Cellulitis is an inflammation of the connective tissues between the skin and the mucous membranes. In connection with diseases of the tonsils, any part or parts of the face and neck may be involved. Two cases which came under my observation-one of which I never had an opportunity to treatwill be briefly described.
The first case (which I prescribed for but did not treat), a boy aged 9, was brought to me after he had had five abscesses lanced, two on each side of the nose, two on the sides of the cheek and one below the chin. The poor little fellow had grown up with a scarred face. The child was brought to me for a diet that might prevent future abscesses. It would have been better if the parents had brought their little son before the tonsillectomy.
I have treated inflamed and infected tonsils in many cases with complete therapeutic success. All that is required for chronic tonsillitis is to put the patient to bed, and keep him there, on a diet of oranges, grapefruits and fresh raw pineapples and two raw vegetable salads per day. Anyone, child or adult, can live on such a diet while resting in bed quietly for a month to six weeks. Such a treatment is superior to surgery for diseased tonsils. The bowels must be evacuated twice a dayusing enemas if necessary.
Coming back to the subject of cellulitis: My second case was one that proved to be a thrilling, dramatic experience.
Melissa N., age 3, had her tonsils removed in a well-known hospital in New York City. A couple of days after this surgery Melissa developed fever and abscesses, one on each side of the cheek, in front of her little ears, and two abscesses on her neck. The abscesses were lanced by her surgeon and the neck abscesses had two “cigarette drains” underneath her skinone above and one below. Pus kept on draining despite the fact that the then highly touted miracle drugs, the sulfa drugs, were used on little Melissa. She ran an abnormal, moderate temperature. Her fever fluctuated between 100 and 103 degrees. This was an index that the little patient was adjusted to her acute illness. Nature, the body’s intrinsic physician, was fighting her battle.
Her parents were desperate. A mutual friend suggested that I be consulted.
On a winter Sunday morning the parents of the child, accompanied by our mutual friend, arrived at the Health Rest to discuss Melissa’s case. The child was at the above-mentioned hospital on the “critical list.” The parents related that they had seen her about breakfast time that morning; the child was being fed by her nurse, eating eggnog and farina. Her temperature was 10I degrees.
When I heard this I could not help but state emphatically that no one who has fever can get better while eating cereal, egg and milk. I naturally felt that the child would be safer under my management. The child’s physician, or rather the surgeon, had told the parents that same morning that he knew of no way of controlling the temperature. He had “tried everything.” “The child might even die.” I suggested to the parents that they bring the child to me for treatment. They returned that same evening with their daughter.
I put Melissa to bed, took her temperature, and found her fever to be 102 degrees. (She had missed her lunch that day.) I gave her a glass of orange juice for her supper and instructed Mrs. N., her mother, to put her to bed.
The following morning Melissa’s treatment really began. She was a sweet, bright child and promised not to cry when her bandages of cotton, gauze and medication were removed. I put the child in a bath-tub with about six inches of warm water in the tub in order to relax her. I removed the bandages and pulled out the rubber cigarette drains with a forceps. The child was sweet even though it hurt. Using an antiseptic solution of half boiled water and half Zonite, with a sterile medicine dropper I irrigated her wounds and applied sterile gauze pads to them, covering each one with sterile gauze dressings. I instructed her mother on how to apply the Zonite and water treatment in order to keep the wounds moist. This helped to weaken and destroy the bacterial debris.
The next day the wounds were washed with a solution of boiled water and boric acid and left exposed to the air. A mercury ultra-violet sunlamp was applied for a few minutes to the exposed wounds. The child’s abscesses healed progressively without any complications. Only one week of local treatment with antiseptics cleared up the wounds.
Her diet consisted of freshly made fruit juice whenever she asked for food, and a raw apple, pear or a slice of fresh raw pineapple to chew. At the end of two weeks there was not a trace of abscess left.
The child was then put on a building diet. I believe that children require a quart of milk a day and Melissa’s diet was so planned that a full quart of milk per day was included. I do not believe in mixing milk with starchy foods at the same mealtime. Melissa was given two oranges to chew first thing in the morning. This was followed by a glass of warm milk. The milk was followed by some raw fruit of the sub-acid kindno bananas. The child was instructed to nap after her breakfast.
The noon meal consisted of raw vegetable salad; whatever the child would eat with relish, lettuce, celery, raw carrot, a slice of tomato, was given to her. This was followed with another glass of milk. Following the milk came a dish of steamed green vegetables and this was followed with a little raw fruit for dessert. The child took another nap after lunch. After her nap she had two hours to spend outdoors.
The evening meal at 5 p.m. consisted of a pint of milk, or a glass of milk and an ounce of cottage cheese, plus one egg and fresh raw fruit. This diet was carried on for another week, after which the noon meal was changed somewhat. A pint of milk was given to the child for breakfast with her fresh fruits, and her noon meal consisted of a slice of bread and butter or a baked potato or cooked cereal or dry cereal with top milk or sweet cream with raw salad or raw fruit.
Today, twelve years afterward, Melissa is a young lady attending a special high school for talented, promising young people. She is going to be a ballet dancer.