Chapter 3161: with translation of chapter title

「Is the child still taking this every day? 」 Zheng Ren held the lysine, looking at it, and some ideas formed in his mind.

「Yes, Teacher Zheng. Lysine helps the body absorb calcium; I've not been growing much, and I also doubt whether I'm lacking some trace elements. 」 Doctor Zhao was especially grateful for Zheng Ren's action; if she herself had to run the tests, it would probably just be thrown aside.

「Hmm? 」 Zheng Ren frowned, looking at the lysine box and asked, 「What dosage? 」.

「Twice a day, one pill each time. 」.

His attention was mainly on the elderly person, observing every detail clearly. Because Zheng Ren considered not only the orchid grass ointment but also this lysine.

As expected, just as anticipated, Zheng Ren saw the elderly person standing at the doorway move the corner of their mouth slightly, wanting to speak but stopping.

「Auntie, what do you want to say? 」 Zheng Ren asked gently.

「This… this medicine…」 the elderly person stammered, only getting out a beginning before saying nothing more.

「Go ahead, it's fine. 」 Zheng Ren smiled, 「Your grandson indeed has some issues; we need to find out where the problem lies. 」.

「This medicine… I forgot what my granddaughter said, I took it according to the instructions. 」 the elderly person hesitated a few seconds, then finally told the truth.

Doctor Zhao stared for a moment, having instructed them herself—how could they take it according to the instructions!

The instructions list an adult dosage—how could that be the same!

「Teacher Zheng, nothing serious, right? 」 Doctor Zhao's voice trembled a bit, but she thought the problem shouldn't be big.

「If you have time, hold the child and go check bone density, then look at the femoral head; if long-term large-dose lysine is taken orally, it could cause bone density to decrease, and combined with Hormone use, severe cases might even lead to femoral head necrosis. 」 Zheng Ren sighed and said.

「……」.

Doctor Zhao was stunned—bone density decreasing? This isn't a calcium supplement! And Zheng Lao Ban ordered to check the femoral head, even saying he doubted the child had femoral head necrosis?!.

「Teacher Zheng……」 Doctor Zhao, anxious, spoke incoherently, stammering as she asked.

「The main effect of lysine is to treat cold sores, but domestically it's taken as a calcium and height‑increasing medicine. 」 Zheng Ren said.

「Ah? 」 Doctor Zhao stared for a moment, 「Does it have no calcium‑boosting effect? 」.

「Yes. 」 Zheng Ren said, 「Lysine, called L-lysine in biochemistry texts, is an essential amino acid needed to maintain many bodily functions. People describe amino acids as the building blocks of proteins because they combine with other compounds to form this major nutrient. 」.

「We define lysine as an essential amino acid because, unlike other amino acids, the human body cannot synthesize it. Therefore, lysine can only be obtained from food. 」.

「This…… isn't that good? 」 Doctor Zhao was still defending, as if proving Zheng Ren wrong would make the child's illness get better.

「That's not how it is. 」 Zheng Ren sighed and said, 「The main effect is to treat cold sores, not frostbite—it's the herpes simplex that appears on the lips and corners of the mouth; that is lysine's main effect. 」.

「Of course, lysine also helps the body absorb calcium, iron, and zinc; promotes collagen growth and supports the immune system. Moreover, it helps the body produce various enzymes, antibodies, and Hormone. 」.

「But no matter what, excessive intake is bad—it could even become Poison. 」 Zheng Ren said, 「Taking your calcium‑supplement example, the body needs it to help absorb calcium and maintain healthy hormone, enzyme, and antibody levels. 」.

「Since lysine helps the body absorb calcium, taking too much raises body calcium levels too high, which is called low blood calcium. 」.

「The body needs Balance; when blood calcium drops, the consequences…… I won't say more. 」 Zheng Ren said, 「First stop the lysine; we'll talk about the rest after the tests. 」.

「Oh oh. 」 Doctor Zhao responded.

「Boss, Section Chief Lin said he's coming right away. 」.

「Sure, come over. 」 Zheng Ren hesitated a bit but still agreed. Having Old Liu do the Shou Bing is fine too; letting Lin Ge help out is no problem. It's just a bit troublesome; Zheng Ren felt a little embarrassed.

He took the orchid grass ointment in hand, 「Doctor Zhao, I'll take this away for testing to see if it contains Hormone. 」.

「Thank you for the trouble, Teacher Zheng. 」 Doctor Zhao bowed to Zheng Ren, expressing her gratitude.

Zheng Ren didn't want to say more; a two‑year‑old child already showed symptoms of femoral head necrosis, even if only stage 1, it would be hard to handle later.

Zheng Ren was especially unwilling to take on children's cases; first, pediatrics is highly specialized and differs from adult medicine. But more importantly, because a child is like a flower, a hope. Not yet bloomed, already withering—no matter how you think about it, it's Uncomfortable.

Walking out of the doctor's Zhibanshi, one could hear Doctor Zhao sobbing and arguing with her mother. That's just family matters; Zheng Ren didn't want to get involved.

「Zheng Lao Ban, is the child okay? 」 Lin JiaoJiao hadn't expected the situation to be so serious; she inquired.

「Sister Lin, how can you say it's fine? 」 Su Yun said, 「Do you know what side effects excessive lysine has? 」.

「I also took it for a while, said to promote collagen synthesis in the body. 」.

「You're an adult, unlike Doctor Zhao's grandchild. The child is taking too much, blood calcium is low, spasms and convulsions may occur. Another possibility is that due to low blood calcium, the child lacks strength and prefers to lie in one position. 」 Su Yun said, giving her speculation.

Zheng Ren thought the same; the orchid grass ointment is just a factor; tracing back to the root, it still points to lysine.

「The child sweats, wets the bed, and always lies in one position, naturally prone to eczema. Then applying the Hormone‑containing orchid grass ointment—speaking of which, this ointment isn't cheap. 」 Su Yun said.

「Pure Chinese medicine preparations are inherently expensive; their selling point is containing no industrial ingredients, being pure, natural, green, and pollution‑free. 」 Lin JiaoJiao said.

「Yeah, but is it effective? Even if it is, it's just a conditioning process. Wanting immediate results, how does traditional Chinese medicine put it? 」 Su Yun said.

「A potent, harsh medicine. 」.

「Hey, that's right. 」 Su Yun said, 「I think this child will need a lot of effort to cure; no matter the cost, generally low blood calcium and large Hormone intake can also easily lead to diabetes. I hope the child doesn't have this condition… Boss, what do you think? 」.

「I don't know. First send the orchid grass ointment for testing. 」 Zheng Ren knew the result, but he couldn't just tell Su Yun it's not that. Anyway, it wouldn't delay treatment, so he didn't say those things to Su Yun.