CHAPTER 385: 357 LUNG GOVERNS SKIN AND HAIR

The child didn’t speak, and the father was getting anxious, wanting to answer Du Heng’s questions on his child’s behalf.

But Du Heng ignored him and didn’t wait for him to speak. He asked the child in a different way, "Little friend, can you tell Uncle if you like going to school?"

The child shook his head, his resistance clear.

"You don’t like going to school? Is it because your classmates laugh at the fuzz on your teeth?"

The child nodded.

"Don’t mind them. Uncle will help you get rid of this fuzz, and then you can go to school happily, alright?"

The child looked at Du Heng intently and then nodded.

"Then can you tell Uncle what you usually like to do the most?"

The child thought for a moment. "Sleep."

This was the first time the child had spoken since entering the consultation room, and the answer was somewhat surprising.

Sleep? Is he very tired? A child this age should have abundant energy, so why would they be thinking about sleeping?

Cao Binghe’s thoughts raced. He tried to connect what he had just seen and heard with the hairy teeth issue, but his efforts were in vain. He had no clue.

However, Du Heng wasn’t surprised; this answer only further confirmed his judgment.

"Sleeping is a good thing. With enough sleep, a child can grow up quickly. By the way, to grow up, you also have to eat well. Do you eat well?"

The child shook his head and became more talkative. "My mom always makes me eat a lot, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to eat anything."

The child’s father finally found an opportunity to interject, "This child used to love chicken drumsticks. In kindergarten, he could eat two in one meal! But now, he can’t even finish one. It’s driving his mother and me crazy. These teeth..."

Du Heng directly waved his hand, interrupting the man, and his stern gaze stopped him from continuing.

Seeing Du Heng’s expression, the man could only swallow his words sullenly.

Du Heng reached out and touched the child’s hair; it was very dry.

He then observed the child’s rather thin frame and looked up to ask the man, "Was this child a preterm birth?"

The man stared at Du Heng, his eyes wide with astonishment. He desperately wanted to know how Du Heng had figured that out.

However, looking at Du Heng’s unwavering gaze, he chose to answer, "Yes, the child was born 24 days before his due date. When he was born, he was... I think 3.2KG. Yes, 3.2 kilograms, just a tiny little thing. Wrapped in a blanket, you could barely see him."

"Why only 3.2 kilograms?"

"At the time, the doctor said it was because my wife wasn’t careful with her diet during pregnancy and ate too many spicy and stimulating foods."

The amniotic fluid was plentiful, the belly was large, but the fetus was small.

Du Heng gently touched the child’s cheek, then sat up straighter. "Is the child a picky eater?"

"Yes, extremely picky! He only eats a few kinds of vegetables and only chicken for meat. He refuses everything else. Now, he doesn’t even eat chicken properly."

A glimmer of hope appeared in the man’s eyes; he was stunned by Du Heng’s last two questions. Premature birth, picky eater... how did he know?

"Your child’s condition isn’t a major problem. It’s simply congenital insufficiency and postnatal malnourishment, leading to spleen and stomach weakness, and kidney essence deficiency. I’ll prescribe some medicine for him to take for a while, and he should be fine." Du Heng was still unaccustomed to having Cao Binghe as his assistant and glanced at the diagnosis Cao Binghe was typing.

After typing the diagnosis, Cao Binghe turned to look at Du Heng.

"First, we’ll strengthen the spleen and benefit the stomach, then nourish the kidney and replenish the essence. The prescription includes radix pseudostellariae, scorch-fried medicated leaven, indian buead, and so on. We’ll start with twelve doses, one dose to be taken in two parts. The medicine for replenishing kidney essence will be prescribed after the next check-up."

Cao Binghe typed very quickly, essentially finishing as Du Heng finished speaking.

Looking at the prescription Du Heng had dictated, Cao Binghe was filled with admiration.

However, he still couldn’t understand how hairy teeth were related to spleen and stomach weakness and kidney essence deficiency.

But he also knew this wasn’t the time to ask. He should just focus on his own work.

Cao Binghe felt it wasn’t appropriate to ask, but the boy’s father was burning with curiosity. He had to understand what was going on.

For some time now, their whole family had been nearly driven mad by the fuzz in the child’s mouth.They had even wondered if their family had done something unethical in the past, or offended something unclean, and this was now their retribution.

"Doctor, what exactly is wrong with my son? Why would his teeth grow hair?"

Hearing the man’s question, Cao Binghe quickly finished typing Du Heng’s instructions and then turned his gaze to Du Heng.

If he remembered correctly, Du Heng had just said he wasn’t very proficient in the Five Senses Department. Yet now, he’d found the cause of the illness so quickly. If it wasn’t a wild guess, then what Du Heng had said earlier was far too modest, or simply untrue.

Cao Binghe also smiled and added, "Doctor Du, please explain. I’m also quite curious about hair growing on teeth. It’s clearly a problem with the teeth and gums, so why prescribe medicine for the Spleen and Stomach and to replenish kidney essence?"

During his three or four months consulting at Jinzhou Province First Hospital, Du Heng had actually broken the habit of explaining the cause of illness to every patient; otherwise, he would never finish seeing all the morning patients.

However, if a patient insisted on asking, he would certainly explain. For a rare case like this, he might even go into more detail.

Hearing Cao Binghe’s question, he turned and posed a question back, "Dr. Cao, are you familiar with the concept that ’the lung governs the skin and hair’?"

