Speaking of the wonders of traditional Chinese dicine, Zhang Guangli pondered for a mont, then seed to think of sothing and said, "Speaking of which, it reminds of an event from more than ten years ago."
"What is it?" Lu Xuan asked curiously.
Zhang Guangli thought for a mont and said, "Back in the ’90s, I knew a patient with gouty arthritis, but this patient was rather special; he was a surgeon at a major hospital..."
"How to put it..."
At this point, Zhang Guangli hesitated before saying, "He was soone who used to regard traditional Chinese dicine as a loathso evil as a Western doctor, but it was precisely because of that bout of gouty arthritis that his opinion of Chinese dicine changed dramatically.
The story goes back to the year we t; this doctor was introduced by an acquaintance to see for treatnt. At that ti, my father was still around, but he wasn’t taking consultations anymore. Most of the patients were seen by , and by that ti, my dical skills had actually surpassed my father’s, so he felt there was no need for him to take consultations."
At this point, Zhang Guangli continued talking about that Western doctor: "When that Western doctor ca to our place, I could tell that he was reluctant, but since a friend brought him, there wasn’t much to say. After all, even if he wasn’t willing, he had to save face for his friend, and he began to talk about his situation.
He said that seven days ago, for so unknown reason, his left toe beca red, swollen, hot, and painful, and he didn’t dare touch it. Because he was also a doctor, he had a check-up and found out through tests that it was gout.
Given that he was a surgeon, I asked him: Why did you not choose Western dicine or surgical treatnt?
I thought he believed that Western dicine wasn’t effective and that only Chinese dicine would work, that he trusted Chinese dicine more. But unexpectedly, he continued to say, ’Honestly, I have no regard for Chinese dicine at all.’
Lu Xuan was slightly taken aback. It’s not unusual to hear that so Western doctors disdain Chinese dicine; it’s a common thing in the dical field.
And it’s not just an occasional situation; it’s always been there.
The vast majority of Western doctors actually look down on Chinese dicine, thinking it does not conform to modern science.
The sa type of herb, with different parts, even when the active ingredients are the sa, why do they have different corresponding symptoms?
This is sothing not only Western doctors don’t understand; in fact, many Chinese dicine practitioners are equally perplexed.
However, Lu Xuan did not say much; he just asked, "What did he say next?"
Zhang Guangli said, "He said, you know, Western dicine can solve the problem with a few hours of surgery, why suffer and wait for an indefinite ti when the disease may not even be cured, and the suffering lasts longer!
And look, with such advanced dical equipnt now, machines can detect tumors and cysts; doesn’t Chinese dicine also need machines to diagnose? So it’s now the era of modern dicine; the so-called old herbal redies of Chinese dicine, with pulse diagnosis and tongue coating observation, are already far behind the developnt of modern science and technology.
Hearing him say this, I was a bit displeased at the ti, but thinking that he was a patient who ca to see , I sighed and asked him: Then why did you co today?
He said sothing at that ti that I’ve never forgotten: I want to try using a prescription of Chinese dicine to treat my gouty arthritis because Western dicine has not improved it.
At that ti, I found it amusing. On the one hand, he looked down on Chinese dicine; on the other hand, when faced with problems that Western dicine couldn’t solve, he thought about whether Chinese dicine might have a good solution. How could a person be this contradictory?"
At this point, Zhang Guangli smiled self-deprecatingly and continued, "I roughly checked his condition, and saw his tongue was red with a yellowish greasy coating, and his pulse was wiry and rapid.
According to the symptoms he described, he had soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees, liked to eat at usually, but recently noticed a loss of appetite and abdominal distention.
At that ti, I prescribed him a formula."
Lu Xuan originally wanted to ask what the formula was but realized it had been over ten years, so Zhang Guangli might not rember. However, Zhang Guangli seed to catch on to Lu Xuan’s thought and smiled, saying, "I still rember the prescription: Chinese Fir Tree Bark, tiger cane, talc, Coix Seed, Earth Dragon, White Silkworm Chrysalis, Centipede, Scorpion, He Shou Wu, Atractylodes."
