The Crown Prince That Sells Medicine

The Crown Prince That Sells Medicine Chapter 181

Episode 181 A disease of endless coughing (1)

Whooping cough (百日咳 pertussis) is an infectious disease.

Although vaccination has become widespread in the modern world and it has become a rare disease, it was a powerful infectious disease that took countless lives, especially children, until the pre-modern era.

‘Uniquely, it is a disease that is transmitted by bacteria rather than a virus. Bordetella pertussis, a gram-negative bacterium. When it penetrates the human body, it proliferates after an incubation period of about 1 to 3 weeks and eventually uses the human body as a host, causing symptoms similar to the flu.’

Afterwards, the symptoms become more intense as the patient goes through a catarrhal period and a paroxysmal phase. In particular, it causes repeated violent coughing that cannot be tolerated.

The cough that occurs at this time is not just an ordinary cough. It is a paroxysmal cough. Not only does it cause bleeding from the neck, but it also causes severe breathing difficulties, pain, and various complications.

Bronchial pneumonia, atelectasis in which air cannot enter the lungs, bronchiectasis, emphysema, and otitis media are the basic conditions. In severe cases, bleeding may occur inside the skull. Convulsions, secondary encephalitis, epistaxis, hemoptysis, subdural hemorrhage, and cerebral hemorrhage may occur…

‘Due to excessive coughing, vomiting, hernia, and even prolapsed hemorrhoids may occur. ‘It literally gets to the point where part of the large intestine connected to the anus comes out of the anus and cannot go back.’

It was a disease accompanied by a severe cough. It could be said to be a hell of endless coughing. That’s why our ancestors gave this disease the name ‘whooping cough’, which means endless coughing for 100 days.

But this kid…

Ding dong!

[WARNING!]

[Bordetella pertussis was detected in the patient. This is a typical whooping cough patient. warning! warning! Please take infection prevention measures immediately before returning to treatment!]

“….”

Goosebumps appeared.

However, Rachiel managed not to show such a thing. There was no reaction of surprise or flinching. Instead, I naturally took out a handkerchief from my pocket and covered my nose and mouth.

‘I shouldn’t react in surprise.’

The patient child is watching.

Even though he is in a semi-unconscious state, the patient is still looking at him. However, if you, as a medical professional, show a hasty reaction of surprise, the patient will be more surprised. And you start to have pessimistic thoughts about your current state.

Oh, my condition is so bad that even the doctor was surprised…

‘That can never be done.’

At the moment of treatment, the medical professional must be the patient’s only support and pillar. That is the basic and iron rule. The moment you abandon that, the trust relationship with the patient breaks down. Rakiel reflected on that fact and looked at Damian and Chief Brash next to him.

“Everyone cover your nose and mouth with your own handkerchief.”

“Quick? “Why, Prince of Humans?”

“Because this is a disease that is transmitted through the respiratory tract.”

…just like COVID-19.

Rachiel subconsciously suppressed the words she was trying to say. He then briefly told us about the contagious nature of whooping cough.

“If a patient coughs, droplets of saliva will fly, right? If it spreads in the air, flies around, and enters someone else’s nose or mouth, the disease is transmitted. “Have other people here suffered from a disease that causes them to cough violently?”

“Some of the weak ones started coughing a lot.”

Brash scratched his head and said.

“Almost all the servants who nursed the child experienced it at least once, and even Tulun’s friend coughed quite a bit at the end. Is that a big problem?”

“It’s a problem. of course.”

It’s a big problem.

Whooping cough was a particularly highly contagious disease. To some extent, the ‘basic reproduction number (R0)’, which indicates the infectious ability of a disease, reaches a whopping 12 to 18. Simply put, it is more than 10 times that of the common flu (R0 1.4 to 1.6). Even the Corona Delta mutation (R0 5-9) is easily crushed.

But what about the people here?

They are not even doing quarantine or masks!

‘It’s a mess.’

It felt like my mind was completely bleached white. On the other hand, I felt a bit of anxiety and fear.

‘This would be dangerous for me too.’

Even if an average healthy adult catches whooping cough, he or she will suffer but will not easily die. In most cases, that’s the case. But what about this sickly body? I wasn’t confident. If you catch whooping cough, you could end up in a serious condition without any help.

Rachiel spoke with that fact in mind.

“As I just said, this is a highly contagious disease. The name is whooping cough. The disease spreads through tiny droplets of saliva released through coughing. So from now on, everyone here must cover their nose and mouth with a towel.”

“Quick? “I don’t think there’s any need to do that, but ok?”

“what?”

What does this mean again?

While I was puzzled, Chief Brash spoke.

“I guess the human crown prince doesn’t know much because it’s his first time in this area, but this coughing disease is quite common here.”

“Common?”

“Yes, everyone experiences it at least once when they are young or growing up. You have to overcome this to be treated like a real adult. Of course, this child… will also be put to the test.”

“….”

Are you saying that whooping cough is an endemic disease at all? So, I guess everyone here has some level of resistance to whooping cough. Meanwhile, this child… probably has a bit of a weak resistance ability. Perhaps that fact made the Tulun leader despair during his lifetime.

But I had no intention of just saying yes and moving on. Rachiel’s tone became firm.

“But that doesn’t work. “Do it without fail.”

“Are you sure?”

“of course.”

