Chapter 243: An epidemic more terrible than the new crown
Acupuncture is over.

Wang Mengde rarely made big claims.

"Grandpa, with acupuncture and tiger bone wine, if nothing goes wrong, your rheumatism will be cured in a few months."

The source of his confidence, in addition to his confidence in his acupuncture skills, also comes from the blessing of tiger bone wine.

With a two-pronged approach, curing rheumatism is not too difficult for him now.

The only regret is that without the tiger bone wine, with his current acupuncture skills, it can only have a short-term effect on rheumatism.

Of course, this time is calculated on a monthly basis.

"Really?"

He Youyu asked in surprise.

His face was full of disbelief, fearing that he had heard it wrongly.

He has been suffering from pain ever since he was diagnosed with the disease 20 years ago.

Especially on those days when it is windy, rainy and the weather changes, it is extremely painful.

At one point, he thought that this disease was a punishment for his excessive debauchery in his youth.

It was not until a few years ago that his grandson-in-law helped him with acupuncture treatment and he was no longer in pain.

Although the root cause of the disease has not been eradicated, with continued acupuncture, there is basically no pain for a long time after each treatment.

"Grandpa, of course it's true. You have to drink this tiger bone wine on time and in the right amount. I will come here every seven days to give you acupuncture.

It will take about three months, and it will be almost done, plus another month at most.”

Wang Mengde said with a smile.

"That's great! If rheumatism can be completely cured, I can live one year less."

He Youyu said excitedly.

He was willing to exchange his life for health without hesitation, which shows how much suffering the previous illness had caused him.

Chatted a few more words.

Brothers He Shengwen and He Shengwu came back from outside.

"Brother-in-law!"

The two people greeted each other warmly.

He Shengwu, in particular, quickly added some hot water to his enamel pot.

"Shengwu, how have you been doing at work recently?"

Wang Mengde picked up the enamel jar, took a small sip, and then asked with a smile.

"Brother-in-law, I am learning how to repair cars from a master at work.

This master was very kind to me and was willing to teach me the techniques of car repair. If there was anything I didn’t understand, he would patiently explain it to me and even let me try it myself.”

When talking about the situation at work, He Shengwu spoke with great enthusiasm.

With Dai Botao's relationship and his own cleverness, he can be said to be like a fish in water.

In particular, the master he found not only had a good temper and personality, but was also willing to teach him skills.

I wouldn't dare say that I taught him everything I knew, but I told him all the general principles of automobiles, tips on repairing cars, precautions, etc.

In just a few months, he became somewhat familiar with cars, which was faster than the other apprentices, but some may not have learned as much as he did in one or two years, or even three years.

Moreover, other colleagues in the automotive class didn’t know where they found out his background.

Knowing that he was arranged by the unit leader himself, everyone was polite to him, whether they were sincere or not.

"That's good. If you have anything to say, just tell me and I'll go talk to Brother Dai in private."

Seeing that his brother-in-law was doing quite well at work, Wang Mengde nodded with satisfaction.

But it makes sense. Dai Botao is the top leader of their unit. Besides, he came from the military and has strong connections and a group of comrades to support each other.

It can be said that his words are absolutely effective in the workplace.

"Yes, brother-in-law, I understand."

He Shengwu agreed obediently.

After a while, I returned home without having lunch at Lao He's house.

Ran Xiaomei was busy washing clothes in the middle courtyard. When she saw him coming back, she ordered:

"Meng De, it's just right that you're back. While you have nothing to do, take Yuan Chao, Wei Guo and the others to the bathhouse to take a bath.

These guys haven't taken a shower for half a month. If they don't take a shower, the dust will fall off their bodies."

After entering autumn and winter, because the weather is colder and there is no shower or heating at home, adults and children at home cannot take a bath at home like they do in summer.

I can only go to a nearby bathhouse to take a hot bath every once in a while.

Some families are diligent and go there once a week or half a month, while some families are sloppy and may only go there two or three times in a winter.

Many children had a layer of dust and snow on their bodies, which would fall off if they scratched them with their hands.

"Mom, I'll call them now."

Wang Mengde hadn't taken a bath for a week and had been feeling unwell for a long time.

