Huangqi, cinnamon bark, white peony, ginger, baked licorice, Chinese dates, malt sugar.
Lu Jiu prescribed the Astragalus Vitality Decoction for Qiao Ling, which is based on the Minor Replenishing Middle Decoction with an additional ingredient of Astragalus. The effect is to enhance the power to replenish Qi and support the center, allowing Yang to grow and Yin to thrive, thereby naturally eliminating symptoms of deficiency.
With the prescription settled, Lu Jiu needed to treat Qiao Ling's headache next.
Treating headache symptoms is actually quite simple. Even someone who hasn't studied Traditional Chinese Medicine can relieve pain by pressing the Hegu Acupoint, Taiyang Acupoint, and Fengchi for five minutes each.
Now that Lu Jiu had learned some Acupuncture, it was natural to use it, not only for more effective pain relief but also with much faster results.
Opening a drawer, Lu Jiu took out the Finest Needle.
These needles are disposable, used for one patient and then discarded.
Lu Jiu looked at Qiao Ling and said, "Take off your coat; I need to needle the acupoints on your arm."
"Okay." Qiao Ling immediately took off her coat and rolled up her sleeves.
Lu Jiu then held her hand and inserted one needle at the Hegu Acupoint, another at the Neiguan Acupoint, and the last one at the Quchi Acupoint.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it's not just about the herbs; Acupuncture also involves careful combination.
The acupoints on the human body are akin to medicinal ingredients; while a single acupoint has its efficacy, treating complex diseases often requires a combination of acupoints.
Thus, Acupuncture should not be done carelessly.
Once, when Lu Jiu was practicing Acupuncture in school, there was a particularly daring classmate. While others were trying to needle their own hands or torso, he directly went for his chest and ended up paralyzing himself. Luckily, the teacher was there; otherwise, this student might have ended up with a tombstone saying, "First-year medical student, practiced Acupuncture on himself, thus died!"
After three needles, the persistent pain in Qiao Ling's head gradually began to ease.
This change amazed Qiao Ling, wondering if the relief was too quick!
"How do you feel? Still in pain?" Lu Jiu asked.
Qiao Ling shook her head, feeling that the throbbing in her brain had stopped, and her eyes twinkled with an unusual glow, "No more pain, doctor, you're amazing!"
Lu Jiu smiled, "This is nothing. Next, I'll help regulate your menstruation."
Upon hearing about menstruation, Qiao Ling blushed, unable to hide it even under makeup.
If Lu Jiu had been older, she might not have been so shy, but since Lu Jiu appeared around her age, it made her feel uncomfortable.
Yet, despite her shyness, she was quite curious about menstruation regulation, knowing that all girls have it and often feel unwell during it.
Some people with strong constitutions can endure it, while those with weaker constitutions suffer greatly.
Qiao Ling found it strange that despite often dancing and having a better physical condition than some friends who rarely exercise, she experienced incapacitating pain during menstruation, while those less active friends seemed fine—how odd!
She once went to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor prescribed some medication, but it was not very effective.
"What happens after regulation?" Qiao Ling asked.
"As long as you don't eat too many cold foods, when your menstruation comes, it won't be painful anymore," Lu Jiu replied with a smile.
Really?
Looking at Qiao Ling's dumbfounded expression, Lu Jiu removed the three Finest Needles and discarded them in the trash, then pointed to a small bed in the clinic, "Lie down over there; I'll do some Moxibustion for you."
Hearing this, Qiao Ling got up and walked to the bed, lying down while Lu Jiu rummaged around looking for something.
After a while, Lu Jiu came over with a jar and a lighter, with two freshly cut ginger slices on the jar.
What's this for?
Qiao Ling curiously watched this scene!
Then Lu Jiu placed the items beside him, grabbed some yellow-green fuzz-like material from the jar (coarser than fuzz), and started rolling it in his hand.
In no time, those materials were rolled by Lu Jiu into small thumb-sized cones placed on the table.
"Please lift your shirt a bit, uh... and pull down your pants just far enough to expose about a palm's width below the navel. Yes, that's fine!" Lu Jiu instructed Qiao Ling to expose the Guan Yuan Acupoint, then placed the prepared ginger slices on it, and put the rolled mugwort on top, lighting it with the lighter.
Qiao Ling glanced at her abdomen, seeing Lu Jiu burning the material, with white smoke rising, and asked, "Doctor, is this... Moxibustion?"
Qiao Ling had heard of Moxibustion before but had never seen or understood what it entailed.
"Yes, Moxibustion on the Guan Yuan Acupoint will warm your abdomen. Once warm, the cold dissipates, and blood can naturally flow downward through the Chong Meridian, so you won't feel pain during menstruation!" Lu Jiu explained with a smile.
Menstrual pain is a cold syndrome; simply put, there's insufficient warmth in the small intestine area to transform the blood descending through the Chong Meridian, causing a blockage and resulting in severe pain.
No flow means pain, that's the idea.
