“Heart Fire, if you can’t help it, at least don’t overdraw my little energy reservoir. I’ve used up a lot of it over the past six months. If it could heal, fine, but now I can’t even replenish it, and it just keeps depleting. It’s too unfair!” said Hydronephrosis.

“Fair? Am I fair? She’s got blood stasis in her brain vessels now, can’t you perceive that? I deal with excess blood every day to prevent too much stasis, and for what? Isn’t it so all of you can survive? I tirelessly jump around every day and never stop. Have you ever heard me complain? You talk to me about fairness, I’ve never rested since birth, and I have to command you all every day, is it easy for me?” said Heart Fire.

“Alright, alright, Heart Fire, it’s our fault, we won’t complain anymore. So, is there any other solution besides you?” asked Spleen Earth.

“I don’t know. Right now, the five of us are powerless. We can only rely on outside forces, but the effect is too weak to help us. We don’t even know what medicine she’s taking, but it makes me feel very uncomfortable,” said Heart Fire.

“Oh right, you mentioned last time, it seems to be called Ah Si, right?” said Spleen Earth.

Ah Si?

Aspirin?

Lu Jiu knows this medicine.

Aspirin is a commonly used anticoagulant and antiplatelet aggregation drug. It’s regularly employed in Western medicine for stroke treatment. Its main function is to rapidly improve platelet cohesion and reduce thrombus formation. Typically, hospitals advise stroke patients to use this type of medicine long-term after surgery.

It’s said to be able to prevent strokes and lower the risk of transient ischemic attacks and subsequent strokes.

Even some heart disease patients take this medication.

Lu Jiu actually doesn’t think this type of medicine has a preventive effect.

Because back when he was in the hospital, he saw many patients who regularly took aspirin.

Some people, after several years of taking it, had veins on the back of their hands that were barely visible.

Why?

Taking this medicine causes blood vessels to constrict, indicating that this medicine is acidic because, in traditional Chinese medicine, acid is associated with astringency.

For normal people, taking something acidic shouldn’t cause blood vessels to become invisible. The occurrence of this situation can only indicate one thing: it’s too much!

Too much acid has been consumed!

What happens with excessive consumption of sour taste?

Excessive consumption of sour taste causes liver qi to gather and become excessively strong, while spleen qi becomes exhausted.

When spleen qi is exhausted, it fails to transform properly, leading to insufficient qi and blood.

Stroke patients initially suffer from qi and blood problems, that’s why this disease occurs.

Now, taking this medicine daily, how could it have a preventive effect?

Moreover, the heart governs blood vessels, and constriction of the hand veins undoubtedly injures the heart.

And this is understandable; when blood vessels constrict, blood flow is obstructed, and the heart naturally has to alter body pressure to restore normal blood supply.

Indeed, aspirin can be anticoagulant and antiplatelet aggregation, alleviating stroke patients’ pressure, but blood coagulation is not the main reason for strokes, nor is it even a secondary reason – it’s merely a phenomenon, a result.

Artificially diluting the blood to prevent coagulation can temporarily solve problems, but without doubt, taking this medicine long-term will surely lead to side effects, which Lu Jiu can affirm 100%.

This tearing down one wall to repair another, but instead creating a bigger hole, leaves Lu Jiu with nothing but a sigh.

In fact, preventing strokes doesn’t require any medication, and it isn’t without warning signs.

Usually before a stroke, there will be insomnia, a kind of inexplicable insomnia. Another sign is that everyone will experience numbness in the thumb, index finger, and middle finger. Once these two symptoms appear, within three to four months without any intervention, a stroke will definitely occur.

If this numbness occurs around the tibia, on the inner side of the lower leg, if this area continues to feel numb, a stroke will occur within two weeks.

So, how to prevent it?

Very simple!

Use moxibustion with ginger moxibustion on Zusanli until the lower leg is no longer numb.

They say if qi doesn’t flow, there’s numbness; if blood doesn’t flow, there’s rigidity.

When limbs feel numb for an extended period, it’s due to qi and blood blockage.

If qi and blood don’t flow for a long time, plus sudden weather changes with external cold affecting body temperature, a stroke naturally follows.

Therefore, when qi and blood are blocked, directly moxibustion Zusanli can elevate yang, increase blood vessel temperature, and preemptively tackle the issue.

Adopting these measures in advance, saves money and avoids suffering.

It’s clear that health knowledge dissemination still has a long way to go.

Previously, most stroke patients were in their sixties or seventies, but now this age is gradually decreasing. Lu Jiu also found people in their twenties and thirties suffering strokes.

Logically, it should not be possible for someone with abundant kidney qi to get this disease.

Since people with abundant kidney qi have strong recovery abilities, water benefits everything, right?

Even if spleen and stomach are weak and fail to transform, they can recover after some nurturing, no need for medication.

If such people suffer strokes, it only indicates one thing: their spleen and stomach have been damaged, while qi and blood are deficient, and they carry excessive cold within them.

But seemingly, this is not surprising either. With improved living standards, everyone is indulgent, traveling by car everywhere, sitting in air conditioning constantly. More strokes seem to match the current lifestyle pace.

“Have you been taking aspirin during this period?”

Finishing the pulse check, Lu Jiu turned to ask Yu Guolai.

Yu Guolai was taken aback, “Yes, I’ve been taking it continuously.”

