127: Causes of a twisted esophagus

As Dr. Qin instructed, Li Yuan obediently opened her mouth.

Dr. Qin used a flashlight and tongue depressor to perform a thorough examination, finding Li Yuan's oral cavity to be very healthy, with no issues whatsoever.

"It certainly looks fine like this. How about this, you hold this endoscope and then swallow a small piece of bread."

With Dr. Qin's help, Li Yuan chewed the bread a few times, and as she prepared to swallow, she opened her mouth and held the endoscope.

Dr. Qin gave her a look, signaling that she could swallow.

Just as Li Yuan swallowed, viewers in the livestream could clearly see her throat contract sharply.

The esophagus, which could clearly accommodate a small fist, was now completely closed, twisting and trembling.

This scene made the viewers in the livestream feel their scalps tingle.

"What the hell! Why does watching her swallow make me feel like I'm looking at the Gates of Hell?"

"Oh my god, this is too terrifying, wouldn't it be excruciatingly painful?"

"It's truly a miracle she's managed to endure from the age of ten until now. If it were me, I probably wouldn't last a few days and would starve to death."

When Dr. Qin observed from the outside, he had already determined that Li Yuan's condition was quite severe.

However, he hadn't expected the internal view through the endoscope to be even more shocking!

If one had to make a comparison, the pain Li Yuan experienced from swallowing was equivalent to a calf muscle cramp.

The most critical part was that every single swallow caused this phenomenon!

So at this point, even Dr. Qin couldn't help but admire her pain tolerance.

"So, when you usually drink water or eat liquid food, does this situation occur?"

Li Yuan shook her head.

"As long as it's not solid, this situation won't happen."

Dr. Qin nodded, then asked, "Did you chew when you ate as a child?"

Jin Lan found Dr. Qin's question a bit strange; who doesn't chew when they eat?

However, Li Yuan's answer surprised everyone.

Li Yuan said, blushing, "When I was little, I really didn't like to chew. I just swallowed everything directly."

"Huh?"

Jin Lan looked shocked, indicating her incomprehension.

"No, why didn't you chew your food? Didn't you find it very uncomfortable?"

Li Yuan lowered her head, blushing, and whispered, "It wasn't very uncomfortable. I… I actually found it quite pleasant."

Dr. Qin explained from the side, "The human esophagus also has sensation, but we swallow frequently, so this sensation is very subtle and ignored by most of us."

"Some people actually really enjoy the sensation of swallowing, they like to feel the 'esophagus' existing."

"For example, many people like to drink alcohol, and there's a phenomenon in drinking called 'a thread of smoothness'."

"If it's good liquor, when you swallow it in one gulp, you'll feel a thread going down your esophagus into your stomach, and then this thread turns into a hot iron, a burning sensation spreading from your chest throughout your body."

With Dr. Qin's explanation, the viewers immediately understood.

"Indeed, I know many older brothers who drink alcohol by just swallowing it directly. They say that's the feeling they're after."

"Although I don't drink alcohol, when I was a child, I especially loved carbonated drinks, and what I liked most was the feeling of the bubbles stimulating my esophagus—it was very addictive!"

"So, this young lady achieves a similar effect by swallowing rice? Can her digestive system handle it?"

After hearing Dr. Qin's explanation, Jin Lan and Li Yuan suddenly realized.

Li Yuan quickly asked, "So, the reason I'm like this now is because I didn't chew my food as a child and swallowed it directly?"

Dr. Qin nodded.

"Your condition is caused by muscle spasms."

"When a normal person eats, the muscles along the food's path contract and relax, but your muscles have become quite sensitive due to years of constant stimulation."

"You should know that while directly swallowing food can provide a certain sense of comfort by rubbing the esophagus, it also causes damage to the esophagus."

"So, your body, to protect you, activated this stress mechanism."

"That's why drinking water doesn't cause you any problems, but as soon as you eat solid food, your esophagus reacts immediately."

Li Yuan's expression suddenly became a bit awkward.

After all that, this illness was self-inflicted?

"Then, Dr. Qin, can my condition still be cured?"

"Yes."

Dr. Qin pointed to the QR code on the table.

"Pay first, four hundred seventy."

Upon hearing it was only four hundred seventy, all the viewers in the livestream started to laugh.

"This girl's consultation fee is really cheap."

"How can it not be cheap? No medicine, no injections, all by talking. I think Dr. Qin is losing money."

"Yes, this girl's illness is entirely self-inflicted. This emotional illness should fall under the category of psychological disorders, right? Shouldn't there be a consultation fee?"

"Traditional Chinese Medicine doesn't seem to have a concept of consultation fees. I did see a Western Medicine psychologist once, two hundred yuan an hour. I consulted for three hours, and six hundred was gone."

Li Yuan took out her phone to scan and pay, and Dr. Qin's mind immediately received a system notification.

Ding.

[Detected that the host was straightforward with the patient, revealed the patient's hidden ailment, greatly helped the patient, task completed]

[Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: Stomach-Strengthening Spleen-Returning Decoction.]

Stomach-Strengthening Spleen-Returning Decoction?

It feels similar to Digestive Pills.

It seems the next patient should have a gastrointestinal illness.

Another prescription earned, not a loss!

As Dr. Qin was happy, Li Yuan, who had already paid, looked at Dr. Qin with anticipation.

"Dr. Qin, how do you think my illness should be treated?"

Dr. Qin hummed.

"Simple, I'll just give you a few needles."

Dr. Qin finished speaking, took out his needle bag, and told Li Yuan to sit up straight and stretch her neck as much as possible.

Upon seeing Dr. Qin holding long, thin needles to prick her neck, Li Yuan immediately became a little flustered.

"Dr. Qin, are you going to prick my neck? Will this really be okay?"

The neck is a very sensitive part of the human body.

Now that Dr. Qin was going to use needles on her neck, Li Yuan naturally felt very scared.

Dr. Qin reassured her, "Don't worry, nothing will happen. It might just hurt a little; you'll need to bear it for a moment."

Dr. Qin finished speaking and inserted a needle.

Li Yuan, who had been nervous, suddenly widened her eyes.

She didn't feel pain; in fact, she felt a tingling sensation, a bit comfortable.

Dr. Qin continued to explain, "The first few needles are mainly to help relax your tense muscles, just like if you run every day, your calf muscles will be in a tight state."

"So, with the first few needles, you'll feel very comfortable."

"But the last needle, that will hurt a bit."

As Dr. Qin spoke, he inserted the last needle.

As soon as this needle went in, Li Yuan immediately let out a cry of pain, tears welling up in her eyes.

Fortunately, the pain came and went quickly.

Almost at the same moment Li Yuan cried out, the intense pain disappeared.

The specific feeling was like someone forcefully resetting a dislocated bone—it only hurt for a split second.