The Guan Yuan Acupoint is the Mu Acupoint of the small intestine. Moxibustion at the Guan Yuan Acupoint can deliver the medicinal properties of mugwort to the small intestine, raising its fire. Once the small intestine is warm, the cold symptoms naturally dissipate.
Of course, moxibustion on the Guan Yuan Acupoint is not only for regulating menstruation. Because the location of the small intestine is near the uterus and ovaries, as long as it stays warm, conditions like uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts won't appear.
The essence of these diseases is an excess of cold, and modern medicine has found that most of these patients have cold abdomens and soles.
Why?
Because the temperature of our hands and feet is governed by the heart and small intestine. The heart controls the warmth of the palms, and the small intestine controls the warmth of the soles.
If the small intestine is cold, the abdomen and soles will inevitably be cold.
Similarly, to know if a woman's menstruation is normal, just ask if her soles are warm. If they are perpetually cold, there's no need for a hospital checkup; with time, some gynecological conditions will inevitably develop.
"Hey, doctor, my stomach feels a bit warm."
After Lu Jiu had applied moxibustion with approximately three bundles of mugwort, Qiao Ling suddenly felt a warm sensation in her lower abdomen.
"This means the medicinal strength has permeated your body. If you feel it's too hot, let me know," Lu Jiu said with a smile.
Moxibustion doesn't have to be hot to be effective, especially with Ginger Moxibustion; just a warm feeling will do. If it gets too hot, remove the mugwort and replace it with a new bundle.
However, Ginger Moxibustion is usually applied in odd numbers; odd is yang, and even is yin. Moxibustion with yang numbers will have better effects!
"Hmm," Qiao Ling replied.
In the medical clinic, the scent of burning mugwort became more intense, and the temperature in Qiao Ling's lower abdomen gradually began to rise.
"It's a bit hot," Qiao Ling felt a burning sensation in her lower abdomen around the fifth bundle.
Seeing this, Lu Jiu immediately removed the mugwort and replaced it with a new bundle.
This continued for about half an hour before Lu Jiu asked, "How is it, do you feel warmth at the soles?"
Qiao Ling was uncertain, "I think so? I'm not sure if I'm feeling it right, but it's not cold."
She didn't really know what Lu Jiu meant by 'warm.'
Lu Jiu said, "Let me remove your shoes to check."
Qiao Ling nodded in agreement.
Lu Jiu gently took off Qiao Ling's shoes and socks, then touched her soles. Yes, they were warm; moxibustion could end here.
Warm soles indicate that the small intestine's warmth is sufficient, and continuing moxibustion might harm the yin.
It's like boiling water with a kettle; once the water boils, continuing to add heat without stop will dry out the water, and the kettle will be damaged by the fire.
"Alright, remember the feeling of the warmth at your soles. Come back for a follow-up session tomorrow, and I'll apply moxibustion again. After that, you can do it at home when your menstruation starts. When the period comes, moxibustion will immediately relieve pain. Of course, if you find it troublesome, you can come to me on the first day of your period, and I can use acupuncture for treatment; it works quite quickly," Lu Jiu said.
There are many acupuncture methods for treating dysmenorrhea in traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture, herbal medicine, and even massage can be used.
"Yes, yes, I'll definitely come next time." Qiao Ling raised her pants, pulled down her top, and quickly put on her socks and shoes, her face blushing.
After the diagnosis and treatment, Qiao Ling was impressed by Lu Jiu's medical skills.
"Here, please pay the fee: the diagnosis costs fifty, the prescription six and a half, the dietary plan twenty, acupuncture thirty, moxibustion thirty. In total, it's one hundred and thirty-six yuan," Lu Jiu pointed to the QR code on the counter.
Making over a hundred yuan from just one person fully covers the cost for two people; Lu Jiu was overjoyed!
Qiao Ling was slightly taken aback upon hearing the fee from Lu Jiu.
This... is it that cheap?
After staying for almost an hour, not only was her headache treated on the spot, but she also received a dietary plan, and Lu Jiu adjusted her menstruation, all for just over a hundred yuan?
After scanning the QR code, Qiao Ling couldn't help but ask, "Doctor, can you make money from this?"
Lu Jiu chuckled, "Of course! Do you see any costs for me? I made over a hundred yuan from just you!"
Qiao Ling was amused, "Making over a hundred from me makes you so happy?"
The hospital must be overjoyed!
"Alright, I'll come back tomorrow for a follow-up," Qiao Ling said.
"Take care!" Lu Jiu waved goodbye.
When Qiao Ling's silhouette disappeared at the clinic's entrance, a few prompts rang in Lu Jiu's mind.
[Patient Qiao Ling, progress in recovering from qi and blood deficiency is 5%, recovery from cold symptoms is 30%, headache recovery is 100%, symptom recovery exceeding 10%, activate regular reward, claim? Symptom recovery reached 100%, due to the rapid recovery, activate ultimate skill reward, claim?]
Ultimate skill reward?