Chapter Twenty Discussion on Medical Principles

  Sun Simiao nodded after listening to the patient's complaint, stopped asking questions, pulled over the young woman's hand, carefully felt her pulse, and during the process of feeling the pulse, he also leaned forward close to the young woman's body, seriously listened to her breathing sound for a while.

  Chen Yi was impressed by Sun Simiao's careful diagnosis, but he also knew that just listening to the patient's breathing sounds from a distance would not be very accurate. To grasp the respiratory situation of patients with respiratory diseases and changes in heart sounds, relying on a stethoscope is the best and simplest way. At this time, Chen Yi had an even stronger idea to make a stethoscope, and he also paid attention to Sun Simiao's diagnosis while thinking about how to make a simple and easy-to-use stethoscope.

  Sun Simiao felt the pulse for a while, then put down the young woman's hand and said: "The young lady's breathing is short and urgent... with miscellaneous sounds, the pulse is fast and short, the pulse is like a virtual float... there is an unusual pulse... it is easy to occur at night and in the morning, it should be asthma, and it has already affected the heart and spleen!"

  "What? Sun Simiao, the divine doctor, is it really asthma?" The young woman and her family looked terrified. In previous diagnoses, some doctors said it was asthma, some said it was postpartum weakness, and others said it was caused by wind and cold. Many doctors had different conclusions, and the medicines they prescribed were not similar, with little effect. Today, when they heard that Sun Simiao was seeing patients in Chang'an City, they rushed from the other side of the city to have him take a look. Sun Simiao said it was asthma, so they felt it must be right, but they knew how difficult this disease was to cure, and had also heard other doctors say that it might not be cured in this lifetime, which is why they looked terrified.

  "It's asthma, no doubt about it," Sun Simiao nodded, "and it must have been a chronic illness for many years!"

  The young woman glanced at her husband, then said to Sun Simiao: "I... remember that since I was aware of things, there has been a situation where I have difficulty breathing... It wasn't serious at the time and didn't pay attention to it. Only after the first childbirth did I catch a cold and get worse. The second childbirth was even more severe, now when the disease occurs, I can't even get out of bed..."

  Sun Simiao felt his pulse again and said: "If asthma is treated early, the effect should be good. If it's delayed until later, it will be more troublesome to treat..."

  As soon as Sun Simiao said this, the couple's expression changed again. Even Sun Simiao said that it was troublesome to treat, let alone others. No wonder after so many years of treatment, a lot of money had been spent and countless medicines had been taken, but there was no effect. The young woman's husband urged anxiously: "Master Sun, please take another look and prescribe some medicine to save my wife..."

  "Of course, I will give this young lady a good examination," Sun Simiao seemed to understand that his subconscious remark was not quite appropriate and immediately showed a reassuring smile, indicating to the couple not to worry, and continued to ask, "What medicines have you taken in the past?"

  Chen Yi, however, sensed another layer of meaning from Sun Simiao's unusual emotions, and it was very likely that Sun Simiao had some special feelings when treating asthma patients in the past, and may have even experienced setbacks.

  "Dang Shen, Angelica, Huang Jing, White Peony, Fu Ling... she's taken a lot of medicine!" The young woman's husband thought for a moment before responding.

  "The medicine I prescribed earlier is still effective, but asthma is a stubborn disease that cannot be cured in one or two days," Sun Simiao said with a serious expression and a heavier tone. "To be honest, asthma is the most difficult disease to cure since I started practicing medicine. Today, I am telling you the truth, this disease I can only control the symptoms, not completely cure it. Now that it's already late spring and early summer, as the weather warms up, the asthma symptoms will gradually subside. I'll prescribe a few more doses of medication, take them according to the instructions, and they can effectively alleviate the symptoms... Apart from taking medicine, you should also pay attention to nourishing your body in daily life. Nourishment is better than treatment, only then can the disease be controlled. If the disease is under control and doesn't relapse frequently, that's already a successful treatment!"

  The young woman's husband nodded hastily, "Yes, Daozhang, thank you so much. If Daozhang says so, we can rest assured. Being able to control the illness is a great thing!" He had already let out a sigh of relief as he spoke.

  Chen Yi listened very seriously to Sun Simiao's analysis of the condition, he knew that in ancient Chinese medicine, asthma was called "Zheng", and Sun Simiao's diagnosis should not be wrong. However, after hearing what Sun Simiao had just said, he opened his mouth, wanting to express his opinion.

  Sun Simiao also noticed Chen Yi's expression change, turned his head, and smiled at Chen Yi: "Ziying, is there something on your mind that you want to say? I see that you've been paying attention to this young lady, and I suppose you've also figured out what kind of illness she has. You can speak in front of the patient about the medication and what needs attention, let me hear it too..."

