Herself | Page 8

nerves.
The cause should be determined by a competent physician and then
measures taken immediately to restore the normal condition.
One who suffers from dysmenorrhoea should try to plan her work so
that she may rest the first day of her menstrual period, and, if possible,
the preceding day. Absolute rest in bed at this time is beneficial. A hot
sitz bath, hot foot bath or hot vaginal douche taken just previous to the

commencement of the period will aid in relieving the congestion and
thus lessen the pain. After the flow has started hot foot baths and hot
applications to the abdomen may be used. Hot drinks also may be taken,
but one should not get in the habit of using any drug at this time. Hot
ginger tea will do as much good as one prepared with some
habit-forming drug. Many of the remedies advertised as a cure for this
condition are composed chiefly of alcohol, and, although they may give
a temporary relief, the benefit is not permanent. Careful attention to
diet and exercise, with regular hours of sleep, are essential points to be
considered if one would be free from this disagreeable trouble.
Another symptom which often causes much alarm to the patient is
amenorrhoea or deficient or scanty menstruation. This may result from
fear, worry, catching cold or to an enlargement of the womb. It also is
one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. Sometimes it indicates an
impoverished condition of the blood and shows the need of a general
building up of the system. This is true especially in young girls who
have what is called chlorosis or green sickness. These girls are pale,
weak, sometimes having a greenish cast to their complexions. They
need good care and nourishing food and plenty of light, outdoor
exercise.
In young girls I sometimes find an irritation of the vagina which causes
pain. This may be due to the retention of secretions in the vagina. The
general idea that only married women have leucorrhoea, or whites, is
fallacious. Virgins may have it. The usual cause is catching cold at the
menstrual period. Another delusion is that these girls should not take
douches for fear they might injure the hymen. This is erroneous, for
douches are necessary in the treatment of this condition and, except in
very rare cases, a douche can be taken with an especially small douche
point without injury to the parts. There normally must be a small
opening in the hymen to permit the passage of the menstrual flow. If a
small douche point is used no harm will result.
When I talked to you about the structure of the external generative
organs, I mentioned the clitoris and explained that sometimes the
prepuce or foreskin is bound down, or is too tight, so that the natural

secretions are retained under it and produce an irritation; that the
operation for the unhooding of the clitoris is very similiar to that of
circumcision in the male and is performed for similar causes. Many a
woman who has been nervous all her life, owes her condition to a
hooded clitoris, which a very simple operation would correct. A hooded
clitoris also may have something to do with the immoral life of some
girls. The other day I received a letter from an aged physician who, in
discussing the tendency to immoral practices, says: "You say in one of
your articles, 'What is the remedy? Educate!' Well, perhaps, but if you
would let me circumcise the girl early in life, I believe it would be
more certain." There is considerable truth in his statement. A hooded
clitoris produces a constant irritation which tends to lead to habits of
self-abuse and perhaps immorality.
The other common disorder which I named at first is a tumor. Tumors
are any unnatural growth. They may form in any part of the body, but
just now we will speak only of those affecting the internal female
organs. Tumors may form in the cavity of the womb, in its walls or on
the outside of it. The common symptoms are an enlargement of the
abdomen accompanied usually by pain due to pressure on the nerves.
There also may be some hemorrhage at other than the regular menstrual
periods.
Sometimes the ovaries are diseased and become enlarged, tender and
filled with fluid. Then they are spoken of as cystic tumors or as cysts.
The tubes may become inflamed and filled with pus. The most common
cause of these pus tubes is one of the black plagues. With all these
tumors the treatment usually is to remove the tumor and sometimes the
entire organ. In a few cases it is possible that the fluid or other contents
of the tumor may be absorbed, if the general health and