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Everybody�s Guide To Nature Cure
The Fevers. Part 1.
By Harry Benjamin ND
Compiled and Edited by Ivor Hughes.

Introduction.
Harry Benjamin ND was a Classical Naturopath, by that I mean that all of the methods that he used were based upon sound commonsense . Drugless and without the use of supplements. His methods were based in their entirety on �The Healing Power of Nature� I am a total convert having cured myself with the aid of Nature of a dread disease for which Medical Science still has no answers. This by following the methods that Harry Benjamin outlined.

Ivan Illich in his classic work �Medical Nemesis� noted that the medical profession have turned it into a crime to help your family or your neighbor. This of course is reflected in the disclaimers that Alternative Practitioners are forced by law to add to such articles as they publish for the benefit of those who seek who seek a modicum of health freedom and a sound immune system.

Irrespective of ones personal beliefs. It becomes obvious  in the wake of  the ever increasing natural disasters ... that should we have an epidemic of contagious disease ... our orthodox medical system would be completely overwhelmed ... and that many people would be quite simply abandoned to their own devices or else contained by force in a quarantine area. We all understand the stark reality in times of want .. the poor and the weak are the first to be pushed to the wall. The rich and the powerful will head the medical and food queue of rationed supplies 

As a personal opinion I believe that the �Law of Necessity� will override the current legal and monetary considerations upon which it is determined whether one receives medical attention or not from the orthodox system. The Law of Necessity will also override those canons of power upon which the medical profession insists. This if one is cut off either by poverty, natural disaster, infirmity or distance. Being prepared is half of the journey toward health freedom.

There are but three things needed when embarking upon these millennia old methods. The first is �confidence� in the healing power of nature. Nature built you! It would be odd indeed if she did not know how to repair you. A correctly set bone repairs itself. A cut repairs itself with the proviso that one is in a reasonably well nourished state. 

Secondly �common sense� which is the ability to exercise ones discretion in all matters, this after weighing what it is before ones eyes, listening to the heart and not allowing oneself to be influenced by any kind of flim flammery designed to panic one into precipitate or immoral action.

Thirdly �courage� in the validity of ones own autonomy in the face of authority. For many people this is the real sticking point and to that end one may read a little more here;  http://www.new-life.net/milgram.htm

Confidence, Courage and Commonsense will enable you to comply with the �Law of Necessity' in times of want or danger simply by drawing upon the well springs that you contain in great measure.

The Fevers.
Everyone�s Guide to Nature Cure.  
Harry Benjamin ND.

To the ordinary individual brought up on orthodox views about the matter, a fever is something which we " catch " from a germ, and has nothing whatever to do with what has gone before in the life-history of the individual concerned. Mr. A. is quite well and healthy to-day, and yet to-morrow he is down with typhoid, or pneumonia, or what not.  "Purely the result of germ infection," the doctor says, and everyone believes it implicitly.

But the reader will not have gone far in the present book before he will have come to realise the superficiality and speciousness of such thinking about disease. No one can " catch " a fever who has not a ready soil for the propagation and development of the germ within his own body in the shape of accumulated systemic refuse and toxic material brought there through wrong feeding habits and general wrong living. As pointed out again and again in the present book, if a person is absolutely clean and wholesome INSIDE, then no germ disease of any kind can arise within the system. It is only in those whose systems are unwholesome inside that such diseases can develop. Whether the disease originates spontaneously or through contact with others does not matter in the least.

A fever, then, can only develop within the systems of those who are in a state of internal uncleanliness, and far from the fever being something inimical to health and likely to lead towards the death of the patient if not checked in time, as is generally believed, it is nothing but an attempt at self-cleansing on the part of the natural forces within the body of the individual concerned, and a direct move towards health and self-regeneration. This may sound very startling to the uninitiated, but once the theoretical portion of the present book has been read and understood, everything is quite plain and clear. Fevers are acute diseases, and all acute diseases are direct manifestations of the self-cleansing and health-restoring activities of the body. Allow the fever to run its course in a natural manner, and the individual concerned will be in far better health in every way after the fever than before, because his whole system will have undergone nothing short of a natural " spring-cleaning."

Contrast this attitude towards fevers with the orthodox view. To the medical mind a fever is a most serious disease-condition brought about through the agency of unseen but deadly germs�a state which must be fought " tooth and nail" in order to save the life of the individual concerned. A deadly war has to be waged at once between the " life-saving " sera and drugs of orthodox medication and the potent death-dealing germs always prowling about the universe, the battle-field being the body of the unfortunate sufferer. If, " through the mercy of God," medical skill prevails, and the death-dealing germs are destroyed, then the victim will have had his life saved as a result of the blessings of orthodox medicine !

