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Class T?Gr 121 
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 JILL 
 
 MATERNITY: 
 
 A BOOK FOR EVERY 
 
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 HND MOTHER. 
 
 REVISED AND ENLARGED. 
 
 By Mrs. P. B. SAUR, M. D. 
 
 Graduate of Philadelphia Woman's College, formerly Resident Physician 
 the Alaska Street Hospital, Philadelphia / Member Ohio State 
 Medical Society, Etc., Etc, 
 
 KNOW WELL THYSELF." 
 
 ^<Q> 
 
 CHICAGO AND PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 L. P. MILLER & COMPANY, 
 
 1889. 
 
Copyrighted by 
 
 L. P. MILLER & CO. 
 
 i889. 
 
 I 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The time has arrived when a more diffusive 
 knowledge of the laws of health, will be appreci- 
 ated by the women of our land. It is said, " A 
 little knowledge is a dangerous thing." I contend 
 that no knowledge is a greater calamity. Women 
 of this age are seeking earnestly to familiarize 
 themselves with all the arts and sciences, and the 
 leading questions of the day, and are now filling, 
 creditably, positions of trust, which require schol- 
 arly attainments. 
 
 Yet it may be said with truth, that there is no 
 subject about which the masses of women are so 
 ignorant, as the Anatomy and Physiological laws 
 of their own being. And the result is that there 
 never was a time in the history of American 
 women, when there was such an alarming preva- 
 lence of special diseases as at this day. 
 
 The important object of this work is to show 
 that this universal suffering is not the result of ex- 
 cessive mental development, but a lack of physical 
 culture, a want of balance between excitement and 
 rest, especially before maturity has been reached, 
 improprieties of dress, and sedentary habits of 
 life. The greatest need of the age is a better un- 
 derstanding of the laws of our being ; it is a point 
 
 (iii) 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 upon which the future of our race depends. I be- 
 lieve in the enlightenment of mothers and daugh- 
 ters upon this, and all topics pertaining to the 
 physical, mental and moral conditions of women, 
 as the surest means of correcting the glaring evils 
 which to-day embitter the lives of our sex. 
 
 With a better knowledge of the physiological 
 life of woman, and a practical application of its 
 laws, a higher type of womanhood will be de- 
 veloped. 
 
 This work is designed to supply a long felt ne- 
 cessity in this direction, and it is devoted to a prac- 
 tical consideration of woman and her diseases — 
 their nature, cause, and the rational cure of them. 
 
 It does not supplant the necessity of profes- 
 sional skill, in grave cases ; but it is designed to 
 make woman intelligent as to the nature of her 
 maladies and the proper means of relief. 
 
 If this work shall create a desire on the part of 
 the reader, for a better knowledge of the laws 
 governing her being, coupled with a determination 
 to make a practical application of them, the aim of 
 the book will have been accomplished. . I bespeak 
 for it, then, a warm welcome in every home in our 
 land. 
 
 Prudence B. Saur, M. D. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE YOUNG WIFE. 
 
 An ideal woman. — Health essential — Important advice — Life with- 
 out health a burden — Means to promote health — Walking a glorious 
 exercise — Evil effects of tight lacing — Pleasure in moderation neces- 
 sary to health and happiness — A wife's work — Home the kingdom, 
 and woman the king — Happy the man who has a contented wife — 
 Pages 1 1-16. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 How divided — General physiology — The breasts, nipple and ar- 
 eola — The vagina — The uterus or womb, description — Round cords 
 — Round ligaments — Broad ligaments — Anterior and posterior liga- 
 ments, arteries, veins, etc. — The ovaries, the most important of the 
 generative organs — What they contain — Development of the egg — 
 The law of conception — Ovulation — The Fallopian tubes — Description 
 — Their utility — Nourishment and development of the embrvo — The 
 chorion — The allantpis — The placenta — Plan of fcetal circulation — 
 Pages J7-3v> 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 Of what does menstruation consist — A law of nature — Every living- 
 thing comes from an egg — Marvelous regularity of the periods — Symp- 
 toms denoting appearance — Relation of menstruation to health, beauty 
 and perfection — Disorders of menstruation — Suppression of the menses 
 
 (v) 
 

 Vi CONTENTS. 
 
 -^-Various forms of suppression — Symptoms — Treatment — Chlorosis- 
 Treatment — Profuse menstruation — Causes — Symptoms — Treatment 
 —Painful menstruation — Causes — Symptoms — Treatment — Change of 
 life — Symptoms — Treatment — Pages 31-55- 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PREGNANCY. 
 
 Signs of Pregnancy — Morning sickness — Appearance of the 
 breasts — Quickening — Flatulence — Other symptoms — Sleepiness-^ 
 Heartburn — Increased flow of saliva — Toothache — Loss of appetite 
 — Likes and dislikes in eating — Clothing — Evil effects of lacing — An- 
 other crying evil — Rational dress — Bathing — Air and exercise — 
 Things to be avoided — Ventilation — Necessity of rest — Sleep, etc. — 
 Pages 56-80. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 Results of constipation — General description — The sudject an im- 
 portant one — Evil effects of constipation — Peristaltic action — Causes 
 of constipation — Injurious use of laxative medicines — Habitual neglect 
 — Earth closets — Effect of Fashionable dress — Treatment — Food an 
 important item — The wet compress — The enema — Abundance of 
 exercise — Massage treatment — Special exercises — General remarks — 
 Pages ....81-100. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 Pregnancy should not be a source of disease — Previously acquired 
 disorders responsible — Mental disorders — Diarrhoea — Muscular pains 
 in the abdomen— Sleeplessness — Heartburn — Water-brash — Wind in 
 the stomach and bowels — Piles —Varicose veins — Pendulous abdomen 
 — Toothache — Morning sickness — Means to harden the nipples — The 
 breasts — The bladder — Fainting — Cramps — The whites — Irritation 
 and itching of the external parts — False labor pains — The period of 
 gestation — A pregnancy table — The nurse — etc — Pages. .. .101-143. 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MISCARRIAGE AND ABORTION. 
 
 Miscarriage, a serious calamity — How prevented — Causes — Symp- 
 toms — More serious symptoms — Decided symptoms — Treatment — 
 Early hours indispensable — Cold baths — Gentle exercise desirable — 
 Criminal abortion — Influences of Christianity — A monstrous heresy — 
 Evils of excessive child-bearing — A law of Nature — Children con- 
 ceived and nurtured in love — Pages 144-153. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 A common belief — An important subject to loving mothers — The 
 possibilities of appropriate means — Effect of sudden mental emotions 
 — The law of embryonic moulding — A teacher's observation — A reas- 
 onable theory — The last shall be first — Importance of order — Ante- 
 cedent preparation — The right to be well born — Some pertinent sug- 
 gestions — The sacred rights of mothers — Like begets like — Some spe- 
 cific directions — Hope for all — Cause and effect — Mothers should know 
 themselves — The noblest use of art — Things to be avoided — The 
 father's duty — The influence of inspirations — A God-like privilege — 
 Pages. I54-I94- 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 The pains and perils of maternity — Nature thwarted — Reasons for 
 believing that parturition may be made painless — Testimony of emi- 
 inent physicians — Pain in child-birth a morbid symptom — Experience 
 of Elizabeth Cady Stanton — A mistaken notion — Benefits to be de- 
 rived from a fruit diet — Mrs. Rowbotham's experiment— Value of dif- 
 ferent foods — Other cases — Diet, bathing and other exercise essential — 
 Pages 195-213. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 The first labor — Symptoms of labor — Child-birth a natural pro- 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 cess — Nature needs no assistance — Duration of confinement — Success- 
 ive stages of labor — Dress for the occasion — Things to be avoided — 
 The use of chloroform in hard and lingering confinements — Hints to 
 attendants — How to restore animation — Rest after delivery — Bandage 
 after labor — Treatment of the bowels — Cleanliness necessary — Dietary 
 — Water a valuable aperient — Nature's physician — Pages. ..214-248. 
 
 ChIpTER XL 
 
 NURSING. 
 
 A true mother — Care of the breasts — Milk fever or weed — Stated 
 times for nursing — Clothing to be worn — Diet while nursing — Fresh 
 ah' and exercise — Ailments, etc. — Retracted nipples— Sore nipples — 
 Clacked and fissured nipples — Gathered breasts — Causes of gathered 
 breasts — Laxatives while nursing — Weaning, the time and manner of 
 — Treatment of the breast — Warning symptoms — Pages. . . .249-274. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INFANTS AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 A mother's duty — The bathing of infants — Cleanliness an incentive 
 to health — Care of the navel — Rupture of the navel — Clothing — Some 
 new ideas — Qualities required— Diet hints on nursing — How to select 
 a wet nurse — Mortality of hand-fed children — Artificial human 
 milk— Other artificial foods — Dentition — Painful dentition — Exercise 
 — Sleep — Causes of suffocation — Chafing — Convulsions — Constipa- 
 tion — Flatulence — Cholera infantum — Diarrhoea—Dysentery — Nettle 
 Rash — Red-gum — The thrush — The language of a cry — Concluding 
 remarks on infancy — Pages 275-350. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 Bathing — Clothing — Diet — Milk as food — Objectionable food — 
 Overfeeding — Poisonous sweetmeats — The nursery — Childhood's ideal 
 home — On frightening children — Night terrors — A long remembered 
 kindness — Home treatment of children— Exercise — Amusements — 
 Education — Advice to fathers — Sleep— Morning treatment — Second 
 dentition — Disease- -Water on the brain — Croup — Child crowing — In- 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 flammation of the lungs — Bronchitis — Diphtheria — Measles — Scarlet 
 fever — Chicken-pox — Whooping-cough — The Mumps — Earache — 
 Chilblains — Chapped hands — Chapped lips — Worms — Milk crust — 
 Warm baths — Accidental poisoning — Important advice, etc., etc. — 
 Pages o 35 1-386 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 YOUTH. 
 
 Bathing — Management of the hair— Clothing — Corsets — Develop- 
 ment of muscles— Amusements— Choice of profession - Fresh air dur- 
 ing sleep — Early rising — Care of the teeth — Precocious children — 
 Scrofula — Round shoulders — Hemorrhage of the lungs— Consump- 
 tion — Sore throat — The tobacco habit — Nose bleed — Fainting — Con- 
 stipation — Hydropathy — Pimples on the face — Gumboils — Corns — 
 The convalescent — Pages 387-516 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Inflammation of the womb — No nation exempt from its influence 
 — Varieties of the disease — Anatomy of the womb — Symptoms of in- 
 flammation — Ovarian tumors often the result — Sympathy of other or- 
 gans — Not a cheerful picture — The causes — Debility — Exercise — 
 Treatment — Clothing — Pure air — Food — Tonics— Sleep — Sexual ex- 
 citement — Local treatment — Value of injections — The cotton pledget — 
 Chronic cases — Supports of the uterus or womb — Prolapsus or falling 
 of the womb — Symptoms — Treatment — Ante version — Retroversion — 
 Flexions of the womb — Diagnosis of womb disease — Tumors — Poly- 
 pus — Cancer — Leucorrhcea — Conclusion — Pages 517—554 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DISEASES OF WOMEN— HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT. 
 
 Delayed and obstructed menstruation — Suppression of the 
 menses — Chlorosis or green sickness — Profuse menstruation — painful 
 menstruation — Cessation of the menses — Falling of the womb — 
 Leucorrhcea — Inflammation of the lungs — Dyspepsia — Table of 
 foods — Irritation of the Skin — Headache from congestion of blood — 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Sick headache — Nervous headache — Catarrh — Neuralgia — Offensive 
 breath — Bad taste in the mouth — Sore throat — Griping colic — Inflam- 
 mation of stomach — Inflammation of bowels — Constipation — Diar- 
 rhoea — Dysentery — Cholera morbus, etc. — Pages 555—631 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY — HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT. 
 
 Morning sickness — Piles or Hemorrhoids — Constipation — Diar- 
 rhoea — Dyspepsia — Heartburn — Sour stomach — Palpitation of the 
 Heart — Headache — Cramps — Incontinence of the Urine — Difficult 
 Urination, etc. — Pages 631-639 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 DISEASES OF INFANTS — HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT. 
 
 Convulsions — Teething— -Snuffles — Thrush — Remittent fever — 
 Cholera Infantum — Croup — Whooping Cough — Colic - Diphtheria — 
 Chicken Pox— Canker of the Mouth — Measles — Scarlet Rash — Scar- 
 let Fever, etc. — Pages 639-671 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 Nursing the sick — Preparation of food— Useful recipes to make 
 gruel — Beef tea — Toast water — Flaxseed tea — Barley Coffee — Oat- 
 meal coffee — Cracked or rolled wheat — Many other useful recipes — 
 Hydropathic treatment — Sponge bath — Dripping Bath — Shower 
 bath, etc. — Pages « 671-696 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 
 
 To produce vomiting — Poisoning by acids — By oxalic acid — By 
 alkaline substances — By arsenic — Corrosive sublimate — Lead — Nit- 
 rate of silver — Tartar emetic, etc. — Pages 696-699 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE YOUNG WIFE. 
 
 A good wife is heaven's last, best gift to man — 
 his angel and minister of graces innumerable — his 
 gem of many virtues — his casket of jewels ; her 
 voice is sweet music — her smiles, his brightest day 
 — her kiss, the guardian of his innocence — her 
 arms, the pale of his safety, the balm of his health, 
 the balsam of his life — her industry, his surest 
 wealth — her economy, his safest steward — her lips, 
 his faithful counselors — her bosom, the softest pil- 
 low of his cares — and her prayers, the ablest ad- 
 vocate of heaven's blessedness on his head. — 
 Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 To be the ideal woman here portrayed, perlect 
 health is essential. My subject then, is health, the 
 care, the restoration, and the preservation of health 
 — one of the most important themes that can be 
 brought before a human being, one that should 
 engross much of our time and attention, and 
 one that cannot be secured unless properly in- 
 quired into and attended to. The human frame is, 
 as every one knows, constantly liable to be out of 
 order ; it would be strange, indeed, if a beautiful 
 and complex instrument like the human body were 
 not occasionally out of tune. 
 
 The advice I am about to offer my reader is of 
 (ii) 
 
12 THE YOUNG WIFE. 
 
 the greatest importance, and demands her deepest 
 attention. How many wives are there with broken 
 health, with feeble constitutions, and with childless 
 homes. Their number is legion. It is painful to 
 contemplate that, in our country, there are far 
 more unhealthy, than healthy wives. There must 
 surely be numerous causes for such a state of 
 things. It will in the following pages, be my ob- 
 ject to point out many of the causes of so much 
 ill-health among women, and to suggest remedies 
 both for the prevention and for the cure of such 
 cases. 
 
 If a wife is to be healthy and strong, she must 
 use the means — she must sow the seeds of health 
 before she can reach a full harvest of health ; health 
 will not come by merely wishing for it. The 
 means are not always at first pleasant, but, like 
 many other things, habit makes them so. Life 
 without health is a burden, life with health is a 
 joy and gladness. 
 
 The judicious spending of the first year of mar- 
 ried life is of the greatest importance in the mak- 
 ing and in the strengthening of a wife's constitution. 
 
 The first year of married life generally deter- 
 mines whether, for the remainder of a woman's 
 existence, she shall be healthy and strong, or shall 
 be delicate and weak ; whether she shall be the 
 mother of fine, healthy children or of sickly, under- 
 sized offspring. 
 
 A young married woman ought at once to com- 
 mence taking regular and systematic out-door ex- 
 
EXERCISE TO PROMOTE HEALTH. 1 3 
 
 ercise, which may be done without in the least in- 
 terfering with her household duties. There are 
 few things more conducive to health than walking 
 exercise ; and one advantage of our climate is, that 
 there are but few days in the year in which, at 
 some period of the day, it might not be taken. 
 Walking — I mean a walk, not a stroll — is a glori- 
 ous exercise ; it expands the chest and throws back 
 the shoulders ; it strengthens the muscles ; it pro- 
 motes digestion, making a person digest almost 
 any kind of food ; it tends to open the bowels, and 
 is better than any aperient pill ever invented ; it 
 clears the complexion, giving roses to the cheeks 
 and brilliancy to the eye, and, in point of fact, is 
 one of the greatest beautifiers in the world. If 
 women would walk more than they do, there would 
 be fewer useless, complaining wives than at pres- 
 ent. Walking is worthy of commendation, and is 
 indispensable to contentment, health, strength, and 
 comeliness. During pregnancy walking must be 
 cautiously pursued ; but still, walking in modera- 
 tion is even then absolutely necessary, and tends to 
 keep off many of the wretchedly depressing symp- 
 toms often accompanying that state. I am quite 
 sure that there is nothing more conducive to health 
 than the wearing out of lots of shoe leather, and 
 leather is cheaper than physic. 
 
 Do not let me be misunderstood : I am not ad- 
 vocating that a delicate woman, unaccustomed to 
 exercise, should at once take violent and long-con- 
 tinued exercise ; certainly not. Let a delicate lady 
 
H THE YOUNG WIFE. 
 
 learn to take exercise as a young child would learn 
 to walk — by degrees ; let her creep, and then go ; 
 let her gradually increase her exercise, and let her 
 do nothing either rashly or unadvisedly. If a 
 child attempted to run before he could walk, he 
 would stumble and fall. A delicate lady requires 
 just as much care in the training to take exercise 
 as a child does in learning to walk, but exercise 
 must be learned and must be practiced, if a lady, 
 or any one else, is to be healthy and strong. 
 
 A lady should walk early in the morning and not 
 late in the evening. The dews of evening are 
 dangerous, and are apt to give severe colds, fevers, 
 and other diseases. Dew is more likely than rain 
 to give cold. 
 
 Does a wife desire to be strong ? Then let her 
 take exercise. Does she hope to retain her bloom 
 and her youthful appearance and still look' charm- 
 ing in the eyes of her husband ? Then let her take 
 exercise. Does she wish to banish nervousness 
 and low spirits ? Then let her take exercise. 
 There is nothing standing still in nature ; if it 
 were, creation would languish and die. There 
 is a perpetual motion. And so must we be con- 
 stantly employed, if we are to be healthy and 
 strong. Nature will not be trifled with ; these are 
 her laws — immutable and unchangeable, and ■ we 
 cannot infringe them with impunity. 
 
 Let me strongly caution the young wife against 
 the evil effects of tight lacing. The waist ought to 
 be from twenty-seven to twenty-nine inches in cir- 
 
NATURE NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH. 1 5 
 
 cumference; should she lace until she is only 
 twenty-three or in some cases, only twenty-one 
 inches, it must be done at the expense of comfort, 
 of health, and happiness. If stays are worn tightly, 
 they press down the lower part of the abdomen, 
 which may either prevent a lady from having a 
 family, or produce a miscarriage. Tight lacing is 
 also a frequent cause of displacement of the womb 
 Let the dress be loose, and adapted to the season. 
 
 Pleasure to a certain degree is as necessary to 
 the health of a young wife, and every one else, as 
 the sun is to the earth — to warm, to cheer, and to 
 invigorate it, and to bring out its verdure. Pleas- 
 ure, in moderation, rejuvenates, humanizes, and 
 improves the character, and expands and exercises 
 the good qualities of the mind ; but, like the sun in 
 ; ts intensity, it oppresseth, drieth up, and withereth. 
 Pleasures, kept within due bounds, are good, but 
 in excess are utterly subversive of health and hap- 
 piness. A wife who lives in a whirl of pleasure 
 and excitement is always sickly and nervous, and 
 utterly unfitted for her duties and responsibilities ; 
 and the misfortune of it is, the more pleasure she 
 takes, the more she craves. 
 
 A wife's life is made up of little pleasures, of 
 little tasks, of little cares, and little duties, but 
 which, when added together, make a grand total 
 of human happiness ; she is not expected to do any 
 grand work ; her province lies in a contrary direc- 
 tion, in gentleness, in cheerfulness, in contentment, 
 in housewifery, in care and management of her 
 
1 6 THE YOUNG WIFE. 
 
 children, in sweetening her husband's cup of life, 
 when it is, as it often is, a bitter one, in abnegation 
 of self ; these are emphatically a heritage, her jew- 
 els, which help to make up her crown of glory. 
 
 The quiet retirement of her own home ought 
 to be her greatest pleasure and her most precious 
 privilege. Home is the kingdom of woman, and 
 she shouldjbe the reigning potentate. A father, a 
 mother, children, a house and its belongings, con- 
 stitute a home — the most delightful place in the 
 world — where affections spring up, take root and 
 flourish, and where happiness loves to take up its 
 abode. 
 
 Cheerfulness, contentment, occupation, and 
 healthy activity of mind cannot be too strongly rec- 
 ommended. A cheerful, happy temper is one of 
 the most valuable attributes a wife can have. The 
 possession of such a virtue not only makes herself, 
 but every one around her, happy. It gilds with 
 sunshine the humblest dwelling, and often con- 
 verts an indifferent husband into a good one. 
 Contentment is the finest medicine in the world ; 
 it not only frequently prevents disease, but, if 
 disease is present, it assists in curing it. Happy 
 is the man who has a contented wife ! 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 The organs of generation are divided into ex- 
 ternal and internal. The external organs are in- 
 cluded under the general name of vulva. "They 
 consist in front of the mons Veneris, a fatty cush- 
 ion covered in the adult female with hairs, *and 
 extending back from this on each side, two lips or 
 folds of the skin — the outer ones which are parti- 
 ally covered with hairs, called the labia majora, or 
 large lips, and the inner ones which are covered 
 by a pink colored mucous membrane, called the 
 labia minora, or small lips. Near where the labia 
 minora meet in front is a little fold of membrane 
 called the clitoris. This is usually about one 
 fourth of an inch long, but it sometimes becomes 
 greatly enlarged so as to be an inch or more in 
 length. The clitoris is the seat of special sensa- 
 tion, and becomes somewhat enlarged and hard- 
 ened when the passions are excited. About one 
 inch back from the clitoris is the opening of the 
 urethra, or outlet of the bladder. Immediately 
 back of this is the opening of the vagina which is 
 the entrance to the internal generative organs." 
 
 The breasts are accessory to the generative 
 (17) 
 
1 8 ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 organs, and by many anatomists are classed among 
 them. Their development and functions are sim- 
 ultaneous, and the sympathy between them is so 
 marked that one can hardly be affected without the 
 other. They are hemispherical in shape, glandular 
 in tissue and the left one is usually slightly larger 
 than the other. "On the outer surface, and just 
 below the center, is a small conical prominence, 
 called the nipple, which is of darker color than the 
 rest of the breast, and is surrounded by a circle 
 called the areola (Plate 6), having a deeper tint than 
 the surrounding skin. In blondes the color of the 
 areola is of a rosy hue, in brunettes it is much 
 darker. This color is of importance inasmuch as 
 it is affected by pregnancy, providing a reliable 
 sign by which the physician may determine 
 whether a woman is in a state of pregnancy 01 
 not." 
 
 The internal generative organs consist of the 
 vagina, the uterus, or womb, Fallopian tubes, and 
 ovaries. 
 
 The vagina (Plate 7) is the passage which leads 
 from the vulva, or external opening, to the womb. 
 It is from three to five inches in length and passes 
 upward and backward in a somewhat curved 
 direction, and, owing to this curying, it is about 
 an inch longer on the posterior side than on the 
 anterior. Its walls are thick, and capable of di- 
 lating or contracting to a considerable extent. 
 It is lined with a mucous membrane throughout, 
 like the uterus, and in virgins is marked with a 
 
UTERUS AND LIGAMENTS. IQ 
 
 number of folds, which gradually disappear after 
 connection, and especially after delivery. The 
 outlet of the vagina is kept closed by means of a 
 circular, or constrictor, muscle. This muscle also 
 tends to draw the walls of the vagina together, 
 making them more firm, thus enabling it in a 
 great measure to support the womb above. 
 
 The uterus, or womb (Plate 8), was formerly 
 thought to be the most essential of the generative 
 organs, but it is now known to be but the recep- 
 tacle into which the ripe egg is discharged from 
 the Fallopian tubes. If conception takes place it 
 remains and developes into a new being, otherwise, 
 after a short stay, it passes off. 
 
 The form of the womb is nearly that of a pear, 
 the larger end being at the top. The length is 
 about two inches and a half, and its breadth at the 
 top about one and a half inches, while at the lower 
 end it is something less than an inch. Its thickness 
 is also about one inch. It is not round, but flat- 
 tened, and is slightly curved, or bent, the curved 
 part being toward the back bone, the lower part, 
 or neck, projects into the vagina, the walls of which 
 are attached to the exterior some distance above. 
 The walls being very thick the cavity is necessarily 
 very small, and is different in form to the exterior. 
 In the upper part, the cavity is shaped like a tri- 
 angle, the Fallopian tubes entering at the two 
 upper angles ; in the lower part it is continued 
 downward, like a tube which swells out a little 
 more than half way down, and at its termination 
 
20 ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 opens by what is called the os uteri, or mouth of 
 the womb, into the vagina. The womb is kept 
 in position by two round cords, or ligaments, 
 attached, one on either side, to the womb. These 
 are about five inches long, and are firmly attached 
 by their other ends to the pubic, or front bones 
 Without these the womb would be liable to dis- 
 placements, but as they act with equal force and in 
 opposite directions they necessarily hold the womb 
 in the center. Beside the round ligaments there 
 are also the broad ligaments, which consist of two 
 sheets of strong membrane, one on either side, 
 which extend from the top of the womb nearly 
 the whole length down, inclosing the round liga- 
 ments, tubes, and ovarian ligaments in their 
 substance. They grow fast to the pelvis and assist 
 in maintaining the uterus, ovaries and tubes in 
 their proper situation. There are also two liga- 
 ments that connect the womb to the bladder in 
 front, called the anterior Hgame7tts, and two others 
 which connect it with the rectum behind, called 
 the posterior ligaments. All these, however, do but 
 little toward actually supporting the womb, which 
 is really kept in its place more by the firmness and 
 density of its own substance, and that of the vagina 
 below, and by tension of the muscles in the perin- 
 eum than by anything else. When these parts 
 become weak from debility or disease the liga- 
 ments stretch, the perineal muscles relax, and the 
 walls of the womb and vagina soften till all fall 
 down together, causing prolapsus uteri, or falling of 
 the womb. 
 