There is a bathhouse not far from the entrance of Nanluoguxiang Hutong.

Five or six years ago, it was privately owned. After the public-private partnership, the original owner, who was old, took some money and his wife and children and returned to his hometown in the countryside and withdrew completely.

Leading his two younger brothers and two sons, the five of them soon arrived at the door of the bathhouse.

I paid the bath ticket at the window, then took the soap and towel and entered the bath.

Lying comfortably in the hottest pool, Wang Mengde let out a long sigh. Beside him, the four little ones followed suit.

After soaking for about twenty minutes, I slowly got up.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to take a bath, but it’s their turn to scrub his body.

After about half an hour, Wang Yuanchao and his friends finally finished rubbing. Their bodies were all red, like cooked shrimps.

After he lay there, the bath scrubber took a loofah and began to scrub him vigorously.

About ten minutes later, he finally stood up, feeling refreshed and relaxed.

Every time after taking a bath, I feel as if I have lost several pounds.

outside room.

It is a large dormitory with more than ten beds and several rows of long chairs. In addition to providing a place for people to dress, they can also lie down and rest.

We ordered a pot of jasmine tea, and five of us squeezed onto two beds.

Wang Mengde drank tea while listening to people bragging and chatting.

It was almost noon when they lazily put on their clothes and prepared to go home for dinner.

At this time.

A little boy next to him suddenly vomited violently.

Not only that, he also held his head and rolled around on the bed in pain.

The little boy's father obviously didn't expect this situation and was immediately at a loss.

The other people in the room also stopped and gathered around with concern.

"This is a sudden illness, send to the hospital quickly."

"Oh, this place is not close to the hospital. I have a bicycle. I will take you there."

"Xiao Zhang, quickly dress your son. We need to hurry."

When everyone saw the little boy rolling around on the bed, groaning all the time, they all started to urge him to stop.

The young man named Xiao Zhang, who was about 25 or 26 years old, woke up from his dream after hearing what everyone said, and hurriedly dressed his son. Wang Mengde had sharp eyes and vaguely saw a small bruise on the little boy's body, and his heart sank.

He didn't bother to put on his clothes, jumped out of bed, pushed through the crowd, came closer, and said loudly: "Everyone make way, I'm a doctor. Let me take a look."

Several people were nearly knocked down by him and became angry, but when they heard that he was a doctor, they calmed down.

"Doctor, please take a look. I think this child is very ill."

"Yeah, he vomited and was burning. I think he has some acute illness. If he doesn't get treatment in time, I'm afraid something bad will happen."

"Doctor, please take a look at my son."

Xiao Zhang spoke pleadingly, as if he had seen a savior.

Wang Mengde ignored him and quickly performed a physical examination and then took the patient's pulse.

As time passed, his brows furrowed.

The situation is not good!

After his diagnosis, it was obvious that the little boy had meningitis.

Meningococcal meningitis is a purulent meningitis caused by infection with Neisseria meningitidis. It is a common acute infectious disease in winter and spring, and is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets.

This disease and the Japanese encephalitis epidemic that was prevalent in Beijing in 56 are two completely different diseases.

The differences between them lie in different pathogens, different sites of disease occurrence and different routes of transmission.

Moreover, meningococcal meningitis is more contagious and has a higher mortality rate than Japanese encephalitis.

It is no exaggeration to say that in this era, meningitis is more terrible than the global epidemic in later generations.

The disease has obvious seasonality, mostly occurring from November to May of the following year, with a peak from March to April.

It is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets and close contact, and is more common in children under fifteen years old, especially infants between six months and two years old.

It is also characterized by rapid onset and rapid progression, which may lead to death within 24 hours after onset. If the fulminant type is not treated promptly, it may be life-threatening within 6-24 hours.

It is no exaggeration to say that the golden period for treating this disease is calculated in hours.

According to statistics, every time an epidemic breaks out, the incidence rate is about 40 per 10,000. This is not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing is that out of every 100 people who get sick, five or six cannot be cured.

Moreover, among those who are said to be cured, there will be a large number of people suffering from sequelae.

