DISEASES OF EARS, NOSE, MOUTH AND THROAT
Compiled and edited by Ivor Hughes
Part 3 of 3
Pharyngitis
. � This is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the throat, affecting the voice and causing huskiness of speech, etc. Pharyngitis is often directly allied to chronic bowel trouble, but in any case is the outcome of a general toxic condition of the system as a whole. Previous suppressive medical treatment of disease (especially fevers) is a big factor in its appearance in certain cases, and the usual medical treatment for the condition, by means of gargles, sprays, etc., only tends to make the trouble chronic.Treatment. � Treatment for pharyngitis which would be really effective must be constitutional rather than local. For an acute attack nothing is so efficacious as a fast. A fast for three or four days on water is the finest thing (a glass of warm or fairly hot water every two hours throughout the day). The warm-water enema should be used nightly to cleanse the bowels during that time. A cold pack should also be applied to the throat at night, and at three-hourly intervals during the day, too, if required. (See the Appendix for details as to how the pack is made and applied.) A hot Epsom-salts bath can be taken every other day whilst the attack lasts.
When the acute symptoms have subsided, a day or two on the exclusive fresh fruit diet, given in the Appendix, can be undertaken to follow the fast, and after that the full weekly diet, also given in the Appendix, can be gradually adopted and adhered to strictly thereafter. The breathing exercises outlined in the Appendix should be performed regularly daily, in conjunction with the dry friction and sponge, and a definite attempt must be made to prevent further attacks by building up the tone of the whole system by adopting a plan of general health-building along the lines laid down in the treatment for catarrh.
Smoking and drinking, if habitual, should be definitely discontinued, as also all other habits tending to enervate the system. No medicinal preparations of any kind should be used; but the throat can be gargled several times daily with warm water containing a little orange or lemon juice, during the treatment, if desired.
For chronic pharyngitis a course of general treatment, such as that given
for catarrh in the preceding pages, will be found to provide the most
beneficial results.
Treatment. � The natural treatment for catarrh given in the preceding pages of the present section will get rid of the underlying catarrhal state which is the real cause of the appearance of polypi in the nose, and will lead to the gradual disappearance of the polypus too, if that has not been allowed to develop too far before treatment is begun. If the polypus is one of long standing, however, then there might be need for an operation ; but even so, the treatment for catarrh already referred to should be put into operation forthwith. For only in this way can the sufferer build up his health and prevent further polypi forming.
For strengthening and toning up the mucous membrane the sniffing of cold water up the nose, several times daily, is a very useful thing (squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into the water) ; whilst the application of hot and cold fomentations over the area where the polypus is, is a most helpful procedure too, and should be done several times daily if at all possible. (The method by which these applications are applied is outlined in the treatment for middle-ear disease in the preceding pages.) Spinal manipulation and sun-ray treatment are both most valuable in cases of polypi, in conjunction with natural treatment.
Pyorrhoea. �T his is a disease of the teeth-sockets, and is very prevalent indeed these days. It is the membrane surrounding the teeth-roots which is affected, with loosening of the teeth, pus formation, and shrinkage of the gums. According to the dentist and the doctor, it is " germs " which are the cause of pyorrhoea, and all that can be done from their point of view is to extract the affected teeth, and, by means of germicides, prevent the trouble from spreading further.
This attitude to pyorrhoea is completely wrong, however. Pyorrhoea is not
due to germ infection ; it is merely one of the many forms of acidosis with
which our present-day humanity is afflicted, as a result of the wrong
feeding habits of to-day. As has been pointed out again and again in the
present book, a dietary of white bread, refined cereals, much meat, white
sugar, cooked vegetables, etc., etc., always leads to the swamping of the
blood and tissues with acid waste matter, and to the development of disease
in one form or another. Pyorrhoea is merely one of the many forms this
swamping of the system with acid impurities (acidosis) takes. The sufferer
from pyorrhoea can take it that his blood and tissues are in an excessively
acid condition, and that his trouble is due solely to errors in diet, and
not to " germs " or other hypothetical factors.
