Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 886 Sugiyama-ryu Acupuncture Technique, "Drug Relay Race" where antibiotics are consumed like food (Bonus chapter for monthly votes: 3K chapters)

Extra points refer to acupoints that are not included in the fourteen meridians system, but have a certain name, fixed location and clear therapeutic function.

These are the head and neck, trunk, and limbs.

The extra meridian point system is an important manifestation of the diagnostic and point selection thinking in traditional Chinese medicine.

Master Cheng's method of "one acupoint connects to all orifices" was derived from mastering these acupoints and combining them with the records in classic texts such as "The Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion" and "Effective Prescriptions," and was verified in clinical practice.

Fang Yan looked at the bronze figure and asked:
"There are many extra acupoints outside the meridians; do we have to press them all at once?"

“I’ll do it!” Kang Xin said.

Fang Yan handed over the acupuncture bronze figure.

Kang Xin took it, looked at it, and then removed the hairpin from her hair and started doing it.

The dialect revealed a hidden secret at the connection between the head and torso of the bronze figure.

Kang Xin simultaneously presses key points such as the Jianjing points on both sides of the head, the Sishencong point on the top of the head, and the "Gallbladder Point" below the Zusanli point, using the linkage mechanism between the acupoints to create the effect of "one acupoint opening up a hundred orifices".

When all the designated acupoints were accurately pressed, the bronze figure emitted a slight "click" sound from its neck.

This is clearly due to the internal mortise and tenon structure coming loose.

At this moment, Kang Xin held the bronze figure's head in one hand and rotated it clockwise half a turn.

Suddenly, the bronze figure's head was twisted and separated.

After the head was separated, a narrow, dark compartment was revealed inside the bronze figure's chest cavity, lined with moisture-proof Echizen washi paper.

Everyone was amazed at how perfectly the craftsmanship was done, but Fang Yan had seen far more outrageous tolerance gaps, like the box that contained the golden sword at home.

As long as it's closed, no water can get in.

Kang Xin pulled out a yellowed handwritten copy from it.

"Here, Dr. Fang." She handed it to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan took it and found that the cover was inscribed with the words "Secret Essentials of Acupuncture" in cursive Chinese characters.

This copy was made using Echizen washi paper, a specialty of Japan. The paper is yellowed but well-preserved, and the inner lining is made with moisture-proof technology, showing that the bronze figure took great care in protecting this book inside.

"Take a look at the contents," Old Ren said to Fang Yan.

The others were equally eager; Fang Yan opened the book and found that it was also filled with Chinese characters.

The author wrote an introduction to the book at the beginning. The book includes fragments of acupuncture manuscripts from the Muromachi period (1336-1573) in Japan, which are combined with the textual research of the ancient Chinese classic "The Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion" and the improvement records of the Japanese "Sugiyama School" acupuncture method.

The middle section focuses on the clinical applications of extra meridian points, such as the location and therapeutic effects of points not included in the fourteen meridians system, such as "Sishencong" on the head and neck and "Gallbladder Point" on the limbs, which echo the mechanical design principles of the acupuncture bronze figure.

The book includes practical examples of the acupuncture examination system during the Edo period.

The inscription on the bottom, “Kansei 3rd year, the way of acupuncture will not perish” (1791), confirms its connection with the acupuncture examination syllabus promulgated by the shogunate, involving the standardization of acupuncture techniques in Japan at that time.

"It has great academic value!" Professor Ren said with some envy.

Kang Xin was overjoyed upon hearing this and looked at Fang Yan, hoping for a response from the person who received the gift.

Fang Yan looked at the contents and found that it indeed preserved the theory of moxibustion in Chinese acupuncture and recorded the innovations of the Sugiyama-ryu acupuncture method in Japan in terms of needle insertion angle and manipulation techniques. Moreover, the fragments may contain lost clinical secrets, which Fang Yan realized he had never seen before.

It definitely has learning value.

He nodded and said:

"It's really good."

After saying that, he turned to Kang Xin and said:

"I really like this gift, Ms. Kang."