Unfortunately for those who like melodrama, even with regard to disease (with the germ as the villain of the piece, and the doctor as the hero, fighting with drug and serum to save the unfortunate victim's life), this view of fevers and their treatment is not only utterly wrong, but it is the bringer of untold harm to thousands upon thousands of luckless sufferers dealt with in this way. For when fevers are treated by drugs and sera, their natural self-cleansing activity is suppressed, and the toxic matter which the natural forces of the body were endeavouring to throw off through the medium of the fever are forced back again into the tissues and internal structures, where, plus the drugs and sera administered by the doctor, they sow the seeds for the development of disease of a more lasting and insidious kind�to wit, chronic disease (as pointed out clearly in the opening chapters of the theoretical portion of the present book).

What the doctor calls a " cure " is nothing more than a checking of this natural attempt at self-cleansing; and even if no direct complications set in (as often happens !), and the individual feels quite all right for the time being, he often wonders why he suddenly finds himself the victim of this or that disease thereafter for no apparent reason at all. (And no doubt the doctor wonders too !)

The fact that so many complications arise out of the orthodox medical treatment of fevers�complications sometimes of the most serious nature�shows only too clearly what is going on within the body as a result of the suppressive nature of the treatment employed. Such complications simply mean that this or that vital organ or structure is being swamped with toxic material and drug poisons as a result of wrongly thought-out and wrongly applied measures of treatment, and has succumbed under the pressure. (That is why kidney and heart disease follow so often in the wake of fevers treated in the orthodox manner.)

Indeed, on this question of complications alone, Medical Science stands convicted as totally misunderstanding the nature and treatment of fevers, because when a fever is dealt with along natural lines, COMPLICATIONS CANNOT OCCUR.

When fevers are understood in their true light as natural attempts at self-cleansing, their treatment is a simple matter. No doubt the symptoms and the general condition of the patient give cause for genuine alarm to relatives and friends; but when we realise that all that is taking place is that waste matter and morbid deposits are being " burned up " in the tissues preparatory to a complete rejuvenation of the system, then one can take matters more philosophically, and carry out what has to be done with calmness and sureness, knowing with certainty that all will come right in the end.

One of the great besetting sins of all people is that they think that as soon as someone is ill something must be done for the patient. The doctor is hurriedly sent for, he comes into the sick-room, the anxious parents or relatives of the sick person are there waiting for him, and of course he is expected to do something right away to save the patient from further suffering. Even if he does not know what is wrong or what treatment to pursue, he still must do something to satisfy the touching faith in his prowess of those present. It is because of this that doctors often have to carry out all sorts of measures and give all sorts of things that even they do not consider needful to the case, simply because something spectacular is expected of them.

This sort of attitude is not the one for those who would carry out a scheme of natural treatment in a case of a fever. For it is precisely in these cases that nothing must be done�or, if anything, very little. The fever is a natural crisis, and all that the work of healing consists in is helping it to run its course completely and so carry out its allotted task, to the ultimate and lasting benefit of the sufferer.

The great thing in the treatment of all fevers is FASTING. It is by withholding all food from the patient that the natural cleansing activity taking place can be hastened to its healthful conclusion in the shortest possible time and with the greatest lasting benefit to the patient. It is because the medical profession will not learn this fundamental fact, and in addition to drugging them, persists in feeding its fever patients " to keep up their strength " (as far as they can be fed !), that the medical treatment for fevers is so unsatisfactory. Indeed, it can be said that most of the complications that arise out of the orthodox treatment of fevers are due more to the crass feeding that takes place during the fever than to any other single factor.

The patient's system does not want the food�the last thing in the world the patient wants is to eat !�and so, merely so much more waste matter is added to the pile of refuse already being burned up in his tissues. The consequence is that the patient's temperature continues to rise (or refuses to come down), and this or that trouble sets in.

We have said that the last thing the fever sufferer wants to do is to eat, and this antipathy for all food during the course of the fever supplies the natural clue to the method of treatment required. The patient's instincts tell him to avoid food, and the avoidance of food is the key to the whole matter so far as cure is concerned. Let him only keep away from food, as his instincts demand, and the fever will soon have carried out its allotted task and all will be well again. Surely the whole thing is simple when we see it in the right light ?

A most curious thing is that fasting treatment is often employed by the medical profession for the cure of typhoid fever, with excellent results; yet they cannot bring themselves to see that the same procedure will achieve equally excellent results with regard to other fevers too�indeed with all fevers. (The reason why the patient is fasted In typhoid is because it is realised that any food taken will only aggravate the condition of the intestines, where ulcers have formed as a result of the fever.)

