Eczema

Su Ziyang straightened up, looked Daoist Jin up and down, and said, "Master, if you keep doing this, I'll get angry..."

"You ungrateful child! I gave you a secret recipe, and instead of thanking me, you're angry with me."

Daoist Jin glared at Su Ziyang, raising his eyebrows sharply, which startled him.

Seeing that Daoist Jin's demeanor didn't seem to be joking, Su Ziyang asked tremblingly, "Master, you're really not kidding me? Is Borneol and Borax Powder a secret formula? I just prescribed two boxes of Borneol and Borax Powder for someone a couple of days ago. The instructions clearly state the ingredients: borneol, sodium sulfate, calcined borax, and cinnabar."

"You silly child, I haven't finished telling you yet. What I'm going to tell you is simpler than what you said, and it works even better. It doesn't hurt when you apply it, and most importantly, it's safe for children to use, so there's no fear of them swallowing it."

Daoist Jin patted Su Ziyang Su Ziyang on the shoulder, telling him not to be impatient, and then gave him a prescription. "45g of rock sugar, 1.5g of borax, and 0.6g of borneol, grind and mix well. I'm telling you, this can also guarantee a one-time cure, basically."

Su Ziyang nodded and quickly wrote down the proportions of the recipe on a piece of paper, afraid that he would forget them.

"Have you taken notes?" Daoist Jin asked when he saw Su Ziyang put down the paper and pen.

"I've got it."

Su Ziyang nodded.

Daoist Jin looked at Su Ziyang, then took out a pendant from his sleeve, with a yellow triangle hanging from it.

"Wear it, wear it all the time. It's a good luck charm. I'm going into seclusion for maybe three months, maybe a year. In any case, I won't be able to take care of you. Stay safe and sound."

After saying that, Daoist Jin turned and left.

"Master," Su Ziyang called out to Daoist Jin from behind.

Daoist Jin stopped and turned to look at Su Ziyang: "What's wrong?"

"What exactly did you go out to do? Why have you been in seclusion ever since you came back?"

Su Ziyang asked a question, Daoist Jin didn't answer and simply waved his hand, saying, "Don't ask about things that don't concern you. Focus on your studies. Finish reading the books I assigned you; I'll test you after I finish my seclusion."

Looking at Daoist Jin's back, Su Ziyang suddenly felt that Daoist Jin's figure was somewhat blurry.

"Susu, what's wrong?"

When Fairy Li entered the room, she saw Su Ziyang in a daze. She waved her Little Hand in front of Su Ziyang, and only then did Su Ziyang come back to his senses.

What are you staring at?

Seeing that Su Ziyang's expression was not quite right, Fairy Li pinched Su Ziyang's cheek again.

"Zijun." Su Ziyang called out to Fairy Li with a particularly serious expression.

"Oh, why are you calling me so seriously? What's bothering you? Tell me, and I'll help you figure it out."

Fairy Li pouted and patted Su Ziyang's shoulder. "Eh~ what's this?"

Fairy Li picked up the pendant around Su Ziyang's neck and examined it carefully for a while. "A peace charm! It's so nice. Who gave it to you?"

"Daoist Jin. Daoist Jin said he's going into seclusion for at least three months, maybe a year. He said he can't take care of me during this time, so he gave this to me. Don't you really know what my two masters have been doing? Why has Daoist Jin been in seclusion ever since he came back? He looked very tired just now."

Su Ziyang held Li Fairy Li's Little Hand and stared intently into Fairy Li eyes as he asked a question.

Fairy Li pursed her lips and thought for a while, then shook her head. "I really don't know. What could they possibly do? Daoist Jin's seclusion is probably because he's recently gained some insights into cultivation. It's alright, seclusion is a good thing, why are you so worried?"

"All right."

Su Ziyang nodded, Fairy Li smiled and patted Su Ziyang's head, "How about I treat you to ramen for lunch? It's alright."

"Okay." Su Ziyang nodded.

Okay.

In Fairy Li's eyes, food is the most important thing in the world, and there's nothing that a good meal can't solve.

"Hello, doctor. May I come in?"

A woman with loose hair and wearing sunglasses stood in the doorway.

Su Ziyang took two deep breaths, composed himself, and then gestured for the woman to come in.

When there are patients, Fairy Li is not in the consultation room, Fairy Li is afraid of interfering with Su Ziyang's treatment.

After the woman sat down, she took off her sunglasses. Su Ziyang frowned as soon as he saw it.

The woman's face and neck, and virtually every exposed area, were covered with round, red, eczema-like bumps.

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

The woman gestured to her face, then pointed to her hand.

"Hmm... this looks like eczema or something."

Su Ziyang observed carefully before making a diagnosis.

"Yes, I went to a dermatology hospital, and they also said it was eczema. At first, someone said it was lupus, which scared me. I've been to other places for checkups, and they all say it's eczema."

As she spoke, the woman pulled out several hospital diagnoses and examination reports from her backpack.

Su Ziyang glanced through the list and found that the diagnoses were largely the same, basically just eczema.

"I've had this illness for five months. At first, I used a topical ointment, and later, after seeing a doctor at the hospital, they prescribed an ointment and some pills, but I forgot what they were called. They worked at first, but now they're not working anymore. So I thought I'd try seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor."

The woman's words were clear; she had obviously visited several hospitals and had experience talking to doctors. She answered most of the questions Su Ziyang wanted to ask.

Su Ziyang examined the woman's eczema for a while longer. "Is it itchy?"

"It's not very itchy, maybe it itches occasionally, but it's mainly uncomfortable. When I wash my face, this area of skin feels raised."

"Let me take your pulse first."

Since it is traditional Chinese medicine, it should diagnose diseases based on pulse and symptoms; differentiation of disease, pulse, and symptoms are all indispensable.

When you take a woman's pulse, it is deep, thin, and slightly wiry.

In summary, the main characteristic is that the strings are thin and heavy.

"Stick out your tongue, let me look at your tongue coating."

The tongue coating is pale white with slight cracks, and at first glance it looks watery, as if it is covered with moisture.

This is a specific and quite obvious manifestation of dampness in the body.

I'd like to add something unrelated here: there are many health and wellness centers and the like these days.

Two commonly used phrases: dampness and blocked meridians.

Every time I hear this phrase, I want to ask, what does it mean to have dampness? How do you determine if you have dampness? Then someone will say that feeling tired and heavy in the body means you have dampness.

This symptom could also be due to insufficient Yang energy, or a failure of Yang energy to rise properly? It could be blood stasis? Why specifically mention dampness?

This statement would make professionals laugh, but it has captivated countless ordinary people. Now, if you meet ten people, nine of them will ask, "Is it because of excessive dampness? Does it mean you have dampness in your body?"

Or is it that my meridians are blocked?

What constitutes "open" and what constitutes "closed"?

These are questions worth considering and reflecting on. I don't know who widely uses these terms, but I feel there's something wrong with this whole thing.