THE OVARIES AND OVA. 21 
 
 The substance of the uterus is muscular, and is 
 capable, in its contractions, of exerting great force. 
 The increase in size which it undergoes, at the 
 different periods of gestation, are most extra- 
 ordinary, and its after contraction to its original 
 dimensions are still more so. 
 
 Arteries, veins and nerves (Plates 9, 10 and 11) 
 are plentifully supplied to the womb, so that it is 
 abundantly nutrified, and highly sensitive. Indeed 
 there is no other organ in the body, except the 
 ovaries, that has such extensive sympathies, or that 
 is capable of such rapid growth. The womb, 
 however, is altogether dependent upon the ovaries 
 both for its development and its functional ability. 
 If there are no ovaries the womb will be found 
 merely rudimentary, and if the ovarian action 
 ceases, those of the womb cease also. 
 
 The ovaries (Plate 12) are two small, almond- 
 shaped bodies, placed one on each side of the 
 womb. They are enveloped in the broad liga- 
 ments and are attached by a strong cord to the 
 womb, and also to the fimbriated edges of the 
 Fallopian tubes. Their color is pale red, and they 
 are covered over with little protuberances and 
 indentations. In early life they are quite small, 
 but about the age of puberty they begin to enlarge, 
 and exert a powerful influence over the system 
 generally. In fact, they are the most important of 
 the generative organs, and the part they play in 
 the grand process of reproduction is to produce 
 the egg, or ova, from which all living beings origi- 
 
22 ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 nate. Each ovary contains, embedded in its 
 meshes, about twenty or thirty little vesicles, or 
 cells, about the size of a small pea, called the 
 Graafian follicles (Plate 13). These are filled with a 
 whitish fluid, in the midst of which is seen an egg, 
 or ovum, about the size of the point of a pin, or 
 barely discernible with the naked eye. Usually, 
 there are from twenty to thirty of these follicles 
 visible at once, but there are many others, and 
 which are only seen as they develop. The actual 
 number it is impossible to know, but in all proba- 
 bility, there are many more than are usually 
 suspected, and there is good reason for supposing 
 that none are formed in adult life, but that the 
 germs of all are contained in the ovaries from the 
 very first formation of these organs. Neither the 
 follicles nor the included eggs are all equally 
 matured when we see them, but some are more 
 perfect than the others, and one usually much more 
 so than all the rest. In fact, they ripen, or develop, 
 in succession, one after another, commencing at 
 the age of puberty, and continuing to do so until 
 the change of life, when all have been developed. 
 This development of the egg takes place independ- 
 ently of sexual excitement or connection, and occurs 
 each twenty-eight days in all healthy women, both 
 married and single, after the age of puberty. 
 
 From this it will be seen that, in all normal cases, 
 conception can take place only at the time, or soon 
 after the expulsion of the mature ova from the 
 ovaries, or, in other words, if connection does not 
 
CONCEPTION — FALLOPIAN TUBES. 23 
 
 occur until after the ova has left the body, there 
 can be no impregnation until the return of another 
 period. The manner in which the egg is expelled 
 is very curious, and when understood, explains 
 many of the attendant phenomena. If the ovary is 
 examined about three weeks before one of the peri- 
 ods, none of the Graafian follicles or their contained 
 ova, appear very different from the others, but about 
 a week later one of them begins to enlarge and con- 
 tinues to increase in size, at the same time coming 
 nearer the surface of the ovary. Finally, the follicle 
 as well as the surrounding membrane* of the ovary 
 bursts and the ova escapes through the opening. 
 This is called ovulation. As there are two of the 
 ovaries it is probable that they mature ova alter- 
 nately, one, one month, and the other the next, 
 though in case one ovary is disabled or destroyed, 
 the other will act regularly and perform the func- 
 tions of both. 
 
 The Fallopian Tubes (Plate 12). — These are two 
 minute tubes, one on each side, extending outward 
 from the upper part of the cavity of the womb. 
 Each tube is about four inches in length, its canal 
 is exceedingly minute, and at the junction with the 
 uterus will barely admit a fine bristle ; it continues 
 narrow along the inner half of the tube, then widens 
 into a trumpet-shaped extremity, the margins of 
 which are surrounded by a series of fringe-like 
 processes, termed fimbria. One of these processes 
 is connected with the outer end of the ovary. As 
 the Graafian follicle bursts, this fimbriated or hand- 
 
24 ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 like extremity of the Fallopian tube, guided by 
 some unexplainable impulse, reaches over and 
 grasps the ovary, thus securing the liberated egg 
 and conveying it to the opening of the tube, which 
 by contracting behind it and by successive con- 
 tractions forces it into the cavity of the womb, 
 where, as before stated, it is either impregnated 
 and develops into a foetus or passes into the vagina 
 and thus out of .the body. 
 
 Conception, as before stated, usually takes place 
 soon after the ova leaves the ovary. The ova re- 
 quires about two days to pass through the Fallo- 
 pian tube, thus reaching the womb about the time 
 that the menstrual flow ceases. 
 
 The period in which the ova remains in the womb 
 varies in different individuals ; in some it is retained 
 for several days (usually about eight), while in 
 others it passes off almost immediately. Those 
 women who are close observers can often tell to a 
 certainty when this occurs, as it is usually attended 
 with nervousness and as a minute substance like 
 the white of an egg with a fleck of blood in it may 
 often be seen upon the clothing. Impregnation 
 takes place by the union of the male sperm with 
 the female ova. Usually this takes place in the 
 womb but there is no reason why the male germ, 
 once within the cavity of the uterus, should not 
 pass into the Fallopian tubes and there meet the 
 unimpregnated ova. Usually but one ova is dis- 
 charged from the ovaries at a time, but occasion- 
 ally both ovaries will discharge an egg into the 
 
NOURISHMENT OF THE EMBRYO. 2$ 
 
 womb, or one follicle may contain two eggs. In 
 either case both may be impregnated, and thus 
 produce twins. In those rare cases where three 
 or even four are produced at one birth, it is prob- 
 able that, for some unexplainable reason, a like 
 number of eggs have been produced by the 
 ovaries. 
 
 Nourishment and development of the embryo and 
 foetus. — The ovum in passing through the Fallopian 
 tube increases in size from one one-hundred and 
 twenty -fifth of an inch to one-fiftieth or one twenty- 
 fifth of an inch by absorption or yolk nutrition. 
 As the egg is small it can furnish nutriment for but 
 a short time. About six days after conception 
 takes place, a membrane forms around the ovum 
 called the chorion. This serves to anchor the ovum 
 to the walls of the uterus. From the chorron mi- 
 nute hollow tubes ramify in all directions (Plate 1 5), 
 and coming in contact with the walls of the uterus 
 draw nourishment from the mucous membranes 
 which line that organ. This nourishment is trans- 
 mitted to the embryo by means of an organ con- 
 necting it with the chorion, and called the allantois. 
 The allantois in time develops into the umbilical 
 cord, the villi of the chorion diminish, and finally 
 are obliterated, save at the junction of the allantois 
 with the chorion, where they rapidly enlarge, and 
 this portion at the end of the second month de- 
 velops into the placenta, from which nutriment is 
 furnished to the foetus. 
 
 The placenta (Plates 22 and 23) is a soft, spongy 
 
26 ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 mass, nearly circular in form, measuring about 
 seven and one-half inches in diameter and one inch 
 in thickness at the insertion of the umbilical cord. 
 Its weight is about one pound. The fcetal surface 
 is smooth, while the uterine surface has a rough- 
 ened, spongy feel. The uterine surface of the pla- 
 centa coheres with the uterus and is connected by 
 the umbilical cord with the foetus. During intra- 
 uterine life the placenta performs offices similar to 
 those of the lungs and intestines after birth. It 
 absorbs nourishment, renovates the blood, and dis- 
 charges by exhalation the excrementitious matters 
 originating in the process of fcetal nutrition. The 
 umbilical cord consists of a sheath inclosing a gel- 
 atinous mass surrounding two umbilical arteries 
 and one vein. Through the agencies of the umbil- 
 ical cord, as before stated, the foetus is nourished 
 and the excesses discharged. 
 
 The growth of the embryo after fecundation is 
 very rapid. On the tenth . day it has the appear- 
 ance of a semi-transparent, greyish flake. On the 
 tzvelfth day it is nearly the size of a pea, filled with 
 fluid, in the middle of which is an opaque spot, 
 presenting the first appearance of an embryo, which 
 may be clearly seen as an oblong or curved body 
 and is plainly visible to the naked eye on the four- 
 teenth day. The twenty-first day the embryo re- 
 sembles an ant or a lettuce seed ; its length is from 
 four to five lines and its weight from three to four 
 grains. Many of its parts now begin to show 
 themselves, especially the cartilaginous beginnings 
 of the spinal column, the heart, etc. 
 
GROWTH OF THE EMBRYO. 2J 
 
 The thirtieth day the embryo is as large as a 
 horse fly, and resembles a worm bent together. 
 There are yet no limbs, and the head is larger than 
 the body. When stretched out it is nearly half an 
 inch long. Toward the fifth week the head in- 
 creases greatly in proportion to the remainder of 
 the body, and the rudimentary eyes are indicated 
 by two black spots turned toward the sides, and 
 the heart exhibits its external form, bearing a close 
 resemblance to that in the adult. 
 
 In the seventh week bone begins to form in the 
 lower jaw and clavicle. Narrow streaks on each 
 side of the vertebral column show the beginning of 
 the ribs. The heart is perfecting its form, the 
 brain enlarged and the eyes and ears growing more 
 perfect and the limbs sprouting from the body. 
 The lungs are mere sacs, about one line in length 
 and the trachea is a delicate thread, but the liver 
 is very large. The arms are still imperforate. In 
 the seventh week are formed the renal capsules and 
 kidneys. At two months the forearm and hand can 
 be distinguished, but not the arm ; the hand is 
 larger than the forearm, but it is not supplied with 
 fingers. The distinction of sex is yet difficult. 
 The eyes are prominent, but the lids do not cover 
 the eyeballs. The nose forms an obtuse eminence. 
 The nostrils are rounded and separated. The 
 mouth is gaping, and the epidermis can be distin- 
 guished from the true skin. The embryo is from 
 one and a half to two inches long and weighs from 
 three to five drams, the head forming more than 
 one-third of the whole. 
 
28 ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 At the end of three months the eyelids are dis- 
 tinct but shut ; the lips are drawn together ; the 
 forehead and nose are clearly traceable, and the 
 organs of generation prominent. The heart beats 
 with force, and larger vessels carry red blood ; the 
 fingers and toes are well defined, and muscles begin 
 to be developed. 
 
 At the fourth month the embryo takes the name 
 of foetus. The body is six to eight inches in length 
 and weighs from seven to eight ounces. The skin 
 has a rosy color, and the muscles now produce a 
 sensible motion. A foetus born at this time might 
 live several hours. 
 
 At five months the length of the body is from 
 eight to ten inches, and its weight is from eight to 
 eleven ounces. 
 
 At six months the length is twelve and a half 
 inches ; weight one pound. The hair appears upon 
 the head, the eyes closed, the eyelids somewhat 
 thicker, and their margins as well as the eyebrows 
 are studded with very delicate hairs. 
 
 At seven months, every part has increased in vol- 
 ume and perfection ; the bony system is nearly com- 
 plete ; length twelve to fourteen inches, weight two 
 and a half to three pounds. If born at this period 
 the foetus is able to breathe, cry and nurse, and may 
 live if properly cared for. 
 
 At eight months, the fcettts seems to grow rather 
 in thickness than in length ; it is only sixteen to 
 eighteen inches long and yet weighs from four to 
 five pounds. The skin is very red, and covered 
 
PLAN OF FOETAL CIRCULATION. 29 
 
 with down and a considerable quantity of sebaceous 
 matter. The lower jaw, which at first was very 
 short, is now as long as the upper one. 
 
 Finally, at term, the foetus is about nineteen to 
 twenty-three inches long, and weighs from six to 
 nine pounds. The red blood circulates in the 
 capillaries, and the skin performs the functions of 
 perspiration ; the nails are fully developed. 
 
 The Plan of Feet al Circulation (Plate 24). — As the 
 lungs of the foetus are dormant the foetal circulation 
 is a very interesting phenomenon. The blood, 
 passing from the right ventricle into the pulmonary 
 artery, instead of entering the lungs, passes, almost 
 entirely, through the ductus arteriosus into the de- 
 scending aorta. From here the larger part is con- 
 veyed through the umbilical arteries to the placenta, 
 where the interchanges with the maternal blood 
 take place. After being thus renovated and re- 
 charged with oxygen, it collects within the 
 umbilical vein and passes back to the foetal liver. 
 Here a part of it circulates through this organ, 
 while the rest passes direct through the ductus 
 venosus into the inferior vena cava, where it again 
 meets the blood brought from the liver by the 
 hepatic vein, and the two mixing with that return- 
 ing from the lower extremities and viscera of the 
 abdomen enter the right auricle, and by the 
 Eustachian valve pass into the left auricle, where 
 it becomes mixed with a small quantity of blood 
 returning from the lungs by the pulmonary veins. 
 From the left auricle it passes into the left ven- 
 
30 
 
 ORGANS OF GENERATION. 
 
 tricle, from here into the aorta, from whence it is 
 distributed almost entirely to the upper extremities. 
 Descending - by the superior vena cava it enters the 
 right auricle, and from here into the right ven- 
 tricle, and thus completes the circuit. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 Before entering upon the description and treat- 
 ment of the disorders of menstruation, it is but 
 proper that I should endeavor to make clear, ist. 
 of what does menstruation consist; 2d, of the 
 causes which produce it ; 3d, of what are its uses 
 in the system of the female. There is probably no 
 function of woman which is so little understood by 
 woman herself, as this. She can tell you that she 
 has had this discharge about every twenty-eight 
 days, how long it lasts, and predict exactly when 
 it will again appear ; but why it appears most 
 women are unaUe to state. This cannot be won- 
 dered at when we consider the short time which 
 has elapsed since this function was clearly under- 
 stood even by medical men. From the earliest 
 ages to the present time there have been number- 
 less theories advanced, but each, one after the 
 other, has fallen to the ground by its own dead 
 weight, until at last the undoubted correct theory 
 has been reached. 
 
 In accordance with the universal law of repro- 
 duction every living thing comes from an egg cr 
 germ. This can be shown as well in the vegetable 
 
 (31) 
 
32 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 as the animal kingdom. The sturdy oak from the 
 acorn, the ear of corn from the grain planted by the 
 farmer, the robin, and the elephant all springing 
 from germs, go to prove the truthfulness of this 
 law. Every seed, every egg contains a germ, 
 which, when brought under proper influences, will 
 produce of its own kind. 
 
 Thus far all is plain enough, but where do these 
 germs originate ? It has been ascertained that each 
 animal, as well as each plant, is provided with an 
 organ for the production and throwing off of these 
 cells or germs. In woman this organ is the 
 ovary, the sole physiological function or duty ot 
 which is to mature and deposit its ova or eggs 
 every twenty-eighth day, from the age of fifteen to 
 that of forty -five, or for about thirty years. This 
 function is suspended only during pregnancy and 
 nursing, but sometimes not even then. There are 
 numerous cases on record where the woman has 
 had her courses regularly during the time she was 
 pregnant, and there are many with whom lactation 
 does not at all interfere. During the maturation 
 or ripening, and discharging of the ovum into the 
 canal or tube which conveys it into the womb, the 
 generative organs become very much congested, 
 looking almost as if inflamed. This congestion at 
 last reaches such a height, that it overflows as it 
 were, and produces a discharge of bloody fluid 
 from the genitalia or birthplace. As soon as the 
 flow commences the heat and, aching in the region 
 )f the ovaries, and the weight and dragging sensa- 
 
CAUSE OF MENSTRUATION. 33 
 
 tion diminish and gradually disappear. Thus it 
 will be seen that menstruation consists merely in 
 the ripening and discharge of an ovum or egg, 
 which, when not impregnated, is washed away by 
 the menstrual fluid or blood, poured out from the 
 vessels on the inner surface of the womb. The 
 marvelous regularity of menstruation has always 
 excited great wonder, but why should it? When 
 we look around, we see that both animal and vege- 
 table life have stated and regular times at which 
 germ production takes place. Fruits and vege- 
 tables ripen, and animals produce their young at 
 certain periods. It is a law of nature, and why 
 should not woman obey it, in her monthly term. 
 Now since it has been shown that menstruation 
 consists in the ripening, and regular deposit of an 
 egg — the flow being but the outward visible sign 
 of such an act — it is possible that a woman may 
 menstruate regularly without having any show. 
 To prove this, there are many cases on record 
 where a woman has married, and become pregnant 
 without having had the least show, which would 
 be impossible if she did not menstruate. Indeed 
 there are certain physicians who claim that all san- 
 guineus flow is abnormal, and certainlv menstrua- 
 tion should be devoid of all pain. A woman in 
 perfect health should feel no necessity for deviat- 
 ing from the ordinary duties or Occupations and no 
 special care need be taken at this time. Under ex- 
 isting conditions however, such cases are extremely 
 rare and by far the exception rather than the rule. 
 
34 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 As has been before remarked, menstruation com- 
 mences at about the age of fourteen or fifteen in 
 this country. In warmer climates it appears ear- 
 lier, and in colder ones, later. Menstruation, 
 menses, courses, catamenia, monthly periods, and 
 " being unwell," are some of the terms by which 
 this function is designated. Those who are 
 brought up and live luxuriously, and whose moral 
 and physical training has been such as to make 
 their nervous systems more susceptible, jiave their 
 courses at a much earlier period than those who 
 have been accustomed to coarse food and laborious 
 employment. The appearance of the menses be- 
 fore the fourteenth year is regarded as unfortunate, 
 indicating a premature development of the organs ; 
 while their postponement until after the sixteenth 
 year, is generally an evidence of weakness, or of 
 some disorder of the generative apparatus. If, 
 however, the person has good health, and all her 
 other functions are regular ; if her spirits are not 
 clouded, nor her mind dull and weak, it should not 
 be considered necessary to interfere to bring them 
 on, for irreparable injury may be done. The first 
 appearance of the menses is generally preceded by 
 the following symptoms: Headache, heaviness, 
 languor, pains in the back, loins, and down the 
 thighs, and an indisposition to exertion. There is a 
 peculiar dark tint of the countenance, particularly 
 under the eyes, and occasionally uneasiness and a 
 sense of constriction in the throat. The perspira- 
 tion has often a faint or sickly odor, and the smell 
 
SYMPTOMS OF MENSTRUATION. 35 
 
 of the breath is peculiar. The breasts are enlarged 
 and tender. The appetite is fastidious and capri- 
 cious, and digestion is impaired. These symptoms 
 continue one, two or three days, and subside as the 
 menses appear. The menses continue three, five 
 or seven days, according to the peculiar constitu- 
 tion of the woman. The quantity discharged var- 
 ies in different individuals. Some are obliged to 
 make but one change during the period, but they 
 generally average from ten to fifteen. At about 
 the age of forty-five the final cessation of menstrua-" 
 tion takes place, and this period often excites 
 much fear. Sometimes the symptoms are mis- 
 taken for those of pregnancy — such as sickness 
 at the stomach, capricious appetite, swelling and 
 pain in the breasts. The change is generally grad- 
 ual. The discharge may return every two or three 
 weeks, then cease for two or more months, return 
 again for several months as regular as ever, and 
 finally disappear altogether. It is during the men- 
 strual period that the system, especially of young 
 persons, is more susceptible to both mental and 
 physical influences. The emotions of joy, grief, 
 love and sympathy are more easily excited than at 
 other times. Women are liable to be very irri- 
 table and exacting. For this reason they should be 
 treated with more than usual indulgence and sym- 
 pathy. Husbands should especially at such times 
 be tender and charitable toward their wives. 
 Upon woman, the weaker vessel, has been placed 
 the chief burden of reproduction with all its care, 
 
36 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 pain and sorrow. It therefore little becomes the 
 man who is relieved from this load to be cold and 
 exacting toward the one, who, in the discharge of 
 her duty to him and the race, endures with loving 
 patience a multitude of ills that he knows not of. 
 Very much depends upon the regular and 
 healthy action of the discharge, for to it woman 
 owes her beauty and perfection. Great care should 
 therefore be used to guard against any influences 
 that may tend to derange the menses. A sudden 
 suppression is always dangerous, and among the 
 causes which may produce it may be mentioned — 
 sudden frights, fits of anger, great anxiety, and pow- 
 erful mental emotions. Excessive exertions of 
 every kind, long walks or rides, especially over 
 rough roads, dancing, frequent running up and 
 down stairs, have a tendency not only to increase 
 discharge, but also to produce falling of the womb. 
 Patent medicines and nostrums which are recom- 
 mended for female complaints, purgatives, emetics, 
 and liquors, may either increase or arrest the dis- 
 charge. Cold baths, foot baths, wetting the feet 
 by the wearing of thin shoes, are also very injuri- 
 ous during this period. A young lady anxious to 
 attend a party or ball while she is unwell, will take 
 a hip bath to arrest the discharge, but what a train 
 of horrors follows such an insane act, and still 
 there are many foolish enough to do this. During 
 the menstrual period no treatment is necessary, 
 unless some of the various derangements of men- 
 struation afflict the female, and the management of 
 
DISORDERS OF MENSTRUATION. 37 
 
 these will be found under their proper heads in the 
 pages following. 
 
 The disorders incident to menstruation are : 
 AmenorrJioea, Menorrhagia and DysmenorrJioea. 
 
 Amenorrhcea. — Under this head may be included 
 delayed menstruation, suppressed menstruation 
 and chlorosis, or green sickness. 
 
 When the menses do not appear at the time when 
 they may naturally be expected, we call it delayed 
 or obstructed menstruation. It is, however, of 
 great importance to know whether a girl is suffi- 
 ciently developed to make it necessary for the 
 menses to appear, although she may have reached 
 the proper age. As long as the girl has not in- 
 creased physically, if she has not become wider 
 across the hips, if her breasts have not become 
 enlarged, and if she experience none of the changes 
 incident to this period, an effort to force nature is 
 positively injurious. In this case a general treat- 
 ment will be called for. The girl should be taken 
 from school, from all debilitating influences, such 
 as bad air and poor diet ; from the exciting and 
 exhausting scenes of city life, and sent to the 
 country, to the mountains, or to the seashore, to 
 breathe pure air, rich in oxygen ; take daily exer- 
 cise, and have sunshine and nourishing food. A 
 season of this kind has brought many an enfeebled 
 girl to a state of health and vigor which would 
 before have seemed impossible. If, however, she 
 is fully developed, and yet suffers from time to 
 time from congestions of the head, breast, or ab- 
 
38 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 domen, it will be necessary to interfere. The 
 following are the symptoms which will generally be 
 found present in these cases : Headache, weight, 
 fullness, and throbbing in the center of the cranium, 
 and in the back of the head ; pains in the back and 
 loins ; cold feet and hands, becoming sometimes 
 very hot ; skin harsh and dry ; slow pulse and not 
 unfrequently attended with epilepsy. 
 
 Treatment. — It is well for the patient, a few 
 days before the period, to take a warm hip or foot 
 bath twice a day, and at night when retiring to 
 apply cloths wet in warm water to the lower part 
 of the abdomen. The bowels should be kept 
 open, and if there is pain or fullness of the head 
 during the discharge or before it, use the following : 
 
 Elixir Bromide Potas. . . .3 ounces. 
 
 Tincture Belladon. . . . % dram. 
 
 Spirits Nitre Dulc. . . .1 ounce. 
 
 Dose, a teaspoonful every two hours until relieved of pain. 
 
 Between the periods, if the system is weak, the 
 following may be taken : 
 
 Precip. Carbonate of Iron, . . 5 drams. 
 
 Extract Conium, . . 2 " 
 
 Balsam Peru, . • . .1 dram. 
 
 Alcohol, . . . .4 ounces. 
 
 Oil Wintergreen, . . . .20 drops. 
 
 Simple Syrup, . . . 8 ounces. 
 Dose, two teaspoonfuls three times a day. Shake the mixture 
 
 before using. x 
 
 Or, 
 
 Syrup of Orange Peel, . . .1 ounce. 
 
 Rose Water, . . . • 7 ounces. 
 
 Muriated Tincture of Iron, . . 1 ounce. 
 
SUPPRESSION OF THE MENSES. 39 
 
 Mix. Dose, one teaspoonful in half a glass of water three times a 
 day. 
 