"I'll send you some books on acupuncture later."

"I'll also give you a set of silver needles used in our hospital."

Upon hearing Fang Yan's words, Kang Xin happily exclaimed:

"Yeah!"

Fang Yan then checked his watch, told Kang Xin some precautions, and then prepared to switch to another patient.

Kang Xin was still very hospitable in seeing them all off.

Among all the patients' families, she was the least anxious.

It's true that the more patients you see, the more all kinds of people you encounter.

Next, Fang Yan and the others were led to the door of another room by the waiter who was already waiting outside.

After knocking on the door, a man in his early thirties opened it.

I remember this person from the dialect. His surname was Lu and his given name was Lu Ziwu. He was a rubber merchant from Southeast Asia.

Moreover, he is related to Zhou Zhaoqin's family.

He should call Lao Zhou's wife his cousin.

Anyway, the relationship is a bit distant, but because of my good memory, I still remember his situation very clearly.

This relationship belongs to collateral relatives beyond three generations, which is considered a distant kinship in traditional families. However, the Chinese community in Southeast Asia values ​​kinship ties, and even distant relatives will support each other.

During the dinner, he mentioned that he had brought his wife back for medical treatment.

After they entered the house, they saw his wife.

She was a woman with fairly pretty features, but her complexion was pale, and her skin looked unhealthy, lacking luster and appearing sickly dull. "Dr. Fang, it's like this. In January of this year, my wife had an induced abortion at the local hospital. She didn't choose to be hospitalized at the time, but went straight back home to be cared for by a nanny. However, unexpectedly, she started having a persistent fever the day after she got home. We then had a doctor come to our home to treat her for a week, but it didn't help."

"Later we had no choice but to be readmitted to the hospital. After the doctor examined us, he prescribed a lot of antibiotics and adrenocorticotropic hormone, but our condition did not improve."

“At the time, I had a business in Hong Kong, so I went there first. My wife continued her treatment in the hospital. Two days later, I received news that she still hadn't recovered, so I had someone send her to Hong Kong to continue her treatment.”

“We had a chest X-ray at Xiangjiang Hospital, and she was diagnosed with a lung cyst with secondary infection and anemia. They said that my wife’s condition was likely caused by exposure to chemical dust during the rubber processing occupation. We were a bit confused at the time, because my wife had never been to the factory.”

His wife said:
"Yes, I felt the hospital was a bit unreliable at the time, but he insisted, so we had no choice but to get treatment there."

Lu Ziwu scratched his head, clearly his wife was a little annoyed with him.

Then he continued:
"Then she started receiving treatment at the hospital. At that time, the hospital used penicillin, streptomycin, chlortetracycline, chloramphenicol, dimethoprim sodium, prednisone, vitamins and other drugs. She also received intravenous fluids and blood transfusions. After 17 days of treatment, my wife's temperature was still above 39 degrees Celsius, and she was very tired and weak. I knew that this was definitely not going to work and that if the treatment continued, there would definitely be problems."

"Of course! They're eating antibiotics like they're eating rice!" Old Ren couldn't help but complain.

Even those with dialects were speechless upon hearing this.

He then recalled a short story by Western writer Everett Kisshon called "The Drug Relay Race," in which the protagonist's situation was similar to his wife's.

The story begins with the protagonist feeling a slight itch in his left ear in the stairwell, and his wife tells him to see a doctor.

After examining the patient, the doctor diagnosed it as a dirt infection and prescribed six penicillin tablets. After taking the medication, the ear itching disappeared, but red patches appeared on his abdomen, causing intense itching.

The protagonist then sought treatment from a specialist, who diagnosed him with a penicillin allergy and prescribed 12 aureomycin pills.

After taking the aureomycin, the spots did disappear, but it also caused his knees to swell and he developed a high fever.

Next, he went to see a senior doctor, who prescribed him 32 oxytetracycline tablets.

Oxytetracycline brought down the high fever and swelling, but the protagonist's kidneys began to experience fatal pain.