  The sick young woman and her family were all astonished, looking at Sun Simiao and then at Chen Yi, unable to understand why Sun Simiao was speaking to this seemingly very young and extremely handsome youth in a tone of seeking advice.

  The young woman also noticed that Chen Yi had been staring at her, and with such an unusual gaze from a handsome young man, she felt some shyness. Her husband, however, was somewhat displeased, thinking that Chen Yi was ogling his wife's beauty. But after hearing Sun Simiao's words, he came to his senses, realizing that this young man was also a doctor, and even Sun Simiao showed great respect for him, so he couldn't help but look at Chen Yi with newfound respect.

  "Let me take a closer look... I want to hear this young woman's breathing up close... so that I can better understand her condition and administer the right medicine," Sun Simiao asked, and Chen Yi didn't hesitate, pointing at the relatively good-looking young woman in front of several people, but feeling somewhat uneasy under the gaze of many.

  "Oh?" Sun Simiao responded casually, seemingly not finding Chen Yi's request strange at all. "I just heard the sound of breathing and panting from this woman, which is based on her breathing sounds and pulse diagnosis... It's a good idea to listen more carefully to the breathing sounds..." Sun Simiao said, gesturing for the young woman to let Chen Yi examine her and listen to her breathing sounds.

  Chen Yi did not immediately step forward, but looked at Sun Simiao, then at the young woman and her family members. He thought that this couple might refuse his request, but Ning Qing was ready to go over and support the young woman.

  As expected, the young woman's husband refused Chen Yi's request to get close to her chest and listen to her breathing sounds. "Sun Daochang, you've already examined her carefully, so let's not trouble this gentleman anymore."

  "Sun Da-Chang, since you've already diagnosed my wife's illness as asthma, can you please prescribe some medicine for us to try?" The young woman, having heard her husband's words, also didn't quite believe Chen Yi-Qi, and begged Sun Si-Miao.

  Sun Simiao looked at Chen Yi, then at the young woman and her family, and nodded. Qing Ning, who was about to help, had to retreat back, looking a bit embarrassed and dissatisfied. Sun Simiao didn't say anything else, furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then began to recite a prescription, while Qing Ning started writing it down quickly.

  Chen Yi heard that Sun Simiao's prescription included Radix Pseudostellariae, Astragalus membranaceus, Pheretima aspergillum, Indigo naturalis and Fructus mume, all of which were familiar Chinese medicinal herbs used to treat asthma. It seemed that Sun Simiao had also done some research on the treatment of asthma.

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  It was almost dusk, and the inn's door was about to close. There were no more patients waiting outside, and Sun Simiao and his apprentices also breathed a sigh of relief after a busy day.

  After a day's work, I've seen quite a few patients and handed out a lot of medication. I'm pretty exhausted.

  Fortunately, the information dissemination was not convenient in this era, and Sun Simiao did not send people to advertise everywhere. Not many people knew that this divine doctor was practicing medicine for free in Chang'an, otherwise, patients who came to see him would have crowded the door.

  Sun Simiao ordered three apprentices to pack up their things and prepare what they needed for the next day. After the first day passed, news of his free clinic would surely spread by word of mouth, and tomorrow there should be even more sick people coming to see him!

  Chen Yi, who had been idle all day, also wanted to go and help, but was stopped by Sun Simiao.

  Sun Simiao nodded to Chen Yi to sit down beside him, glanced at several disciples who were packing things up, and then said to Chen Yi: "You should know the diagnosis and treatment of asthma. I'd like to ask you, what is the best way to use medicine for asthma?"

  "Sun Daochang, asthma... The diagnosis of asthma is not too difficult. If there are repeated episodes of shortness of breath and wheezing sounds can be heard in the chest cavity, a diagnosis can be made. The key is treatment, early and symptomatic treatment to avoid subsequent complications," Chen Yi said, seeing that Sun Simiao's disciples were all looking at him, so he raised his voice slightly. "When asthma attacks occur, patients experience difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughing, and facial discoloration, with wheezing sounds in the lungs... Today, this young woman has typical symptoms... In addition, she can have repeated episodes within a relatively short period. Therefore, in my opinion, during an attack, the primary treatment goal should be to eliminate symptoms, relieve asthma and stop coughing... The specific treatment method still needs to vary from person to person. Today, the prescription given by Daochang is quite symptomatic, but..." Chen Yi trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

  "But what?" Sun Simiao was not only not displeased with Chen Yi's grandiose talk, but instead looked very pleased.

  Chen Yi scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed, and said: "Sun Daozhang, I think... some treatment methods still need to start from the cause of the disease, that way it's clearer..."

  "All right, let's go to the house now. You and I will have a good talk about asthma. Sun Simiao became enthusiastic and turned his head to the three disciples who had almost finished packing up their things, "You three, follow me together, and go listen to Zi Yong explain the matter of asthma..."