Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 556: Chapter 556: Scaring Oneself

The next day.

The patient with the cold from yesterday returned for a follow-up appointment.

"Doctor, the fever’s gone, but why isn’t his cough getting better? In fact, it feels like it’s gotten worse."

The child’s mother was anxious.

Hu Qiming conducted another consultation and took the boy’s pulse.

Indeed, the child’s temperature had returned to normal and his spirits were good. He just had a bit of a cough, and there was a distinct rattling sound from phlegm in his throat.

"This is because after the fever broke, the lingering pathogens haven’t been completely expelled, and the lung’s defensive qi hasn’t been properly circulated."

Hu Qiming analyzed. "Don’t worry, this is normal during the recovery period. I’ll adjust the prescription to strengthen its lung-clearing and phlegm-resolving effects."

He prescribed another three doses of medicine. Based on the original formula, he added ephedra, almond, and licorice—the foundation of the "Three Unyieldings Decoction," which specifically treats coughs.

"Under normal circumstances, the cough should be completely gone after these three doses," Hu Qiming said confidently.

However, reality dealt him a harsh blow.

Two days later, on the morning of the fourth day, the couple returned for another follow-up, this time with the child’s grandmother in tow.

This time, their tone was not friendly.

"Doctor, what kind of treatment is this?"

The child’s father’s tone was extremely hostile. "Not only did the medicine not help, but last night he was coughing so hard he couldn’t sleep! His face was red from coughing, and he’s started running a fever again."

Hu Qiming’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly stood up. "How could this happen? Let me see."

He carefully examined the child and saw that his face was indeed flushed, his breathing was rapid, and his cough was deep and violent—even more severe than before.

Hu Qiming was stunned.

’I clearly treated it as a wind-heat type of common cold, and after the fever broke, I treated it to aerate the lungs and stop the cough. My line of thinking was sound, so how could he be getting worse?’

’Did I make a mistake in my diagnosis?’

’Or was the dosage not strong enough?’

Seeing the family’s furious gazes, cold sweat trickled down Hu Qiming’s forehead.

For the first time, he felt the immense pressure of practicing independently.

He looked back and forth between the medical records and the child, who was red in the face and neck from coughing, his heart filled with a sense of defeat.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Today was Saturday, the day Li Xu came to the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for his consultations.

’Right, I’ll have Li Xu take a look.’

As if grasping at a lifeline, Hu Qiming immediately dialed Li Xu’s number.

A few minutes later, Li Xu’s figure appeared at the doorway of the consultation room.

Hu Qiming hurried over to greet him. After Li Xu sat down, he turned the computer monitor toward him, pointed at the electronic medical record, and reported urgently, "Li Xu, quick, help me with this. This patient came in for a cold. I handled the initial consultation."

"At the time, the child had a fever and cough, a red tongue with a yellow coating, and a floating, rapid pulse—a classic case of wind-heat invading the lungs. I prescribed two doses of a modified Yin Qiao San. The effect was excellent; the fever subsided and the other symptoms faded. The only thing left was a slight cough, which is a sign of the lung’s defensive qi not being circulated and lingering pathogens not being fully cleared."

"So for the second consultation, I adjusted the original formula, adding lung-clearing and phlegm-resolving herbs like ephedra, almond, and Knotweed, and prescribed three doses. Logically, that residual cough should have been long gone after this medicine."

"But..." Hu Qiming pointed at the child, a bitter expression on his face. "They came back today saying the symptoms haven’t eased at all, and have even worsened. I did another careful diagnosis, and the pulse and symptoms are the same as before—still an uncirculated lung-defensive qi. So why isn’t my prescription working?"

After listening, Li Xu nodded slightly.

Hu Qiming’s thought process was clear, and his prescription followed the rules.

He’d been a good student in school, and after two years of hands-on clinical work, while he wasn’t as experienced as the old experts, he was more than capable of handling a common cold and cough like this.

How could he have messed up something so simple?

Li Xu also found it strange.

He took the medical records and examined them carefully.

First prescription: Honeysuckle, Forsythia Suspensa, mint, burdock fruit... No problem.

Second prescription: Processed ephedra, bitter almond, Knotweed, licorice... No problem here either!

Not only was there nothing wrong with this formula, one could even say it was beautifully crafted. The combination of herbs was precise, directly targeting the root of the illness.

"Based on the medical records and the prescription, you did everything right," Li Xu said with certainty.

Hearing this, Hu Qiming let out a sigh of relief, but his confusion only deepened.

’If the doctor isn’t the problem and the prescription isn’t the problem, then what is?’

’Could it be that the patient has a unique constitution?’

Li Xu turned to the child’s unhappy father and said, "Sir, may I diagnose your son again?"

"Yes, yes, of course. You’re Divine Physician Li; we trust you."

Naturally, the parents couldn’t have asked for more.

Li Xu sat down and performed an extremely detailed four-fold diagnosis.

He observed the child’s complexion, listened to his sounds, asked about his diet and daily life, and finally, took his pulse.

Placing his fingers on the cun-kou pulse point, Li Xu closed his eyes, concentrating on the sensation beneath his fingertips.

A floating and somewhat rapid pulse. The right cun pulse felt slightly forceful.

It was indeed a case of uncirculated lung qi, with wind-pathogen constricting the exterior.

"Hmm?"

Li Xu’s brow furrowed slightly. He seemed to have noticed something amiss but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

"How is it?"

Hu Qiming asked nervously, his palms drenched in sweat.

"I... I’m going to take his pulse again, more carefully this time."

Li Xu didn’t rush to a conclusion.

This time, he used the holographic scanning technique from the Liang’s Pulse Diagnosis Method. His fingers moved back and forth over the child’s cun, guan, and chi pulse positions, sensing not only the beat of the pulse but also the faint flow of "qi."

Time ticked by, second by second.

This pulse diagnosis was exceptionally long, taking a full half-hour.

The consultation room was silent, save for the child’s occasional coughs.

The parents’ hearts were in their throats, terrified the Divine Physician would diagnose some incurable disease.

Finally, Li Xu withdrew his hand and let out a long breath.

But the expression on his face was even more bewildered. "There’s nothing wrong... The pulse indicates a simple case of uncirculated lung-defensive qi, with a bit of uncleared phlegm-heat. Logically, Qiming’s prescription is perfectly suited for this."

The child’s grandmother, who had been listening intently from the side, was hard of hearing. She only caught a few words and suddenly cried out in alarm:

"What? Lung cancer?!"

Her shout startled everyone in the room.

Hu Qiming nearly coughed up a lung. ’Where did that even come from?’

Li Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Ma’am, what lung cancer? Who told you it was lung cancer?"

The old woman pointed at Li Xu, her face filled with terror. "But... but didn’t you just say something about ’lung’... ’lung’ something? And then you had such a grim look on your face, and you took his pulse for half an hour! It was so scary! My grandson... is he incurable?"

"Ah!" The child’s mother was also led astray by the old woman. Her knees gave out, and she nearly fell, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.

Li Xu quickly steadied her and explained helplessly, "Ma’am, Miss, please don’t scare yourselves. I took a long time with the pulse diagnosis because I feel this child’s illness is a bit ’strange,’ and I wanted to be more thorough."

The mother’s face turned pale again. Her voice trembled. "What? Strange? My son has a strange disease? Is it some rare, terminal illness?"

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