 Suppression of the Menses. — By suppression is 
 meant a disappearance of the menses, after they 
 have become established, and may be either acute 
 or chronic. Amenorrhcea is not necessarily a 
 grave malady unless complicated with great con- 
 stitutional disturbance, or dependent on some re- 
 mote disease ; isolated, and recent, it may prove 
 but a delay. 
 
 Among the causes of suppression may be men- 
 tioned the following : Sudden exposure to cold 
 and humid air when the body is overheated, cold 
 baths or ice cold drinks, loss of blood, a wound, a 
 blow, a fall, a burn, an excessive pain, a strong odor, 
 a great mental shock, powerful drugs, an irritated 
 stomach, poor nourishment, the use of acid bever- 
 ages, a sedentary life, too much sleep, overwork, 
 late hours, the use of articles of a stimulating 
 nature ; moral affections, such as sadness, grief, 
 disappointment, etc.; the use of astringent medi- 
 cines, and the suppression of the calls of nature. It 
 may also be caused by an imperforated hymen, in 
 which case a surgical operation will be necessary. 
 Symptoms. — The following are the symptoms 
 generally found in amenorrhcea, existing with a 
 fully developed body and sexual organs : Head- 
 ache; fever, hot skin, quick pulse, thirst ; cold hands 
 and feet ; weight, fullness and throbbing in the 
 center and back part of the head ; pains in back 
 and loins. 
 
40 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 The last vertebra may be so sore as to make it 
 impossible to retain a sitting posture. Not unfre- 
 quently the pains of the abdomen are short and 
 shooting, attended by swelling and tightness ; the 
 breasts, also sympathetically affected, become 
 tumified and painful, and yield a white fluid, often 
 mistaken for milk. When the suppression is 
 chronic, the whole system responds to the unnat- 
 ural condition, the appetite is lost, or replaced by 
 a desire to eat strange things; the irritable 
 stomach rejects food, or is troubled by nausea ; the 
 heart, oppressed, is subject to palpitations ; the 
 head is full and heavy, and sometimes excruciatingly 
 painful ; the ears ring with strange sounds ; the 
 intestines in their turn are irritated, producing 
 diarrhoea or dysentery ; the bladder, the next 
 neighbor to the womb, shares in the general de- 
 rangement, causing frequent and difficult urinations. 
 This condition finally induces general lassitude, 
 sadness or malaise. The face becomes pale and 
 puffed, the flesh flabby, the movements languid ; 
 the mind yields easily to moral influences, and 
 becomes morose or melancholy. 
 
 General Treatment. — When the suppression is 
 caused by some disease in the system, that dis- 
 ease must be cured before the menses will return. 
 For sudden suppression, use the warm sitting bath 
 or foot bath. Apply cloths wet in warm water to 
 the lower part of the abdomen, and drink freely 
 of warm water. If the suppression is chronic, and 
 the patient is delicate, in the interval between the 
 
SUPPRESSION OF THE MENSES — TREATMENT. 41 
 
 menses use the shower, or the full bath of cold or 
 tepid water, rubbing the body briskly with a 
 coarse towel, especially around the abdomen, loins 
 and genital organs. 
 
 It should be remembered that the tendency of 
 menstruation is to reappear, and that in due time 
 nature makes the effort to re-establish it ; it is then 
 that the means to assist it should be employed. 
 
 Copious injections of warm water or a solution 
 or warm water and salt, or soap and water may be 
 used several times a day. Injections of ammonia 
 are also often beneficial, adding about ten drops of 
 aqua ammonia to one pint of warm water or milk. 
 Another most efficient remedy is electricity. In 
 many cases of suppressed menstruation the simple 
 external application of the current will prove suf- 
 ficient. In cases where there is a deficient develop- 
 ment of the womb the applications should be made 
 direct to the uterus by instruments made specially 
 for this purpose. 
 
 As soon as the discharge has ceased, a warm 
 hip bath will generally bring it on. If there is 
 much inflammation of the uterus give the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 Tincture Aconite Leaves, . . 2 drams. 
 
 Sweet Spirits of Nitre, . . I ounce. 
 
 Simple Syrup, . . . .3 ounces. 
 
 Dose, one teaspoonful every two or three hours. 
 
 If the discharge cannot be brought on, wait un- 
 til the next period. A few days before the term, 
 the bowels should be freely opened, and kept open 
 
42 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 until the period for the discharge has arrived. The 
 pill of Aloes and Iron of the United States Dis- 
 pensatory is one of the best that can be given. 
 Give from one to three pills daily. If there is no 
 evident reason for the discharge not appearing, 
 such as pregnancy, or inflammation of the neck of 
 the womb, and the woman is suffering from the 
 suppression, use the following : 
 
 Caulophyllian, 
 
 i dram. 
 
 Extract Aconite, 
 
 8 grains. 
 
 Aloes, .... 
 
 .10 " 
 
 Sulphate of Iron, 
 
 10 " 
 
 Make into forty pills. Dose, two or three 
 
 pills, taken night and 
 
 morning. 
 
 
 Or this : 
 
 
 Aloes. , , 
 
 . 1 dram. 
 
 Myrrh, e 
 
 1 " 
 
 Sulphate of Iron, . 
 
 . 1 " 
 
 Extract Black Hellebore, 
 
 1 " 
 
 Oil Savine, 
 
 . 1 " 
 
 Make into thirty pills. Dose, one pill from three to six times a 
 
 day. 
 
 
 The remedies should always be taken a few days 
 before the period arrives for the menses. If chron- 
 ic suppression is the result of any acute disease, 
 the health must first be re-established ; otherwise, 
 it would be wrong to force the menses. When 
 this has been done, immediately before the return 
 of the period, a warm hip bath should be taken 
 every night for six nights, and one of the following 
 pills taken three times a day : 
 
CHLOROSIS — CAUSES. 43 
 
 Fresh Powdered Ergot of Rye, . . 50 grains. 
 
 Barbadoes Aloes, . ' . 12 " 
 
 Essential Oil of Juniper, . . .12 drops. 
 
 Make into twelve pills, with syrup or mucilage, washing down 
 each pill with a cupful of pennyroyal tea. 
 
 Chlorosis, or Green Sickness. — This disease gener- 
 ally occurs in young unmarried women who are 
 weak and delicate. It manifests itself about the 
 age of puberty, and is accompanied by feeble 
 appetite and digestion. There is no menstrual 
 discharge, or else it is very slight. 
 
 Causes. — Such as derange the vital functions, as 
 innutritious food, residence in damp and ill-venti- 
 lated apartments. It may be hereditary, all the 
 females of the family being liable to the same 
 disease. Those who drink largely of tea, coffee, 
 diluted acids, bad wines, and indulge in tight lacing, 
 are predisposed to this disease. Among the excit- 
 ing causes may be mentioned disturbing emo- 
 tions, unrequited love, home-sickness, depression 
 of spirits, etc. 
 
 Symptoms. — The symptoms characterizing this 
 disease do not manifest themselves all at once, but 
 gradually, insidiously, and almost insensibly come 
 upon the patient. She usually first complains of 
 general lassitude, and an aversion to physical or 
 mental labor of any kind. There is a peculiar 
 color of the skin, not excessively white, but a pale- 
 ness, mixed with yellow and greenish tinges. The 
 lips at times are almost white, the eyelids livid and 
 swollen. The skin feels cold to the touch. The 
 
44 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 gums become pale, and the tongue is generally 
 coated white, and there is a pasty taste in the 
 mouth in the morning. The breath is offensive. 
 The patient appears weak, and tires very soon after 
 slight exertion. She breathes hurriedly, not from 
 any disease of the lungs, but because she has not 
 sufficient strength to expand the chest to its full 
 capacity. The sleep is disturbed and unrefreshing. 
 The bowels are constipated, and sometimes there 
 is nausea and vomiting. The pulse is small and 
 frequent. She is sad, subject to fits of weeping, 
 and prefers to be alone. The appetite is dimin- 
 ished, and dyspeptic symptoms, as heartburn, sour 
 stomach, pain in the stomach with nausea, show 
 themselves. She craves indigestible substances, as 
 slate pencils, chalk, charcoal, etc. Excessive con- 
 stipation is followed by diarrhoea of badly digested 
 substances. As the affection proceeds, the lower 
 extremities become swollen, hectic cough sets in, 
 sometimes attended with spitting of clots of blood. 
 The abdomen becomes tense and swollen, and so 
 much so sometimes, that the patient may be ac- 
 cused of being pregnant. The menses, if they have 
 appeared, gradually become scanty, and are at- 
 tended with great pain ; they continue but a short 
 time, are pale and watery, and finally cease alto- 
 gether. There is sometimes severe pain through 
 the left breast, or the chest. In some cases nerv- 
 ous symptoms, as hysterical fits, spasms, etc., man- 
 ifest themselves. Chlorosis may be mistaken for 
 disease of the heart, or consumption. I have given 
 
CHLOROSIS — TREATMENT. 45 
 
 here a full description of the disease, so that it may 
 be recognized from the start. All of the above 
 symptoms are not present in every case, but you 
 will frequently find a majority of them. 
 
 Treatment. — If we take into consideration the 
 fact that the cause of the disease is impoverish- 
 ment of the blood, the treatment will not be diffi- 
 cult. Exercise freely in the open air ; protect the 
 body from chilliness by warm clothing, and plenty 
 of it. The patient should sleep on a mattress, in a 
 well ventilated room. The diet should be nour- 
 ishing, without being stimulating. It is important 
 that the habits should be regular, and the mind 
 kept cheerful by society and innocent amusements. 
 Before the medical treatment is commenced, the 
 exciting causes of the disease must be removed. 
 A complete change must be made in the existence 
 of the patient. If she is confined closely at school 
 she must be removed ; if she is inclined to confine 
 herself to the house, send her to the country. 
 Picture to her the danger she is in, by the contin- 
 uance of such a life ; give her plenty of outdoor 
 exercise. The mental and moral causes are the 
 most difficult to remove, but a change of scenery 
 and new friends will do much toward it. For those 
 who are shut up in factories, or who work all day 
 in a stooping position, a change of employment 
 must be made. A bath of tepid water in the morn- 
 ing followed by a brisk rubbing will be beneficial. 
 Also the frequent use of the sitting bath, and the 
 sponge bath in the evening. Active exercise should 
 
46 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 precede and follow all baths. During menstrua- 
 tion all applications of water should be omitted. 
 
 The following recipes are recommended by Dr. 
 Pancoast, of Philadelphia. They are to be taken 
 on alternate days ; that is, take No. i on one day, 
 No. 2 the next day, and so on : 
 
 No. i. — Precip. Carbonate of Iron, . . 5 drams. 
 
 Extract of Conium, . . . 2 " 
 
 Balsam Peru, . . . .1 dram. 
 
 Oil Cinnamon, . 20 drops. 
 
 Simple Syrup, . . . . .8 ounces. 
 
 Pulverized Gum Arabic ... 2 drams. 
 
 Mix. Dose, two teaspoonfuls three times a day, every other day 
 after meals. Shake before using. 
 No. 2. — Tincture of Nux Vomica, . . .1 dram. 
 
 Syrup Iodide of Iron, ... 1 ounce. 
 
 Simple Syrup, ..... 4 ounces. 
 Mix. Dose, one teaspoonful three times a day, every other day, in 
 water, after meals. 
 
 Profuse Menstruation — Menorrhagia. — By Men- 
 orrhagia we understand an immoderate flow of 
 the menses. There is no fixed amount of blood 
 which is lost at the menstrual period, but it varies 
 in different women. It will average, however, 
 from four to eight ounces. The quantity dis- 
 charged may be estimated by the number of nap- 
 kins used. Each napkin will contain about half an 
 ounce, or one tablespoonful, so that eight napkins 
 would contain four ounces ; twenty, ten ounces, 
 etc. 
 
 Causes. — Some women are predisposed to uter- 
 ine hemorrhages, from a relaxed, or flabby state of 
 the texture of the uterus. Frequent child-bearing, 
 
PROFUSE MENSTRUATION — CAUSES. 47 
 
 abortion, high living, too prolonged and frequent 
 nursing, may induce flooding. Among the exciting 
 causes we may mention over-exertion, dancing, 
 falls, lifting heavy weights, cold, and mental 
 excitements. 
 
 An inordinate flow occurs generally in women 
 of sanguine temperament, whose heart's im- 
 pulse is strong, and whose circulation is free ; 
 again where the passions are strong and exposed 
 to over-excitation, reflex action might determine 
 blood to the generative organs and induce con- 
 gestions that nature relieves by profuse menstrua- 
 tion. The disease is also common among women 
 of nervous, irritable temper ; in those who are cor- 
 pulent and of indolent habits, and those who live 
 in hot climates or occupy rooms having a high 
 temperature. It is also an hereditary predisposi- 
 tion, and, come from what cause it may, it is gener- 
 ally aggravated during the summer season. 
 
 Symptoms. — Exhaustion of the bodily powers; 
 weakness and pain in the back, extending to the 
 hips, and across the loins ; sallow and sunken feat- 
 ures ; headache, with throbbing of the temples ; 
 pain in the left side, stomach and bowels ; some- 
 times diarrhoea, with great nervous debility. 
 
 Treatment. — The patient must lie down on a 
 hard bed, and abstain from all stimulating food and 
 drinks. The room should be cool, and she should 
 be lightly covered with bedclothes. Soak the feet 
 in warm water, and if the flowing is excessive, ap- 
 ply cloths, wrung out in vinegar and water, to thj? ' 
 
48 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 lower bowels. The hips must be elevated higher 
 than the head. 
 
 Menorrhagia, or flooding, proceeding from any 
 cause, should be treated promptly, as serious con- 
 sequences may follow its continuance. In this, as 
 in Dysmenorrhcea, we recommend with confidence 
 doses of from one to two teaspoonfuls of Hayden's 
 Viburnum Compound in a little hot water, repeat- 
 ed as often as the urgency of the case demands. 
 The following will be found very successful : 
 
 Oil Cinnamon, . . . .2 drams. 
 
 Oil Erigeron, . . . 2 " 
 
 Pulverized Gum Arabic, . . 1 " 
 
 Water, , . . . 4 ounces. 
 
 Dose, one or two teaspoonfuls every one, two or three hours, in 
 sweetened water. 
 
 During the intervals of the period, the system 
 must be toned up with some preparation of iron. 
 One of the best is as follows : 
 
 Precipitated Carbonate of Iron, 
 
 . 5 drams. 
 
 Extract Conium, 
 
 . 
 
 2 •« 
 
 Balsam Peru, . 
 
 • • 
 
 . 1 " 
 
 Oil Cinnamon, . 
 
 . 
 
 20 drops. 
 
 Simple Syrup, 
 
 . 
 
 . 8 ounces. 
 
 Pulverized Gum Arabic, 
 
 . 
 
 2 drams. 
 
 Another effectual prescription is the following, 
 recommended by Prof. Meigs of Philadelphia : 
 
 Powdered Alum, . . . 5 to 20 grains. 
 
 Grated Nutmeg, . . . 2 " 
 
 Make into a powder, and give in syrup (made of white sugar boiled 
 down) every hour. 
 
PAINFUL MENSTRUATION. 49 
 
 Painful Menstruation — Dysmenorrhea. — The 
 word dysmenorrhcea means a difficult monthly 
 flow, and is always preceded by severe pains in the 
 back and lower part of the abdomen. 
 
 The suffering connected with this disorder is of 
 the most intense and acute character, yet thou- 
 sands of women periodically bear this torture, 
 smiling during the short interval of ease that comes 
 between the spasms that seem to rend them. 
 There is a pain enduring capacity in woman that 
 certainly man knows not of ; in the throes of labor 
 she smiles in anticipation of gladness, in the rack- 
 ing pains of dysmenorrhcea she only prays for the 
 hour of relief. It is that struggle between the 
 moral and physical from which woman comes 
 out a heroine. 
 
 Causes. — Taking cold during the period ; fright, 
 violent mental emotions ; obstinate constipation ; 
 sedentary occupations ; smallness of the mouth 
 and neck of the womb. Women subject to this 
 trouble are generally relieved by marriage. 
 
 Symptoms. — Severe bearing down pains in the 
 region of the uterus, like labor pains ; restless- 
 ness, coldness, flashes of heat, with headache ; 
 aching in the small of the back, lower part of ab- 
 domen, and thighs ; the discharge is scanty, and 
 contains shreds of fiber and clotted blood. 
 
 Treatment. — Women of a sanguinous tempera- 
 ment should make frequent use of the cold bath, 
 taking the precaution to follow it quickly by brisk, 
 hard and dry rubbing, but nervous and lym- 
 
$0 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 phatic temperaments will find the warm bath more 
 conducive to their comfort. During the three 
 or four days just preceding the menses the body 
 should be kept at rest in a reclined position, and 
 every night a hot hip bath should be taken before 
 retiring. During the access of pain or spasms 
 hot hip baths, applications of hot poultices to the 
 abdomen, hot applications to the feet, mucilagin. 
 ous — such as hot decoctions of hops, marsh mallow 
 or chamomile, etc., — and vaginal injections of 
 warm water will afford relief. If the bowels are 
 not free, they should be relieved by warm enemas 
 of water. No iced water, or very cold drinks of any 
 kind, should be taken immediately before or dur- 
 ing menstruation ; a mouthful of cold water has in 
 many instances brought back all the pains that have 
 been relieved by proper treatment. Dr. Hayden's 
 Viburnum Compound which is prescribed and 
 recommended by more physicians than any other 
 preparation, is now employed with the greatest 
 success. It is agreeable to the taste, perfectly 
 safe, free from all opiates, and may be obtained in 
 any quantity of any respectable druggist. In 
 cases where the patient suffers greatly at the 
 monthly periods it is well to commence by giving 
 teaspoonful doses every night for a week previous 
 to the usual time. On the appearance of the cata- 
 menia the patient, if she has not already done so, 
 should immediately go to bed, and cover up warm- 
 ly. Stimulating food and drinks should be 
 avoided. Give two-teaspoonful doses of the Vi* 
 
CHANGE OF LIFE. 5 1 
 
 burnum Compound every half hour, in a wine- 
 glassful of hot water, sweetened, and continue to 
 do so until relief is obtained, unless the stomach 
 rejects it, in which case the dose should be reduced 
 until it is tolerated. Frequently, after taking the 
 Viburnum Compound the^ patient will sleep 
 soundly for several hours from the sudden cessation 
 of pain. She should not be awakened through 
 any fear of over-sleeping, as the Compound does 
 not contain any narcotics whatever, nor does it 
 leave any disagreeable after effects. It may be 
 given to a child, if necessary, without any special 
 caution. 
 
 The following is also highly commended : 
 
 Tincture of Aconite Leaves, . . 2 drams. 
 
 Sweet Spirits of Nitre, 1 ounce. 
 
 Morphia, 2 grains. 
 
 Simple Syrup, . . . . . .4 ounces. 
 
 Dose, one teaspoonful every half hour until relieved. 
 
 Change of Life. — By the phrase, "change of life," 
 or the critical period, we understand the final 
 cessation, or stoppage of the menses. It usually 
 takes place between the ages of forty and fifty, 
 although in some cases it may occur as early as 
 thirty, and in others not until sixty ; however, we 
 can expect the change about the forty-fifth year. 
 k ' At puberty the ovary enlarges until it attains its 
 full development, and begins its work of casting off 
 each month a perfected ovule. When the forty- 
 fifth year of a woman's life is reached the reverse 
 process begins. The ovary begins to shrivel, soon 
 
52 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 reaching the size and acquiring- much the appear- 
 ance of a peachstone. A few months later it is 
 still more shrunken, and after the cessation of the 
 menses it often becomes so shrunken as to be 
 scarcely recognizable. At the same time that the 
 ovaries are undergoing this remarkable degenera- 
 tive change, a similar change is taking place in the 
 other organs of generation. The uterus also di- 
 minishes in size, as does also the vagina. The 
 mouth of the womb becomes contracted, and after 
 a time entirely closed. The upper part of the vag- 
 ina is often contracted to such a degree as to pro- 
 duce folds closely resembling those which result 
 from serious inflammations about the uterus. The 
 preasts are diminished in size. These changes in- 
 dicate unmistakably the decline of the function of 
 reproduction, preparatory to its entire suspension." 
 The symptoms will vary according to the con- 
 stitution of the woman ; in some the change occurs 
 by the discharge gradually diminishing in quantity, 
 in others by the intervals between the periods be- 
 ing lengthened. The woman may pass this period 
 without having any more unpleasant symptoms 
 than an occasional rush of blood to the head, or a 
 headache. Others, however, may have very severe 
 symptoms arise, which will require the care of an 
 intelligent physician. These disagreeable sensa- 
 tions should receive a careful consideration, and 
 not be hushed up with the reply that these com- 
 plaints arise from the "change of life," and will 
 vanish whenever that change takes place. The 
 
CHANGE OF LIFE — SYMPTOMS. 53 
 
 foundation of serious trouble may be laid, which 
 will make the remainder of her existence a burden, 
 and cut short a life which might have been con- 
 ducted to a green old age. While this change is 
 in progress, in probably the majority of cases there 
 is more or less disturbance of the health. It is 
 sometimes quite impossible to say exactly what is 
 the trouble with the patient, except that she is out 
 of health. The following are some of the symp- 
 toms which may arise : 
 
 Symptoms. — Headache, dizziness ; biliousness, 
 sour stomach, indigestion, diarrhoea, costiveness, 
 piles ; itching of the private parts ; cramps and 
 colic in the bowels ; palpitation of the heart ; 
 swelling of the limbs and abdomen ; pains in the 
 back and loins ; paleness and general weakness. 
 
 The neuralgias, nervousness, fidgets and hys- 
 terias which afflict some women at this period are 
 such as to make life miserable. Flushings are also 
 a frequent nervous disorder, caused by the rushing 
 of the blood to any part of the body. Sometimes 
 the flushing is accompanied by excessive heat or 
 by violent throbbing. Sometimes nausea and 
 vomiting accompany the flushing, or the patient 
 may be thrown into a profuse perspiration, while 
 at other times the mind becomes so excited that it 
 amounts to actual delirium. These perspirations 
 are sometimes so profuse as to saturate the bed- 
 clothing. They may follow the flushing or occur 
 independently. Usually they occur during sleep. 
 They also attend mental excitement of any kind. 
 

 54 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 Most women look forward to " change of life " 
 with serious apprehension, and the prevailing opin- 
 ion is that it is a period of great risk to health and 
 even to life. This is a mistaken notion, however, 
 and recent investigation proves that there is less 
 mortality among women at this period than among 
 men of the same age, and also that there is less 
 mortality among women during this decade than 
 during any other decade after the age of puberty. 
 Women who safely pass this period have also a 
 better chance of living to a ripe old age than have 
 men. The woman who comes to this period with 
 a constitution unimpaired by fashionable dressing, 
 by dissipation, or by excesses of any kind, has lit- 
 tle or nothing to fear, and will almost invariably 
 pass it quickly, and with safety. To the woman 
 with feeble health and a broken constitution, how* 
 ever, this may prove indeed a critical period, and 
 she may well look forward to this time with appre- 
 hension and forebodings^ A proper preparation 
 will do much to mitigate the sufferings of this age, 
 and it is well, indeed, if being forewarned in time, 
 she begins to correct the evils of the past in mat- 
 ters pertaining to dress, diet and exercise. It is 
 highly important that all the laws of health be 
 rigorously obeyed. A warm bath taken two or 
 three times a week will be found very beneficial. 
 The pains in the back or bowels can usually be re- 
 moved by applications of heat to the affected 
 parts. This may be done by means of a hot brick, 
 or by the use of the hot water bottle. The treat- 
 ment should be taken twice a day, and should last 
 
CHANGE OF LIFE — TREATMENT. 55 
 
 about one half hour. For congestion of the uterus 
 and for hemorrhages the vaginal douche is invalu- 
 able. The water used should be hot, and should 
 be administered by means of the fountain syringe, 
 though any syringe may be used, but care should 
 be taken that the water be thrown high up against 
 the affected parts. In case of inflammation of the 
 uterus or ovaries a hot sitz-bath should be taken 
 daily, and for " flushings " the most simple and ef- 
 ficient treatment is hot spongings of the congested 
 parts. Profuse sweating may be relieved by 
 sponging with hot salt water, or with equal parts 
 of water and alcohol. 
 
 " With the approach of the change of life it is 
 usual for the sexual passions to cease. The repro- 
 ductive organs have finished their work, and it is 
 but natural that the feelings dependent upon them 
 should also cease to exist. Sometimes, how 
 ever, the opposite is the case, and the passions 
 increase in intensity, and become more violent 
 than at any other time of their lives. This 
 condition of things should always be looked upon 
 with serious apprehensions, for it is against nature, 
 and may be the indication of some grave disease. 
 There is no doubt but that sexual gratification at 
 this time is a very common cause of intensifying 
 all the numerous inconveniences and ailments 
 which are attendant upon this period, and hence 
 continence is not only recommended but should be 
 enjoined as one of the most essential hygienic 
 measures by which a safe and rapid transit through 
 this period of sexual decline may be insured." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PREGNANCY. 
 
 The first sign that leads a woman to believe that 
 she is pregnant is her ceasing to -be unwell. This, 
 providing she has just before been in good health, 
 is a strong symptom of pregnancy ; but still there 
 must be others to corroborate it. 
 