Then the protagonist became unable to move, and his family found a specialist. The specialist came to the protagonist's bedside and determined that the pain was a result of taking oxytetracycline. So the nurse gave him 64 injections of aureomycin to kill the bacteria in his body.

However, after hospital laboratory tests, although the bacteria in his body had been eliminated, his muscles and nerve bundles had also been damaged. At this point, only a large dose of chloramphenicol could save the protagonist's life.

In the end, the protagonist died after taking a large dose of chloramphenicol.

It wasn't until after his death that he learned in the underworld that the itching in his left ear was caused by a mosquito bite.

This novel, through seemingly absurd yet realistic plots, reveals the confusion of modern people in treating illnesses and satirizes some problems in modern medicine, such as the over-reliance on drugs, symptom-oriented "firefighting treatments," and the neglect of tracing the cause of the disease, which ultimately leads to people's deaths.

"Later, on our aunt's recommendation, we, along with other overseas Chinese businessmen who had returned to China, came here to see you for treatment," Lu Ziwu said to Fang Yan.

I hope he can help his wife get through this difficult time.

Fang Yan nodded and said to Lu Ziwu's wife:

"Hmm, tell me about your body's current reaction."

Let me make a judgment first.

Lu Ziwu's wife thought for a moment, then said:

"I'm not feeling well. I want to sleep, but I can't fall asleep when I lie down. I still have a fever, my knees are weak, and I can't eat anything. If I do eat, I feel like vomiting. Today, I haven't eaten anything at all, and I still feel like vomiting all the time."

Fang Yan took out paper and pen and began to quickly write down the medical records. After finishing writing down what he had just recorded, Fang Yan said to her:
"Now stick out your tongue and let me see, and also take my pulse with your hands."

The latter did so immediately.

The tongue appears pale with a white coating, as seen in dialects.

The pulses in both hands are thin.

Then Fang Yan touched her palms and forehead and found that she still had a fever.

"Are you still using Western medicine?" Fang Yan asked.

Lu Ziwu said:
"When we were discharged from the hospital, the doctor prescribed... methicillin and told us to continue using it."

As he spoke, he took out a box of medicine and handed it to Fang Yan.

Lu Ziwu's wife corrected him:
"They told us to increase the dosage, saying it was for sterilization, but I felt it was unreliable and didn't listen to them."

Dimethicillin, also known as methicillin, is a semi-synthetic penicillin antibiotic.

This drug is commonly used to treat a variety of bacterial infections, such as sepsis, pneumonia, endocarditis, meningitis, and osteomyelitis. In particular, when pathogens are resistant to other penicillin drugs, dimethoxyphenpenicillin can be an important treatment option.

It seems the Hong Kong doctor believes the inability to cure the disease is due to insufficient dosage of the medication.

However, this adverse reaction is serious. In severe cases, it can lead to anaphylactic shock. Once anaphylactic shock occurs, emergency measures must be taken immediately, as it can be fatal.

Moreover, even if no serious complications arise, it can still cause damage to liver and kidney function.

Most people wouldn't dare prescribe medicine like that.

This is the misuse of antibiotics!
Fang Yan had no idea which quack dared to prescribe medicine like this; he even suspected it was from a shady clinic.

He said:
"You made the right choice not to use this medicine. Its side effects are severe; if not treated properly, it could kill a person."

"If I were to assess your condition without referring to the previous hospital diagnosis, I would say that after your miscarriage, your blood circulation became disordered, unable to distinguish its normal path, and the pathogenic wind and cold invaded your body from the bottom up, gradually developing from the original physical damage into tuberculosis."

"It's just that it's been taking a long time, and the treatment has made my endocrine system even more disordered, which is why it hasn't gotten better yet."

"Now that you've recovered, the treatment should focus on warming and unblocking the meridians and removing blood stasis, which should improve your condition."

P.S.: I still owe you 29000 words after finishing this chapter.

That's all for today, please come early tomorrow.

Lao Feng is working hard to write tomorrow's code.

(End of this chapter)