Lu Jiu said, “Then from today, you should stop this medicine. Continuing will worsen your mother’s condition. Right now, it’s only the veins on the back of her hand that are invisible, but after a few more years, her heart functions will degrade. By then, her stroke will be beyond recovery.”

Ah?

Yu Guolai felt slightly apprehensive upon hearing this, “Dr. Lu, after stopping the medication, will my mom…”

Lu Jiu shook his head, “I’ll treat her right now. Stopping the medication won’t have any negative effects; on the contrary, continuing it would significantly reduce the treatment’s effectiveness. Don’t worry, it’s not too late; we can still adjust.”

Yu Guolai was overjoyed, “Alright, no more medication then.”

Yu Guolai had a lot of trust in Lu Jiu.

As for where this trust originated, he didn’t know, it was just a feeling.

Especially after coming to the medical hall and seeing how attentive Lu Jiu was with every patient, he felt that Lu Jiu’s medical ethics were certainly not lacking.

Moreover, he always felt that the atmosphere in the medical hall was different from that of a hospital.

Here, the patients showed more smiles and there were no signs of worry on their faces.

But in the hospital, wherever Yu Guolai went, he saw nothing but grim faces. Be it patients, their families, or the medical staff, smiles were a rarity.

He wasn’t saying that hospitals are bad, but whenever he was there, his mood would involuntarily drop.

“Alright, I’ll start with acupuncture for your mom and then prescribe some herbal medicine. Have a seat and don’t keep standing,” said Lu Jiu.

“Uh-huh.” Yu Guolai then pulled up a stool and sat by the side, quietly waiting for Lu Jiu to begin the acupuncture.

Lu Jiu took the needles and slowly approached Yu Guolai’s mother.

The patient was paralyzed on the left side, so the needles should start on the right side.

The first needle, Baihui!

However, the Baihui needle is not inserted straight down, but five fen in front of Baihui, threading the needle back along the scalp.

The second needle was Lianquan.

This needle primarily targeted the speech weaknesses of stroke patients.

The complementary acupoints included Tiantu, Qianding, Jianyu, Ju Que, and Guan Yuan.

These points primarily deal with phlegm, strengthening speech, as well as boosting the Heart and Small Intestine Fire. Ju Que is the Alarm point of the heart, and Guan Yuan is the Alarm point of the small intestine, with a focus on the supplement technique, able to elevate yang.

With seven needles down, the next are Quchi, Waiguan, and Fengshi, three points.

This set of points is used to dispel wind.

Next is the two-handed through-needling.

Juegu penetrating Sanyinjiao, Yinlingquan penetrating Yanglingquan.

There’s a saying, “The marrow is in Juegu, treat brain diseases with it.”

The Juegu acupoint can be said to be the primary treatment point for many brain diseases.

This two-handed needling technique is specifically for treating strokes.

Of course, Zu Sanli is added in the end to help restore some strength to the patient’s legs.

After finishing on the right side, next is the left side.

Except for Baihui, Qianding, Juque, and Guanyuan not being needled, nearly all the other points are administered.

Of course, for the two-handed through-needling, Yinlingquan penetrating Yanglingquan must be switched to Yanglingquan penetrating Yinlingquan.

Before long, all acupoints had been needled.

Lu Jiu didn’t use the Mountain Burning Fire supplement technique because the patient had taken aspirin, which caused the blood vessels to constrict too much. Using a strong supplement technique during the first treatment would be too overwhelming for the patient, so he opted for a neutral supplement method.

After finishing the needling, Lu Jiu then prepared the herbal prescription.

There are three prescriptions for stroke.

The first one is found in Qiān Jīn Yào Fāng, named Qiān Jīn Three Yellow Decoction.

It contains ephedra, astragalus, baical skullcap, asarum, and angelica, totaling five herbs.

However, this prescription is only suitable for patients with relatively mild strokes, such as those who are afraid of cold, have a troubled heart, have rigid limbs but can still recognize people, speak, and have a clear mind.

The second prescription is called Small Continuation Life Decoction.

It contains ephedra, apricot seed, cinnamon bark, baked licorice, danggui, ligusticum wallichii, plaster, ginger, and ginseng, totaling nine ingredients.

This prescription is stronger than Qiān Jīn Three Yellow Decoction, particularly effective for those who are unable to speak and have a clouded mind.

The third prescription is called Vital Energy Warming Formula.

It contains atractylodes, roasted aconite, ginger, baked licorice, and Chinese dates, totaling five herbs.

This formula is specifically for those who feel dizzy upon opening their eyes or moving, with severe cases of cold and dampness accumulation in the middle burner leading to stroke symptoms.

For Yu Guolai’s mother, the most suitable prescription is clearly Small Continuation Life Decoction.

In a short while, Lu Jiu had the medicinal materials ready, totaling three packages, wrapped in paper and placed in a plastic bag.

“Here are three doses; take them after meals,” Lu Jiu handed the medicine to Yu Guolai, “During this period, make sure to come for needling every day; the combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine yields better results. Of course, as for when she’ll fully recover, I can’t guarantee, but within three days there will absolutely be noticeable improvement, so you can rest assured.”

Yu Guolai took the medicine, “Uh-huh, Dr. Lu, I’ll bring my mom back tomorrow.”

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep