staying up late and getting angry at all costs."