 A healthy married woman, during the period of 
 child-bearing, suddenly ceasing to menstruate, is 
 of itself alone almost a sure and certain sign of 
 pregnancy — requiring but little else to confirm it. 
 This fact is well known by all who have had chil- 
 dren — they base their predictions and their calcula- 
 tions upon it, and upon it alone, and are, in conse- 
 quence, seldom deceived. 
 
 But as failure to menstruate may proceed from 
 other causes than that of pregnancy — such as dis^ 
 ease or disorder of the womb, or of other organs 
 of the body — especially of the lungs — it is not by 
 itself alone entirely to be depended upon ; although, 
 as a single sign, it is — especially if the patient is 
 healthy — the most reliable of all the other signs of 
 pregnancy. ^ 
 
 The next symptom is morning-sickness . This is 
 one of the earliest symptoms of pregnancy ; as it 
 
 (56) 
 
SIGNS OF PREGNANCY — MORNING—SICKNESS. $7 
 
 sometimes occurs a few days, and indeed generally 
 not later than two or three weeks, after concep- 
 tion. Morning-sickness is frequently distressing, 
 oftentimes amounting to vomiting, and causing a 
 loathing for breakfast. This sign usually disap- 
 pears after the first two or three months. Morning- 
 sickness is not always present in pregnancy, but, 
 nevertheless, it is a frequent accompaniment ; and 
 many who have had families place more reliance 
 on this than on any other symptom. Morning- 
 sickness is one of the earliest, if not the very earli- 
 est, symptom of pregnancy ; and is, by some ladies, 
 taken as their starting point from which to com- 
 mence making their count. 
 
 Morning-sickness, then, if it does not arise from a 
 disordered stomach, is one of the most trustworthy 
 signs of pregnancy. A lady who has once had 
 morning-sickness can always, for the future, distin- 
 guish it from each and from every other sickness ; 
 it is a peculiar sickness, which no other sickness 
 can simulate. Moreover, it is emphatically a morn- 
 ing-sickness — the patient being, as a rule, for the 
 rest of the day entirely free from sickness, or from 
 the feeling of sickness. 
 
 A third symptom is shooting, throbbing and lan- 
 cinating pains, and enlargement of the breast, zvith 
 soreness of the nipples, occurring about the second 
 month ;, and in some instances, after the first few 
 months, a small quantity of watery fluid, or a little 
 milk, may be squeezed out of them. This latter 
 symptom, in a first pregnancy, is valuable, and can 
 
58 PREGNANCY. 
 
 generally be relied upon as conclusive that the 
 woman is pregnant. It is not so valuable in an 
 after pregnancy, as a little milk might, even should 
 she not be pregnant, remain in the breasts for some 
 months after she has weaned her child. 
 
 The veins of the breast look more blue, and are 
 consequently more conspicuous than usual, giving 
 the bosom a mottled appearance. The breasts 
 themselves are firmer and more knotty to the touch. 
 The nipples, in the majority of cases, look more 
 healthy than customary, and are somewhat elevated 
 and enlarged ; there is generally a slight moisture 
 upon their surface, sufficient, in some instances, to 
 mark the linen. 
 
 A dark-brown areola or disc may usually be no- 
 ticed around the nipple* (Plate 6), the change of 
 color commencing about the second month. The 
 tint at first is light brown, which gradually deep- 
 ens in intensity, until toward the end of pregnancy 
 the color may be very dark. Dr. Montgomery, 
 who paid great attention to the subject, observes : 
 " During the progress of the next two or three 
 months the changes in the areola are, in general, 
 perfected, or nearly so, and then it presents the fol- 
 lowing characters : A circle around the nipple, 
 whose color varies in intensity according to the 
 particular complexion of the individual, being usu- 
 ally much darker in persons with black hair, dark 
 eyes and sallow skin, than in those of fair hair, 
 
 ♦"William Hunter had such faith in this sign that he always asserted that 
 he could judge by it alone whether or not a woman was pregnant." — Sig7is and 
 Diseases of Pregnancy (Dr. Tanner.) 
 
SIGNS OF PREGNANCY— QUICKENING. 59 
 
 light-colored eyes and delicate complexion. The 
 area ol this circle varies in diameter from an inch to 
 an inch and a half, and increases, in most persons, 
 as pregnancy advances, as does also the depth of 
 color." The dark areola is somewhat swollen. 
 " There is," says Dr. Montgomery, "£ puffy tur- 
 gescence, not only of the nipple, but of the whole 
 surrounding disc." 
 
 Women who have had large families, seldom, 
 even when they are not cncicntc, lose this mark en- 
 tirely ; but when they are pregnant, it is more 
 intensely dark — the darkest brown — especially 
 so with brunettes. 
 
 A fourth symptom is quickening. This gener- 
 ally occurs about the completion of the fourtli cal- 
 endar month ; frequently a week or two before the 
 end of that period, at other times a week or two 
 later. A lady sometimes quickens as early as the 
 third month, while others, although rarely, quicken 
 as late as the fifth, and in very rare eases, the sixth 
 month. It will therefore be seen that there is an 
 uncertainty as to the period of quickening, 
 although, as I before remarked, the usual period 
 occurs at four and a half months — or when the 
 pregnancy is half completed. 
 
 Quickening is one of the most important signs 
 of pregnancy, and also one of the most valuable. 
 As a rule, the moment she quickens, she first feels 
 the motion of the child, and at the same time, she 
 increases in size. After this time there is less dan- 
 ger of miscarriage. 
 
60 PREGNANCY. 
 
 A lady at this time frequently either feels faint, 
 or actually faints away ; she is often either giddy, 
 sick, or nervous, and, in some instances, even hys- 
 terical ; although, in rare cases, the precise time of 
 quickening may not be known. 
 
 The sensation of quickening is said by many 
 ladies to resemble the fluttering of a bird ; by others 
 it is likened to a heaving, beating, or leaping sen- 
 sation ; accompanied, sometimes, with a frightened 
 feeling. These sensations after the first day of 
 quickening usually come on eight or ten times a 
 day, although it may happen for days together that 
 the patient does not feel the movement of the child ; 
 or if at all, but very slightly. 
 
 Quickening arises from the ascent of the womb 
 into the abdomen. Owing to the increased size 
 there is not room for it below. Another cause of 
 quickening is the child has reached a further stage 
 of development, and has, in consequence, become 
 stronger both in its muscular and nervous struct- 
 ure, and has strength and motion of limbs, power- 
 ful enough to kick and plunge about the womb, 
 and thus cause the sensation of quickening. The 
 old-fashioned idea was that the child was not alive 
 until a woman had quickened. This is a mistaken 
 notion, as the foetus is alive from the very moment 
 of conception. 
 
 Flatulence has sometimes misled a young wife to 
 fancy that she has quickened ; but in determining 
 whether she is pregnant she ought never to be sat- 
 isfied with one symptom alone ; if so she will fre- 
 
 
SIGNS OF PREGNANCY— FLATULENCE. 6 1 
 
 quently be misled. The following are a few of the 
 symptoms that will distinguish the one from the 
 other: In flatulence the patient is small one hour 
 and large the next ; while in pregnancy the en- 
 largement is persistent, and daily and gradually 
 increases. In flatulence, on pressing the bowels 
 firmly, a rumbling of wind may be heard, which 
 will move about at will ; while the enlargement of 
 the womb, in pregnancy, is solid, resistant and sta- 
 tionary. In flatulence, on tapping the abdomen, 
 there will be a hollow sound elicited, as from a 
 drum, while in pregnancy it will be a dull, heavy 
 sound, as from thrumming on a table. In flatu- 
 lence, if the points of the fingers are firmly pressed 
 into the abdomen, the wind will move about — in 
 pregnancy they will be resisted by a wall of flesh. 
 
 The fifth symptom is, immediately after the 
 quickening, increased sice and hardness of the abdo- 
 men. An accumulation of fat covering the abdo- 
 men has sometimes misled a woman to think that 
 she is pregnant. 
 
 Increased sice and hardness of the abdomen is very 
 characteristic of pregnancy. When not pregnant 
 the abdomen is soft and flaccid ; when pregnant, 
 and after quickening, the abdomen, over the region 
 of the womb, is hard and resisting. 
 
 The sixth symptom is pouting or protrusion of 
 the navel. This symptom does not occur until some 
 time after quickening. During the first two 
 months of pregnancy, the navel is drawn in and 
 depressed. As the pregnancy advances, the navel 
 
62 PREGNANCY. 
 
 gradually comes forward. " The navel according 
 to the progress of pregnancy, is constantly emerg- 
 ing, till it comes to an even surface with the integ- 
 uments of the abdomen ; and to this circumstance 
 much regard is to be paid, in cases of doubtful 
 pregnancy." 
 
 The seventh symptom is emaciation ; the face, 
 especially the nose, is pinched and pointed ; the 
 features are altered ; the face, as the pregnancy ad- 
 vances, gradually resumes its natural comeliness. 
 Emaciation may, and does occur from other causes 
 besides those of pregnancy ; but still, if there is 
 emaciation, together with other signs of pregnancy, 
 it tends to confirm the patient in her convictions 
 that she is enciente. 
 
 Many a plump lady tells of her pregnancy by 
 her sudden emaciation. There is one comfort, 
 however, for as soon as the pregnancy is over, if 
 not before, the body usually regains its former 
 plumpness. 
 
 The eighth symptom is irritability of the bladder 
 which is, sometimes, one of the early signs of preg- 
 nancy. It is, likewise, frequently one of the early 
 symptoms of labor. The irritability of the bladder, 
 in early pregnancy, is oftentimes very distressing 
 and very painful — the patient being disturbed from 
 her sleep several times in the night to urinate 
 — passing generally but a few drops at a time. 
 This symptom usually leaves her as soon as she has 
 quickened ; to return again — usually without pain 
 —just before the commencement of labor. 
 
PREGNANCY — SYMPTOMS. 63 
 
 There is very little to be done in such cases, in 
 the way of relief. One of the best remedies is, — a 
 small teaspoonful of Sweet Spirits of Nitre (Sp. 
 vEther. Nit.) in a wine-glass full of water, taken at 
 bed-time. Drinking- plentifully, as a beverage, of 
 barley water with best gum arabic dissolved in it 
 — half an ounce ol gum to every pint of barley wa- 
 ter — the gum arabic being dissolved in the barley 
 water by putting them both in a saucepan over the 
 fire, and stirring the while until the gum is dis- 
 solved. This beverage may be sweetened accord- 
 ing to taste. 
 
 Sleepiness, heartburn, increased flow of saliva 
 (amounting, in some cases even to salivation), tooth- 
 ache, loss of appetite, longings, excitability of mind, 
 liver or sulphur colored patches on the skin, and likes 
 and dislikes in eating, — any one of these symptoms 
 may accompany pregnancy; but as they often arise 
 from other causes, they are not to be relied on 
 further than this — that if they attend the more cer- 
 tain signs of pregnancy, such as cessation of the 
 menses, morning sickness, pains and enlargement 
 of the breasts, the gradually darkening brown 
 areola or mark around the nipple, etc., they will 
 then make assurance doubly sure, and a woman 
 may know certainly that she is pregnant.* 
 
 Sleepiness often accompanies pregnancy, the pa- 
 
 *This work is exclusively intended for the perusal of wives. I beg-, how- 
 ever, to observe that there is one sign of pregnancy which I have not pointed 
 out, but which to a medical man is very conclusive: I mean he sounds of the 
 fcetal heart, indicated bv the stethoscope, and which is for the first time heard 
 somewhere about the fifth month. Moreover, there are other means besides the 
 
 stethoscope known to a doctor, by which he can with certainty tell whether or 
 not a woman is pregnant, but 
 a popular work of this kind. 
 
 not a woman is pregnant, but which would be quite out of place to describe in 
 * this 
 
64 PREGNANCY. 
 
 tient being able to sleep in season and out of 
 season. 
 
 Heartburn. — Some women in pregnancy are 
 much afflicted with heartburn ; for affliction it. as- 
 suredly is ; but heartburn as a rule, although very 
 disagreeable, is rather a sign that the patient will 
 go her time. Heartburn is very amenable to treat- 
 ment, and is generally much relieved by ammonia 
 and soda — a prescription for which will be found ' 
 on page 109. 
 
 Increased flow of saliva is sometimes a symptom 
 of pregnancy, amounting, in rare cases, to regular 
 salivation — the patient being, for a time, in a pitiable 
 condition. It lasts usually for days ; sometimes 
 even for weeks, and is most disagreeable, but is 
 not at all dangerous. 
 
 Toothache is a frequent sign of pregnancy — preg- 
 nancy being often very destructive to the teeth — 
 destroying one with every child ! 
 
 Loss of Appetite. — Some women have, more 
 especially during the early months ol pregnancy — 
 wretched appetites ; they loathe their food, and 
 dread the approach of meal-times. Others, on the 
 contrary, eat more heartily during pregnancy 
 than at any other period of their lives — they are 
 absolutely ravenous, and can scarcely satisfy their 
 hunger ! 
 
 The longings of a pregnant woman are some- 
 times truly absurd; but, like almost everything 
 else, it grows upon what it is fed. They long for 
 roast pig, for pork, raw carrots, raw turnips, raw 
 
PREGNANCY— CLOTHING. 6$ 
 
 meat — for anything and for everything that is un- 
 wholesome, and which they would at any other 
 time loathe and turn away from in disgust. The 
 best plan of treatment to adopt, is not to give way to 
 such longings, unless they are of a harmless, 
 simple nature, in which case they will soon pass 
 away. 
 
 Excitability of mind is very common in preg- 
 nancy, more especially if the patient is delicate ; in- 
 deed, excitability is a sign of debility, and requires 
 plenty of good nourishment, but few stimulants. 
 
 Likes and dislikes in eating are of frequent oc- 
 currence — particularly in early pregnancy — more 
 especially if the patient has naturally a weak diges- 
 tion. If the digestion is weak she is sure to have 
 a disordered stomach — one following the other in 
 regular sequence. A little appropriate medicine 
 will rectify the evil, and improve the digestion, and 
 thus do away with likes and dislikes in eating. 
 
 Liver or sulphur colored patclics on the skin — 
 principally on the face, neck, and throat — are tell- 
 tales of pregnancy, and to an experienced matron, 
 publish the fact that an acquaintance, thus marked, 
 is enciente. 
 
 Clothing. — Some women to hide their pregnancy 
 from their friends and acquaintances, screw them- 
 selves up in tight stays and in tight dresses. This 
 is not only foolish, but it is dangerous, and may 
 cause either a miscarriage, a premature labor, a 
 cross-birth, or falling of the womb. 
 
 A pregnant woman ought on no account to 
 
66 PREGNANCY. 
 
 wear tight dresses, as the child should have plenty 
 of room. She ought to be, as enciente signifies, 
 incincta, or unbound. Let the clothes be adapted 
 to the gradual development, both of the abdomen 
 and the breasts. 
 
 "Tight lacing is the chief cause of infantile 
 mortality. That it inflicts the very worst forms of 
 ruin on woman and offspring, is self-evident. No 
 evil equals that of curtailing this maternal supply 
 of breath ; nor does anything do this as effectually 
 as tight lacing. If it were merely a female folly, 
 or if its ravages were confined to its perpetrators, 
 it might be allowed to pass unrebuked ; but it 
 strikes a deadly blow at the very life of the race. 
 By girting in the lungs, stomach, heart, diaphragm, 
 etc., it cripples every one of the life-manufacturing 
 functions, impairs the circulation, prevents mus- 
 cular action, and lays siege to the child-bearing 
 citadel itself. By the value of abundant maternal 
 vitality, air, exercise and digestion, is this practice 
 murderous to both. It often destroys germinal 
 life before or soon after birth, by most effectually 
 cramping, inflaming and weakening the vital ap- 
 paratus and stopping the flow of life at its fountain 
 head. It slowly but surely takes the lives of tens 
 of thousands before they marry, and so effectually 
 weakens and diseases as ultimately to cause the 
 death of millions. No tongue can tell, no finite 
 mind conceive the misery it has occasioned nor the 
 number of deaths directly and indirectly ol young 
 women, bearing mothers, and weakly infants it has 
 
EVIL EFFECTS OF LACING. 6? 
 
 occasioned ; besides the millions upon millions it 
 has caused to drag out a short but wretched exist- 
 ence. If this murderous practice continues another 
 generation, it will bury all the middle and upper 
 classes of women and children and leave propaga- 
 tion to the coarse-grained, but healthy, lower 
 classes. Most alarmingly has it already deteriora- 
 ted our very race in physical strength, power of 
 constitution energy and talents. Let those who 
 had rather bury than raise their children, marry 
 tight lacers." 
 
 The great thing is for a mother to begin from 
 the beginning, and never allow her daughter to 
 wear corsets at all, in which case these painful 
 consequences could not possibly ensue. If stays 
 had never been invented, how much misery, defor« 
 mity. disease, and death might have been averted ! 
 Another crying evil is that of wearing the under- 
 clothing suspended around the hips. It is of vital 
 importance that the full weight of all clothing 
 worn should be borne wholly by the shoulders. 
 If suspended around the waist the weight falls 
 directly upon the bowels, pressing them down- 
 ward, and as we shall see in another chapter, 
 crowding them against the rectum, and thus caus- 
 ing constipation. Not only this, but the womb 
 must suffer severely from the pressure thus brought 
 to bear upon it, and to this cause as well as to 
 tight lacing is due the numerous disorders and 
 displacements of this organ. If this is true when 
 the womb is of normal size, how much more injur- 
 
68 PREGNANCY. 
 
 ious must be the effect in pregnancy, in which con- 
 dition each day increases the size, causing it to 
 push upward and outward and continually to de- 
 mand more room. There should be no bands 
 about the hips, but in place of them the under-gar- 
 ments should be made continuous from the shoul- 
 ders and so loose that they would fall over the 
 hips, if not supported from the shoulders. Be- 
 neath this chemiloon the Jersey fitting combination 
 suit may be worn. "Skirt supporters" will keep 
 the skirts in position, or better still, one of the 
 numerous forms of "hygienic waists" may be used, 
 to which the skirts may be buttoned. These 
 answer the purpose of the corset, giving a neat 
 and trim appearance to the figure and at the same 
 lime allowing full freedom to the waist and increas- 
 ing abdomen. 
 
 Bathing. — A warm bath in pregnancy is too re- 
 taxing. A tepid bath once a week is beneficial. 
 Sponging the whole of the body every morning 
 with lukewarm water may with safety and advant- 
 age be adopted, gradually reducing the tempera- 
 ture of the water until it is quite cool. The skin 
 should, with moderately coarse towels, be quickly 
 but thoroughly dried. 
 
 A sitz-bath ought every morning to be used. 
 The patient should first sponge herself, and then 
 finish up by sitting a few seconds in the water. It 
 is better not to be long in it ; it is a slight shock 
 that is required, which, where the sitz-bath agrees, 
 is immediately followed by an agreeable glow of 
 
EXERCISE IN PREGNANCY. 69 
 
 the whole body. If the bath is prolonged beyond 
 the right time, the patient becomes chilled and tired, 
 and is very likely to catch cold. She ought, until 
 she becomes accustomed to the cold, to have a dash 
 of warm water added ; but the sooner she can use 
 quite cool water, the better. While sitting in the 
 bath, either a woolen shawl or a small blanket should 
 be thrown over the shoulders. The patient will 
 find the greatest comfort and benefit from adopting 
 the above recommendation. Instead of giving, it will 
 prevent cold, and it will be one of the means of 
 warding off a miscarriage, and of keeping her in 
 good health. 
 
 If cold water does not agree, tepid water may 
 be used. Indeed, during the last few days of preg- 
 nancy, and in the early stages of labor, the water 
 for the sitz-bath should be warm, and a warm vagi- 
 nal douche, by means of a fountain syringe, should 
 be taken in connection. Care should be used that 
 the water is not too hot; the temperature should 
 be about the same as that of the body. In hard 
 and lingering confinements, hot sitz-baths should be 
 taken. There is nothing that tends to soften and 
 •relax the parts and make dilation easy and painless 
 as does the application of warm or hot water. The 
 most beneficial results can but follow if the above 
 advice is carefully heeded. Shower baths give too 
 great a shock, and should not be taken. 
 
 Air and Exercise. — A young wife, in her first 
 pregnancy, usually takes too long walks. This is 
 a common cause of flooding, of miscarriage, and of 
 
70 PREGNANCY. 
 
 falling of the womb. As soon as a woman has the 
 slightest suspicion that she is pregnant, she must be 
 careful in taking exercise. 
 
 Although long walks are injurious, she ought not 
 to run into an opposite extreme — short, gentle, and 
 frequent walks during the whole period of preg- 
 nancy cannot be too strongly recommended ; in- 
 deed, a pregnant woman ought to live half her 
 time in the open air. Fresh air and exercise pre- 
 vent many of the unpleasant symptoms attendant 
 on that state ; they keep her in health, tend to open 
 the bowels, and relieve that sensation of faintness 
 and depression so common and distressing in early 
 pregnancy. 
 
 Exercise, fresh air and occupation are essen- 
 tially necessary in pregnancy. If they are neg- 
 lected, hard and tedious labors are likely to ensue. 
 The easy and quick labors and rapid recoveries of 
 poor women are greatly due to the abundance of 
 exercise and of occupation which they are both 
 daily and hourly obliged to get through. Many a 
 poor woman thinks but little of confinement, while 
 a rich one is full of anxiety about the result. Let 
 the rich lady adopt the poor woman's industrious 
 and abstemious habits, and labor need not then be 
 looked forward to, as it frequently now is, either 
 with dread or with apprehension. 
 
 Stooping, lifting of heavy weights, and over- 
 reaching, ought to be carefully avoided. Running, 
 horseback riding and dancing, are likewise dan- 
 gerous — they frequently induce a miscarriage. 
 
EXERCISE IN PREGNANCY. ?I 
 
 Indolence is most injurious in pregnancy. It is 
 impossible for a pregnant woman, who is reclining 
 all day on a sofa or an easy chair, to be strong ; 
 such a habit is most enervating to the mother, and 
 weakening to her unborn babe. It is the custom 
 of some women, as soon as they become pregnant, 
 to treat themselves as confirmed invalids, and to 
 lie down, in consequence, the greater part of every 
 day. This plan instead of being refreshing, is ex- 
 ceedingly depressing. The only time to lie down 
 is occasionally in the day — when absolutely need- 
 ing the refreshment of rest. 
 
 A woman who, during the greater part of the 
 day, lounges on a sofa or an easy chair, and seldom 
 walks out, has a much more lingering and painful 
 labor than one who takes moderate and regular 
 open-air exercise, and who attends to her house- 
 hold duties. An active life is the principal reason 
 why the wives of the poor have such quick and 
 easy labors, and such good recoveries ; why their 
 babies are so rosy, healthy and strong, notwith- 
 standing the privations and hardships and poverty 
 of the parents. 
 
 Bear in mind that a lively, active woman has an 
 easier and quicker confinement, and a finer race of 
 children, than one who is lethargic and indolent. 
 Idleness brings misery, anguish and suffering in its 
 train, and particularly affects pregnant women. 
 Oh, that these words would have due weight, then 
 this book will not have been written in vain ! The 
 hardest work in the world is having nothing to do ! 
 
72 PREGNANCY. 
 
 Woman sometimes look upon pregnancy more 
 as a disease than as a natural process ; hence she 
 treats herself as though she were a regular invalid, 
 and unfortunately, she too often makes herself 
 really one by improper and foolish indulgences. 
 
 Ventilation. — Let every woman look well to the 
 ventilation of her house ; let her take care that every 
 chimney is unstopped, and during the daytime 
 that every window in every unoccupied room is 
 thrown open. Where there is a skylight at the top 
 of the house, it is well to have it made to open and 
 shut, so that in the daytime it may, winter and 
 summer, be always open. Nothing so thoroughly 
 ventilates and purifies a house as an open sky- 
 light. 
 
 My firm belief is, that \i more attention were 
 paid to ventilation — to thorough ventilation — child- 
 bed fever would be an almost unknown disease. 
 The cooping-up system is abominable ; it engenders 
 all manner of infectious and loathsome diseases, and 
 not only engenders them, but feeds them, and thus 
 keeps them alive. There is nothing wonderful in 
 all this, if we consider, but for one moment, fhat 
 the exhalations from the lungs are poisonous. The 
 lungs give off carbonic acid gas (a deadly poison), 
 which, if it is not allowed to escape, must be 
 breathed over and over again. If the perspiration 
 of the body (which in twenty -four hours amounts 
 to two or three pounds !) is not permitted to escape 
 from the apartment, it must become foetid — repug- 
 nant, sickening, and injurious to the health. The 
 
VENTILATION — DISINFECTANTS. 73 
 
 nose is a sentinel, and often warns its owner of ap- 
 proaching danger ! 
 
 The Almighty has sent bad smells for our benefit 
 to warn us of danger ! If it were not for an un- 
 pleasant smell, we should be constantly running 
 into destruction ! How often we hear of an igno- 
 rant person using disinfectants and fumigations to 
 deprive drains and other horrid places of their 
 odors ; as though, if the place could be robbed of 
 its smell, it could be robbed of its danger ! Strange 
 infatuation ! No ; the frequent flushing of drains, 
 the removal of nuisances, cleanliness, a good scrub- 
 bing of soap and water, sunshine, and the air and 
 winds of heaven, are the best disinfectants in the 
 world ! A celebrated and eccentric lecturer in sur- 
 gery — Abernathy — in addressing his class, made 
 the following quaint and sensible remark : " Fum- 
 igations, gentlemen, are of essential importance ; 
 they make so abominable a stink, that they compel 
 you to open the windows and admit fresh air." 
 
