episode_0128

Episode 128. Return to the Academy (2)

****

I went back with Istina to examine the pneumonia patient again. Examining pneumonia patients is a skill that must be learned.

“Hello, Mr. Chester.”

“Yes.”

The patient nodded his head with difficulty.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. It’s better than yesterday.”

We checked the patient’s temperature. It came back to normal range. It would be nice to be able to check the inflammation level or white blood cell count through a blood test. But let’s just take the temperature as the standard for now.

“Your body temperature seems to have improved a little.”

I turned my head to Istina.

“Istina. Check the patient’s stethoscope.”

“Yes.”

It’s not like there was nothing to worry about. Of course, he had survived a near-death experience. There are things you can do, like taking medication to reduce phlegm production.

I don’t think that’s really necessary?

“How is it?”

“The patient appears to have a lot of phlegm, etc., in the lower part of the left lung. Abnormal breathing sounds are loudest in that area.”

“Okay. Good job.”

Pneumonia is a common disease, and it is contagious, so it is something that you need to be aware of. Istina nodded.

I looked at the patient again.

“The patient seems to be recovering well so far. Please try to spit out phlegm as much as possible later, and let me know if you feel any discomfort.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“Can’t I get some cough medicine?”

I’ve thought about this for a while. Of course, there are cough suppressants, but if you don’t cough, there’s no way to spit out phlegm. It’s not like you can just insert a tube and drain it like in modern hospitals.

“You need to cough to get rid of the phlegm. That way, the pneumonia will get better faster. If it’s really hard, tell me again, and I’ll give you more medicine then.”

The patient nodded again, and I took Istina out of the ward.

“Yesterday, Amy poured hot water on a wounded patient’s arm. The patient was terrified.”

“Oh my. This is ridiculous.”

by the way.

“Let’s prepare for the fall conference starting tomorrow. This time, there are more than one or two things to present, right?”

“Okay, I’ll be a bit busy starting tomorrow… … .”

****

I returned to my lab and looked through the letters that had been piled up on my desk earlier.

Most of the letters were about investing in a royal company. It didn’t seem urgent. But there were some letters that piqued my interest.

– I recently heard a rumor that the professor has discovered the transmission process and treatment method of the Black Death through research in Winia City.

– But I couldn’t find any publications. If you have discovered anything new, I hope you will share it with the public as soon as possible.

I would love to see you at the fall conference, but before then, if you could give me a brief overview of your research, that would be greatly appreciated.

– Gwen, President of the Plague Society

There are many things I wish for.

A letter from the Plague Society, asking about the treatment of the Black Death and how it is transmitted. It even mentions that they will attend the upcoming fall conference.

I thought about it for a while.

So, there are two things I have to present at this fall academic conference.

First, I have to give a lecture on the transmission of the Black Death. I thought it would be very interesting to the Imperial healers.

Since this is a world where the Black Death has not disappeared, if the specific transmission process is revealed, there will be chaos. Aren’t you curious about how to respond?

Since this has already been written down, you just need to go and present it. I’ll give you a few examples.

Second, we also have to work on promoting aspirin. It sounds a bit strange to call it promotion. Anyway, even if you’re a doctor, you have to know what kind of medicine it is before you can use it or not.

You should be able to simply explain the manufacturing method, principles, and effects of aspirin.

We need to persuade the academics in the academy to use this drug more widely, in a way that they can understand. If that’s the reason why we should use aspirin.

There are many reasons and cases where penicillin must be used, but what are the reasons why aspirin must be used?

****

The Uses of Aspirin.

We need to think about this from the perspective of the imperial doctors who are currently working.

There were three people gathered in my studio: Hedwig, Violet, and Professor Klaus.

“So. Has anyone ever used willow wood or tea for medicinal purposes?”

“What is that?”

Violet tilted her head.

Violet.

An imperial healer with purple eyes and black hair. She looks about the same age as Istina, but I’ve never actually asked her.

Violet had her blue-black hair tied up in a ponytail. She had a cheerful expression, perhaps because she didn’t usually work.

Anyway, there is an advantage to persuading Violet, as she will get more research funds.