Treatment. � It must be obvious from the foregoing that no
treatment for pyorrhoea can be effective which does not seek to cleanse the
blood and tissues of the acid impurities which are at the root of the
trouble. The extraction of teeth affected with the disease does nothing to
clear up the systemic toxaemia which is the underlying factor concerned, and
the pyorrhoea sufferer who has had his teeth removed and is now wearing
false dentures can rest assured that disease in some form or other, other
than pyorrhoea, will soon be knocking insistently at his door. It must be
so, simply because the toxic matter which caused the pyorrhoea, and which
his present feeding habits only intensify in quantity, is still present in
his system all the time.
The only effective treatment for pyorrhoea is therefore constitutional
treatment; and the sufferer is advised to proceed as follows : Begin with a
short fast for from three to five days, and follow this with ten to fourteen
days on the restricted diet given in the Appendix. After this the full
weekly dietary, also given in the Appendix, should be adopted, and adhered
to strictly thereafter. Further short fasts followed by periods on the
restricted diet may be required at, say, two- or three-monthly intervals in
certain cases, depending upon the initial severity of the condition. (Some
really serious cases may need a protracted fast to begin with.)
The bowels should be cleansed nightly during the first few days of the
treatment with the warm-water enema or douche, and afterwards if necessary ;
and where constipation is habitual, the rules for its eradication given in
should be put into operation forthwith. The daily dry friction and sitz-bath
or sponge, and the breathing and other exercises given in the Appendix,
should be made a definite part of the morning routine ; and a hot
Epsom-salts bath should be taken twice weekly from now on.
As regards local treatment, the teeth should be cleansed night and morning
with a little lemon juice squeezed on the tooth-brush (after the latter has
been dipped into warm water), and the mouth should be well rinsed afterwards
with warm water containing lemon juice also. The forefinger of the right
hand should be rubbed gently over the gums for a minute or two after each
brushing. NO MEDICINAL OR PATENT PREPARATIONS OF ANY KIND ARE TO BE USED. NO
TOOTHPASTES.
As already indicated, the diet factor is essentially the whole crux of the
matter where real cure is concerned, and all that has been said on this
subject in the present book, and in the author's book Your Diet in Health
and Disease, should be read through carefully and taken to heart by the
sufferer from pyorrhoea. Fresh fruits, green salads, wholemeal bread,
properly cooked vegetables, eggs, cheese, nuts, and milk should form the
basis of the future dietary. White bread, white sugar, and all refined and
tinned foods must be completely given up. Meat and other flesh foods can
with great benefit be left out of the future dietary, and those who are able
and willing to do without such foods altogether, to help on their cure, can
substitute egg or cheese or nuts for flesh foods where mentioned on the
weekly diet-sheet given in the Appendix. Condiments, sauces, etc., are taboo
; as also are coffee, alcohol, and strong tea.
Rhinitis. � This is a very extreme form of catarrh of the nose, and is a very difficult condition to deal with because of the serious degenerative changes which have taken place within the nasal structure. All that has been said about catarrh and its treatment (in the preceding pages of the present section) should be studied carefully by the sufferer from rhinitis, but in his case it would be far more satisfactory if personal naturopathic treatment were sought. Such treatment is always best, because of the additional curative measures which can be employed, curative measures which one carrying on at home must of necessity do without. (A fairly long fast, to start the treatment, would be far the best in these cases, with further shorter fasts at intervals, as required.)
Sinusitis. � The nasal sinuses, being connected with the nasal passages, are liable to disease emanating from the nose or throat. Operations for the removal of tonsils and adenoids have a great deal to do with the development of diseases in the nasal sinuses, as has also previous suppressive medical treatment for fevers, persistent colds, catarrh, etc. When the nasal sinuses become chronically inflamed, they are the cause of much pain and suffering to the unfortunate individual concerned, and treatment along orthodox medical lines for the cure of the trouble is far from satisfactory, to say the least !
For the effective treatment of sinusitis or other affection of the nasal sinuses the sufferer is referred to the treatment for Catarrh given in the preceding pages of the present section. Along its lines, and its lines only, does his real cure lie. As regards local treatment for the alleviation of pain, hot and cold compresses to the affected areas will be most beneficial. A piece of linen material or a towel is wrung out in hot water, applied over the painful area or areas for, say, two or three minutes, and removed. A second and then a third hot compress are then applied for the same length of time, and then a cold application is put on. This can be done several times daily if desired. Always work in the same order : three hot applications, one cold. Manipulative treatment and artificial sunlight treatment can be recommended in all cases of sinusitis.