 To destroy the smell is not to destroy the 
 danger ; certainly not! The right way to do away 
 with the danger is to remove the cause, and the 
 effect will cease. Flushing a sewer is far more 
 efficacious than disinfecting one. Soap and water, 
 the scrubbing brush, sunshine and thorough venti- 
 lation, each and all are far more beneficial than 
 either permanganate of potash, chloride of zinc, 
 or chloride of lime. People in these times think 
 too much of disinfectants, and too little of removal 
 of causes ; they think too much of artificial, and 
 too little of natural means. 
 
?4 PREGNANCY. 
 
 Not only is the nose a sentinel, but pain is a 
 sentinel. The sense of pain is necessary to our 
 very existence ; we should, if it were not for pain, 
 be constantly falling into many great and grievous 
 dangers; we should, if it were not for pain, be 
 running into the fire and be burned ; we should, if 
 it were not for pain, swallow hot fluids and be 
 scalded ; we should, if it were not for pain, be con- 
 stantly letting things go the wrong way, and be 
 suffocated ; we should, if it were not for pain, al- 
 low foreign substances to enter the eye, and be 
 blinded ; we should, if it were not for pain, be 
 lulled to a false security, and allow disease to go 
 unchecked and unattended, until we had permitted 
 the time to pass by when remedies were of little or 
 no avail. Pain is a sentinel, and guards us from 
 danger; pain is like a true friend, who sometimes 
 gives a little pain to save a greater pain ; pain 
 sometimes resembles the surgeon's knife, it gives 
 pain to cure pain ; sense of pain is a blessed pro- 
 vision of nature, and is designed for the protec- 
 tion, preservation, and prolongation of life ! 
 
 What we want is a little less theory, and a great 
 deal more common sense. 
 
 Contagious diseases are bred and fed in badly- 
 ventilated houses. Ill-ventilated houses are hot- 
 beds of disease. "A small basket of charcoal 
 should be placed in the room, and even in the bed, 
 of every invalid, in order that it may absorb the 
 carbonic acid gas floating in the air, thus ren- 
 dering the atmosphere purer and more whole- 
 
DEADLY EFFECT OF DRAIN POISON. 75 
 
 some." Contagion is subtle, quick, invisible and 
 inscrutable — tremendous in its effects; it darts its 
 poison like a rattlesnake, and instantly the body is 
 infected, and the strongest giant suddenly becomes 
 as helpless as the feeble infant. 
 
 Not only should the ventilation of the house be 
 well looked after, but it ought to be ascertained that 
 the drains are in good and perfect order, that the 
 privies are frequently emptied of their contents, 
 and that neither drain fluid nor privy fluid commu- 
 nicates, in any way whatever, with the supply 
 of drinking water. Bad drainage and overflowing 
 privies are fruitful sources of child-bed fever, 
 gastric fever, scarlatina, diphtheria, cholera, and a 
 host of other infectious, contagious and dangerous 
 diseases. It is an abominable practice to allow dirt 
 to fester near human habitations. 
 
 Drain poison is so instantaneous in its effects, so 
 subtle in its operations, so deadly in its conse- 
 quences, so untiring in its labors — working both 
 day and night — that it may well be said to be " the 
 pestilence that walketh in darkness," and " the 
 sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day." 
 
 Look well to the purity of the well water, and 
 ascertain that no drain either enters, percolates, or 
 contaminates it in any way whatever. If it should 
 do so, disease, such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysen- 
 tery, diphtheria, scarlet fever or gastric fever, will, 
 as a matter of course, ensue. If there is the 
 slightest danger or risk of drain contamination, 
 whenever it is practicable, let the drain be taken 
 
j6 PREGNANCY. 
 
 up and examined, and the defect carefully rectified'. 
 When it is impracticable to have the drain taken 
 up and examined, then always boil the water 
 before using. The boiling of water, as experience 
 teaches, has the power either of destroying or 
 making innocuous the specific organic faecal life 
 poison, which propagates in drain contamination 
 the diseases above enumerated. 
 
 The water from the drive well is far superior to 
 water from the old pump well ; the water from the 
 former is always pure, while from the latter it is 
 usually most impure — it is oftentimes little better 
 than water from a cesspool, being contaminated 
 either with drainage impurities, faecal matter, or 
 water from land springs. I should advise my friends 
 who are about building houses, to sink the drive 
 well, and have nothing to do with the antiquated 
 pump, which is both a nuisance and a danger ; in- 
 deed, impure water is one of the most frequent 
 causes of diphtheria, scarlet fever, dysentery, chol- 
 era, and gastric fever. The pump, in fifty years 
 hence, will be what stage coaches are now, things 
 of the past — a curiosity ! 
 
 Necessity of occasional rest.— A pregnant woman 
 ought to lie down frequently during the day. This, 
 if there is either a bearing-down of the womb or 
 a predisposition to miscarry, will be particularly 
 necessary. I should recommend this plan through- 
 out the whole period of pregnancy ; in the early 
 months to prevent a miscarriage, and in the latter 
 months, on account of the increased weight and 
 size of the womb. 
 
SLEEP — RESTLESSNESS. J*] 
 
 The modern sofas are most uncomfortable to lie 
 upon ; they are not made for comfort, but for 
 show ; one of the good old-fashioned sofas should 
 be selected for the purpose, in order that the back 
 may be properly and thoroughly rested. 
 
 There is, occasionally, during the latter months, 
 a difficulty in lying down — the patient feeling 
 each time a suffocating sensation. When such is 
 the case, she ought to rest upon the sofa, and be 
 propped up with cushions. I consider rest at dif- 
 ferent periods of the day necessary and beneficial. 
 If there is any difficulty in lying down at night, a 
 bed-rest, well covered with pillows, will be found 
 a great comfort. 
 
 Sleep. — The bedroom ought, if practicable, to be 
 large and airy. Particular attention must be paid 
 to the ventilation. The chimney should on no ac- 
 count be stopped. The door and the windows 
 ought in the daytime to be thrown wide open, and 
 the bedclothes should be thrown back, that the air 
 might, before the approach of night, well ventilate 
 them. Pure air and a frequent change of air is 
 quite necessary. 
 
 The bed must not be loaded with clothes, more 
 especially with a thick coverlet. If the weather is 
 cold, let an extra blanket be put on the bed, as the 
 perspiration can permeate through a blanket when 
 it cannot through a thick coverlet. The knitted, 
 for the summer, are the best, as they allow the per- 
 spiration from the body to escape ; and the eider- 
 down, for winter, are light, warm, and ventilating. 
 
78 PREGNANCY. 
 
 It is a marvel how some people, with four or five 
 blankets, and with a thick coverlet on the bed, can 
 sleep at all; their skins and lungs are smothered, 
 and are not allowed to breathe, for the skin is as 
 much a breathing apparatus as are the lungs them- 
 selves. This is a mistake, and fraught with serious 
 consequences ! 
 
 The bedroom, at night, should be dark ; hence 
 the importance of either shutters, Venetian blinds 
 or dark blinds impervious to light, or thick cur- 
 tains to the windows. The chamber too, should 
 be as far removed from noise as possible — noise is 
 an enemy to sleep. 
 
 The pregnant woman is sometimes restless at 
 night — she feels oppressed and hot. The best rem- 
 edies are: — (i.) Scant clothing on the bed. (2.) 
 The lower sash of the window, during the sum- 
 mer, to be left open six or eight inches, and during 
 the winter, two or three inches; providing the 
 room is large, the bed is not too near the window, 
 and the weather not intensely cold. If any or all 
 of these latter circumstances occur, then (3) the 
 window should be closed and the door left ajar. 
 (4.) Attention should be paid to the bowels if cos- 
 tive — but not otherwise. (5.) Stimulants of all 
 kinds are to be avoided. (6.) Gentle walking ex- 
 ercise. (7.) Sponging the body every morning— 
 in the winter with tepid water, and in the summer 
 with cold water. (8.) Cooling fruits, in summer, 
 are in such cases very healthful and refreshing. 
 
 Pains at night, during the latter months of preg- 
 
GENERAL TREATMENT. 79 
 
 nancy, are usually frequent, so much so as to make 
 an inexperienced woman think her labor at hand. 
 Apply "Stimulating Liniment," — which can be 
 procured at any drugstore, — and keep the bowels 
 covered with warm, dry flannels. If they are vio< 
 lent, a physician should be called. 
 
 A pregnant woman should retire early. She 
 ought to be in bed every night by ten o'clock, and 
 should make a point of rising early in the morning, 
 that she may have a thorough bath, a stroll in the 
 garden, and an early breakfast. Afterward a short 
 walk should be taken while the air is pure and in- 
 vigorating. But how often, more especially when 
 a lady is first married, is an opposite plan adopted. 
 The importance of bringing a healthy child into 
 the world, if not for her own and her husband's 
 sake, should induce a wife to attend to the above 
 remarks. 
 
 While some women during pregnancy are very 
 restless, others are very sleepy. They can scarce- 
 ly even in the day, keep their eyes open ! Fresh 
 air, exercise, and occupation, are the best rem- 
 edies for this. 
 
 &2S8&«sS 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 Constipation means a sluggish state of the 
 b nvels, by reason of which the fasces are retained 
 for a longer time than is warranted in a state of 
 health. The discharges are hard and dry, in small 
 quantities, and evacuated with difficulty. This is 
 one of the most common disorders to which man- 
 kind is subject, and among pregnant women is 
 almost universal. 
 
 This subject is one which should engage the 
 earnest attention of every woman. The results of 
 constipation are far more serious than are gen- 
 erally supposed. 
 
 The retained excrement is, to a certain extent, 
 absorbed into the system and acts as so much 
 poison, to eliminate which the other organs are 
 overtaxed, causing debility of the whole system. 
 Women who were never of costive habit are liable 
 to become so in pregnancy, and those who were 
 subject to it before may become so much worse 
 now as to be unable to have a healthy evacuation 
 without the interference of mechanical or medi- 
 cinal means. 
 
 It has been asserted that there is not a disease 
 (So) 
 
EVIL EFFECTS OF CONSTIPATION. 8 1 
 
 of the human system which cannot be traced to 
 this one trouble. While this may not be true, the 
 evil effects which it produces in pregnancy are too 
 well known to need comment, and any suggestions 
 or treatment that will alleviate, cure or remove 
 the causes, should be eagerly sought and carefully 
 followed. In order to understand why consti- 
 pation is so constant an attendant upon pregnancy, 
 the subject should be carefully studied by the 
 patient. 
 
 The nutriment derived from the food is taken 
 into the blood from the stomach and small intes- 
 tines, while the residuum — comprising the larger 
 part of all the food — passes into the large intes- 
 tine, called the colon. Beginning on the right 
 side of the body just above the pelvis, the colon 
 passes upward to the lower border of the ribs, then 
 crosses the body and descends on the left side, and 
 inward to the spinal column, where it merges into 
 the rectum. 
 
 " The bowels possess what is termed peristaltic 
 action, that is, each portion alternately relaxes and 
 contracts, thus forcing the food through them. 
 The passage of the food is more rapid through the 
 small intestines than through the colon which, by 
 its large size and slow motion, allows the greater 
 part of the waste material, or fascal matter, to ac- 
 cumulate in it. While this remains in the colon it 
 occasions no inconvenience, but as soon as it passes 
 into the rectum it causes a desire to evacuate the 
 bowels." 
 
82 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 The time of passage from the colon to the rec- 
 tum varies in different individuals — some requir- 
 ing two evacuations daily to a perfect state of 
 health, others — and the great majority belong to 
 this class — require but one, while a third class 
 evacuate the bowels but once in two days. In de- 
 termining whether the bowels are costive the state 
 of the evacuations, as well as the frequency, should 
 be taken into consideration. If they are scanty, 
 dry, hard, and attended with pain, constipation is 
 present, even though the evacuations are of daily 
 occurrence. As a rule it may be stated that there 
 should be a full, free, soluble and satisfactory 
 evacuation of the bowels daily, and not for one 
 day, especially in pregnancy, should this rule be 
 broken, or constipation allowed. 
 
 Causes. — Sedentary habits, particularly where 
 the mind is closely applied to any subject; the con- 
 tinued use of laxative medicines ; the habitual 
 neglect of the bowels, so common among women ; 
 the mechanical pressure which the womb, in its 
 enlarged condition, exerts upon the rectum ; errors 
 in diet, and especially errors in dress. 
 
 In nearly all forms of constipation there is a lack 
 of contractile power in the colon and the rectum. 
 This is due largely to want of proper exercise. 
 Many a pregnant woman does not leave the house. 
 From the date of conception she is a fixture. Can 
 it be wondered that in such cases constipation 
 should be the result ? Exercise in the open air, 
 occupation and household duties are the best med- 
 

 CAUSES OF CONSTIPATION. 83 
 
 icines known for constipation. Every step taken 
 in walking, and every bending or twisting motion 
 of the body by jarring and crowding the intestines, 
 assists them in their work. Intense mental applica- 
 tion should be avoided. Any continued strain up- 
 on the nervous organization takes away the nerve 
 stimulant, essential to digestion and assimilation. 
 
 In speaking of the effects of exhaustive mental 
 occupation, Dr. Jackson says : 
 
 " It is not the man or woman who lives regu- 
 larly, eats temperately, and exercises the brain 
 moderately, or even severely, if the habits are cor- 
 rect, and sufficient outdoor air and exercise are 
 had to oxygenize the blood and keep up muscular 
 tone ; it is not the muscle-worker, the agriculturist, 
 the mechanic, the machinist ; it is not the maid of 
 all work, as a general thing ; it is the brain worker 
 — the lawyer, merchant, doctor, banker, minister, 
 teacher; it is the man who sits in his office or 
 works in his store or shop in poor air and light, 
 having little or no muscular exercise, who con- 
 stantly thinks, is anxious, worried, careworn — a 
 victim of the intense competition and excitement 
 which modern business life imposes ; it is the wife 
 and mother who lives in the house all day, who is 
 continually worried by household cares and anxi- 
 eties, who is socially taxed and excited ; it is she 
 who idles away her time, passing it in indoor in- 
 dolence, who dresses unphysiologically, eats badly, 
 feeds upon sensational literature, and lives under 
 the reign of her emotional and passional nature ; 
 
84 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 it is the poor factory girl or seamstress plodding 
 away through weary days, in stifling air and on 
 starvation diet, as of baker's bread and, tea, de- 
 barred from all outdoor recreation ; or the school- 
 teacher, who barely earns her living, though- she 
 works brain and nerves almost daily to the point 
 of exhaustion. In these classes, subject to unphys- 
 iological habits of work, want of recreation, unfa- 
 vorable surroundings, irregularity in eating, sleep- 
 ing, etc. — more from lack of knowledge than from 
 necessity — are found the victims." 
 
 Laxative medicines should always be avoided 
 when possible. Sometimes it becomes necessary 
 to give a purgative, but when this is the case the 
 mildest should be chosen. Strong purgatives are 
 highly improper, and often very dangerous. Es- 
 pecially is this the case where the patient is liable 
 to miscarry. 
 
 " Cathartic drugs all depend for effect upon a 
 certain quality they possess of exciting secretion 
 and peristaltic activity. Of course they do this 
 through the nervous system, few, if any, of them 
 being mechanical in their action, but accomplish- 
 ing their results by stimulating the nervous system 
 to extra effort. In doing this they necessarily ex- 
 haust the source of supply, for the tendency of all 
 stimulation is to induce exhaustion, as the conse- 
 quence of unnatural exhibitions of nervous force. 
 Persons using these so-called remedies — laxatives, 
 cathartics and purgatives — thus securing the move- 
 ments of the bowels in the present, find that after 
 

 HABITUAL NEGLECf. &S 
 
 their use it is more difficult to secure natural pas- 
 sages, and that the doses must be increased to pro- 
 duce any effect. Meantime the continued use of 
 these drugs not only exhausts nervous force, but 
 often creates inflammation of mucous surfaces, dis- 
 turbing digestion and poisoning the blood." 
 
 Habitual neglect of the bowels is one of the most 
 frequent causes of constipation. The rectum is 
 naturally empty. As soon as the fasces are dis- 
 charged into it there is usually a desire to relieve 
 the bowels. If this is not done at once or if neg- 
 lected for a short time the faeces are carried up- 
 ward by peristaltic motion and back into the colon. 
 The desire for evacuation thus passes away. This 
 abuse long continued causes the bowels to become 
 clogged up, they lose their contractile power, the 
 sensibility is destroyed, and in time the natural 
 desire to relieve them will not be felt. This allows 
 an accumulation which distends the rectum and 
 even the colon far beyond their natural capacity. 
 The rectum in its enlarged condition presses 
 against the womb, causing debility and almost cer- 
 tain disease of that organ. To this cause, too, may 
 be attributed much of the nausea accompanying 
 pregnancy. Piles follow as a necessary conse- 
 quence of pressure on the hemorrhoidal veins. 
 Bearing-down pains, pains in the back, flatulence, 
 colic, swelling of the veins of the legs, headache, 
 sleeplessness, miscarriage and many other diseases 
 are the result of over distension of the bowels. 
 Among women this habit of neglect is almost uni- 
 
$6 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 versal. An evacuation of the bowels is looked 
 upon as an onerous duty, avoided as long as pos- 
 sible, then performed in a hurried and imperfect 
 manner. Women who are occupied in stores, 
 offices or factories, where they are surrounded by 
 men, often, through a sense of false modesty, fail 
 to heed the demands of nature. The retention of 
 the urine beyond the time when it should be voided 
 is a serious evil. Continued distension causes the 
 walls of the bladder to relax and to lose their 
 elasticity. In its enlarged state the bladder presses 
 against the womb in much the same manner as the 
 over-distended rectum, and usually with the same 
 evil result. The sensitive womb, placed as it is 
 between the rectum and the bladder, is peculiarly 
 liable to suffer from want of attention to either of 
 these organs. The inconvenient, repulsive and 
 often dangerous closet accommodations, usually 
 provided in the country and smaller towns, tends 
 to increase the natural aversion to promptly heed 
 the demands of nature. This is usually placed 
 some distance from the house, and constructed so 
 openly as to expose the inmates to the rain in sum- 
 mer and snow and ice in winter. During- the 
 monthly period such exposure is exceedingly 
 dangerous and it is little wonder that the sensitive 
 or invalid woman dreads the ordeal and defers the 
 same as long as possible. Earth closets should be 
 constructed to take the place of the noisome ac 
 commodations now so common. These can be 
 made at a trifling cost, and will answer the pur- 
 
EARTH CLOSETS. 87 
 
 pose where the more modern and expensive form 
 cannot be secured. The outhouse may be built 
 close against the dwelling, or a convenient corner 
 in a warm woodshed may be utilized for this pur- 
 pose. Beneath the seat, a large galvanized pail 
 should be placed, the bottom of which should be 
 well covered with fine ashes or dry dirt. After 
 using the closet, a supply of ashes or dirt — which 
 may be kept in a convenient place and handled by 
 means of a small shovel — should be added to the 
 contents of the pail. The latter should be emptied 
 and thoroughly cleansed daily. When these di- 
 rections are carried out, such a closet may be 
 placed near or even in a house with perfect 
 safety. 
 
 Among delicate women the pregnant womb is 
 often a cause of constipation. At the same time to 
 constipation is due many of the serious disorders 
 of the womb. This will be readily understood 
 when it is seen that the enlarging womb — espe- 
 cially in cases of retroflection — presses against the 
 rectum, causing a collapse of that organ and thus 
 preventing the escape of the fsecal matter. The 
 result is that the weight of the matter thus accu- 
 mulated presses upon the womb and tends to drag 
 it down. In such cases all straining at stool has 
 the same tendency, and should be carefully 
 avoided. 
 
 The quality and quantity of the food taken has 
 much to do with a healthy state of the bowels. 
 They may become inactive from the use of very 
 
§8 CONST! I'ATiu.v 
 
 nutritious food. The concentrated forms of food, 
 such as meat and the various preparations of fine 
 flour, which have little waste but go almost en- 
 tirely to the blood, give the bowels but little to do 
 and they become constipated from want of use. 
 Hot biscuits, rolls, pancakes, and muffins are not 
 healthful and should not be eaten. Cakes, condi- 
 ments, rich pies and all confections are too con- 
 centrated. Fat meats, dried and salt meats, veal, 
 geese and ducks, and other gross meats are 
 constipating. 
 
 In a previous chapter I have referred to the 
 pernicious effects of fashionable dress upon the 
 generative organs. This is also one of the serious 
 causes of constipation. Not only is this caused by 
 lacing and by suspending the clothing around the 
 waist, but by the inequalities of the clothing worn- 
 The dress of the lower portion of the body is 
 much less in proportion than that of the uppei 
 half, and the putting on of an extra skirt does 
 little to increase the warmth. The cold air must 
 necessarily get under the skirts, and the warmer 
 the body the quicker the air will rush up. In this 
 way the temperature of the body from the waist 
 down is kept several degrees lower than from the 
 waist up. Every one knows that cold contracts 
 the skin, veins and arteries, and propels the blood 
 from the surface. Put your hand in ice water for 
 a few moments and you will see it shrunk and 
 colorless ; the blood has been driven from it. This 
 process is going on all the time where the dress is 
 
EFFECT 89 
 
 less in one part of the body than in another. In 
 the coldest part the circulation becomes slower as 
 the blood is driven away. Worse still, the blood 
 is driven to other parts of the body where it is not 
 wanted, where it clogs up and causes passive 
 congestion. The bowels, like the stomach, have 
 their function to perform in digestion; they require 
 the same amount of animal heat, they also require 
 unobstructed circulation. To expose the surface 
 of the abdomen, causes great evaporation of needed 
 heat; the digestion, robbed of its heat, its operation 
 interfered with, becomes gradually slower, all its 
 functions slower and delayed, the consequence is 
 serious, and constipation is the result. The reason 
 why men are not so constipated as women is 
 largely due to the fact that their dress keeps the 
 whole of the body of an equal temperature, and the 
 circulation unimpeded. 
 
 Treatment. — It will readily be seen from the 
 preceding that the treatment should be one of pre- 
 vention rather than of cure. The same means, 
 however, that will prevent constipation, if intelli- 
 gently carried out, will usually effect a cure. 
 Regularity in the habits is one of the most impor- 
 tant points of treatment. The first effort should 
 be to re-establish the natural habit of the bowels. 
 The desire for food recurs at regular hours each 
 day because it is customary to eat at certain times. 
 In like manner a habit of the body may be estab- 
 lished, by which a desire to evacuate the bow r els 
 will follow at a given hour. It is not to be expected 
 
QO CONSTIPATION. 
 
 that this result can in all cases be attained in a day, 
 a week, or even in a month Obstinate cases of 
 constipation require time in which to restore the 
 normal function of the rectum, but the end accom- 
 plished is worth much more than the effort 
 expended. 
 
 " A new habit cannot be formed or an old one 
 altered, without persevering- effort in the right 
 direction. The patient who is earnest in the search 
 for health, should be encouraged to persevere for 
 months in going to the water-closet without fail, 
 once every day, at a certain hour, as regularly as 
 the clock points to it. This is indispensable to a 
 correction of the bad habit of constipation. A 
 very effectual part of this regular endeavor is to 
 cause the mind to dwell upon the necessity of an 
 evacuation and the process itself, for at least half an 
 hour before retiring to the proper place. It is not 
 a difficult matter with many persons to create a 
 desire in this way. Let no consideration of con- 
 venience enter into this punctual effort at stool. 
 Once in the proper place the position should bean 
 easy one, no inconvenient strain upon any muscle 
 should be allowed, and the patient should be 
 possessed with an entire sense of leisure, to per- 
 form the act completely. The value of all these 
 considerations, where faithfully followed, is incal- 
 culable, and very few cases can long resist them. 
 Without them medicine will only temporarily 
 relieve, instead of permanently curing, obstinate 
 cases. Another matter of great importance, when 
 
TREATMENT. 9 1 
 
 an effort is made to have an evacuation, is to have 
 the abdomen distended with food. The patient 
 should eat plentifully of vegetable diet, such as is 
 by its bulk calculated to produce fullness. If the 
 patient goes to the water-closet with a sense of full- 
 ness of the abdomen, success will be much more 
 likely to follow. Should the regular time for mak- 
 ing an effort be soon after breakfast, which is un- 
 doubtedly the best time, and the meal has not been 
 sufficient to produce a sense of moderate disten- 
 sion, a full glass of water will complete that condi- 
 tion. The various kinds of fruits may be used for 
 this purpose, such as ripe, mellow apples, without 
 being divested of the rind, prunes, figs, the different 
 kinds of berries, and tamarinds. The acids of 
 these fruits increase the secretions of the intestines, 
 while the rind and seeds, beside distending the 
 bowels, increase their peristaltic action. Very 
 acid fruits, as lemons and oranges, produce their 
 effect only on account of the acids which they con- 
 tain. They are excellent in the case of patients 
 whose stools are dry, hard and lumpy." 
 
