Chapter 171 Difficult
Yesterday I was telling Li's mother that probably not many people know about Li San Niang, the female doctor who works in the clinic, so they can't come to see her for treatment.
As a result, just as Li San Niang sat down in the afternoon, a woman wearing a red cloak and an old woman with gray hair came in and said they wanted to see a female doctor.
After taking the number and sitting down at Li San Niang's last consultation spot, Li San Niang finally saw that the woman looked to be in her early twenties, with a slightly plump figure, which was considered by people to be the most beautiful female figure at the time.
Judging from her age and appearance, Li San Niang looked like she had just given birth not long ago.
The young woman sat in front of Li San Niang's consultation table, while the old woman stood behind her. Li San Niang thought that the old woman was probably a servant of the young woman's family, otherwise there would be no reason for the younger generation to sit while the elders stood.
"Where does my wife feel unwell?"
The plump woman first looked up at Li San Niang, then scanned the small clinic with her eyes. When she saw Qiu Xiang sitting in the back, she was surprised. She really didn't expect that there would be someone hiding in such a narrow space.
“This is my eldest disciple. If you feel it’s inconvenient to say something, my wife, you can let my disciple go out.”
"It's alright. Since you're a disciple of the female physician, there's no need for that."
"Thank you for your understanding, my lady. What's wrong, my lady?"
Then the woman lowered her body, leaned closer to Li San Niang, and whispered, "I don't feel well here."
The woman looked down at her chest, indicating to Li San Niang that she felt discomfort in her chest.
Based on the fact that the woman was wrapped in a cloak on such a pleasant day, and that she mentioned feeling discomfort in her chest, Li San Niang had some suspicions.
"May I have a look inside, madam?"
The old woman beside the young lady also followed her into the inner room, and Qiu Xiang, being perceptive, drew the curtain.
The old woman helped the young woman take off her cloak, and Li San Niang saw that the young woman's upper garment underneath had a bulging and swollen chest area.
Li Sanniang moved closer and whispered, "Madam, did you give birth not long ago?"
"That's right, the female doctor is right. But I just finished my postpartum confinement. I'm still breastfeeding, and I was already feeling a bit unwell. Now that my confinement period is over, the swelling and pain have become even more severe, and I can't even breastfeed anymore."
At this moment, the old woman interjected, "We heard from the midwife who delivered my wife that there is a female doctor in this clinic. That's when we remembered. Female doctor, please take a look at my wife and see what's wrong?"
The woman didn't feel embarrassed at all. The main problem was that her area was really swollen and painful. Since they were both women, she simply took off her clothes and revealed the undergarment she was wearing underneath.
Seeing that Li San Niang was indicating that she should also take off her undergarments, the young woman thought that since they had come this far, it would be good to take them off and let the female doctor take a look.
Li San Niang wiped her hands with a cloth next to her, rubbed them to make sure they weren't cold, and then went to check on them.
Li San Niang felt that there was already a hard lump, and the skin was red. Li San Niang was very careful when touching it, but the woman still shrank back, which proved that she was in pain.
Upon closer inspection, Li San Niang indeed saw that small cracks had appeared on the skin.
After reading the medical record, Li San Niang helped the woman put on her clothes before sitting back down at the table, turning to a new page, and beginning to record her own medical history.
"Is this your first time giving birth, my wife?"
The woman nodded, put on the cloak and wrapped herself inside, saying, "My surname is Bai."
"Has Lady White Snake been running a fever lately?"
Lady White Snake looked up at her wet nurse, who was standing to the side. The wet nurse replied, "My lady had a fever a few days ago. At the time, we thought it was just a cold and didn't dare to take any medicine. She just drank more water and was fine after one night."
"Does Lady Bai experience pain in this area?"
"Yes, at first it was just a few sharp pains, but it became increasingly painful if I touched it even slightly when I came in."
"Have you seen any other doctors? Have they prescribed any medicine? Have you taken any herbal decoctions?"
Then the old woman took out a folded piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Li San Niang. Li San Niang took it and opened it. Inside was a prescription. Li San Niang looked at it and saw that it was the right medicine for her condition.
"How many days have you been drinking it? Has it helped?"
"Female doctor, I've been taking it for three days, but it's not very effective. The pain is getting worse and worse. I haven't been breastfeeding since I started taking the medicine, but the milk is stuck in my breasts, which is making it even more uncomfortable."
Li San Niang wrote everything down and recorded it clearly in the medical record.
After writing the last word, Li San Niang looked at Bai Niangzi and explained, "This prescription is correct, but the doctor who prescribed it probably didn't expect your condition to progress so quickly, so the dosage was a bit too light."
Li San Niang took another piece of paper and wrote out a prescription. After writing it, she copied it for her own records. While waiting for the ink to dry, Li San Niang said to Bai Niangzi, "This is because it is your first time giving birth. The baby doesn't have teeth, but the strength of its sucking is very strong, causing you unbearable pain, red skin, swelling, and hard lumps."
Lady White Snake recalled the first time she breastfed her own son, and how each subsequent breastfeeding felt like torture, but she endured it all to prevent her child from going hungry.
Later, when it became truly impossible for her to breastfeed her son, the family finally hired a wet nurse.
"You're doing well now, and you came just in time. I'll prescribe some medicine for you. Take it home and drink it. If it doesn't get better in five days, come back to see me."
After handing the prescription to Bai Niangzi, Li San Niang continued to instruct, "After you go back, you must not breastfeed the child anymore. Wait until you are completely recovered. Before taking the medicine each morning, noon, and evening, first apply a hot compress to this area with a clean cloth soaked in hot water, and then wipe this area with a clean cloth. Do not drink it; if you vomit, it will be fine."
Lady White Snake took the prescription, glanced at it, and although she didn't understand it, she felt it was reliable just by looking at the handwriting. "Thank you, female doctor."
"If your symptoms don't improve, then come back to me."
After seeing this patient off, Li Sanniang thought to herself, being a mother is truly an extremely difficult task. Before she could finish her thought, she heard someone burst into the clinic, shouting, "Quick, quick, doctor! My wife can't give birth! Come with me quickly, save my wife!"
Upon hearing this, Li Sanniang got up, grabbed her medical kit, and headed out, saying as she went, "Where is it? Take me there quickly."
The anxious man turned around and saw Li Sanniang carrying a medical kit and asking him. When the man saw that she was a woman, he thought that Chang'an City was probably different. Even the emperor's doctor was a woman.
But his wife's pregnancy was the priority, so the man didn't care whether the doctor was male or female. He simply led Li San Niang and Qiu Xiang, who was following behind, onto the donkey cart and told the driver to hurry home.
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