That’s how I live. Everyone should at least wear a towel, which is a substitute for a mask, because less droplets will fly. This will lower the chance of your group contracting whooping cough.

“And Damian? You too, go out right now and convey my instructions to the entire entourage. Everyone should cover their nose and mouth with a handkerchief and only consume food and water in places where no one is around. right now.”

“All right.”

Just like that, Damien and Chief Brash were sent out. For a moment, I thought of my days at Bukyung Oriental Medical Clinic in Korea, which was swept up in the COVID-19 pandemic, and I felt like I was getting PTSD, but I managed to suppress it. Rather than being caught up in nightmares of the past, I focused on the patient in front of me.

“Whoa.”

A child who is still half-adult. Meanwhile, the child continues to cough violently and suffers. The more I looked, the worse the prognosis became.

Raquiel’s eyes became heavy as he examined the child.

♣

‘Easy treatment is not acceptable.’

That evening, Rachiel was so deep in worry that she couldn’t straighten her frown. This was because I could not end my repeated worries.

‘Can I save that child?’

This time, I honestly wasn’t confident. From what we saw earlier, the child’s prognosis was very poor.

‘It’s already been quite a while since I suffered from whooping cough. In the meantime, my stamina was so exhausted. ‘There is no sign of a reversal in eradicating or overcoming the whooping cough bacteria that are multiplying in the body.’

The child’s chances of being able to do it on his own were already almost gone. then? Outside help is needed. Proper treatment is desperately needed.

‘If you get whooping cough… it is best to use erythromycin during the incubation period or within 14 days of onset. This can alleviate the clinical course or prevent the spread of infection. Or, you can use Clarithromycin or Azithromycin.’

But of course, there is no such modern treatment here.

So what about oriental medicine treatment?

‘Maekmundongtang (麥門冬湯).’

Rachiel recalled the name from her memory. Maekmundong-tang was mainly used for diseases such as bronchitis, bronchial asthma, persistent cough due to sticky phlegm, petechiae where the face turns red due to severe coughing, and coughing with blood.

‘Maekmundong (麥門冬), half-summer glutinous rice, jujube, ginseng, and licorice are mainly used. In particular, Macmundong nourishes the mucous membrane, supplies nutrients, and helps replenish body fluids. It also acts as an anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory agent. In addition, ginseng and licorice promote metabolism and reduce irritation of the mucous membrane, thereby stopping coughing and treating nausea and vomiting.’

In addition, the jujube and glutinous rice served together provide basic nutrition, and the six medicinal herbs work in harmony to soothe excited energy through the action of consonant 陰益氣 and 補益肺胃, thus treating yang deficiency in the lungs. .

But…

‘That’s not enough. In fact, the concept of oriental herbal medicine decoctions is completely different from that of modern treatments in terms of performance.’

What needs to be acknowledged must be acknowledged.

No matter how good an herbal medicine is, it cannot beat modern treatments. Claiming that herbal medicine is superior is similar to claiming that an ordinary steam locomotive is faster than a maglev train.

‘The fields and methods are different from the beginning.’

Modern treatments are literally drugs made to target and treat specific diseases. On the other hand, what about herbal medicine?

‘It is a concept of nourishment and tonic, not professional treatment.’

The role is to strengthen the patient’s constitution and help them fight illness on their own. The role is to gently push the patient’s back to help them regain their strength. That was the concept of herbal medicine that Rakiel viewed coldly.

‘In other words, it is a recovery possibility booster that boosts the patient’s immunity.’

So it was.

‘I said her name was Nailah.’

I felt that ordinary herbal decoctions were not enough for this treatment to save Naila. This was because the progress was already very bad.

‘If you carelessly feed ordinary herbal medicine and feel safe… you will miss the opportunity. Macmundongtang? No matter how much you feed the child, it cannot generate enough energy to fight the disease on its own.’

A conclusion emerged naturally.

That conclusion tormented Rachiel even more.

‘It’s not easy.’

The situation is not that good.

How to overcome this? How can I get my child out of this hopeless state and overcome whooping cough?

We need to come up with a groundbreaking trick that is comparable to the effectiveness of modern treatments or create a method to dramatically improve existing herbal medicines. That’s the only way to overcome the current situation. But… I don’t know what that is yet.

It was painful. I squeezed my head. I whipped up all the drawers of memories and sources of ideas.

How long had I been lost in thought so deep into the night? Thanks to this, he had to be startled by the sound of someone suddenly knocking on his door.

Bang bang bang!

…is that a knock?

A knock on the door brought Rakiel out of the shackles of his thoughts. Meanwhile, Damian approached the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me kkuik!”

…I can tell just by listening to his voice. It was the orc chieftain Brash. Soon, Brash’s huge face popped out through the open door.

“I’m sorry, Prince of Humans. Actually, I was just sleeping… I remembered the story I forgot earlier during the day, and I started clucking…”

“The story I forgot?”

Rakiel tilted his head. How on earth would you forget to tell something so important that you would wake up startled and bang on the door where the crown prince of a country lives? I first thought about going in.

“What did you forget?”

“That’s a story that will help us heal Naila.”

“help? “More details.”

Rachiel adjusted her sitting posture. Chief Brash asked a meaningful question.

“Has the Prince of Humans ever heard of the long-rooted licorice, which is extremely rare and found only in this region?”