 The above treatment cannot be too faithfully 
 followed. The character of the food, as has been 
 stated, exerts much influence upon the action of 
 the bowels. I would recommend the patient to 
 eat freely of fruits of all kinds. Make fruit a part 
 of the everyday bill of fare, eat it in abundance, 
 and constipation will usually vanish with no 
 other treatment. It is also important that the food 
 eaten should be bulky in its nature. The stomach 
 
92 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 and intestines are like rubber and contract on them- 
 selves. The stomach is full whether little or much 
 food has been taken, and the same is true of the in- 
 testines. If the food is too concentrated, it is 
 largely absorbed and there is not enough remain- 
 ing to require a vigorous action of the bowels. 
 The residue is also compact, dry and hard. A diet 
 composed largely of fruits and vegetables seems to 
 meet the wants of those of costive habits. Such 
 food contains enough nutriment to support the 
 body in health, and at the same time contains 
 enough liquid to keep the residue in a soluble 
 state. Among the fruits, peaches, plums, prunes, 
 muscatel raisins, figs, grapes, pears, apples and the 
 small fruits of all kinds are to be recommended. 
 They should be well cooked and eaten at meal 
 time, or if sound and ripe they may be eaten raw. 
 Of vegetables, turnips, squash, tomatoes, cabbage, 
 asparagus, lettuce, rhubarb, green corn and cauli- 
 flower may especially be used to advantage. 
 
 Nothing is so important as the bread that is 
 eaten. With many this one item forms a large 
 proportion of all the food that is taken. It is im- 
 perative then that it should be such as will not 
 cause constipation. Bakers' bread should not be 
 eaten, as it is almost sure to have an astringent 
 effect. The same is true of the bread made from 
 the fine white flour in common use. Bread made 
 from Graham flour has been highly recommended, 
 but on account of its coarseness, is not easily di- 
 gested, it is far preferable, however, to white bread. 
 
FOOD AN IMPORTANT ITEM. 93 
 
 iVhen it can be obtained, flour made from the 
 mtire wheat should be used. In the entire wheat 
 flour, the gluten is preserved ; this makes bone and 
 muscle, cures constipation, and is much richer in 
 flavor than the ordinary white flour. Cake and 
 pies made from this flour — if they must be had — 
 are much more wholesome. This flour is now 
 made in different parts of the country, and can 
 usually be easily obtained. Rye and Indian meal 
 also make a delicious and wholesome bread. Oat- 
 meal and cracked wheat may also be prepared in 
 various ways which make them loosening to the 
 bowels, and valuable articles of food. 
 
 Regularity in the matter of eating should be 
 observed, and the meals must not be taken in a 
 hurried manner. If the food is not mixed w r ith 
 saliva, but swallowed with tea or coffee to wash it 
 down, digestion is retarded. And if the food is 
 eaten too rapidly, more is taken than is sufficient 
 for nutriment. As a result, indigestion and consti- 
 pation follow. No drink should be allowed at 
 meals, then the gastric juice acts directly 011 the 
 food and dissolves it much sooner and easier than 
 if weakened by drinks. Tea is likely to have an 
 astringent effect, while coffee, though laxative in 
 its nature, is too stimulating, and the reaction 
 causes torpidity. Water should be freely taken 
 an hour or two before meals, when the stomach is 
 empty. The cells of the stomach will then be filled 
 with a sufficient quantity of gastric juice to easily 
 digest the food when taken. A full glass of water 
 

 94 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 taken the first thing each morning will frequently 
 keep the bowels in excellent condition, and is so 
 simple a remedy that it should be in more uni- 
 versal use. 
 
 The use of the wet compress will in many cases 
 prove beneficial. A napkin should be doubled sev- 
 eral times so as to make a thick compress and at 
 the same time large enough to cover the whole of 
 the bowels. This should be wrung out of warm 
 water, placed upon the abdomen and kept in place 
 by a strip of dry flannel cloth. The compress 
 should be applied on going to bed, and should be 
 worn during the night. 
 
 The enema is another method which may be em- 
 ployed to advantage where an immediate action of 
 the bowels is desired. A fountain syringe should 
 be used and the reservoir suspended as high as the 
 tube will permit in order to give the water suffi- 
 cient force. The enema should enter the bowete 
 slowly and should be retained fifteen or twenty 
 minutes. Light massage treatment may follow 
 the enema and after this combination treatment a 
 free evacuation is almost sure to follow. Where 
 inactivity of the rectum is the cause of consti- 
 pation, injections of cold or tepid water will give 
 tone to that organ and prove of great benefit. Af- 
 ter a time, however, the injections lose much of 
 their efficiency, and for this reason too much de- 
 pendence should not be placed upon them. Should 
 it be necessary to continue their use a little salt or 
 Castile soap may be added to the water with ad- 
 
VALUE OF ENEMAS. 95 
 
 vantage. If this is not sufficient, then ten grains 
 of ox-gall dissolved in half a pint of tepid water 
 and used as an enema will remove large quantities 
 of hard, impact fasces. Should it be necessary to 
 resort to medicine, a tablespoonful of castor oil 
 may be taken and the bowels thus relieved should 
 be kept free by the use of hygienic measures rec- 
 ommended in this chapter. 
 
 An abundance of exercise will not only prevent 
 constipation, but is one of the very best means of 
 treating the same. It is preferable that outdoor 
 exercise be taken where possible, but special in- 
 door exercise may be made to answer the same 
 purpose. To some it may seem that such simple 
 means can be of little value in treating an ob- 
 stinate disease, but simple as these means are, if 
 patiently and thoroughly carried out, they cannot 
 fail to alleviate, if not completely cure, the most 
 obstinate cases. At the same time, they strengthen 
 the whole body and thus prepare it to the more 
 easily resist all other diseases. Such exercise 
 should be taken as tends to strengthen the muscles 
 of the abdomen, give tone and vigor to the mus- 
 cular tissue of the bowels, and develop the dia- 
 phragm and other respiratory organs. Is it not 
 reasonable to suppose that if the arm of the black- 
 smith becomes strong by exercise, that any of the 
 muscles of the body may in like manner be strength- 
 ened? Exercise quickens the circulation of the 
 blood, the lungs, responding to the rapid flow, re- 
 quire a greater amount of air for oxygenation, and 
 
g6 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 respiration is quickened to obtain this supply. 
 Every full breath taken imparts strong motion to 
 the diaphragm, which in turn gives action to the 
 contents of the abdomen. Hence the value of full 
 and deep breathing and the corresponding neces- 
 sity for free, untrammeled dress. An exhaustive 
 treatment of this subject may be found in a vol- 
 ume by Dr. G. H. Taylor, entitled, " Health by 
 Exercise/' and from which the following exercises 
 have been adapted. Dr. Taylor says: — It is a 
 curious and most interesting fact that children 
 and young animals, whose desire for motion is 
 inherent, are inclined chiefly to those kinds of ex- 
 ercise, and to assume those positions that neces- 
 sarily affect the abdominal contents. 
 
 It is by such exercises as climbing, rolling, crawling, 
 jumping and playing generally that these contents 
 are most disturbed. We are convinced that these 
 are the means that nature prescribes to secure 
 healthful development and power in these most es- 
 sential parts of the body. As if to insure these 
 healthful effects, nature has ordained that by res- 
 piration, as an efficient and constant means, these 
 motions shall be secured to the alimentary canal. 
 The abdominal contents may be considered as be- 
 ing located between two great muscular organs, 
 the diaphragm and abdominal walls. 
 
 These muscles act conjointly and simultaneously 
 and upon all the included parts, causing them to 
 play incessantly upon each, and subjecting them 
 to a constant and gentle pressure. 
 
EFFECT OF EXERCISE. 97 
 
 One prime effect of exercise is the increase of 
 the substance and the contractility of the abdom- 
 inal muscular coverings. The walls of the ab- 
 domen become, in the absence of proper exercise, 
 weak, flabby, and unnaturally distended when this 
 occurs, the abdominal contents necessarily obey 
 the laws of gravity, become dislocated and their 
 functions consequently impaired. Well directed 
 movements restore the power of these walls, the 
 sinking organs are reinstated in their original po- 
 sition, and their function is recovered. 
 
 A great variety of motions may be given to one's 
 own digestive organs suited to different constitu- 
 tions, conditions of disease, development of fche 
 region, strength of the person, etc. A few 
 forms are selected for the reader's attention, which 
 if not entirely applicable for a given case, may at 
 least prove suggestive of some other that will act 
 more to the purpose. 
 
 Position, lying upon a couch, with the shoulders 
 raised and the limbs in an easy position. 
 
 Varieties of Action.— Kucadiiig. — The two fists 
 strongly clenched may be pressed upon the abdo- 
 men so firmly as to cause the subjacent parts to 
 yield before the pressure. This action is to be re- 
 peated for several minutes over the whole region 
 of the abdomen. 
 
 2. Shaking. — The hands are applied to each side 
 of the abdomen, and alternate pressure given to it, 
 producing a somewhat rapid oscillating movement 
 of all the abdominal contents included between the 
 two hands. 
 
98 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 3. Stroking. — Each hand is applied to the region 
 of the groin, the tips of the fingers nearly meeting, 
 then each hand is to be drawn slowly, with much 
 pressure, upward and outward. 
 
 4. Circular Stroking. — The pressure of the hands 
 is made to follow the course of the colon, begin- 
 ning low upon the right side of the abdomen, pass- 
 ing around beneath the stomach, and terminating 
 on the side opposite. 
 
 5. Clapping. — The extended hands are made to 
 strike any portion of the frontal region of the ab- 
 domen. The blows should be given with each 
 hand alternately at such a rate of rapidity and 
 foBce as to produce no unpleasant sensations. If 
 there is a point where pain is felt, the motion, at 
 each successive application, should for a period be 
 given to surrounding parts, approaching the tender 
 point gradually until the pain disappears. The 
 double fist may be used in place of the flat hand 
 when it can be borne. 
 
 All the above massage movements may be ap- 
 plied in the standing position with the trunk a lit- 
 tle bent forward or stooping. 
 
 6. The patient should be seated upon the edge 
 of a chair or other convenient seat, the position of 
 the thighs at right angles and feet so extended as 
 to form a large base. Raise the arms above the 
 head and parallel to each other. Now, let the 
 body fall slowly forward in a diagonal direction, 
 that is, in a line directly over one thigh, bringing 
 the breast in close contact with the knee. After 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISES. 99 
 
 this the body slowly resumes its original position. 
 This action may be repeated five or six times on 
 each side. If it seems advisable that less effort 
 should be expended in this movement, the hands 
 may be clasped behind the back instead of raised 
 above the head. If more force is desired a light 
 pair of dumb bells may be held in the hands, and 
 the movement be performed as before. 
 
 7. The position of the body the same as in num- 
 ber six, with the exception that it may be neces- 
 sary to secure the feet to the floor by placing them 
 under some firm object, or they may be held to 
 the floor by another person if more convenient. 
 The trunk is to be twisted a little toward the knee 
 of one side, then allowed to fall slowly backward 
 till it reaches a position approximating the hori- 
 zontal, where it remains for a few moments. Then 
 raise slowly to first position. This action may be 
 repeated three or four times with each side. This 
 movement calls powerfully into action the mus- 
 cles of the abdomen upon either side; it also presses 
 the bowels, and has a healthy action upon visceral 
 organs. 
 
 8. Position same as in seven. Allow the trunk 
 to fall directly and slowly backward till it reaches 
 a position nearly horizontal, when it slowly re- 
 turns to the commencing position. This action 
 may be repeated four or five times. 
 
 9. Kneel upon the floor, supporting the knees 
 with a cushion, upon which the knees should be 
 placed as far apart as possible. Keep the trunk 
 
IOO CONSTIPATION. 
 
 perpendicular, and place the hands upon the hips. 
 Bend the trunk above the hips as far to one side as 
 possible. Allow it to return and pass as far to the 
 other side. The motion should be somewhat 
 rapid, so that the momentum may be felt upon the 
 convex side. This action may be repeated ten or 
 twelve times. The movement acts upon muscles 
 of either side as well as upon the spleen, liver and 
 other organs situated in the region affected by the 
 motion as well as upon the abdominal walls and 
 viscera. 
 
 10. Seated upon a mattress, with legs extended 
 horizontally, the hands should be placed upon the 
 head. Bend the trunk slowly as far forward as 
 possible. Then return it slowly to its primary 
 position. This action may be repeated five or six 
 times. The movement elevates the ribs, causes 
 the abdominal muscles to contract, and elevates 
 the contents of the abdomen. 
 
 ii. The trunk lies in a horizontal position, face 
 downward. Lock the arms, and elevate the body 
 so that its weight will rest entirely upon the elbows 
 and toes. The trunk may be held in this position 
 a greater or less time, according to the strength of 
 the patient. The movement may be varied by 
 raising and lowering the hips. This movement 
 presses the contents of the abdomen toward the 
 diaphragm, and often instantly relieves prolapsus 
 of any of the pelvic organs, as that of the womb, 
 vagina or rectum, restoring the parts to their 
 natural condition and relation. Indeed, all other 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. IOf 
 
 medical applications designed to meet the end here 
 indicated, bear no comparison to this simple 
 movement. By repetition the weak parts are 
 strengthened, and a radical cure is effected. 
 
 In closing this chapter I wish to impress upon 
 my reader this one fact, that constipation can be 
 prevented much easier than it can be cured. Let 
 the mother bear this in mind, let her save her child 
 from constipation, and she will save her from a 
 hundred and one disorders that will render her 
 life a life of misery. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 The Creator never intended that pregnancy 
 should be a source of disease, but ignorance, false 
 modesty, fashion, previously acquired diseases of 
 the womb, errors of regimen and diet, a weak con- 
 stitution and bad training in girlhood, often lay 
 the foundation of serious troubles during preg- 
 nancy. 
 
 I consider it necessary to give a brief account 
 of such diseases, and to prescribe a few safe and 
 simple remedies. I say safe and simple for active 
 medicines require skilful handling, and ought not, 
 unless in cases of emergency, to be used except by 
 the advice of a physician. 
 
 Mental disorders. — Such are, undefined fear of 
 pending evil, anxiety about the future, and fear of 
 dying, many forebodings and gloom, even to des- 
 pair. These disturbances, although they may have 
 no cause, are serious in the extreme. It is impor- 
 tant to a mother's well being, and to a happy ter- 
 mination of her pregnancy, that these illusions 
 should be conquered. Serious consequences have 
 been produced by an over-wrought imagination. 
 This dark phantom that hangs over the reason of 
 
 (102) 
 

 MENTAL DISORDERS. IO3 
 
 the already burdened patient should be chased 
 away by gentle reasoning and moral suasion. 
 
 To you, husbands, I say, reflect upon the mani- 
 fold inconveniences and annoyances that your 
 wife must labor under while pregnant. The love 
 which you gave her before the altar — double it 
 now. Think of the suffering that you are spared 
 which she must undergo to give you the delight 
 of paternity. In doubling your attentions, in an- 
 ticipating her desires, in calming her fears, in sooth- 
 ing her irritations, you do only your duty, though 
 it should also be your highest pleasure. Do it 
 cheerfully ; let your devotion spring from a manly 
 heart, from the heart of a true husband. What 
 was a molehill to your wife before must be a 
 mountain now. Smooth her rugged path, shade 
 her from the burning flame of mental agitation, en- 
 courage her, inspire her with hope, and when the 
 time comes that she lies prostrated, her face beam- 
 ing with happiness at the sound of her first-born, 
 thank God that you have been kind to her. 
 
 The hygiene in these cases is purely a moral one, 
 and must be conducted by a careful and loving* 
 husband, and affectionate relatives or friends. 
 When forebodings and gloom pervade the mind 
 of her who is to become a mother, reasoning may 
 be in vain. In this case, her condition should not 
 be totally ignored, lest offence be given, but un- 
 knowingly to her, and apparently unaffected by 
 her fears, simple means may be employed to throw 
 her off the gloomy path of her thoughts. The 
 
104 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 wife's tastes and predilections when in health 
 being known, there are a hundred things that can 
 be done to attract her from her sorrow of self into 
 innocent distractions and pleasures. This must 
 be done without an effort or apparent purpose, 
 else the object may be defeated by making her 
 aware that care and kindness are induced by solic- 
 itude. Bring home a good book, a favorite fruit, 
 or a mutual friend, with whom you may enter into 
 an innocent conspiracy for her good. Invite her 
 to take a walk, and then do not rush her through 
 an unfeeling crowd, but walk leisurely in a favorite 
 place, call her attention to objects of interest, and 
 even to trifles that may have amused her be- 
 fore. Have some congenial friends at home, a 
 game of whist, or any sort of innocent game and 
 moderate gaiety, a little surprise party of dropping- 
 in friends — some genial, happy faces. If it is nec- 
 essary, an innocent plot with your friends may be 
 formed to get her out some evening to a social 
 meeting, a lecture, a concert, or a lively, pleasing 
 drama. If the rooms or halls are too hot or 
 crowded, you may show solicitude enough to take 
 her home. Cheerful fireside, unstinted sacrifices, 
 loving sympathy, will rob the mind of many a dark 
 shadow. Change of scene, short, easy journeys 
 .to favorite cities or spots, is a source of pleasant 
 and healthy excitement that will invigorate body 
 and mind. Be never weary, and success and hap- 
 piness will crown your noble efforts. 
 
 Muscular pains of the abdomen. — The best rem- 
 
MUSCULAR PAINS OF THE ABDOMEN. 105 
 
 edy is an abdominal belt, constructed for preg- 
 nancy, and adjusted to fit the abdomen. It is 
 made with straps and buckles to accommodate the 
 gradually increasing size of the abdomen. This 
 plan often affords great comfort and relief ; indeed, 
 in some severe cases, such belts are indispensable. 
 Diarrhoea. — Although the bowels in pregnancy 
 are generally costive, they are sometimes in an op- 
 posite state, and are relaxed. This relaxation is 
 frequently due to continual constipation, and nature 
 is trying to relieve itself by purging. Such being 
 the case, a patient ought to be careful of astringents 
 as they interfere with relaxation. Sometimes 
 nature succeeds ; at other times it is advisable to 
 give a mild aperient, such as castor oil, tincture of 
 rhubarb, or rhubarb and magnesia. If castor oil, 
 a teaspoonful swimming on a little new milk, will 
 generally answer the purpose. If tincture of rhu- 
 barb, a tablespoonful in two of water. If rhubarb 
 and magnesia are selected, then a few doses of the 
 following mixture will usually set all to rights: — 
 
 Take of — Powdered Turkey Rhubarb, half a dram ; 
 Carbonate of Magnesia, one dram ; 
 Essence of Ginger, one dram ; 
 Compound Tincture of Cardamons, half an ounce ; 
 Peppermint Water, five ounces and a half ; 
 Two tablespoonfuls of the mixture to be taken three timf.s a day, 
 first shaking the bottle. 
 
 The diet should be simple, plain and nourishing, 
 and should consist of beef tea, of chicken broth, of 
 arrowroot, and of well-made and well-boiled oat- 
 meal gruel. Meat ought not to be eaten; and 
 stimulants of all kinds must be avoided. 
 
I06 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 If the diarrhoea is attended with pain in the 
 bowels, a flannel bag filled with hot table salt, and 
 applied to the part affected, will afford great relief. 
 A hot water bag, in a case of this kind, is a 
 great comfort.* The patient should, as soon as 
 the diarrhoea has disappeared, gradually return to 
 her usual diet, which ought to be plain, whole- 
 some and nourishing. She should pay particular 
 attention to keeping her feet warm and dry ; and, 
 if subject to diarrhoea, she should wear around her 
 bowels, and next the skin, a broad flannel band. 
 
 Sleeplessness. — Pregnant women of nervous tem- 
 perament are often kept awake night after night 
 without apparent cause. This is produced by the 
 slightest mental excitement, or by the motions of 
 the child ; again by eating or indulging in a cup of 
 tea or coffee before retiring. 
 
 Close confinement to one's room and want of 
 exercise may also be the cause. This may be borne 
 without inconvenience, in case the patient gets 
 some few hours of sleep, and awakes refreshed in 
 the morning. But in some instances the patient 
 suffers severely ; does not sleep a minute ; becomes 
 feverish, restless and agitated ; she loses her appe- 
 
 * The hot water bag, or bottle, as it is sometimes called, is com- 
 posed of vulcanized India-rubber, and is made purposely to hold very 
 hot water. The bag ought not to be more than half filled with water, 
 as it will then better adapt itself to the shape of the bowels. The 
 water must be hot but not boiling ; if it should be very hot the bag 
 ought to be wrapped in flannel. It is a most delightful stomach 
 warmer and comforter, and should, where there is a family, be in 
 every house. One great advantage of it is, that in a few minutes it 
 is ready for use. 
 
SLEEPLESSNESS — TREATMENT. 107 
 
 tite, and becomes weak and prostrated, her mind 
 begins to suffer, and she becomes fretful, whim- 
 sical, and even irrational. 
 
 The treatmeiit consists in sleeping in a well-ven- 
 tilated apartment,on a hairmattress,taking care that 
 the bed is not overloaded with clothes ; a thor- 
 ough bath every morning, and a good washing 
 with cold water of face, neck, chest, arms and 
 hands every night; shunning hot and close rooms; 
 taking plenty of outdoor exercise ; living on a 
 bland, nourishing, but not rich diet ; avoiding 
 meat suppers, and substituting, in lieu thereof, 
 either a cupful of arrowroot, made with milk, or 
 of well-boiled oatmeal gruel ; avoiding stimulants 
 of all kinds ; drinking morning and evening black 
 tea, instead of coffee ; and taking a dose of the fol- 
 lowing drops in water as prescribed below : 
 
 Compound Spirits of Lavender, one dram ; 
 Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia, eleven drams ; 
 
 A teaspoonful of the drops to be taken every night at bedtime, and 
 repeated in the middle of the night, if necessary, — in a wine-glass of 
 water. 
 
 An attack of the fidgets during the night may 
 be relieved by taking a short walk up and down 
 the room ; drinking half a glass of cold water ; 
 emptying the bladder and turning the pillow, so as 
 to have the cold side next the head, and then lie 
 down again. The chances are that the patient will 
 now fall asleep. 
 
 During the day a ride in an open carriage ; a 
 stroll in the garden, or in the field ; or a little 
 
108 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 housewifery, will do her good. There is nothing 
 like fresh air, exercise, and occupation, to drive 
 away the fidgets. It is generally those that have 
 nothing to do who are thus affected. The poor 
 woman who has to work for her daily bread does 
 not know what the fidgets mean. Here again we 
 see the value of occupation — of having plenty to 
 do ! Idleness is criminal, and deserves punish- 
 ment. It assuredly is, and always will be pun- 
 ished ! 
 
 Heartburn is a common and often a distressing 
 symptom of pregnancy. The acid producing the 
 heartburn is frequently much increased by an over- 
 loaded stomach. The patient labors under the 
 mistaken notion that, as she has two to sustain, she 
 requires more food during this than any other 
 time ; she consequently is induced to take more 
 than her appetite demands, and more than her 
 stomach can digest ; hence heartburn, indigestion, 
 etc., are caused, and her unborn babe, as well as 
 herself, is thereby weakened. 
 
 A wholesome diet ought to be strictly observed. 
 Great attention should be paid to the quality of the 
 food; greens, pastry, hot-buttered toast, melted 
 butter, and everything that is rich and gross, 
 should be carefully avoided. 
 
 Either a teaspoonf ul of heavy calcined magnesia, 
 or half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda — the 
 former to be preferred if there is constipation — 
 should occasionally be taken in a wine-glass of 
 warm water. If these do not relieve — the above 
 
HEARTBURN— TREATMENT. 109 
 
 directions as to diet having been strictly attended 
 to — the following mixture should be tried : 
 
 Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia, half a dram; 
 Bicarbonate of Soda, a dram and a half; 
 Water, eight ounces. 
 To make a mixture. — Two tablespoonfuls to be taken twice cr 
 three times a day, until relief is obtained. 
 
 Chalk is sometimes given in heartburn, but as it 
 produces constipation, it ought not to be used. 
 
 If constipation accompanies heartburn, the 
 heavy calcined magnesia should, as above recom- 
 mended, be taken in place of either carbonate of 
 soda or the above mixture; the dose being a tea- 
 spoonful mixed in a wine-glass of water. The 
 heavy calcined magnesia is preferable to the light 
 carbonate of magnesia, — it mixes smoother and 
 better in water, and is therefore more pleasant to 
 take ; it is also stronger — twice as strong as the 
 light carbonate of magnesia ; it not only relieves 
 the heartburn, but acts gently and pleasantly on 
 the bowels. 
 
 Water-brash. — The patient, in early pregnancy, 
 oft-times suffers from water-brash; indeed, it 
 sometimes accompanies heartburn and morning 
 sickness, and when it does, is very distressing. 
 Water-brash consists of a constant eructation of a 
 thin watery fluid into the mouth — sometimes in 
 very large quantities. The fluid is generally as 
 thin and clear as pure water — in fact, having very 
 much the appearance of water. Occasionally it is 
 acid ; at other times, it is perfectly tasteless. This 
 
IIO DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 water-brash frequently disappears after the patient 
 has quickened ; at other times, it continues during 
 the whole period of pregnancy, more especially if 
 the patient is dyspeptic. The best remedies for 
 water-brash are charcoal biscuits — -one should be 
 eaten at any time the patient is suffering from the 
 flow of water. If the fluid of the water-brash is acid, 
 then the mixture recommended for heartburn will 
 be found very serviceable, and should be taken 
 three times a day. A charcoal biscuit should be 
 eaten between times. Water acidulated with a 
 drop or two of nitric or sulphuric acid, or with 
 the juice of a lemon has also been found very 
 useful. 
 
