SFS Chapter 129: Malaria Treatment
Chapter 129: Malaria Treatment
Li Xi was not surprised by Doctor Wu's shock.
Volume 4 of "Lingwai Daida" records "Malaria": "All diseases in the south are called malaria." Some diseases exist in both the north and the south, while some have southern characteristics. The most influential is malaria, especially malignant malaria, which is almost the "general representative" of miasma.
Malaria is a type of miasma in the southwest, and it has a very high mortality rate.
Not to mention in ancient times, even in modern times, malaria is still a major problem in the history of human medicine. It was not until Academician Tu thought of using artemisinin as a medicine that a specific drug for the treatment of malaria was developed.
Before this, malaria was a disease that people were terrified of. In the ignorant ancient times, people often regarded those with malaria as those cursed by the mountain gods.
Li Xi's Dayan dynasty was a fictional dynasty, but malaria has always been present in China's 5,000-year history. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered Minyue, "malaria was rampant, and 12 to 13 soldiers died of the disease before the battle"; Ma Yuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty led 8,000 Han troops to the south to conquer Jiaozhi, but "14 to 15 soldiers died of malaria"; during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, several attacks on Myanmar were frustrated by malaria, and sometimes "seven to eight out of ten soldiers died before the battle". In the "Three Causes and One Disease Prescription Theory" compiled by Chen Yan of the Song Dynasty, the characteristics of epidemic malaria were pointed out: "In one year, both young and old may be infected, and the disease may cause cold and fever, which is called epidemic malaria".
However, doctors have never given up the research on malaria. The "Shennong Bencao Jing" clearly records that the plant Changshan has the effect of curing malaria; and the "Zuohou Beiji Fang" also states "Take a handful of Artemisia annua, soak it in two liters of water, squeeze out the juice, and drink it all."
Academician Tu discovered an effective antimalarial extract from Artemisia annua based on the recipe in "Emergency Prescriptions for the Elbow", making an outstanding contribution to all mankind and making malaria no longer an incurable disease.
The traditional Chinese medicine that Dr. Wu saw was an effective prescription that had been verified by modern science. However, the effect could not be achieved by simply boiling the medicine. If one wanted to obtain the best finished medicine, extraction was still necessary.
Thinking of this, Li Xi sighed inwardly. She really knew how to make trouble for herself.
"Do you know anything about malaria? Why did you prescribe this?"
It's no wonder that Doctor Wu had this doubt. No matter how talented Li Xi was in traditional Chinese medicine, she had always lived in the village and had never seen anyone with malaria.
Paper talk is not convincing.
“Is this also recorded in that divine book?”
Li Xi had previously attributed all his skills to the mysterious old man and the magical medical book, and this time he easily put the blame on them.
"That's not the case. This is what my master taught me."
Doctor Wu had no doubt about this. After all, this answer was much more acceptable than the one she came up with herself.
"So it's your master. The miasma is still hard to cure nowadays, and only one in ten people survive. I encountered several cases in my early years, but I was able to save only one by sheer luck.
I wonder what your master thinks about miasma?"
Li Xi was not surprised to hear Doctor Wu say that he had saved a patient with malaria. Malaria is a general term for a variety of diseases in the south, some of which are not fatal.
However, Li Xi's calmness completely disappeared after Doctor Wu described the patient's symptoms.
"You mean his symptoms are chills, high fever, night sweats, and intermittent attacks?"
This is not some non-fatal miasma like beriberi. This description is clearly the symptoms of malaria.
"That's right. I gave him acupuncture, bled him, and boiled medicine for three days before he woke up." At this point, Doctor Wu couldn't help but sigh, "At that time, I just wanted to try my best, but I didn't expect to actually save him. He was lucky."
At this point, Doctor Wu's eyes dimmed. "He was lucky in the last few."
When Li Xi saw him like this, she knew there must be a story, and it was not a good one.
With ancient medical methods, encountering malaria was like encountering the god of death. It was a miracle that Doctor Wu was able to save a case and ensure that he himself was not infected.
It can be seen that Doctor Wu's ability in medicine is comparable to that of Hua Tuo and Bian Que.
"Doctor Wu, you don't have to blame yourself. Malaria is a disease with a very high mortality rate. It's not easy to save a patient and ensure that you are harmless."
"malaria?"
"Oh, there are many kinds of miasma. Judging from the symptoms of the person you just described, it should be malaria." Li Xi explained.
Doctor Wu's eyes lit up. He didn't expect that Li Xi's master could even classify miasma. It seemed that he must be very knowledgeable about miasma.
"It should indeed be broken down into smaller parts. I wonder what your great doctor has to say about miasma and malaria?"
Seeing Doctor Wu's inquiring eyes, Li Xi did not give his answer directly, but asked him in return what Chinese medicine methods he had to deal with malaria.
Although she knows Chinese medicine, she knows modern Chinese medicine, which has been accumulated over time. She also wants to know what methods Dayan has to deal with malaria or miasma.
"Throughout the ages, many doctors have tried many ways to find a cure for miasma, but with little success. Take the patient I cured for example, his symptoms were high fever, night sweats, chills, and anemia.
I used acupuncture and local bloodletting, combined with methods of harmonizing the exterior and interior, clearing away heat and preserving body fluid, warming yang and expelling evil, clearing the heart and opening the orifices, clearing turbidity and opening the orifices, and replenishing qi and blood to treat it. "
The method Doctor Wu described was similar to the one Li Xi had seen in ancient books.
"My master has said that malaria is the most severe type of miasma. It is divided into different types. In addition to the traditional malaria, there are also cold miasma, warm miasma, and heat miasma."
In the Chinese medical series "Yi Zong Jin Jian" compiled by the imperial physician Wu Qian during the Qianlong period, there is a record of the prescription "Chaihu Jie Ailing Yin". This prescription uses Xiao Chaihu Tang to harmonize the exterior and interior and guide the evil out; Changshan and Areca nut to dispel evil and stop malaria; and Wumei to promote body fluid and soothe the stomach to reduce the side effect of Changshan causing vomiting.
For severe cold with more cold than heat, there is the "Chaihu Guijiang Decoction" from the Treatise on Febrile Diseases. The prescription uses bupleurum and scutellaria to harmonize the exterior and interior, cinnamon twig, dried ginger, and licorice to warm the yang and expel evil, and trichosanthes and oyster to dissipate nodules and soften hard masses. Shuqi or Changshan can be added to dispel evil and stop malaria. In addition, "He Ren Yin", "Da Yuan Yin" and "Jie La San" are also commonly used prescriptions by ancient Chinese doctors.
But despite these prescriptions, the mortality rate of malaria was still very high, otherwise Kangxi would not have taken the quinine cream presented by foreigners.
Obviously, today's Dayan is not as good as the previous Qing Dynasty. They have no effective treatment for malaria, and even the corresponding prescriptions are pitifully few.