Word: bacterias
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...fast as one coat of dye dries, another is applied, until the patient looks as though he were covered with a light, flexible coat of purple leather. Then he is kept at a temperature of around 85° F. The dye protects the raw flesh, and kills all bacteria...
...some bacteria do start growing, they are easily seen, for the infected spot becomes moist and soft. It is cut away, and a new coat of dye is sprayed on. The treatment is far more painstaking than the tannic-acid method. But aniline-dyed patients seldom die of infections, even if two-thirds of their skin is burned away...
...others an enzyme, this germ-eater is called bacteriophage. Strains of bacteriophage are found in the human intestinal tract, in urine, pus, blood and sewage. About 25 years ago, bacteriophage was first isolated by a British scientist from a dead germ colony. The mysterious substance that killed the bacteria was able to pass through a fine filter and infect other colonies. Some doctors soon dreamed of it as a universal panacea. (Sinclair Lewis dramatized this hope in his novel Arrowsmith.) Compared to the early days, the claims last week seemed conservative...
Bacteriophage is almost as elusive as filtrable viruses; it can scarcely be seen under a high-powered microscope, and must be cultured on a special nitrogen compound called asparagine. For every patient, said Dr. MacNeal, he must send a sample of blood or pus containing the bacteria to special laboratories, have the bacteriophage made to order. It is injected into the veins, as much as a quart in eight hours. Since it is difficult to culture, doctors seldom think of using it until the "extreme stage" of illness. According to Dr. MacNeal, bacteriophage first weakens bacteria with special enzymes, then...
...oxygen is injected into the joints when they first begin to swell. The oxygen, he claims, has a threefold action: 1) it seems to act as a buffer between inflamed cells, separating them, opening lymph channels for drainage, and reducing pressure; 2) it probably kills certain types of bacteria; 3) it may neutralize poisons and stimulate local circulation of blood...