One fifth of these people will suffer severe physical and tissue disabilities.

About one-third of them will suffer from lifelong sequelae related to damage to the nervous system, such as intelligence, vision, hearing, motor skills, and perception.

Therefore, this disease is very scary. In the era when medical care was underdeveloped, people would turn pale at the mere mention of it.

Wang Mengde read a document at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which detailed the outbreak of meningitis in China a few years ago.

Those data are truly shocking, and are no less than the number of casualties in a large-scale war.

What’s more serious is that meningitis lasted for more than two years.

During that period, people everywhere were in panic, which had a serious impact on production and life and consumed a lot of manpower and material resources.

In the end, it was only after going through tremendous hardships that the spread of meningococcal disease was effectively controlled.

When Xiao Zhang saw his face suddenly turn ugly, his heart skipped a beat. He asked nervously in a low voice:
"Doctor, what's wrong with my son? Is it serious?"

“Oh, it’s not a big problem, but this kind of disease needs to be treated in the hospital.

I'll give him a few injections to ease his pain, and then I'll go to the hospital with you."

Wang Mengde comforted in a low voice.

He didn't dare tell the truth, otherwise the man would probably collapse.

What's more, there are so many people around. If I say that I have meningitis, it will spread quickly and even cause panic.

Having said that, he turned around, put on his clothes, and then told his two younger brothers to take Wang Yuanxun and Wang Yuandi home first.

Then he pretended to take out a cloth bag from his pocket and took out a few needles from it.

Then, he casually pierced a few acupuncture points.

Soon, the little boy no longer felt so uncomfortable. He released his hands that were holding his head, lay on the bed, and stared blankly with his eyes.

"It worked so quickly, it's amazing."

Around, a man in his forties exclaimed.

"Haha, you may not know yet, the doctor who just gave me the acupuncture is called Wang Mengde."

Another person next to him obviously recognized Wang Mengde and introduced him to him.

“So he is Wang Mengde, no wonder I felt he looked familiar when I first saw him.

Since he is here, the child's illness will definitely be cured."

The man suddenly realized.

Although he had never seen it, he had heard the name and seen its photo in the newspaper.

I know that in Nanluoguxiang, there is a young doctor with superb medical skills.

Unexpectedly, I had the honor of meeting him in person today.

Guanganmen Hospital.

Although it is the weekend today, there are still doctors on duty in various departments.

After listening to Wang Mengde's brief account, the doctor on duty and the staff of the district health and epidemic prevention station who rushed over all changed their expressions.

"Doctor Wang, when I set out, our leader had already received the news, and he should be on his way."

The staff of the District Health and Epidemic Prevention Station said with a heavy face.

“Well, I have also informed our dean, he should be here soon.

But this child cannot be delayed and needs treatment as soon as possible."

Wang Mengde said quickly.

Saving lives is like putting out a fire, he can't just let the patient wait.

After saying that, he directed the medical staff on duty to push the little boy into the clinic.

In the consulting room.

While observing the little boy's condition, Wang Mengde was thinking in his mind.

In this era, epidemic infectious diseases such as meningitis are generally treated with Western medicine sulfonamides.

This medicine has also greatly reduced the mortality rate of meningococcal meningitis.

But the disadvantages are also obvious, that is, there are still a small number of patients who find the drug completely ineffective after taking it.

There are also many patients who, although their lives are not in danger after taking the medicine, will be left with very serious sequelae.

However, traditional Chinese medicine does not have any good methods to treat meningococcal meningitis.

"Give the patient sulfadiazine first, and then I'll look for a Chinese medicine and boil them together for him to drink."

After thinking about it, Wang Mengde decided to temporarily use a combination of Chinese and Western medicine for treatment.

When Dean Lu and several vice-deans arrived, the little boy had already taken the medicine and fell asleep.

"Comrade Wang Mengde, is this really meningitis?"

It was a very cold day, but President Lu's forehead was actually sweating, which showed how anxious he was.

The other vice presidents were also breathless and stared at him nervously.

"Dean, I have been diagnosed."

Wang Mengde said in a low voice.

"Oh, this is troublesome!"

(End of this chapter)