Sore or Inflamed Tongue. � Sore or inflamed tongue is usually a sign of excess acidity of the stomach due to wrong feeding habits, especially the over-consumption of starchy and sugary foods. As regards treatment, the sufferer is referred to Hyperacidity and its treatment. In cases where it is found that fruit or fruit juices tend to accentuate the trouble, the best procedure regarding treatment is to have a fast for from two to four days, having a glass of warm water every two hours during the day, and to follow this with a period on the milk diet, as outlined in the Appendix. When on the milk diet not more than four pints' of milk should be taken in all, beginning with about two pints the first day, and gradually increasing up to four pints daily. The warm-water enema should be used daily during the first few days of the fast and milk diet, and every other day thereafter as required. The period to be spent on the milk diet will, of course, depend upon the condition of the tongue. As soon as the tongue has improved sufficiently, the full weekly dietary given in the Appendix should be begun. Treatment should otherwise be exactly as for Hyperacidity as outlined. Further short fasts with periods on the milk diet may be required in certain cases, at intervals of, say, a month to six weeks.
Sore Throat. � See Tonsillitis below.
Tonsillitis. � Tonsillitis or acute sore throat, is really acute inflammation of the tonsils, the almond-shaped bodies situated on either side of the throat, or pharynx. If the reader has read with care what has been said at the beginning of the present section regarding the work of the tonsils and how they become diseased, he will realise that tonsillitis is nothing more than the direct outcome of a toxic condition of the system generally, brought to a head by a sudden lowering of vitality resulting from exposure, sudden chill, etc. In this connection nothing predisposes more towards throat affections of this kind than chronic constipation. A tendency towards recurrent attacks of quinsy and tonsillitis is almost always associated with this condition, as toxins which should have been ejected from the system in the ordinary way are reabsorbed into the blood-stream because of the constipated condition of the individual concerned, thus throwing more and more work upon the detoxifying mechanisms of the system, of which the tonsils are one of the foremost.
Treatment. � Treatment for sore throat or tonsillitis along orthodox lines, by means of painting, gargling, spraying, etc., is both harmful and suppressive. It does nothing to rid the system of the toxins at the root of the trouble ; it merely forces these toxins back into the system to cause more serious trouble later on. The only sane and logical treatment for tonsillitis is a cleansing one�treatment which will rid the system once and for all of the underlying toxic matter which is at the root of the trouble. The condition will then be overcome in the shortest possible time, whilst the general health of the individual concerned will be very much enhanced by the treatment and not further impaired, as it would be under orthodox medical treatment.
The sufferer from acute sore throat, or tonsillitis, is advised to, carry on as follows : Fast for as long as the more serious symptoms continue. This may be from two to four or even five or six days, according to the severity of the condition. NOTHING BUT WATER AND ORANGE JUICE SHOULD BE TAKEN DURING THAT TIME. NO MILK; NOTHING ELSE AT ALL.
The bowels' should be cleansed daily with the warm-water enema or douche
during that time, twice daily in the more serious cases. A cold pack, as
described in detail in the Appendix, should be applied to the throat at
two-hourly intervals during the day, and one at night too (this latter
should be removed in the morning). The throat may be gargled several times
daily with warm water; but nothing else should be used. A hot Epsom-salts
bath may be taken every day, or every other day, with good effect.
If the patient is kept quiet, and the foregoing treatment carried out, the
most serious attack of tonsillitis or sore throat can be weathered quite
easily. As the symptoms subside, then the all-fruit diet given in the
Appendix can be adopted for a few days, and after that the full weekly
dietary given therein. This full weekly dietary should be adhered to
strictly thereafter, if further trouble of the same kind is to be prevented.
The daily dry friction and sitz-bath or sponge and the breathing and other
exercises given in the Appendix should all form part of the daily health
regimen, once the patient is convalescent. A hot Epsom-salts bath once or
twice a week can be taken regularly from then on with every benefit too.
Remember : No medicinal preparations or drugs of any kind are to be taken or
employed in any way.
Pineapple juice, the juice of fresh (not tinned) pineapple, that is; is most
valuable in all throat affections of the kind we are discussing. Spinal
manipulation is extremely beneficial in all cases of tonsillitis and allied
ailments. For chronic sore throat see treatment for enlarged Tonsils.
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