 Wind in the stomach and bowels is a frequent rea- 
 son why a pregnant woman cannot sleep at night. 
 The two most frequent causes of flatulence are 
 the want of walking exercise during the day, and 
 the eating of a hearty supper just before going to 
 bed. The remedies are, in each instance, self-evi- 
 dent. It is folly in either case to give medicines, 
 when avoidance of the cause is the only right and 
 proper remedy. How much physic might be dis- 
 pensed with if people would only take nature and 
 common sense for their guides ; but no, they would 
 rather take a pill — it is less trouble ! — than walk a 
 mile; they would prefer a hearty meat supper to 
 sweet and refreshing sleep ! What extraordinary 
 tastes some persons have ! Luxury and self-in- 
 dulgence are, alas ! the crying evils of the day. 
 
 Piles are a common attendant upon pregnancy. 
 
PILES — TREATMENT. 1 1 1 
 
 They are small, soft, spongy, dark-red tumors — 
 enlarged veins — about the size either of a bean or 
 of a cherry — sometimes as large as a walnut — and 
 are either within or around the fundament. They 
 are, according to their situation, called either in- 
 ternal or external piles. They may be either blind 
 or bleeding. If the latter, blood may be seen ex- 
 uding from them, and will come away every time 
 the patient has a stool. For this reason the patient 
 ought to be as quick as possible in relieving the 
 bowels, and should not at such times sit one mo- 
 ment longer than is absolutely necessary. 
 
 When the piles are very large, they sometimes, 
 more especially during a motion, drag down a 
 portion of the bowel which adds much to the suf- 
 fering. If the bowel should protrude, it ought, by 
 means of the index-finger, to be immediately and 
 carefully returned, taking care, in order that it 
 may not scratch the bowel, that the nail is cut 
 closely. 
 
 Piles are very painful and are exceedingly sore, 
 and cause great annoyance. 
 
 A patient is predisposed to piles from the womb 
 pressing upon the bloodvessels of the fundament. 
 They are excited into action by neglecting to keep 
 the bowels gently opened, or by diarrhoea, or from 
 taking too strong purgatives, especially pills con- 
 taining aloes or colocynth. 
 
 If the piles are inflamed and painful, they 
 ought, by means of a sponge, to be well fomented 
 three times a day, and for half an hour each time, 
 
112 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 with hot camomile and poppy-head tea ;* and at 
 bedtime a hot white-bread poultice should be 
 applied. 
 
 Every time after and before the patient has a 
 motion, it is well to anoint the piles and the fun- 
 dament with the following ointment : 
 
 Camphor (powdered by means of a few drops of Spirits of 
 
 Wine) one dram ; 
 Prepared Lard, two ounces ; 
 Mix to make an ointment. 
 
 If there is great irritation and intense pain, let 
 some very hot water be put into a close stool, and 
 let the patient sit over it. In piles attended with 
 great irritation and pain, much relief is often ob- 
 tained by sitting over the steam of hot water for 
 fifteen or twenty minutes, and immediately apply- 
 ing a warm bread and milk poultice. These meas- 
 ures should be repeated five or six times a day. 
 
 If the heat is not great, and the pain not in-' 
 tense, the following ointment will be found effica- 
 cious: 
 
 Powdered Opium, one scruple; 
 
 Cumphor (powdered by means of a few drops of Spirits of 
 
 Wine), half a dram; 
 Powdered Galls, one dram; 
 Spermaceti Ointment, three drams: 
 Mix. — The ointment to be applied to the piles three times a day. 
 
 *Take four poppy-heads and four ounces of camomile blows, and 
 boil them in four pints of water for half an hour, to make the fomen- 
 tation, which should then be strained, and made quite hot in a sauce- 
 pan when required. 
 
PILES — TREATMENT. II3 
 
 If the heat and pain are great, the following 
 liniment will be found useful : 
 
 French Brandy, / , , , ., 
 
 _, . ' > of each half an ounce. 
 
 Glycerine, i 
 
 Mix. — The liniment to be frequently applied, by means of a camel's 
 hair pencil, to the piles, first shaking the bottle. 
 
 The bowels ought to be kept gently and regu- 
 larly opened. 
 
 An electuary, composed of chopped figs, raisins, 
 and senna, in a case of piles, is another admirable 
 remedy for opening the bowels ; it softens the 
 motions, and is gentle in its operation, and is, more- 
 over, agreeable to take. A piece the size of a 
 nutmeg, or more, may be eaten every morning. 
 
 Take of best Alexandria Senna, powdered, 1 ounce. 
 " Figs, - - - 2 " 
 
 " Raisins (stoned), - 2 " 
 
 All chopped very fine. The size of a nutmeg, or two, to be eaten 
 either early in the morning or at bedtime. 
 
 Magnesia and milk of sulphur is an excellent 
 remedy for the piles : — 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia, / ,. , . 
 
 „,„ r „ . . > of each three drams. 
 
 Milk of Sulphur, \ 
 
 Mix. — To make nine powders. One to be taken early every or 
 every other morning, mixed in half a cupful of milk. 
 
 Remember, in these cases, it is necessary to 
 keep the motions in a softened state, as hard lumps 
 of stool would, in passing, give intense pain. 
 
 In piles, if they are not much inflamed, and 
 there is constipation, a pint of tepid water, admin- 
 istered early every morning as an enema, will be 
 
 8 
 
114 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 found serviceable. Care and gentleness ought to 
 be observed in introducing the enema-pipe, in 
 order not to press unduly on the surrounding 
 piles. 
 
 The patient ought to lie down frequently in the 
 day. She will derive great comfort from sitting 
 on an air-cushion placed on the chair. 
 
 In piles, the patient ought to live on a plain, 
 nourishing, simple diet, but should avoid all stimu- 
 lants ; any food or beverage that will inflame the 
 blood will likewise inflame the piles. 
 
 Piles in pregnancy are frequently troublesome, 
 and sometimes resist all treatment until the patient 
 is confined, when they generally get well of them- 
 selves, but still the remedies recommended above 
 will, even if they do not effect a cure, usually afford 
 great relief. 
 
 Szvollen legs from enlarged veins {varicose veins?) 
 — The veins are frequently much enlarged and dis- 
 tended, causing the limbs to be greatly swollen and 
 very painful, preventing the patient from taking 
 proper walking exercise. Swollen legs are owing 
 to the pressure of the womb upon the bloodvessels 
 above. Women who have had large families are 
 more liable than others to varicose veins. If a 
 woman is married late in life, or if very heavy 
 in pregnancy — carrying the child low down — she 
 is more likely to have the veins so distend. 
 
 The best plan will be to wear an elastic silk 
 stocking, which ought to be made for her, in order 
 that it may properly fit the leg and foot. It will 
 
VARICOSE VEINS— TREATMENT. 115 
 
 draw on like a common stocking. She ought to 
 wear a gauze stocking next to the skin, and the 
 elastic stocking over it, as the gauze stocking can 
 then, from time to time, be washed. The gauze 
 stocking will also be more comfortable next the 
 skin. 
 
 If the varicose veins should become more pain- 
 ful, it would be well to call a physician, as it may 
 be necessary to have them enveloped in mild plas- 
 ters, and then rolled. 
 
 If the feet and limbs are cold as well as swollen, 
 a domctte bandage, two inches and a half wide and 
 eight yards long, nicely applied to each leg, from 
 the toes to the knee, will be found a great comfort. 
 One great advantage that domette has over calico 
 is, that it will keep in its place for days, while 
 calico will be loose in an hour or two. 
 
 Stretching of the skin of the abdomen is frequent- 
 ly, especially in a first pregnancy, distressing, from 
 the soreness it causes. The best remedy is to rub 
 the bowels, every night and morning, with warm 
 camphorated oil, and to apply a broad flannel belt, 
 which should be put on moderately but comfort- 
 ably tight. The belt ought to be secured in its 
 place by means of properly adjusted tapes. 
 
 If the skin of the abdomen, from the violent 
 stretching, should be cracked, the patient had bet- 
 ter dress the part affected, every night and morn- 
 ing, with equal parts of simple cerate and of lard ; 
 a lard without salt — well mixed together, spread 
 on lin* ; which ought to be kept in its place by 
 
Il6 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 means of a broad bandage, similar to the one used 
 in confinements, and which is described in a sub- 
 sequent paragraph {Bandage after confinements^) 
 
 Pendulous abdomen. — A lady sometimes, from 
 being at these times unusually large, suffers se- 
 verely; so much so, that she cannot, without experi- 
 encing great inconvenience, move about. This, 
 where a patient is stout, and where she has had a 
 large family of children, is more likely to occur, 
 and especially if she has neglected proper ban- 
 daging after her previous confinements. 
 
 She ought, in such a case, to procure an elastic 
 abdominal belt, which will, without undue press- 
 ing on the abdomen, be a support. It is a good 
 plan to have the belt made either to lace behind or 
 with straps and buckles, in order to accommodate 
 the abdomen to its gradually increasing size. 
 
 If the patient is delicate, and has a languid cir- 
 culation, she ought, instead of the elastic belt, to 
 apply a broad flannel band, which should go twice 
 around the bowels, and must be put on moderately 
 and comfortably tight. 
 
 The patient, before the approach of labor, ought to 
 take particular care to have the bowels gently 
 opened, as during that time a costive state greatly 
 increases her sufferings, and lengthens the period 
 of labor. I say a gentle action is all that is neces- 
 sary ; a violent one would do more harm than good. 
 
 Toothache is a frequent complaint of pregnancy. 
 I wish to caution my reader against having a 
 tooth extracted while pregnant. Miscarriage or 
 
TOOTHACHE— TREATMENT. 1 1 } 
 
 premature labor has frequently followed the 
 extraction of a tooth. It is necessary that this 
 advice should be borne in mind, as the pain is some- 
 times so excruciating as to cause the sufferer to 
 seek, at all hazards, speedy relief by extraction. 
 Toothache is both worrying and wearying, and is, 
 to all sufferers, very trying to the patience. 
 
 If the tooth is decayed, the hollow ought to be 
 filled with cotton wool, soaked either in oil of 
 cloves, or in equal parts of oil of cloves and of 
 chloroform, and should be frequently renewed. 
 Another excellent remedy is a little alum dissolved 
 in chloroform,* Another excellent remedy is the 
 face bag. This filled with hot water, will often 
 afford immediate relief, when all other remedies 
 fail. A bit of cotton wool placed in the ear of the 
 affected side, will oftentimes relieve the toothache 
 arising from a decayed tooth. This simple remedy 
 ought always to be tried before resorting to more 
 active treatment. If the above remedies do not 
 relieve, soak a small ball of cotton wool in chloro- 
 form, and insert in the ear, and let it remain until the 
 pain is relieved ; let it be renewed from time to time. 
 I have frequently found the above plan in tooth- 
 ache most efficacious, and to afford relief when 
 other means have failed. 
 
 Creasote (spirits of tar) is sometimes applied, 
 but of all remedies it is the worst for the purpose. 
 I have known it, when thus used, to severely injure 
 and decay the whole of the remaining teeth ; one 
 
 *Ten grains of powdered alum to half an ounce of chloroform. 
 
Il8 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 case in particular I remember, of a gentleman who 
 by the frequent use of creasote, for the relief of 
 toothache, lost the whole of his teeth ! Not only 
 so, but creasote applied to a tooth, has been known 
 to cause death. The state of the bowels ought 
 always to be attended to, as toothache is frequently 
 caused by constipation. 
 
 Morning sickness. — It is said to be " morning," 
 as in these cases, unless the stomach is disordered, 
 it seldom occurs during any other part of the day. 
 Morning sickness may be distinguished from the 
 sickness of a disordered stomach by the former 
 occurring only earl} 7 in the morning, on the first 
 sitting up in bed, the patient, during the remainder 
 of the day, feeling quite free from sickness, and 
 generally being able to eat and relish her food, as 
 though nothing ailed her. 
 
 Morning sickness begins early in the morning, 
 with a sensation of nausea, and as soon as she rises 
 from bed she feels sick and retches ; and sometimes, 
 but not always, vomits a little sour, watery, glairy, 
 fluid ; and occasionally, if she has eaten heartily at 
 supper the night before, the contents of the stom- 
 ach are ejected. She then feels all right again, 
 and is usually ready for her breakfast, which she 
 eats with her usual relish. Many women have 
 better appetites during pregnancy than at any 
 other period of their lives. ' 
 
 The sickness of a disordered stomach unaccom- 
 panied with pregnancy may be distinguished from 
 morning sickness by the former continuing during 
 
MORNING SICKNESS— TREATMENT. 119 
 
 the whole day, by the appetite remaining bad after 
 the morning has passed, by a disagreeable taste in 
 the mouth, and by the tongue being generally 
 coated. In such cases there is usually much flatu- 
 lence. The patient not only feels, but looks, 
 bilious. 
 
 If the stomach is disordered during pregnancy, 
 there will be a complication of the symptoms, and 
 the morning sickness may become both day and 
 night sickness. Proper means should then be em- 
 ployed to rectify the disordered stomach, and the 
 patient will soon have only the morning sickness 
 to contend against ; which latter, after she has 
 quickened, will generally leave of its own accord. 
 
 Morning sickness is frequently a distressing, 
 although not a dangerous complaint. It is only 
 distressing while it lasts, for after the stomach is 
 unloaded, the appetite generally returns, and the 
 patient usually feels, until the next morning, quite 
 well again, when she has to go through the same 
 process as before. It occurs both in the early and 
 the latter months of pregnancy ; more especially 
 during the former, up to the period of quickening, 
 at which time it usually ceases. Morning sickness 
 is frequently the first harbinger of pregnancy, and 
 is looked upon by many who have had children as 
 a sure and certain sign. Morning sickness does 
 not always occur in pregnancy ; some women, at 
 such times, are never sick. 
 
 A good way to relieve it is by taking, before ris- 
 ing in the morning, a cup of strong coffee. If this 
 
120 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 should not have the desired effect, she ought to try 
 an effervescing draught : 
 
 Take of — Bicarbonate of Potash, one dram and a half ; 
 Water, eight ounces : 
 Two tablespoonfuls of this mixture to be taken with one of lemon 
 juice every hour, whilst effervescing, until relief is obtained. 
 
 Sometimes the patient had better drink plenti- 
 fully of warm water, in order to encourage free 
 vomiting. Such a plan is advisable when the 
 morning sickness is obstinate, and when the treat- 
 ment recommended above has failed to afford 
 relief. 
 
 The morning sickness, during the early months, 
 is caused by sympathy between the stomach and 
 the womb ; and during the latter months by press- 
 ure of the upper part of the womb against the 
 stomach. As we cannot remove the sympathy 
 and the pressure, we cannot always relieve the 
 sickness ; the patient is sometimes obliged to bear 
 with the annoyance. The bowels ought to be kept 
 well regulated. 
 
 Great attention should be paid to the diet ; it 
 should be moderate in quantity, and simple in 
 quality. Rich dishes, highly seasoned soups, and 
 melted butter, must be avoided. Hearty meat 
 suppers ought not on any account to be allowed. 
 If anything is taken at night, there is nothing bet- 
 ter than either a teacupful of nicely made and 
 well-boiled oatmeal gruel, or of arrowroot. Either 
 of' the above may be made with water, or with 
 new milk, or with cream and water. 
 
SOME OLD SAYINGS. 121 
 
 It is an old saying, and I believe, as a rule, a 
 true one, " that sick pregnancies are safe," more 
 especially if the sickness leaves, which it generally 
 does, after quickening. The above remarks do 
 not include obstinate, inveterate- vomiting-, oc- 
 casionally occurring in the latter period of preg- 
 nancy, and which not only takes place in the 
 morning, but during the whole of the day and of 
 the night, and for weeks together, sometimes 
 bringing a patient to the brink of the grave. Such 
 a case, fortunately, is extremely rare. Another 
 old and generally true saying is, " that women who 
 have sick pregnancies seldom miscarry." There is 
 another consolation for those who suffer from 
 morning sickness, irom heartburn, and the numer- 
 ous other discomforts of pregnancy, namely, they 
 frequently have kinder labors, more lively chil- 
 dren, and more comfortable recoveries than thosg 
 who, at such times, do not suffer at all. Compen- 
 sation here, as in almost everything else in this 
 world, is found to prevail. 
 
 Means to harden the nipples. — A mother some- 
 times suffers severely from sore nipples. Espe- 
 cially is this true with the first child. Such 
 suffering may frequently be prevented, if, for six 
 weeks or two months before confinement, the nip- 
 ples are bathed for five minutes every night and 
 morning, either with eau de Cologne, or with equal 
 parts of brandy and water. The better plan will 
 be to have the brandy and water in a small bottle 
 ready for use, and putting a little each time in a 
 
122 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 teacup, using- it fresh. A soft piece of fine old 
 linen mull should be used for the purpose of 
 bathing. All pressure ought to be taken from the 
 nipples. If the stays unduly press them, either let 
 them be enlarged or, better still, entirely removed. 
 The nipples themselves ought to be covered with 
 soft linen, as the friction of a flannel vest would be 
 apt to irritate them. Let me recommend every 
 pregnant lady, more especially in a first pregnancy, to 
 adopt either one or the other of the above plans to 
 harden the nipples. It may avert much misery, as 
 sore nipples are painful and distressing. Pre- 
 vention at all times is better than cure. 
 
 The breasts are, at times, during pregnancy, 
 much swollen and very painful; ancf occasionally 
 cause the patient great uneasiness. She fancies 
 that she is going to have either a tumor or a gath- 
 ering of the breast. There need, in such cases, be 
 no apprehension. The swelling and the pain are 
 the consequence of pregnancy, and will, in due 
 time, subside without any unpleasant result. The 
 fact is, great changes are taking place in the breasts; 
 they are developing and are preparing for the im- 
 portant functions they will soon have to perform. 
 
 Treatment.— Every night and morning rub them 
 well with equal parts of eau de Cologne and of olive 
 oil, and wear a piece of new flannel over them, 
 taking care to cover the nipples with soft linen. 
 The liniment encourages a little milky fluid to ooze 
 out of the nipple, which will afford relief. 
 
 The Bladder. — The patient during pregnancy is 
 
THE URINARY ORGANS. 12^ 
 
 liable to various affections of the bladder. There 
 is sometimes a sluggishness of that organ, with little 
 or no inclination to urinate. At other times there 
 is a great irritability and constant desire to pass 
 urine ; while in a third case, more especially to- 
 ward the end of pregnancy, the urine can hardly 
 be retained — the slightest bodily exertion, such as 
 walking, stooping, coughing, sneezing, etc., causes 
 it to pass involuntarily ; and even in some cases, 
 where the patient is perfectly quiet, it passes with- 
 out her having power to prevent it. 
 
 A sluggish state of the bladder is best remedied 
 by gentle exercise, and by the patient attempting 
 to make water at least every four hours. 
 
 Irritability of the Bladder. — The patient ought 
 to drink freely of the following beverage : 
 
 Best Gum Arabic, one ounce; 
 Pearl Barley, one ounce; 
 Water, one pint and a half; 
 
 Boil for a quarter of an hour, then strain, and sweeten either 
 with granulated or lump sugar. 
 
 The bowels ought to be kept gently open and 
 the patient should live on a mild, bland, nourishing 
 diet. 
 
 Where the urine cannot be retained there is not a 
 great deal to be done, as the womb by pressing 
 on the bladder prevents much present relief. The 
 patient ought frequently in the day to lie either 
 on a hair mattress or a couch. She should drink 
 but a moderate quantity of liquid, and if she has a 
 cough (for a cough greatly increases this com- 
 plaint) she ought to take the following mixture : 
 
124 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 Compound Tincture of Camphor, half an ounce; 
 
 Compound Spirits of Lavender, half a dram; 
 
 Oxymel of Squills, six drams; 
 
 Water, six ounces and a half; 
 
 Two tablespoonfuls to be taken three times a day. 
 
 Fainting. — A delicate woman in pregnancy is 
 apt to feel faint, or does actually faint away. 
 When we consider the enormous changes that take 
 place during pregnancy, and the great pressure 
 there is upon the nerves and the bloodvessels, it 
 is not at all surprising that this is true. Fainting 
 at such times is disagreeable, but not at all dan- 
 gerous, unless the patient is subject to heart 
 disease. 
 
 Treatment. — The first thing to be done in faint- 
 ing, is to lay the patient fiat on the bed with the 
 head even or lower than the rest of the body. 
 The stays and any tight articles of dress — if she 
 has been foolish enough to wear either tight stays 
 or tight clothes — ought to be loosened ; the win- 
 dows should be thrown wide open ; water ought 
 to be sprinkled on her face ; and sal-volatile — a 
 teaspoonful in a wineglassful of water, or a glass 
 of wine, ought to be administered. Smelling salts 
 must be applied to the nostrils. The attendants 
 should not crowd around her, as she ought to have 
 plenty of fresh air. 
 
 She must, in the intervals, live on good, light, 
 generous diet, keep early hours, and sleep in a 
 well-ventilated apartment. The following strength- 
 ening medicine will be found serviceable : 
 
 Sulphate of Quinine, twelve grains; 
 
PALPITATION OF THE HEART. 1 25 
 
 Diluted Sulphuric Acid, half a dram; 
 Syrup of Orange peel, half an ounce; 
 Water, seven ounces and a half: 
 Two tablespoonfuls to be taken three times a day. 
 
 A nervous patient during this period is subject 
 to palpitation of the heart. This palpitation, pro- 
 vided it occur only during pregnancy, is not dan- 
 gerous, and need not cause alarm. It is occasioned 
 by the pressure of the womb upon the large blood- 
 vessels, which induces a temporary derangement 
 of the heart's action. This palpitation is generally 
 worse at night, when the patient is lying down. 
 When lying down, the midriff, because of the in- 
 creased size of the abdomen, is pressed upward, 
 and for this reason the heart has not its accustomed 
 room in which to work, and palpitation is the 
 result. 
 
 The best remedies are half a teaspoonful of 
 compound spirits of lavender, or a teaspoonful of 
 sal-volatile in a wine glass of camphor mixture, or 
 a combination of lavender and of sal-volatile : 
 
 Compound Spirits of Lavender, one dram; 
 Sal- Volatile, eleven drams; 
 Mix., — A teaspoonful of the drops to be taken occasionally in a 
 wine glass of water, 
 
 These medicines should be kept at the bedside 
 of the patient, in order that they may be admin- 
 istered at once, if necessary. Brandy is sometimes 
 given, but it is a dangerous remedy, while the 
 lavender and the sal-volatile are perfectly safe 
 medicines, and can never do the slightest harm. 
 
 Mental emotion, fatigue, late hours, and close 
 
126 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 rooms ought to be guarded against. Gentle out- 
 door exercise, and cheerful but not boisterous 
 company, are desirable. 
 
 Cramps of the legs and thighs are apt to attend 
 pregnancy, especially at night and during the lat- 
 ter months; they are caused by pressure of the 
 womb upon the nerves which extend to the lower 
 extremities. Treatment. — Tightly tie a folded 
 handkerchief round the limb a little above the part 
 affected, and let it remain on for a few minutes. 
 Friction by means of the hand either with opodel- 
 doc or with laudanum {taking care not to drink it 
 by mistake) will also give relief. Cramps some- 
 times attack either the bowels or the back of a 
 pregnant woman ; when such is the case, let a bag 
 of hot salt, or a hot water bottle, filled with hot 
 water, and covered with flannel, be applied over 
 the part affected ; and let a bottleof hot water or 
 a hot brick, encased in flannel, be placed to the 
 soles of the feet. If cramps of the bowels, the 
 back, or the thighs are very severe, the following 
 mixture will be serviceable : 
 
 Compound Tincture of Camphor, one ounce: 
 Dill Water, five ounces; 
 A wine glass of this mixture should be taken at bedtime occasion- 
 ally, and be repeated, if necessary, in four hours. 
 
 The whites, especially during the latter months, 
 and particularly if the patient has borne many 
 children, are troublesome, and are, in a measure, 
 owing to the pressure of the womb on the parts 
 below, causing irritation. The best way to obvi- 
 
THE WHITES— TREATMENT. 127 
 
 ate such pressure, is for the patient to lie down a 
 great part of each day. She ought to retire early, 
 sleep on a hair mattress, and in a well ventilated 
 apartment. A thick, heavy quilt at these times, 
 and indeed at all times, is particularly objection- 
 able ; the perspiration cannot pass readily through 
 it as through blankets. The bowels ought to be 
 gently opened. 
 
 The best application will be, to bathe the 
 parts with fuller's earth and warm water, in the 
 proportion of a handful of powdered fuller's earth 
 to half a wash-basinful of warm water. The in- 
 ternal parts ought, night and morning, to be 
 bathed with it. If the fuller's earth should not have 
 the desired effect, an alum injection* should be 
 used every night and morning by means of a fount- 
 ain syringe or fifteen drops of the solution of diace- 
 tate of lead should be added to a quarter of a pint 
 of lukewarm water, and be used in a similar man- 
 ner as the alum injection. 
 
