After saying that, Du Heng paused slightly. "Have you been to other Ophthalmology Hospitals already?"
The woman nodded blankly.
Du Heng sighed and said, "Since you’ve already been to an Ophthalmology Departnt, and your eyes are red and swollen like this, it ans their treatnt didn’t work, right?"
The woman nodded again. "I went there, and they gave a lot of eye drops and so pills, but none of them had any effect."
"Well, there you have it." Du Heng shrugged. "Your issue isn’t with your eyes but with sothing else in your body. It’s no wonder their treatnt didn’t help."
Still puzzled, the woman pressed, "Then what’s wrong with ? What does this have to do with my nstrual period?"
Du Heng made a sound, "Hmm," then asked directly, "Is your nstrual period very light?"
"Yes. Although it’s very regular, for , it always ends in two days, sotis even one. My friends count their sanitary pads by the pack, but I count mine by the piece; I only use one or two."
Du Heng nodded gently, then asked, "Has your nstrual period just started these past few days?"
The woman looked at Du Heng with astonishnt. If I didn’t have absolutely no recollection of this man, I’d almost suspect he’d been following , spying on !
She then licked her dry lips. "You’re right, but what does that have to do with my eye pain?"
"It has a lot to do with it." Du Heng sighed softly. "A woman’s nstrual period is ant to expel impure blood and excess heat from her body. This is why won generally have a cooler constitution than n. It’s also why won experience fewer strokes and cerebral infarctions than n."
As Du Heng spoke, he lightly tapped the table with his right hand. "Your current problem is that your nstrual period isn’t flowing properly, so the excess heat in your body can’t be expelled. So, if this heat can’t be vented, what happens to it?"
The woman stared blankly at Du Heng and murmured, "Does the heat go up to my eyes and cause them to beco inflad?"
Du Heng almost laughed at her answer. "Isn’t that a bit too direct? From the uterus to the eyes, there are many internal organs in between. How could this pathogenic heat travel straight to the eyes in one go?"
"Then what’s happening?" The woman still looked clueless.
Du Heng shook his head with a smile. "As you said, the pathogenic heat cannot descend, so it can only ascend. But when it rushes upward, it ends up obstructing our normal liver qi."
Listening to Du Heng’s explanation, the woman’s confusion deepened. "Liver qi? What does my eye pain have to do with my liver?"
"In traditional Chinese dicine theory, the five viscera correspond to the five features, and the liver corresponds to the eyes. This principle is known as ’the liver opens into the eyes’." Du Heng’s fingers tapped on the desk—TAP, TAP, TAP. "In your current situation, pathogenic heat is traveling along your liver ridian, which inevitably causes redness, swelling, and pain in your eyes. Do you understand?"
The woman made an uncertain "Oh," then asked Du Heng, "Doctor, you’re saying that my eye pain is because my liver qi is blocked. So, should I be treating my liver?"
Listening to her question, Du Heng felt a bit exasperated. "The eye pain is due to blocked liver qi, but the blocked liver qi is because your nstrual period isn’t flowing. So, your problem isn’t about treating the liver qi, but about treating your blocked nstrual period. As long as your period flows properly and normally, allowing the impure blood and pathogenic heat to be expelled, your eye pain will resolve."
This ti, the woman had a mont of realization. "I understand now."
Du Heng picked up his pen again, preparing to complete the prescription he was writing, and casually asked, "Now do you understand why I asked you about your nstrual period?"
"I do," the woman nodded quickly.
"Any other questions?"
The woman shook her head. "No."
As Du Heng wrote, he said, "When a TCM practitioner asks questions during a consultation, they might initially seem completely unrelated to your issue. But if you encounter such a TCM in the future, congratulations, you’ve t a good one. Just listen to what they say. Also, when treating won, in ninety-nine percent of cases, we have to ask about your nstrual period. If you ever encounter a TCM who treats won but doesn’t ask about their period, run as far away as you can. They’re fake TCMs."
The woman giggled. "Doctor, you’re so amusing."
"What’s amusing about it? I’m giving you sound advice." Du Heng finished writing and handed the prescription to the assistant doctor beside him who was typing it into the computer.
While waiting for the paynt receipt, Du Heng began to explain the instructions for taking the dicine. "...These are the main things to note. Go ho and take the dicine on ti. Once your nstrual period returns to normal, the redness and swelling in your eyes will disappear."
The woman listened very attentively, nodding frequently as Du Heng spoke. When he finished, she began to praise him again. "Doctor, your explanation is excellent. Other doctors just give a pile of dicine and tell to go ho and try it out. None of them have ever given such an assurance as you have. Moreover, your dicine doesn’t directly treat the eyes, yet it can cure my eye pain. It’s truly amazing!"
Du Heng found these complints rather hard to accept; he wasn’t even sure how to respond. ’Your explanation is excellent’? What does she even an by that?
"Once the channels are clear, the heat will dissipate; once the heat dissipates, your eyes will find relief. Go ho, take the dicine as prescribed, and after two doses at most, you’ll realize I’m not just good with words." Just then, the printer CHUGGED to a stop, and Du Heng handed the paynt receipt to the woman. "Alright, go downstairs to pay, then get your dicine from the Pharmacy."
User Comments
0 comments from readers