Shanghai
Doctor’s log: TCM treatment in Wuhan
Source:english.eastday.com | 2020-02-24 20:02

A TCM medical team consisting of 122 doctors and nurses from Shanghai was dispatched to Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 on February 15. Fan Ming, Director of Cardiology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, wrote a log about his experience in Leishenshan Hospital, one of the temporary hospitals built in Wuhan to treat pneumonia patients:

My teammates and I started working on February 19. To save time for work, we had our lunch in a hurry. As there was no table, the boxed meals were piled in a corner. The medical staff had to eat on their bed or just sit on a mat. Some others finished their lunch standing or squatting.

When the order to start receiving patients finally came, we quickly put on protective clothes, goggles, masks and gloves, making ourselves like an astronaut squad.

Li Bin, deputy director of Yueyang Hospital, suddenly came up with an idea and wrote three big characters on my protective overall: Fan Da Xia (meaning “Hero Fan” in English). Though I feel flattered to be called a hero, I think the name is quite good. Maybe the virus will be afraid of this name.

After helping the patients settle down in their wards, we began working. When we inquired them of their medical history, the patients learned that we are from Shanghai. “Since you are here, we feel relieved.” The patients’ trust in us also gave us much confidence in combating the disease.

We gave all patients TCM prescriptions. All of them had TCM pharmaceuticals.

We also brought non-pharmacological therapy, a feature of TCM, to Wuhan patients. Dr Gong Yabin and Dr. Shi Xinjie carry out acupuncture treatment according to the patients' condition and symptoms. Dr. Wang Zhenwei imparts the “six-character formula of breathing training” to patients with less illness severity, to help improve their lung function and promote a rapid recovery.

Our two physicians, Wu Yi and Zhang Xi, are also busy in the wards. Zhang Yan and her nurse team are also doing a great job. Some of the nurses are very young, but they never complain even though they are tired. As the team leader, I am very touched by my teammates.

By:Wu Qiong