It sounded a bit like an old blower moving.
Li Jingsheng was quite skilled in the diagnosis of pulmonary medicine; he could tell right away from the sound that this elderly woman's lungs had some abnormalities.
"Young man, I feel a bit stuffy in my chest, and breathing is exhausting. Could you give me an IV drip?"
Many folks visit the clinic for treatment after catching a cold, and an IV drip would usually suffice.
Even for larger hospitals admitting patients, IV treatments are indispensable.
So, those without medical knowledge believe that infusions can cure all ailments.
As long as there's any discomfort, they think of getting an IV.
"Auntie, did you catch a cold?"
Li Jingsheng never randomly administered IVs to patients due to the significant harm of antibiotic misuse, which he firmly opposed.
At the very least, he had to identify the cause of the illness before determining if IV treatment was necessary.
"I don't know; it's just that my chest feels stuffy like a heavy slab is pressing on it, breathing is laborious, and I'm a bit dizzy."
The elderly woman took advantage of the moment to sit down on a chair in front of the counter.
Her complexion looked somewhat pale.
Late at night, this elderly woman should be over 65, looking quite fierce, with more whites than blacks in her eyes, eerily staring at Li Jingsheng, which was rather unsettling.
Moreover, she spoke with a strange accent, which made Li Jingsheng's back hairs stand on end.
"Stuffy chest, dizziness, labored breathing! Any other symptoms? Perhaps chest pain, headaches, or the like."
Li Jingsheng steadied himself and began to carefully diagnose the elderly woman.
A doctor's heart is like parental love.
When encountering patients, seeking all means to relieve their pain is the most basic professional ethic.
"My chest occasionally hurts, but otherwise, there are no other symptoms."
The elderly woman pointed to the right side of her chest.
Li Jingsheng felt a bit relieved upon hearing the elderly woman mention pain on the right side of her chest.
If it were a stuffy chest, pain in the left chest, or abdominal pain, it would be enough to make a doctor nervous.
The left chest cavity primarily houses the heart and the left lung.
The elderly are prone to heart disease. For a small clinic like his, heart disease is a colossal burden, and he wouldn't dare handle it.
The right chest primarily contains the right lung.
The elderly woman's difficulty in breathing, chest stuffiness, irregular pain in the right chest very likely indicates lung abnormalities.
Such as the common pneumonia.
To be honest, relying on his entry-level pulmonary medicine diagnostic skills to diagnose such an elderly patient, he felt somewhat lacking in confidence.
Elderly patients typically have more underlying health problems, making recovery difficult, and misdiagnosis and accidents are more likely.
However, with this rare business opportunity late at night, if he could manage it, he could at least earn thirty or forty bucks.
He reckoned that the elderly woman likely had an infection or inflammation in the right lung; she definitely needed IVs.
And at the very least, she'd need IV treatment for over three days and a prescription for other medications. The profit would be quite considerable.
After quickly weighing options in his mind, he decided to measure the four basic vital signs for the elderly woman.
"Let me measure your temperature and listen to your heart and lung sounds."
Li Jingsheng walked up to the elderly woman with a specialized electronic ear thermometer, pointed it at her ear.
The display showed a temperature of 36.7 degrees, normal.
It's necessary to explain here: clinically, measuring temperature under the armpit or in the rectum is the most accurate. Mercury thermometers haven't been entirely phased out by electronic thermometers.
However, electronic thermometers are more convenient, hygienic, and time-saving, hence widely used in clinics and hospitals.
Li Jingsheng was momentarily stunned upon seeing the temperature reading.
Pneumonia would surely lead to a temperature rise, yet the normal temperature indicated that she likely didn't have inflammation.
With his half-baked diagnostic experience, acute pneumonia and bronchitis usually come with fever, with at least an observable temperature increase. Chronic bronchitis or pneumonia, inversely, come with less fever; many patients have normal temperature readings.
Or are persistently in a state of low fever.
He was eagerly hoping to earn some profit by treating the elderly woman and didn't abandon this opportunity just because her temperature was normal.
"Let me listen to your heart and lung sounds. You'll need to unbutton a couple of buttons."
At this moment, how he wished a nurse were by his side!
If the elderly lady accused him of misbehavior, no amount of explaining would suffice.
He instinctively looked at the clinic's surveillance camera for a boost of courage.
Thankfully, the elderly woman cooperated.
He listened to her heart sounds first.
Since the temperature was normal, he still had to focus on checking for heart issues.
"Why can't I hear any heart sounds? Only a slight wet rale in the lungs."
Li Jingsheng tried repositioning the stethoscope's probe, and the elderly woman began eyeing him cautiously.
All he could do was maintain a serious expression to dispel the patient's doubts to the greatest extent.
"That's odd, why can't I hear any heart sounds?"
The heartbeat is supposed to produce rhythmic thumping sounds, akin to a drum being struck. If the patient has heart issues, various heart murmurs might be present.
Such as the sound of pericardial friction, tricuspid regurgitation with its backflow noise, or heart septal defects with its murmur...
Regarding cardiovascular disease diagnosis, Li Jingsheng barely knew the basics and had very little experience.
For the first time facing this situation, he felt a chilly sensation up his spine and a tingling sensation on his scalp.
Late at night, could he really be encountering something supernatural?
In such a small and quiet clinic, it's better not to keep the doors open at night.
Usually, at this time, he would have closed shop and returned to his rental room.
Now, to cut costs, coupled with breaking up with his girlfriend, there was no need to rent a place anymore; he chose to reside in the loft inside the clinic, saving 1000 bucks a month in rent.
Thinking that since he was living at the clinic, operating a few more hours at night might allow him to sell some medicine or something.
Unexpectedly, he was awaited by this eerie-looking elderly woman.
Li Jingsheng instinctively glanced at the street outside, silent with not a pedestrian in sight.
This involuntarily intensified his fear.
"Auntie, where do you live?"
"I live right over at the textile factory's unit dormitories."
The previous textile and steel factories were state-owned enterprises, offering housing policies to their employees.
Considering this auntie's age, she might have been an employee of the textile factory.
However, the textile factory had long been relocated; its old plant was now converted to a school. The unit dormitories were distributed to old employees, some continued living there post-retirement, while others vacated, leaving their apartments empty or renting them out.
Upon hearing that the aunt was a former employee of the old textile factory, Li Jingsheng felt less afraid.
"I noticed you came from that direction; why didn't you visit the Quick Recovery Clinic for treatment?"
Under normal circumstances, such a question wouldn't be asked.
Given the elderly lady's strangeness, Li Jingsheng had to probe a bit to see what kind of 'god' had come.
The old textile factory dormitories are located at the end of Old Street of South City.
Coming from there, she would inevitably pass the Quick Recovery Clinic before reaching Li Jingsheng's Sunshine Clinic.
The signage of Quick Recovery Clinic is large, spanning four storefronts, and it's an establishment that's been around for over twenty years; why would she bypass it?
This defies logic.
Because considering her symptoms of dizziness, breathlessness, chest stifling, even taking an extra step is exhausting.
Not to mention that Quick Recovery Clinic is at least several dozen meters away from here.
There must be something unusual if things are out of the ordinary.