Chapter 147 Neither vomiting nor diarrhea

Words : 1424 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Recently, Du Heng’s life had been quite comfortable. Some of the hospitalized patients no longer needed to remain in the hospital; they could go home, take their medicine on time, and recuperate. Although some patients were discharged, new ones were also admitted. Aside from those with paralysis or hemiplegia, whom he would accept himself, Du Heng referred other patients, such as those seeking recuperative care or experiencing various aches and pains, to Yu Haiting. This small number of patients was not of much use for his goal of accumulating around a hundred effective disease records; in fact, the outpatient service saw more patients. However, referring these patients to Yu Haiting allowed Yu Haiting to integrate into the team more quickly. So, at that moment, Du Heng was sitting in his office, leisurely chatting and joking with Dong Yuezhang on the phone. "Your Deputy Director application has been approved, and the official documents are ready. You’ll probably be notified this afternoon." "More than two weeks! I thought it wasn’t going to go through," Du Heng sighed upon hearing the news. He had, in fact, almost given up, as there was only one week left before the registration period ended. "What did you expect? An exceptional application like yours involves a lot of hassle. Especially since you doctors are in the business of saving lives, a strict review process is a responsibility to you and, more importantly, to the patients." Du Heng listened to Dong Yuezhang’s rather formal lecture on the phone and gave a wry chuckle. "Brother, please, spare me the lecture." "Well, as long as you understand it wasn’t easy. Oh, and don’t forget to treat me to a meal. I made several trips for your case. If I hadn’t pushed them so hard, your application definitely would have fallen through." "Alright, no time like the present! Tonight, the works, you pick the place." "The works, my ass! I still have ambitions for my career," Dong Yuezhang burst out laughing on the other end of the line. It was only when he was with Du Heng and the others that he could truly relax, even if just a little. "By the way, aren’t you planning to transfer? Is it settled?" "It’s settled." "Where are you transferring to?" "I can’t say for now." "Bullshit! Keep putting on an act." Du Heng hung up the phone and walked out of his office, his hands clasped behind his back. Lu Zhongjiang’s office was next to Du Heng’s. It was formerly Song’s Medical Affairs Office. The logistics department had tidied it up, changed the nameplate, and assigned it to Lu Zhongjiang. With Lu Zhongjiang’s arrival, most administrative duties had been transferred to him, completely freeing Du Heng. Now, apart from needing to sign off on financial matters, Du Heng had entrusted everything else to Lu Zhongjiang. Initially, Du Heng had wanted to hand over financial responsibilities as well, but Lu Zhongjiang had adamantly refused, even giving Du Heng an earnest, painstaking lecture on the matter. It was actually quite interesting for two people who weren’t vying for power to work together. At this moment, Du Heng glanced through his open office door at Lu Zhongjiang, who was engrossed in his work, then quickly hurried downstairs. Just as he reached the foot of the stairs, Yu Haiting, who was heading towards him, stopped him. "Dean, I was just on my way to find you." "What’s up?" "Could you take a look at a patient for me? I’m having a bit of trouble figuring this one out." Du Heng’s eyes lit up with immediate interest. He had witnessed Yu Haiting’s level of skill over the past few days. If even Yu Haiting was stumped, then this case must indeed be intriguing. Yu Haiting led Du Heng into his office and pulled up the patient’s medical record. "The patient’s name is Yang Kailong, thirty-four years old, from Xicha Brigade. The day before yesterday, around noon, while working in the fields, he suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. Thinking it was heatstroke, he went home to lie down and rest. That evening, he suddenly developed abdominal pain, so he went to the village clinic and got some painkillers. After taking them, his condition improved somewhat." "However, by the next day, which was yesterday, he began to feel nauseous but could only dry heave; he couldn’t actually vomit. Furthermore, up until this morning, he hasn’t had a bowel movement." "After he was admitted this morning, I performed a physical examination. Everything else seemed normal, except for a slight fever and some listlessness. I diagnosed it as mild heatstroke, administered fluids, and prescribed Huoxiang Zhengqi Tincture. However, his symptoms haven’t subsided." "Later, I prescribed some laxatives, but they also had no effect. An hour ago, I gave him emetics. He managed to vomit a little, but not much, and it’s still mostly dry heaving." After listening to the summary and looking through the disease record, Du Heng didn’t notice anything particularly unusual. "Which hospital room is he in? Take me there." "Room 203. Let’s go up." When they arrived at the hospital room, the patient was nowhere to be seen. Only a child, about eleven or twelve years old and wearing a backpack, stood in the room. Yu Haiting glanced around and asked the child, "Where’s this patient?" "My Dad went to the toilet. He said he felt like throwing up." Just as the child finished speaking, the patient walked in, clutching his stomach. Yu Haiting asked, "How are you feeling? Did you manage to vomit?" The patient shook his head. "No, just a bit of sour fluid. It’s still mostly dry heaving." Yu Haiting turned to Du Heng. "Dean, could you take a look?" Du Heng instructed the patient to lie down on the bed. After a brief inquiry, it was clear the patient only had slight dizziness and headache, a strong urge to vomit, and abdominal pain. There were no other issues. Based on the symptoms, it does indeed look like mild heatstroke. Normally, appropriate rehydration and Huoxiang Zhengqi Tincture should have been sufficient. But right now, he wasn’t improving. How strange. "Lie further in, and lay your arm flat. Let me check your pulse." After taking the pulse and examining the tongue coating, Du Heng had a clearer picture. The patient had a deep, hidden pulse. In traditional Chinese medicine, this type of pulse is often associated with phlegm and fluid retention causing chest discomfort, pain due to internal cold and blockages, frequent vomiting similar to cholera, and abdominal pain from undigested food. "The patient is suffering from the effects of heatstroke qi, experiencing abdominal pain, wanting to vomit but unable to, and wanting to defecate but unable to," Du Heng explained. "In traditional Chinese medicine, this is called ’dry cholera,’ and it’s a relatively dangerous condition." Yu Haiting was stunned. He’d asked for help with a simple heatstroke case, and now it had turned into a dangerous situation. Du Heng glanced at Yu Haiting, then at the patient, and continued, "When heatstroke qi enters the stomach, it becomes evil qi. If this evil qi moves upwards, it causes vomiting; if it moves downwards, it causes diarrhea." "That situation would be relatively easy to treat. Whether it’s vomiting or diarrhea, as long as the evil qi doesn’t remain trapped inside, conventional methods like rehydration would be perfectly effective." "But in the current situation, the evil qi is lodged in the middle jiao—the middle energy field—unable to move up or down. It’s not causing vomiting or diarrhea. It has essentially established a stronghold within the patient’s body." Yu Haiting understood the explanation but didn’t know how to proceed with treatment. The patient also looked at Du Heng with hopeful eyes, eager to hear a solution. "He just needs to vomit it out, and he’ll be fine," Du Heng stated. "That’s the problem," Yu Haiting said. "I just gave him emetics, but the main issue now is that he can’t vomit." It wasn’t that the patient couldn’t vomit; it was that the dose Yu Haiting prescribed was too weak. If Yu Haiting hadn’t used Huoxiang Zhengqi Tincture earlier and had instead directly given the patient emetics or laxatives with a slightly larger dose, the illness would have resolved, though the patient would have felt weak for a while. However, using Huoxiang Zhengqi Tincture had actually worsened the patient’s condition slightly. This was because a hidden pulse shouldn’t be treated by inducing sweat, and Huoxiang Zhengqi Tincture contains alcohol, which can cause sweating.

Chapter 147 Neither vomiting nor diarrhea

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