Cao Binghe was stunned. He truly didn’t know this. Where did that statement come from? Could Du Heng have come up with it himself?What bothered him even more was Du Heng’s strange habit of questioning him like a teacher quizzing a student. He was the one who had asked the question!

Seeing Cao Binghe’s baffled reaction, Du Heng thought it was very similar to that of Li Jianwei’s students—a look of utter confusion.

He really wanted to ask: You’re a PhD student, so what exactly are you learning from Professor Lan Changhua?Is his PhD in traditional Chinese medicine just like in Western medicine, where they only research the tumor itself?

Nevertheless, since the two had only just met, Du Heng immediately explained after seeing Cao Binghe’s confused expression, "The Huangdi Neijing states that the lung governs the skin and hair. When the lung qi is strong, hair grows from the skin. If the lung qi is insufficient, hair cannot grow from the skin.

"So, the fuzz growing in this child’s gums and between his teeth isn’t some strange illness; it’s a manifestation of insufficient lung qi. The lung governs metal, and the spleen governs earth. Spleen deficiency is the primary cause of insufficient lung qi. This also explains why the hair grows internally rather than on the external skin."

As he spoke, Du Heng couldn’t resist asking Cao Binghe another question, "Dr. Cao, are you aware of any disease record involving hair in phlegm?"

Cao Binghe was dumbfounded again. He could understand the theory Du Heng was explaining and could completely follow his line of reasoning.

But Du Heng’s constant questioning about sources was quite annoying. And what kind of books did he read anyway? Where did he find the time to read so many miscellaneous texts?

Seeing Cao Binghe remain silent, Du Heng quickly moved on from the topic.

He wasn’t intentionally trying to make Cao Binghe uncomfortable. It was partly habit, and partly because he hadn’t expected a renowned expert’s PhD student to be so unfamiliar with classical TCM texts and interesting anecdotes.

After these two encounters, he decided not to ask Cao Binghe any more questions rashly.

"Now, for the second question: since it grows internally, why is it hair in the gums and teeth, and not, as I just asked, hair in the phlegm?" Du Heng didn’t dare look at Cao Binghe, afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist asking him again.

He then proceeded to answer his own question, "In traditional Chinese medicine, teeth are considered an extension of the bones. Bones are governed by the kidney. Therefore, hair growing between the teeth is a manifestation of kidney essence deficiency.

"Additionally, fuzz has grown on the child’s gums. The gums are related to the hands and feet yang brightness channel, which means they are connected to the spleen and stomach. The child’s poor appetite and thin physique are also manifestations of spleen and stomach weakness."

Du Heng paused briefly to let the boy’s father absorb the information, then continued, "Considering these two factors, the child’s problem is spleen and stomach weakness and kidney essence deficiency."

With the cause and effect explained, although the boy’s father didn’t understand all the medical details, he understood the main point: his child was sick. It wasn’t some retribution or an encounter with something unclean, as his family had wildly speculated.

The illness was identified, and its cause found. The boy’s father now had complete confidence in the medicine Du Heng prescribed. After two months of torment, their family could finally see a way forward.

However, Cao Binghe, still reeling from being stumped by Du Heng’s two questions, now took the initiative to ask another, "Dr. Du, you mentioned earlier that the child has congenital insufficiency. How did you determine that?"

Du Heng gave the PhD student a strange look. He must have thoroughly confused this top student for him to ask such a question.

Cao Binghe didn’t quite understand the meaning behind Du Heng’s look and stared back, equally puzzled.

With no other choice, Du Heng sighed inwardly. Don’t blame me for this, Dr. Cao. "The child is six years old this year. For a child of this age to have kidney essence deficiency, apart from congenital developmental issues, what acquired factors do you think could lead to it?"

As soon as Du Heng finished speaking, Cao Binghe wanted to slap himself twice.He could be ignorant about those obscure theories and minor anecdotes, but how could his mind have gone blank on such a fundamental question?

Du Heng then turned to the boy and his father. "I’ve prescribed medicine for him. Go back and make sure he takes it on schedule. After he finishes this course of medicine, bring him back for a check-up. If the spleen and stomach weakness has been corrected, then we can prescribe the medicine to nourish his kidney essence, alright?"

Hearing Du Heng’s words, a troubled look returned to the boy’s father’s face. "Doctor, we live out of town, and we also have a six-month-old baby at home. My wife can’t get away, and I’m the only one working to support the family. It’s really not easy for us to come to the Capital. Could you perhaps prescribe all the medicine at once?"

This presented Du Heng with a dilemma.

However, it wasn’t an insurmountable problem for him. While working at Jinzhou Province First Hospital, he often encountered people from Di County seeking medical treatment who faced similar difficulties. Back then, Du Heng would let them take the prescription home without dispensing the medication. His assistant at Provincial First Hospital, Gu Ping, would then conduct follow-ups via video or phone. If the patient’s condition was confirmed to be improving as Du Heng expected, they would be instructed to get the medicine from a local hospital or clinic. If the situation differed from his expectations, they would either continue with the previous prescription or be advised to seek a joint consultation with a local doctor. He always preferred to take on more trouble himself to make things as easy as possible for his patients.

"How about this: I won’t dispense the second course of medicine now. You take this prescription home, and leave me your phone number. When the child finishes this medicine, give me a call, and we’ll decide on the next medication based on his situation then. What do you think?"

The boy’s father became excited.