Hedwig.

This is one of the imperial plague doctors. Hedwig looked a little tired today. She also has to move around a lot due to her job.

Brown hair gives off a soft impression overall. That’s just the impression, but her work and personality aren’t particularly like that.

Professor Klaus.

Professor Klaus, who was famous for his good personality at the academy, sat there as if he didn’t know why he had been called into the study.

Anyway, I hit the blackboard in the studio.

“I’m trying to make a new medicine this time. Using willow wood.”

Professor Klaus opened his mouth.

“Willow tea. Come to think of it, it’s also used as medicine. It’s a story that’s been passed down for a long time, as a tea to drink when you’re sick.”

“Right?”

“It’s a bit of an old-fashioned method, but for patients with a fever, you can give them cooled willow tea. Some people get better after that.”

Willow tea is also used as a medicine? This time Hedwig spoke up.

“There was some research on willow trees. Instead of tea, they ground up the wood and ate it.”

“Oh. Really? How was it?”

“It is said that many patients complained of abdominal pain even though the fever went down. I don’t know if the abdominal pain was simply due to eating wood chips or a problem with the ingredients. It is not a commonly used medicine.”

I see

“To summarize. You are saying that boiling tea and drinking it is not enough, and that grinding the tree and eating it has serious side effects?”

Hedwig nodded.

“But why are you asking?”

“It’s just like market research. I’m thinking of making a new antipyretic analgesic with willow bark, but I’m curious about how it’s used now.”

I guess it’s not a drug that’s used much these days.

Violet raised her hand.

“But you know, there are so many good painkillers out there, so why bother making a new one?”

“Oh, there are many different types of painkillers.”

I looked at Violet.

The painkillers Violet is talking about are probably opium, morphine, marijuana, and other drugs.

There will be people who have such questions.

If modern doctors had treated hemorrhoids by cauterizing them with a soldering iron, or gangrene by simply amputating limbs, why did they exist in those days, and why did people listen to their doctors?

The answer, I think, was surprisingly simple.

If anyone is curious about what doctors mainly did in pre-modern times, from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages, drugs were used a lot.

Until the Middle Ages, it wasn’t particularly illegal.

If you think about it, it can’t be helped. They’re just using a medicine that makes you forget all your pain with just one spoonful. Of course it seems to be effective.

The reason patients come to the doctor is, after all, because of pain. There is a medicine that can relieve pain, so that’s what the medieval doctor did.

“If you mean opium. That has serious side effects, right? I had an opium addict come in as a patient a few months ago.”

Violet scratched her head.

“Opium addiction is scary. Since healers often deal with it, I’ve seen many people become paralyzed from taking medicinal opium. But it disappeared from the royal family after Asterix became the chief healer.”

Violet opened her mouth after thinking about it for a while. This time, Professor Klaus looked at me.

“How did you do it?”

“The opium box is locked.”

“That’s simple.”

There are medications that can treat acute opioid addiction, but the simplest solution is the best solution. There’s no reason to overcomplicate things.

I scratched my head.

“If we could make a painkiller that doesn’t use opium, that would help, at least a little bit. Opium doesn’t have any fever-reducing properties.”

****

The next step in the conversation we were planning to have today.

“By the way, how do you plan on making the fever reducer? Have you already found the recipe?”

I already found it. In a few days, this content will also be presented as a paper at the fall academic conference.

“Are you curious?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t really intend to keep it a secret. There’s also the problem that the method of making the potion has to be widely known so that other people can study it too.

Isn’t it a bit odd to hide such an important matter simply because of money? I pretended to think about it for a moment, then opened my mouth again.

“Mix the purified acetic acid and willow powder, then add a few drops of sulfuric acid.”

“Just a moment. I need some time to write.”

I waited a moment. The three healers quickly wrote down what I said. It was as if I had revealed the recipe for a panacea.

“Then it seems like we can make a willow medicine that doesn’t cause stomachache.”

“I guess I’ll have to check it out.”

Violet fiddled with her pen.

“I’m curious about the results too. Everyone, please make some medicine and do some research… …. There are a lot of uses for painkillers and antipyretics.”