4. Medical systems

The big data system successfully suppresses the spread of the rumors about the infectious disease. However, it is less successfully in suppressing the infectious disease itself.

The disease spread rapidly in Wuhan. The epidemic was going to explode. Finally, there came the official acknowledgement from the government. Then the city of Wuhan and the whole province of Hubei were quickly locked down.

The lock down was an enclosure of an exploding place. The whole Wuhan city was in a complete panic. People rush to the hospital to have themselves checked and treated.  The hospitals were overwhelmed. Many hospital staff didn’t have personal protection equipment. Many were infected and sick. Some died. For some days, it was impossible to see a doctor for many sick people.

Sam, his wife and his son get high fever. Sam can’t get hold of a doctor. He hears good words about a certain Dr Li, who operates a private clinic. In China, most respected doctors work for large hospitals. Normally, Sam, a university professor, wouldn’t go to a private clinic. But this time, he has no choice. He comes to the small clinic on a remote run down street. Apparently, this Dr Li rents the cheapest place in the city. This doesn’t give Sam much confidence.

This is no receptionist in the clinic. Dr Li greets every patient himself. He is a man in his fifties. Unlike other doctors and nurses, he doesn’t wear face mask. Sam is rather skeptical. But he doesn’t have any alternative. Dr Li briefly asked Sam about his symptoms. Then he injected a small dose of diluted phenol on four meridian points around Sam’s neck. Sam was totally unconvinced. He asked Dr Li, “Why do you inject phenol?”

Dr Li said, “Do you know something about immune systems?”

Sam replied, “A little bit.”

Dr Li said, “Our immune systems include innate systems and adaptive systems. When we encounter new pathogens, our immune systems don’t have targeted methods against them. Our body will enlist broad spectrum innate immune systems to fight off the unfamiliar invaders. The heavy bombardments can be brutal, often causing damages to our own cells and tissues as well. But they are the best available weapons.

At the same time, our immune systems will study the new pathogens, with the hope to develop specific antibodies in the future. These antibodies will target those specific pathogens if they invade us again. This method will target and destroy invaders precisely. It will cause little collateral damage to ourselves. This is part of our adaptive immune systems.

In summary, our immune systems consist of two major parts: broad spectrum innate systems and targeted adaptive systems. When we encounter new pathogens, our primitive and broad spectrum innate immune systems will defend ourselves against unfamiliar intruders. We should adopt the same strategy protecting ourselves from unfamiliar new diseases. We should use primitive and broad spectrum medicines defending ourselves against new diseases, until and if more specialized medicines become available.” 

Sam asked, “What are the broad spectrum medicines we have?”

Dr Li said, “Antiseptics kill most germs. They are the true broad spectrum medicines. Among antiseptics, alcohol is the most commonly used. Since ancient times, alcohol based drinks have been used as sterilized drinks and as medicine. A routine rinse of mouth with hard liquor, such as whisky, probably provide good protection against many new and old pathogens.

Other than alcohol (ethanol), phenol has been used as an antiseptics for more than a hundred years. Phenol based throat spray, such as Chloraseptic, is available without prescription. It is easy to buy it over the counter, cheap and convenient. In recent years, I have been using phenol as a broad spectrum medicine for many kinds of illness, including the current novel coronavirus disease.”

Sam asked, “How effective is phenol on this new disease?”

Dr Li said, “Most patients recover after injections.”

Sam then wondered, “Why don’t you wear face mask? All other physicians wear masks.”

Dr Li said, “I have injected phenol on myself. I am well protected.”

Sam asked, “How you choose those meridian points in injection?”

Dr Li said, “I experimented. Those meridian points seem to work well.”

Sam asked, “How do you explain meridian points? Do you have a theory?”

Dr Li said, “There is a systematic theory in Chinese medicine. But I don’t follow the theory that much. In medicine, many good treatments don’t have a good theory. It is still very much an experimental field. That is why drug testing is such a long process.”

Sam then asked, “If phenol is as good as you claimed, why pharmaceutical  companies don’t use it as a medicine for many diseases?”

Dr Li said, “I can only guess. Phenol has been used as an antiseptics for a long time. It is very cheap. If phenol is widely adopted as a broad spectrum medicine, it could be very damaging to the bottom line of the drug industry and many hospitals. Furthermore, in the new applications, phenol is delivered similar to Chinese medicine. Standard medicine won’t accept it. Phenol is not a traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine won’t accept it.”

Several days later, Sam and his family completely recovered. He wasn’t sure if it was due to Dr Li’s treatment or their own immune systems. Nevertheless, he started to refer Dr Li to friends desperately seeking medical treatment. Gradually, Dr Li’s name mentioned more and more on social media.

One day, he read that Dr Li was investigated by the government. It found out that Dr Li was practicing medicine without a proper licence. Dr Li’s clinic was shut down. 

Then Sam learned more about Dr Li from social media. He did graduate from a medical school and practice medicine in a regular military hospital. But he exposed his boss for embezzlement. For this he was discharged from the military and lost his doctor’s license. He never got his license back. To make a living, he set up a small clinic in a low profile remote street. Most of his patients are poor people who could not afford medical service otherwise. He was not a competitor to big hospitals and was left alone. But during the epidemic, many people seek his help and recover from the illness. As his reputation grows, he becomes a threat to the formal medical system.

There was an uproar on the internet over the closure of Dr Li’s clinic. The people in Wuhan were already extremely angry over the lock down of their city. Now the government shuts down a popular clinic when many can’t access any other medical help. The government doesn’t want to further offend the public at this moment. Dr Li’s clinic is reopened, for now.