But if a patient can be fasted for two or three weeks for typhoid with nothing but the best results, why hesitate to use this same mechanism of cure for other fevers ? No, the medical mind cannot see that all fevers are due to the same cause, and that treatment must be identical to secure the best results. They must have one treatment for one thing and another treatment for another. They could not possibly bring all medication down to the same thing. That surely would make the practice of medicine far too easy !

It is worthy of note that fevers are most common in the young; this is because the vitality of the child is so much more in proportion to that of the adult. He has not yet frittered away his birthright of health on this form of wrong living or that. Every case of fever amongst children is due basically to the one thing : WRONG FEEDING (as pointed out in the section on Children's Ailments,).

PLAN OF TREATMENT FOR ALL FEVERS
Having given this introductory talk on the origin and treatment of fevers, we can now proceed to give an outline of the general measures required for their effective treatment along natural lines. Although this or that organ or structure may be specially involved in any particular kind of fever as, for instance, the small intestines in typhoid, the lungs in pneumonia, etc. at bottom all fevers are due to the same cause, SYSTEMIC TOXEMIA and treatment is therefore identical from the Natural-Cure point of view. The procedure, whether the fever is measles, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, typhoid, or any other form of fever, should be as follows, results being in all cases equally excellent if the treatment is carefully and faithfully carried out.

To begin with, the patient must be fasted completely, being given only water and orange juice. (No milk�nothing else at all.) According to the severity of the fever it may be necessary to carry on the fast for from a week to two or even three weeks. The signs which will tell those administering the treatment when to break the fast will be the clearing of the tongue of the patient and the steadiness of body temperature at 98 degrees Fahr. The clearing of the tongue is an infallible sign to go by, as it shows definitely that all toxic matter has been burned up by the fever and the tissues are quite clear again.

During the fasting period the warm-water enema or gravity douche should be used every day�sometimes twice a day in serious cases� to cleanse the bowels. Once feeding is begun, it can be used less and less frequently until the time when normal bowel action has restarted, when it can be dispensed with altogether.

During the course of the fever the best way of reducing temperature naturally is by means of the cold pack. This can be applied to the whole body in the case of malaria, typhoid, etc. ; to the chest in the case of pneumonia ; to the throat in the case of diphtheria, etc. In general it is best to apply a body (or trunk) pack several times a day in all cases, with one to the throat, too, if needed. The pack is made by wringing out a sheet or other large square piece of linen material in cold water, wrapping it right round the body and legs of the patient (twice round would be best), and then covering completely with a small blanket or similar warm material. For the throat pack the linen may be covered with flannelling. Cold or tepid sponging of the whole body of the patient is also good ; and, if the patient can stand it, a cold bath and a quick return to bed is very good too. (This can only be done in slight cases, though.)

With regard to the packs, these can be applied every three hours during the day whilst temperature is high, and kept on for an hour or so. The body should be well sponged with tepid water after removing the pack. In cases where reaction to the body pack is poor, hot-water bottles may be applied to the feet, and also against the sides of the body.

The foregoing simple procedure is all that is required to cure� really cure�any fever, the patient being in far better health thereafter than for many years before, because of the thorough internal cleansing he will have received. AND NO COMPLICATIONS WHATSOEVER WILL RESULT.

They cannot, because no suppressive measures have been employed to cause such complications. Of course there will be anxious times for those undertaking the carrying out of the treatment�it would be folly to deny this (in some cases there may be a crisis to pass through before the smooth waters of recovery are entered) ; but if the treatment is carried out as directed, and no feeding allowed or drugs or sera given, then a complete and perfect cure MUST result.

Unfortunately, many people are not quite sure of themselves when carrying out treatment of this sort, and if any untoward happening arises they are apt to get panicky and send for a doctor. This is the worst thing possible, for the doctor will at once insist upon the patient being fed, and will proceed to administer his drugs and sera. As no doubt the patient has already been fasted for a few days, the entrance of beef-tea or milk into his system, plus the drugs and other paraphernalia of orthodox medication, will at once cause matters to take a turn for the worse. (I have known of this happening in several cases.)

The result is that the case often ends fatally ; this, however, is blamed on the fasting and in no way on to the medical treatment employed, and the relatives responsible for initiating the fast are thus led to believe that it is due to their " faddism " and foolishness that this tragic end has been brought about. This point is stressed expressly because, as has just been said, the author has known of the foregoing happening several times during the course of his experience. 

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