bookcurios No. 208: Gout
No. 208: Gout
"Let us take a look first." Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyi and Bai Yan looked at each other and had some guesses in their minds.
"Hello, old man." When Xu Qingyi and Bai Yan arrived at the inner room, they saw an old man lying on the floor with a pale face and a somewhat listless spirit.
"Two..., you are too polite, doctors." When Mr. Zhu saw that his son had found two very young female doctors to treat him, he was a little surprised, but seeing that they had extraordinary demeanor, he did not dare to underestimate them. He forced a smile and said to them.
"Dad, don't underestimate them just because they are young. Doctor Xu and Doctor Bai both ranked among the top in this medical competition. This is enough to prove that their medical skills are not much worse than some older doctors or imperial physicians." Zhu Changwei seemed to see his father's doubts, and he immediately explained, hoping to allay Mr. Zhu's concerns.
"Oh? In that case, it's my fault that I'm short-sighted. I'd like to trouble you two doctors to diagnose and treat my illness." Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhu looked carefully at the two women in front of him.
One of them was elegant and refined, while the other was dignified and heroic. Their temperaments were completely different, but both exuded an indescribable medical demeanor.
"Mr. Zhu, please relax. We will do our best to treat you. I don't know where your painful joint is. Let's check where it hurts first." Xu Qingyi walked to the bedside and said softly.
"Here." Zhu Changwei on the side hurried forward, lifted the quilt, and rolled up his father's trouser legs, immediately revealing the red and swollen areas on the knees and ankle joints.
Mr. Zhu's knees and ankle joints were red and swollen, with a big bump, and his toe joints were deformed.
At this time, Xu Qingyi didn't even need to examine Mr. Zhu anymore, because he knew that Mr. Zhu's condition was caused by gout.
"This disease occurs from time to time. The pain can be short, lasting three to five days, and then go away after taking medicine. It can also be long, lasting ten days or half a month. It is as sudden as a prairie fire and is unbearable. Every time the pain occurs, it is impossible to sit or stand, and it is impossible to sleep." Xu Qingyi asked Zhu Changwei beside him.
"Doctor Xu, how did you know? Do you know what this disease is? Is there any way to cure it?" Zhu Changwei was immediately surprised when he heard this.
Doctor Xu only took a quick look at the part of his father's body that was sick and was able to diagnose his father's symptoms and the time of onset.
“This disease is easy to treat, but it is difficult to treat because it will take more time.
Moreover, this disease is caused by diet. If you do not control your diet, even if you take medicine or have acupuncture, it will not be cured and will recur.
"Master Zhu, please tell me, what does Mr. Zhu eat every day? What does he like to eat? What does he eat the most?" Xu Qingyi asked the father and son of the Zhu family.
“In the early years, we lived by the sea and ate a lot of fish and shrimp from the sea. After coming to the capital, although we ate less food from the sea, my wife would still buy some food from the sea for my father to eat according to his preferences.
Besides, my father also likes to eat tofu, and he often stir-fries soybeans and uses them as a side dish for drinking. " Zhu Changwei thought for a moment and said.
"It must be these foods that caused Mr. Zhu's illness. It's okay for normal people to eat a small amount, but once they eat them for a long time and consume too much, it will cause Mr. Zhu's illness.
If you don't want him to get sick in the future, you should stop doing what you said before, Lord Zhu.
In addition, I will write a list of foods that Mr. Zhu cannot eat, and they will be banned in the future.
With the help of Chinese medicine for internal and external use, he can recover in as little as three months, which will shorten his illness in the future." Xu Qingyi told Zhu Changwei.
Afterwards, he signaled Bai Yan to give Mr. Zhu acupuncture to stop the pain of his acute gout attack.
"Grandpa, I'll give you a few acupuncture needles to stop your pain first. However, this time, the acupuncture needs to be done in the red and swollen area. It may be a little painful, so please bear with it." Bai Yan took out a silver needle and walked up to Grandpa Zhu and said.
When gout attacks acutely, the pain is quite intense and if you want to use acupuncture to relieve the pain, you need to choose the red and swollen joints and perform acupuncture to allow the blood to flow out until the blood turns red and then stop the bleeding. This acupuncture method can clear away heat and dampness, promote menstruation and relieve pain, and effectively improve the symptoms of the acute phase.
This is also the needle writing method.
After entering the chronic stage, acupuncture can be used for treatment. This method can improve the body's internal environment and prevent gout attacks.
Of course, the most important thing is to control your mouth and move your legs.
"Please go ahead, Doctor Bai. I can still bear this little pain." Old Master Zhu nodded and agreed.
Bai Yan didn't waste any words and started giving acupuncture to Mr. Zhu directly. Bai Yan's technique was very skillful. He inserted a needle into Mr. Zhu's red and swollen joints. The pain became more intense, and Mr. Zhu's face turned pale immediately. Not only did he gasp, but his forehead was instantly covered with sweat.
Then squeeze the blood until it turns red, then apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
Seeing that his father could not bear the pain from the acupuncture, Zhu Changwei opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
On the contrary, the blood squeezed out of the red and swollen joints where Baiyan was needled was purple-red at first. After squeezing for a while, it turned into normal color. The swelling of the red and swollen joints was reduced a lot, and the color returned to normal.
Zhu Changwei knew that this acupuncture treatment was effective.
Mr. Zhu experienced it personally. At first, the acupuncture was very painful, but after the blood was squeezed out, he felt the pain was relieved a lot.
Xu Qingyi was not idle either, and started to take Mr. Zhu's pulse.
Gout is divided into three types in traditional Chinese medicine: damp-heat obstruction, blood stasis and phlegm obstruction, and liver and kidney deficiency.
The main symptoms of damp-heat arthralgia are pain in the joints of the limbs, redness and burning sensation in the painful areas, severe swelling and pain, stiffness of the tendons and veins, inability to move hands, and difficulty getting out of bed to move around. The symptoms are mild during the day and severe at night.
Blood stasis and phlegm obstruction are the causes of long-lasting and repeated attacks of arthralgia, which lead to stiff and deformed joints, dark coloration around the joints, severe pain, immobility, inability to flex or extend, and pain and numbness.
Deficiency of the liver and kidneys, with arthralgia that does not heal for a long time, pain in the joints, stiff and deformed joints, obvious coldness, muscle atrophy, pale and dull complexion, cold body and limbs, hunchback, soreness of the waist and knees, frequent urination and loose stools, or diarrhea at dawn, pale tongue, and deep and weak pulse.
After taking Mr. Zhu's pulse and questioning him, Xu Qingyi discovered that Mr. Zhu's condition was caused by liver and kidney deficiency.
Xu Qingyi prescribed a decoction consisting of Duhuo Jishe Decoction with added ingredients, Jinkui Shenqi Pills, and Liuwei Dihuang Pills for Mr. Zhu to take.
He also gave up foods that triggered gout, and with acupuncture and medication, he gradually reduced the recurrence of gout. With physical exercise, he increased the excretion of uric acid, and his health gradually improved. The number of attacks and pain became less and less, and even the pain during each attack was much less.