Chapter 108: Both Vegetable and Medicine
The flames licked the bottom of the pot, and the water in the iron pot gurgled and swelled, with white steam rising from the pot. The washed Houttuynia cordata was drained in the basket.
"Okay, clear the firewood." Shen Xianglan said as she poured the Houttuynia cordata into the iron pot and covered it with a wooden board. "Let it sit for a while, then you can drink it. The water soaked with Houttuynia cordata can be used as tea. You should drink more warm water, and you will get better faster if you drink more."
The dozen or so people sitting around nodded in response with unnatural expressions.
The human body is not made of steel. As the weather gradually warms up, we have been sleeping in the open air and have had minor physical problems. We should endure what we can endure and deal with what we can't endure later.
More than ten people went to the toilet non-stop today. In fact, the same thing happened yesterday, but the symptoms were not so severe. Then the Tong'an City incident happened again.
When I woke up in the morning, I felt something was wrong with my body. I had frequent urination and itchy and painful urination.
Shen Xianglan asked her husband Lin Youcai what happened?
Lin Youcai pulled her aside and spoke hesitantly, looking at her pitifully.
Shen Xianglan understood as soon as she heard it, they might have acute urethritis.
Everyone has been on the road all the time, eating poorly, sleeping poorly, and their immunity has dropped. There is no cleanliness when traveling, and personal hygiene is a mess. The lice on the head, the skin diseases on the body, and the skin on the hands and feet are all in bad condition. It is troublesome to fetch and boil water, and then everyone drinks less water to avoid going to the toilet. Diseases come to people's bodies without them realizing it.
Shen Xianglan asked Lin Youcai to ask the man about the specific symptoms, and she went to ask about the woman's situation. Fortunately, the results were not serious, they were all early mild symptoms.
In modern times, Shen Xianglan would definitely recommend seeing a urologist. Take antibacterial Western medicine, and then soak and wash the area with potassium permanganate dilution, or apply ointment externally. Of course, the specific treatment depends on the severity of the condition.
We don’t have such conditions here at the moment, and the only medicine is Houttuynia cordata.
Houttuynia cordata, also known as fish mint, is a good plant for humans to eat. The whole plant can be used as medicine and can also be cooked and eaten.
Houttuynia cordata has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, diuretic and relieving stranguria, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. It has a very strong effect in inhibiting bacteria and can treat many diseases.
Boil Houttuynia cordata in water, its medicinal properties can reach the upper, middle and lower three burners of the human body, and it has a good effect on wind-heat colds, pharyngitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, reproductive system infections, and skin inflammations caused by some bacteria and viruses.
Drinking Houttuynia cordata in water can enhance the body's anti-inflammatory and antiviral abilities, which is beneficial to maintaining human health. However, people with weak spleen and stomach should not drink Houttuynia cordata in water, because Houttuynia cordata is cold in nature, and drinking too much may aggravate the cold, causing diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc.
People with colds and coughs should also avoid houttuynia cordata. People with colds and flu need to get rid of the cold, not the heat. People with allergies should also avoid eating houttuynia cordata, as it contains allergenic ingredients that may cause allergic symptoms.
More than ten people in the team suffered from urethral inflammation, and they drank water boiled with Houttuynia cordata for a few days. It was a cure for the disease and it worked unexpectedly.
Shen Xianglan asked Lin Youcai to tell the man to drink more warm water, urinate more often, wipe frequently, and keep himself clean and dry.
She didn't mention asking everyone to get more rest, improve immunity, eat light food, eat less spicy food, and avoid smoking and drinking. The former is that they don't have the conditions, and the latter is that they don't have spicy food, tobacco, and alcohol at all.
There is a large box of potassium permanganate tablets in the medical kit. Take a few tablets and dilute them in water. It is enough for more than ten people.
Shen Xianglan asked them to boil two pots of hot water, soak potassium permanganate tablets in a wooden barrel, and dilute them with water. Then she took out two small changing tents and asked them to go to the side to wash.
There were more than a dozen people, both men and women. Some had red faces, some looked embarrassed, and some wanted to bury their heads in the bowl of Houttuynia cordata water.
Lin Zisu and Lin Xianwen finally understood why their mother laughed so hard that they cried.
Old Lady Wang, Old Lady Ye and the others, as well as the people in the team, all had different and complicated expressions on their faces.
Lin Zisu coughed twice and cleared her throat. "What's the big deal? Everyone gets sick! When you're on the run, everyone has pains. The conditions are bad, so it's unavoidable."
"Yes! It's spring now, and many plants have grown. If you come across any herbs you recognize, just pick some and use them when you are sick." Shen Xianglan agreed. If she continued wandering like this, her body would not be able to take it.
Lin Zisu: "The old saying is right: There are no weeds in the mountains, and everyone you know is a treasure."
"But we are on the road, not climbing the mountains. There are so many people on the road, and many wild vegetables have just emerged and have been pulled out. It's not your turn yet!" Lin Xianwen looked at his mother and sister with an expression that you wished for, and then he got a slap on the head from his mother!
Some people in the team who felt a little unwell came over to scoop a bowl of water to drink. Shen Xianglan quickly told everyone which type of people should not drink it, as Houttuynia cordata is cold in nature.
While waiting, Shen Xianglan asked the women to come around and told them about the issue of private parts cleanliness.
Most of the aunties and grandmas were fine, but the young wives and girls blushed and lowered their heads, feeling embarrassed when they heard Shen Xianglan talking about private hygiene.
Shen Xianglan: "Every time we stop to rest, if there is enough water, we must boil water to wash our bodies, especially our private parts. Now that the weather is getting warmer, we must wash if conditions permit. Our private parts must be kept clean and dry, otherwise we will easily get sick. It is uncomfortable to be sick, and seeing a doctor and taking medicine is a big problem. It is okay to wash your body less often, but your private parts must be washed frequently."
Liang Lai Di also came over to listen, and seeing that no one chased her away, she squatted aside to listen. She realized that someone in their team was sick. Hearing Aunt Shen say this, she hurriedly wrote it down. Aunt Shen must have a reason for asking everyone to do this.
Lin Youcai finished washing and changed his pants. He washed the pants himself and walked out of the tent but found that there was no place to dry them. He felt so tired.
Lin Zisu was bored as she watched her mother giving health education lectures to fellow women. She found it uninteresting and turned around to look at the people passing by on the official road.
Their team stopped at the edge of the official road, fearing to block the way for other pedestrians. Passersby on the road would curiously look at what their team was doing.
A group of more than ten people walked forward while looking at them. When they got closer, Lin Zisu saw clearly that it was a group of half-grown children.
There were more than a dozen people, all of them were children, the oldest looked no more than 14 or 15 years old. They were all dressed in rags, dirty, carrying baskets on their backs and holding sticks in their hands. They looked at the people in the team, turned their heads to look at them, and they were very cautious walking on the other side of the road.
Lin Zisu looked at their appearance. Although they were dressed in rags and were similar in height, it was not difficult to see that there were boys and girls.
Lin Zisu was just bored and watched them walk by. There was a child behind them, and the things in his backpack looked very familiar to her.
Lin Zisu stared at the things in the backpack, and couldn't help but move and walked over quickly.