Chapter 167 - 167 Parasite
167 Parasite
Lu Jiao smiled and headed outside.
Before she got out of the room, she heard chaotic footsteps coming from outside the trellis. Amongst the messiness were words of comfort.
Lu Jiao went out and found a group of people headed her way. The one leading the group was the third grandma. Beside her was a lady who was rather short.
The lady was around 30 years old and had a face similar to the third grandma. She was fragile and small and appeared exhausted. Her eyes were swollen red, which made it obvious that she’s been crying for a while.
Lots of people followed them. Lu Jiao thought they must be from the same family. Of course, a few elders from the Xie Village tagged along as well.
The moment the third grandma saw Lu Jiao, she grabbed her hand, “Jiaojiao, come and tell me what’s wrong with Xiaoyu.”
Lu Jiao knew right away the kid, Xiaoyu, was sick. She gestured for the person with the child to come forward.
The third grandma followed closely. As she walked, she comforted the slim lady, “Dahong, do not worry. Jiaojiao is a great doctor. She managed to bring Widow Li’s daughter-in-law back to life. I’m sure she’s able to cure Xiaoyu. Do not worry.”
Xie Dahong started to cry, “Mom, there’s so much you don’t know. We first sought treatment in town, then went to the county. Nobody there could help Xiaoyu. Look at how much weight my grandchild has lost.”
Lu Jiao finally figured out their relationship. The lady was the eldest daughter of the third grandma – her name was Xie Dahong.
The boy named Xiaoyu should be Xie Dahong’s grandson.
“Put the child on my bed.”
The village kids saw the group of people and stopped studying. They all gathered before the west bedroom door to be nosy. Even the four little ones curiously watched.
Lu Jiao saw them but didn’t say anything. With something like this happening, they likely can’t focus on studying.
Lu Jiao again gestured for Xie Dahong to put Xiaoyu onto the bed. Xiaoyu mumbled in pain with a frown. His voice was so thin it mimicked a cat.
Lu Jiao ached for him. He appeared similar in age to the four little ones. Not only was he skinny without any ounce of fat, but he was also shorter than the four little ones and was jaundiced.
When Lu Jiao checked out Xiaoyu, she soothed, “Don’t be scared. I’ll examine you and you’ll get well soon. Once you’re well, you can eat good food. Don’t be scared.”
Lu Jiao asked Xie Dahong as she examined, “He has a stomachache?”
Xie Dahong nodded, “Yes, we went into town to see a doctor a while back and the doctor prescribed him some medicine. He got better after but the pain returned after a few days.
He would take more medicine and get better, but the symptoms always came back. Out of options, we went into the county twice but the result was the same.”
Because of this child, the entire family’s been acting like ants on a hot pan. However, this was her eldest grandson and she had to save him.
She heard from the villagers that there was a doctor who worked magic here, someone who revived a person. This was why she rushed over today.
When she asked her mother, her mother brought her to Yunjin’s wife.
This was Xie Dahong’s last ray of hope. She stared at Lu Jiao and prayed that she could save her grandson’s life.
Lu Jiao pressed against Xiaoyu’s stomach. Xiaoyu shrieked in pain and she stopped. She then examined other critical spots before she felt his pulse. His pulse was weak and barely existent.
“He’s been having a poor appetite? Gets cold at night and has very poor sleep quality?”
Xie Dahong nodded quickly. Behind her, a young woman cried, “He’s easily furious and would lash out constantly. We do what we can to get him to eat but he would smash things when he gets annoyed. He wasn’t always like this.”
Lu Jiao looked at the young woman. She should be Xie Dahong’s daughter-in-law, Xiaoyu’s mother.
Lu Jiao calmed her down, “He’s sick. Once we treat him, he’ll be fine.”
Lu Jiao switched hands and continued to feel his pulse. She had made her diagnosis.
Lu Jiao glanced around at the room of children. Children from the countryside had poor hygiene and were at high risk of getting infected with parasites. This was why she’s been wanting to deworm her four little ones.
Lu Jiao said to Xie Dahong, “He has a worm in his stomach. We have to deworm him.”
Everyone in the room jumped, especially the children, “Worm? There’s a worm inside him?”
“That’s terrifying.”
Xie Dahong’s expression changed, “How could there be a worm in his stomach? That’s impossible. Why would there be a worm inside a healthy child?”
Lu Jiao explained, “Poor hygiene practices cause parasites to latch on. Xiaoyu isn’t the only victim. I’m sure all the children here have worms inside their bellies.”
All the children were shocked. The older ones handled it okay but the younger ones started to cry.
“There’s a worm inside my belly! There’s a worm!”
The four little ones raced to Lu Jiao, “Mommy, we have worms inside too?”
Lu Jiao nodded. The four little ones got scared and their faces paled.
Lu Jiao patted their heads, “Don’t fear. I will deworm you. But you need to remember to practice good hygiene. You need to wash your hands before and after each meal. You also need to wash your hands after playing. Before you eat anything, you have to make sure your hands are clean and do not eat any food that is not cooked.”
Lu Jiao said all this to ensure all the children became aware.
The children were stunned. They rarely washed their hands.
The third grandma glanced at Lu Jiao, “Xiaoyu is like this because of the worm?”
Lu Jiao nodded, “Because of the parasite inside him, he became malnourished. He has low energy, his face is yellowing, his limbs are cold and his nails are pale. Malnutrition is an illness that slowly reveals all its effects. It also takes some time to treat. Before treatment, he has to be dewormed. Or else all treatment will be futile.”
Lu Jiao said to Xie Dahong, “Before, you got some prescribed medicine for Xiaoyu. Those medicines cause the worms inside him to become dormant, which shows improvement in his health. However, the worms inside him were never gone. The moment you stop taking the medicine, the worms would become active again. This is why his symptoms keep on coming back.”
Xie Dahong cried out loud at this point. Thinking about the pain Xiaoyu went through hurt her.
She said to Lu Jiao, “Yunjin’s wife, please save my Xiaoyu.”
“It’s okay. It’s not a serious illness. I’ll write him a prescription and you can brew it for him. Tonight, we can do our first round of deworming. We’ll do two more days of deworming after that. As for the malnutrition, we’ll have to treat it with another prescription after the deworming.”
Xie Dahong honestly still didn’t believe that her grandson had a worm inside him. However, she was out of options and could only ask for those prescriptions.
Lu Jiao went to the kitchen and took the chance to take out some of her herbs from her space. Rhubarb, scutellaria, araceae, pinellia, and sperantoides.
“Take these and brew them together. Give him two bowls tonight. Tomorrow and the day after, give him one bowl per night.”
The third grandma came forward and thanked Lu Jiao.
“Thank you, Jiaojiao.”
“It’s no problem.”