Lu Xuan gave an awkward smile, not expecting Zhang Guangli to notice his curiosity.
Zhang Guangli continued, "Guess what that Western doctor said after he saw the prescription I gave him?"
"What did he say?"
"He took the prescription and smirked, saying, ’You’ve got quite a variety here; won’t taking so many herbs poison ?’ I was a bit angered at that mont. If it were other patients, I wouldn’t have minded much. But he was special, being a Western doctor, and one who specifically looked down on Chinese dicine. I thought about not treating him, but then I realized I needed to treat him and cure him to fundantally change his perspective on Chinese dicine."
Lu Xuan nodded.
For Chinese dicine to be widely acknowledged, it needs not only patient voices, but also the voices of opponents.
Zhang Guangli’s rationality overca impulse.
"You did the right thing."
Zhang Guangli chuckled and said, "At that ti, I responded back, saying if you want to try, then go ho and take it as prescribed. In my clinic, I see patients every day, and I don’t dare to play with patients’ lives. If there’s any problem, feel free to co to .
Three days later, he ca for a follow-up, saying all his symptoms had disappeared. He couldn’t believe that Chinese dicine could be more effective than Western dicine!
I said, Chinese dicine is not about how strong the effect of the dicine is; it’s about the right dicine for the right disease.
Moreover, there’s a lot of intricacy in Chinese dicine. It’s not like Western dicine, ’treat a headache for a headache and foot pain for the foot.’ In Chinese dicine, a headache might require treating from head to toe!
His arthritis pain was of a gouty nature. But the dicine I prescribed was based on strengthening the spleen and replenishing the kidneys, treating damp-heat toxin as the secondary focus, and lastly using thods to resolve turbidity and benefit detoxification.
Firstly, Atractylodes strengthens the spleen and dries dampness; you know ’the spleen governs transportation and transformation,’ and when the ridians are blocked, it’s closely related to the spleen.
Secondly, He Shou Wu benefits the kidneys and replenishes the yin, preventing dampness from injuring the yin, preventing blood activation from injuring blood, and enhancing the function of dispelling turbidity.
Furthermore, Chinese Fir Tree Bark and tiger cane clear and benefit damp-heat, detoxifying and alleviating joint swelling. Coix Seed benefits dampness, helping to expel damp-heat turbid toxins from the body, leading evil outwards.
Finally, Earth Dragon, White Silkworm Chrysalis, Centipede, and Scorpion dispel wind, resolve turbidity, and promote blood circulation.
After hearing all this, he said he chose the wrong profession and should have studied Chinese dicine back then; treating patients had only been about deception, making a lot of money while losing his soul. Such incorrect cognition had been misleading in treating patients until today, only now realizing that even the flourishing Western dicine is not always right, and the seemingly declining Chinese dicine often exhibits undeniable power; most importantly, Chinese dicine truly doesn’t have the significant side effects of Western dicine. Many Chinese herbs are both food and dicine, with no side effects whatsoever.
And speaking about treating gout, he said painkillers are like brainwashing, consuming money and life day after day, missing the soul of treatnt, yet ironically treating the disease, which is so unreasonable!
A physician without a soul is like a swindler wandering the streets, using cunning and deceit.
Honestly, Dr. Lu, seeing pharmacies everywhere nowadays, I feel quite saddened. Doctors in the past would rather let their dicines collect dust on the shelves than see people healthy without illness. Now when you walk around a pharmacy, they wish you’d buy up the entire store.
Sotis, for a simple cold, a regular box of cold dicine might be enough, but by the ti you leave the pharmacy, you’re carrying a bag full of dication, and a simple cold seems to beco a terminal disease."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan paused for a mont. Just a few days ago, he was thinking about the situation of the Huian Pharmacy. Now with Zhang Guangli bringing this up again, he felt a bit uneasy, but after so thought, he still said, "Things are changing from top to bottom, and this situation is already turning for the better.
Moreover, as doctors, there are things we can’t change or do anything about; market behavior is best left to the market. What we need to do is to do our best to treat every patient and have no regrets in our hearts."
Zhang Guangli nodded noncommittally: "You’re right, having no regrets is enough!"
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