 Cleanliness, in these cases, cannot be too 
 strongly urged. Indeed, every woman, either 
 married or single, ought, unless special circum- 
 stances forbid, to use the sitz-bath. If she has not 
 the whites, or if she has them only slightly, cold, 
 quite cold, water is preferable to tepid. I should 
 advise every woman, both married and single, to 
 take a quick sitz-bath every morning (except during 
 monthly periods); throwing either a small blanket 
 or shawl over her shoulders when bathing. 
 
 *Dissolve halt a teaspoonful of powdered alum in a quarter of a pint of tepid 
 water, to make the injection. 
 
128 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 She should, for the first few mornings, make 
 the water lukewarm ; but the quicker it can be 
 used cold — quite cold — the more good it will do. 
 If the above plan were more generally followed, 
 women of all classes and ages would derive im- 
 mense benefit from its adoption, and many serious 
 diseases would be warded off. The use of the 
 sitz-bath, after a time, would be a great comfort 
 and enjoyment. 
 
 When the patient has been much weakened by 
 the whites, she will derive benefit from a quinine 
 mixture (see a previous paragraph) — a dose of 
 which ought to be taken twice or three times a 
 day. 
 
 Irritation and itching of the external parts is a 
 most troublesome affection, and may occur at any 
 time, but more especially during the latter period 
 of pregnancy. It is a subject upon which a wo- 
 man is too delicate and too sensitive to consult a 
 physician, and the misery it entails, if not relieved, 
 is almost past endurance. 
 
 In the first place, the diet should be simple and 
 nourishing ; avoiding stimulants of all kinds. In 
 the next place, use a tepid salt and water sitz-bath. 
 Put a large handful of table salt into the sitz-bath, 
 then add cold water to the depth of three or four 
 inches, and sufficient hot water to make the water 
 tepid or lukewarm. The patient must sit in the 
 bath, only for a few seconds. Patients generally 
 derive great comfort and benefit from these salt 
 and water sitz-baths. It is an important item of 
 treatment 
 
IRRITATION AND ITCHING — TREATMENT. 120 
 
 if the itching continues, the following lotion 
 ought to be used : 
 
 Solution of diacetate of lead, one dram; 
 
 Rectified spirits of wine, one dram; 
 
 Distilled water, one pint. 
 To make a lotion. — The parts affected to be bathed three or four 
 times a day with the lotion. Or the parts may be bathed two or three 
 times a day with equal parts of vinegar and of water. 
 
 The external parts, and the passage to the 
 womb (the vagina) in these cases, are not only ir- 
 ritable and itching, but are sometimes hot and in- 
 flamed, and are covered eitJier with small pimples, or 
 with a whitish exudation of the nature of aphtha 
 (thrush), somewhat similar to the thrush on the 
 mouth of an infant; then, the addition of glycerine 
 to the lotion is a great improvement, and usually 
 gives immense relief. Either of the following is a 
 good lotion for the purpose : 
 
 Biborate of soda, eight drams; 
 Glycerine, five ounces; 
 Distilled water, ten ounces. 
 To make a lotion. — The part affected to be bathed every four 
 hours with the lotion, first shaking the bottle. 
 
 Or the following may be used as an injection : 
 
 Dried white oak bark, one-half pound; 
 Water, six quarts; 
 Boil down to one gallon and strain. Reduce one-half with hot 
 water, and use with fountain syringe. 
 
 False labor pains, especially in a first pregnancy, 
 are sometimes troublesome. These pains usually 
 come on at night, and are frequently owing to a 
 disordered stomach. They affect the abdomen, 
 
130 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 the back and the loins; and occasionally they 
 extend down the hips and the thighs. They attack 
 first one place and then another ; they come on at 
 irregular intervals ; at one time they are violent, at 
 another they are feeble. The pains, instead of be- 
 ing grinding or bearing down, are more of a colicky 
 nature. 
 
 As these false pains more frequently occur in a 
 first pregnancy, and as they are often more violent 
 two or three weeks toward the completion of the 
 full time, and as they usually come on either at 
 night or in the night, it behooves both the patient 
 and the monthly nurse to be cognizant of the fact, 
 in order that they may not make a false alarm, and 
 summon the doctor before he is really wanted, and 
 when he cannot be of the slightest benefit to the 
 patient. 
 
 It is sometimes stated that a woman has been in 
 labor two or three weeks before the child was born! 
 Such is not the fact. The case in question is one 
 probably of false pains ending in true pains. 
 
 How, then, is the patient to knoiv that the pains are 
 false and not true labor pains? False labor pains 
 come on three or four weeks before the full time ; 
 true labor pains at the completion of the full time ; 
 false pains are unattended with " show ; " true pains 
 generally commence the labor with " show ; " false 
 pains are generally migratory — changing from 
 place to place — first attacking the loins, then the 
 hips, then the lower portions, and even other por- 
 tions of the abdomen — first one part, then another; 
 
FALSE LABOR PAINS. 131 
 
 true pains generally begin in the back ; false pains 
 commence as spasmodic pains ; true pains as grind- 
 ing pains ; false pains come on at uncertain periods, 
 at one time a quarter of an hour elapsing, at 
 others, an hour or two hours between each pain — 
 at one time the pain is sharp, at another, trifling; 
 true pains come on with tolerable regularity, and 
 gradually increase in severity. 
 
 But remember — the most valuable distinguish, 
 ing symptom is the absence of sJiow in false labor 
 pains, and the presence of it in true labor pains. It 
 might be said that skoiv does not always usher in 
 the commencement of labor. Granted ; but such 
 cases are exceedingly rare, and may be considered 
 as the exception and not the rule. 
 
 Treatment. — The patient ought to abstain for a 
 day or two from all stimulants. The bowels 
 should be rubbed every night at bedtime either 
 with camphorated oil, previously warmed, or with 
 laudanum. Either hot salt, in a flannel bag, or an 
 India-rubber hot water bottle applied every night 
 at bedtime to the abdomen, frequently affords 
 great relief. 
 
 The period of gestation is usually two hundred 
 and eighty days — forty weeks — ten lunar or nine 
 calendar months. It will be well to commence the 
 estimate about three days after the last day of 
 menstruation.^ 
 
 A good plan is as follows : Let forty weeks and 
 a few days, from the time specified above, be 
 marked on an almanac, and the date will seldom 
 
132 
 
 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 be far from correct. Suppose, for instance, the 
 last day of menstruation was on January the 15th, 
 the patient may expect to be confined on or about 
 October the 25th. 
 
 I may in passing, just point out the great im- 
 portance of a wife making, every time, a note of 
 the last day of her periods; by doing so it might 
 save her a great deal of inconvenience, uncer- 
 tainty, and anxiety. 
 
 A pregnancy table, — The following table, show- 
 ing the probable commencement, duration, and 
 completion of pregnancy, and indicating the date 
 on or about which day the labor might occur, will, 
 I trust, be found very useful. This table allows 
 three days over the 280 days— making 283 days ; 
 that is, the count of 280 days commences three 
 days after the last day of menstruation. The 
 reason I have chosen the third day is, that concep- 
 tion is more likely to take place a few days — say 
 three days — after the last day of the periods than 
 at any other time. 
 
 A PREGNANCY TABLE. 
 
 Last day of the 
 Periods. 
 
 Jan. I 
 
 " 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 " 7-... 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 
 Oct. II 
 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 Last day of the Labor 
 
 Periods. On or About. 
 Jan. 10 Oct. 20 
 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 
 27 
 28 
 
A PREGNANCY TABLE. 
 
 '33 
 
 I-ast day of the 
 Periods. 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 
 Jan. 19 Oct. 29 
 
 " 20 " 30 
 
 " 21 " 31 
 
 44 22 Nov. 1 
 
 Feb. 
 
 23- 
 24. 
 
 25- 
 
 26. 
 
 27. 
 
 28. 
 
 29. 
 
 30. 
 
 31- 
 1. 
 2. 
 3. 
 4- 
 5- 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 8. 
 
 9- 
 10 
 11. 
 12. 
 
 13. 
 
 14. 
 IS- 
 16 
 
 '17. 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 23. 
 24. 
 
 " 
 
 2 
 
 < < 
 
 3 
 
 < < 
 
 4 
 
 << 
 
 5 
 
 « ( 
 
 6 
 
 44 
 
 7 
 
 " 
 
 8 
 
 < < 
 
 9 
 
 44 
 
 10 
 
 << 
 
 11 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 « 1 
 
 13 
 
 < < 
 
 14 
 
 t < 
 
 15 
 
 44 
 
 16 
 
 ( < 
 
 17 
 
 < < 
 
 18 
 
 " 
 
 19 
 
 1 1 
 
 20 
 
 ( < 
 
 21 
 
 " 
 
 22 
 
 < i 
 
 23 
 
 I < 
 
 24 
 
 " 
 
 25 
 
 < ( 
 
 26 
 
 *' 
 
 27 
 
 i ( 
 
 28 
 
 44 
 
 29 
 
 < « 
 
 30 
 
 Dec 
 
 . 1 
 
 ■ < 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 Last day of the 
 
 Periods. 
 
 J.a'ior 
 On or About. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar, 
 
 April 
 
 25. 
 26 
 27. 
 28. 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 3 
 
 4- 
 
 5. 
 
 6. 
 
 7- 
 8. 
 
 9- 
 10. 
 II. 
 
 12. 
 13 
 14. 
 15- 
 16. 
 
 17. 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 
 23. 
 24. 
 
 25- 
 26. 
 
 27. 
 28. 
 29. 
 30. 
 3i- 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 D©p 
 
 Ja# 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 
 27 
 28 
 
 2Q 
 
 30 
 
 3* 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 10 
 
134 
 
 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 Last day of the Labor 
 
 Periods. On or About. 
 
 April 3 Jan. n 
 
 44 4 " 12 
 
 44 5 " 13 
 
 6 * 4 14 
 
 " 7 " 15 
 
 8 " 16 
 
 9 " *7 
 
 " io " 18 
 
 " ii " 19 
 
 " 12 " 20 
 
 " 13 " 21 
 
 " 14 " 22 
 
 44 15 " 23 
 
 " 16 " 24 
 
 44 17 4< 25 
 
 " 18 " 26 
 
 44 19 " 27 
 
 " 20 '* 28 
 
 " 21 " 29 
 
 " 22 " 30 
 
 44 23 " 31 
 
 " 24 Feb. 1 
 
 " 25.. " 2 
 
 44 26 " 3 
 
 44 27 " 4 
 
 44 28 " 5 
 
 29 " 6 
 
 44 30 " 7 
 
 May i " 8 
 
 " 2 " 9 
 
 3 4< 10 
 
 44 4 " 11 
 
 44 5 " 12 
 
 6 " 13 
 
 44 7 44 14 
 
 44 8 » 15 
 
 9 " 16 
 
 Last day of the 
 Periods. 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 
 May 10 Feb. 17 
 
 44 II " 18 
 
 " 12 «' ig 
 
 44 13 " 20 
 
 44 H " 21 
 
 " 15 " 22 
 
 " 16 " 23 
 
 44 17 " 24 
 
 " 18 " 25 
 
 44 19 " 26 
 
 " 20 " 27 
 
 " 21 " 28' 
 
 44 22 Mar. 1 
 
 44 23 4 ' 2 
 
 44 24 " 3 
 
 44 25 " 4 
 
 " 26 " 5 
 
 44 27 " 6 
 
 44 28 " 7 
 
 44 29 " 8 
 
 44 30 44 9 
 
 44 31 4< 10 
 
 June 1 <4 11 
 
 2 ll 12 
 
 44 3 4< 13 
 
 4 " M 
 
 44 5 44 15 
 
 6 " 16 
 
 44 7 " 17 
 
 8 " 18 
 
 44 9 " 19 
 
 44 10 " 2C 
 
 " II " 21 
 
 44 12 " 22 
 
 " 13 " 23 
 
 44 14 *' 24 
 
 44 15 4< 25 
 
A PREGNANCY TABLE. 
 
 *35 
 
 Last day of the 
 Periods. 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 
 June 16 Mar. 
 
 17 
 
 iy 
 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 
 22. 
 
 23- 
 
 24. 
 
 25. 
 26. 
 27. 
 
 28. 
 
 29. 
 30. 
 
 I. 
 
 2. 
 
 3- 
 4 
 5- 
 6. 
 
 7- 
 8. 
 
 9- 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 13- 
 14. 
 15. 
 16. 
 
 17- 
 18. 
 19, 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 26 
 27 
 
 2S 
 29 
 30 
 31 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 iS 
 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 23 
 
 29 
 
 30 
 1 
 
 Last day of the 
 Periods. 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 
 Aug 
 
 July 23 May 2 
 
 24 " 3 
 
 25 " 4 
 
 26 " 5 
 
 27 " 6 
 
 28 " 7 
 
 29 " 8 
 
 30 " 9 
 
 31 " 10 
 
 1 " 11 
 
 2 " 12 
 
 3 " 13 
 
 4-- " 14 
 
 5 " 15 
 
 6 " 16 
 
 7 " 17 
 
 8 " 18 
 
 9 " 19 
 
 10 " 20 
 
 11 " 21 
 
 12 " 22 
 
 13 " 23 
 
 14 " 24 
 
 15 " 25 
 
 16 " 26 
 
 17- " 27 
 
 18 " 28 
 
 19 " 2 9 
 
 20 " 30 
 
 21 " 31 
 
 22 June 1 
 
 23 " 2 
 
 24 " 3 
 
 25 '" 4 
 
 26 " 5 
 
 27 " 6 
 
 28 „ " 7 
 
i3 6 
 
 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 Last day of the 
 
 Periods. 
 
 Aug. 
 << 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 29. 
 
 30. 
 
 3i- 
 
 I. 
 
 2. 
 3- 
 4. 
 5- 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 
 9- 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 
 13- 
 14. 
 
 15. 
 16. 
 
 17. 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 
 23. 
 24. 
 
 25. 
 26. 
 
 27. 
 28. 
 
 29 
 30. 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 3- 
 
 4- 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 June 8 
 
 July 
 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 30 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 
 Last day of the 
 
 Periods. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 9- 
 10. 
 11 
 12 
 
 13 
 14. 
 
 15 
 16. 
 
 17. 
 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 
 23- 
 24. 
 
 25- 
 
 26. 
 27. 
 28. 
 29. 
 30. 
 31. 
 
 I. 
 
 2. 
 3. 
 
 4- 
 5 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 8. 
 
 9- 
 10. 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 ...July 15 
 ... " 16 
 ... " 17 
 ... " 18 
 
 Aug. 
 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 27 
 
 2? 
 
 29 
 30 
 
 31 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
A PREGNANCY TABLE. 
 
 Last day of the 
 Periods. 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 
 Nov. ii Aug. 21 
 
 " 12 " 22 
 
 " 13- " 23 
 
 " 14 " 24 
 
 " 15 " 25 
 
 " i6...« " 26 
 
 " 17 " 27 
 
 •' 18 " 28 
 
 11 J 9 • " 29 
 
 " 20 " 30 
 
 4 21 " 31 
 
 " 22 Sept. 1 
 
 " 23 " 2 
 
 " 24 " 3 
 
 " 25 " 4 
 
 44 26 " 5 
 
 " 27 " 6 
 
 " 28 ... " 7 
 
 " 29 " 8 
 
 " 30 " 9 
 
 Dec. 1 " 10 
 
 2 " 11 
 
 44 3 " 12 
 
 " 4 " 13 
 
 " 5 44 14 
 
 " 6 » 15 
 
 Last day of the 
 
 Periods. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 9- 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 13- 
 14. 
 15. 
 16. 
 
 17- 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 
 23. 
 24. 
 
 25- 
 26. 
 27. 
 28. 
 29. 
 30. 
 31 
 
 Labor 
 On or About. 
 
 . . Sept. 16 
 
 ... " 17 
 
 .Oct. 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 22 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 25 
 26 
 
 27 
 28 
 
 29 
 30 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 i<? 
 
 This pregnancy table may, as a rule, be safely 
 relied upon. Many of my patients have for years, 
 from these estimates, been often confined on the 
 very day specified. I say often as it is utterly impos* 
 sible to fix upon the exact day — the approximate day 
 can only be specified — some women being at theii* 
 full time as early as the thirty-seventh week; while 
 others, although but very rarely, are not at their 
 
138 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 full time until the forty-fifth week — hence the 
 uncertainty in some cases of such calculations. 
 
 A woman may, by becoming pregnant while 
 nursing, be put out of her reckoning. Not being 
 unwell at such a time, she consequently does not 
 know how to count. She ought in this case to 
 take the time of quickening as a starting point, 
 from which time, count ahead one hundred and 
 fifty-six days. It must be borne in mind, however, 
 that so correct an estimate can never be made, 
 quickening taking place at a date varying in dif- 
 ferent individuals. Occasionally a wrong estimate 
 may be made, owing to the fact that some women 
 have a slight menstruation the first and even suc- 
 ceeding months after conception has taken place. 
 These cases are rare, however, and when they do 
 occur the last normal period should be taken, from 
 which the estimate should be made. 
 
 The question is frequently asked, " Can a physi- 
 cian tell, before the child is born, whether it will 
 be a boy or a girl?" Many eminent physicians 
 claim that this can be done, and base their 
 opinions upon what they suppose to be a law of 
 nature. This law is to the effect that if conception 
 takes place in the early part of the menstrual 
 period a female child will be the result ; if in the 
 latter part, a male child will be born. It has been 
 observed that queen-bees lay female eggs first and 
 male eggs afterward. The same is true of do- 
 mesticated fowls, and from these facts, the obser- 
 vations made by physicians, and the experiments 
 
A FREQUENT QUESTION. 1 39 
 
 of stock-raisers, this law has been deduced. That 
 it does not hold good in all cases, there can be lit- 
 tle doubt, but, notwithstanding the exceptions, I 
 think that there is good ground for the belief, and 
 that in a majority of cases the supposed law will 
 prove true. 
 
 From this it will be seen that if the unborn child 
 is a girl confinement should take place at the date 
 denoted by the pregnancy table, and that when v a 
 woman goes beyond this date it should prove a 
 boy. This will generally be the case. Beside the 
 above method of ascertaining the sex of the foetus, 
 the skilled physician can usually determine the 
 same by the fcetal heart beat, the pulsations being 
 more rapid in the female than the male. 
 
 The nurse. — It is an important, a most import- 
 ant, consideration to choose a nurse rightly and 
 well ; the well-doing of both mother and babe 
 often depends upon a right selection. 
 
 A nurse ought to be middle-aged. If young, 
 she is apt to be thoughtless and giggling ; if old, 
 she may be deaf and stupid, and may think too 
 much of her trouble. She should have calmness 
 and self-possession. She must be gentle, kind, 
 good-tempered, and obliging, but firm withal, 
 and she should have a cheerful countenance. 
 "Some seem by nature to have a vocation for 
 nursing; others do not. Again, nursing has its 
 separate branches ; some have the light step, the 
 pleasant voice, the cheering smile, the dexterous 
 hand, the gentle touch ; others are gifted in cook- 
 
I40 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 ery for the sick." The former good qualities are 
 essential to a nurse, and if she can combine the 
 latter — she will be invaluable. 
 
 She ought neither to be a tattler, nor a tale- 
 bearer, nor a croaker, nor a putterer. A tattler is 
 an abomination ; a clacking tongue is most weari- 
 some and injurious to the patient. A tale-bearer 
 is to be especially avoided ; if she tell tales of her 
 former cases, my reader may depend upon it that 
 her turn will come. Have nothing to do with a 
 gossip of a nurse ; she is a most dangerous person 
 to have about you. 
 
 But of all nurses to be shunned as the plague is 
 the croaker, one that discourses of the dismal and 
 of the dreadful cases that have occurred in her 
 experience, many of which, in all probability, she 
 herself was the cause of.* She is a very upas tree 
 in a house. A putterer should be banished from 
 the lying-in room ; she is a perpetual worry — a 
 perpetual blister! She is a nurse without method, 
 without system, and without smartness. She put- 
 ters at this, and putters at that, and worries the 
 patient beyond measure. She dreams, and drawls, 
 and putters. It is better to have a brusque and 
 noisy nurse than a puttering one. She ought to 
 be either a married woman or a widow. 
 
 She must be sober, temperate and healthy, and 
 free from deafness, and from any defect of vision. 
 She should have a gentle manner, but yet not mel- 
 ancholy. She ought to have the softest step and 
 the gentlest tone. She ought to be fond of chil- 
 
HOW TO SELECT A NURSE. 141 
 
 dren, and must neither mind her trouble nor being 
 disturbed at night. She should be a light sleeper. 
 
 Scrupulous attention to cleanliness, freshness, 
 and neatness in her own person, and toward the 
 patient and the infant, are most important req 
 uisites. 
 
 In choosing a nurse select one who has a bright, 
 sunshiny countenance — having nothing to do with 
 a sour-faced individual. 
 
 The nurse ought to be engaged early in preg- 
 nancy, as a good nurse is caught up soon, and is 
 full of engagements. This is most important ad- 
 vice. A lady frequently has to put up with an 
 indifferent nurse from neglecting to engage her in 
 time. The physician, at the eleventh hour, is fre- 
 quently besought to perform an impossibility — to 
 select a good nurse, and which he could readily 
 have done if time had been given him to make 
 the selection. Some of my best nurses are en- 
 gaged by my patients as early as two or three 
 months after conception, in order to make sure of 
 having their favorite nurses. 
 
 A nurse ought to be in the house for a week or 
 ten days before the commencement of labor, in 
 order that there may be neither bustle nor excite- 
 ment, and no hurrying to and fro at the last 
 moment to find her ; and that she may have every- 
 thing prepared, and the linen well aired for the 
 coming event. 
 
 My reader may say, " You want a nurse to be 
 perfection?" Well, I do ; a nurse ought to be as 
 
142 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 near perfection as poor human nature will allow. 
 None but good and true women should enter the 
 ranks of nurses ; for their responsibility is great, 
 and their power of doing either good or evil is 
 enormous. Hence good nurses are prizable, and 
 should be paid most liberally. 
 
 The selection of a nurse is, for the well-being 
 both of mother and of babe, quite as important as 
 is the choice of a doctor ; indeed, I do not know 
 whether she is not of more importance. Mother 
 and babe are thoroughly dependent upon her for 
 most important services. 
 
 I hope I have said enough — I am quite sure 
 that I have not said one word too much — on the 
 care required in the selection of a nurse. It is 
 impossible when such important interests are at 
 stake, to be too particular, or to overstate its; 
 importance. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MISCARRIAGE AND ABORTION. 
 
 A premature expulsion of the foetus before the end 
 of the sixth month is called either a miscarriage or 
 an abortion; after this time, but before the full pe- 
 riod of nine months, a premature labor. 
 
 A miscarriage is a serious calamity, and should 
 be considered in that light ; not only to the mother 
 herself, whose constitution frequent miscarriages 
 seriously injure, and eventually ruin ; but it may 
 rob the wife of one of her greatest earthly privi- 
 leges, the inestimable pleasure and delight of being 
 a mother. 
 
 As a miscarriage may generally be prevented, it 
 behooves a wife to look well into the matter, and 
 to study the subject thoroughly for herself, in order 
 to guard against her first miscarriage ; for the first 
 miscarriage is the one that frequently leads to a 
 series. 
 
 Causes. — A slight cause will frequently occasion 
 the separation of the child from the mother, and 
 the consequent death and expulsion of the foetus ; 
 hence the readiness with which some women mis- 
 carry. The following are the most common causes : 
 Long walks ; riding on horseback, or over rough 
 
 (143) 
 
144 MISCARRIAGE AND ABORTION. 
 
 roads in a carriage ; a long railway journey ; over- 
 exertion and sitting up late at night ; too frequent 
 sexual intercourse. The excitement incident to 
 parties, balls and concerts ; all violent emotions of 
 the mind, passion, fright, etc.; fatigue ; over- 
 reaching ; sudden shocks or falls ; taking a wrong 
 step either in ascending or in descending stairs ; 
 falling down stairs; lifting heavy weights; violent 
 drastic purgatives ; calomel ; obstinate consti- 
 pation ; debility of constitution ; consumptive habit 
 of body ; fashionable amusements ; dancing ; late 
 hours ; tight lacing ; indeed, anything and every- 
 thing that injuriously affects either the mind or the 
 body. 
 
 A woman threatened with miscarriage usually 
 experiences a feeling of lassitude, of debility, of 
 malaise and depression of spirits ; she feels as 
 though she were going to be unwell, and com- 
 plains of weakness and uneasiness about the loins, 
 the hips, the thighs, and the lower part of the 
 abdomen. This is an important stage of the case, 
 and one in which judicious treatment will almost to 
 a certainty prevent a miscarriage. 
 
 More serious symptoms of miscarriage . — If the 
 above symptoms are allowed to proceed, unchecked 
 and unattended, after a day or two there will be a 
 slight show of blood. This show soon increases 
 to flooding, and shortly becomes clotted. There 
 may at this time be but little pain, and the miscar- 
 riage may, with judicious treatment, be even now 
 warded off. At all events, if the miscarriage can 
 
CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS. 145 
 
 not be prevented, the ill effects may, with care, be 
 palliated, and means may be used to prevent a 
 future miscarriage. 
 
 Decided symptoms of a miscarriage. — If the mis- 
 carriage is allowed to proceed, a new train of 
 symptoms develop, pains begin to come on, at first 
 slight, irregular, and of a grinding nature, but which 
 soon become more severe, regular, and of a bear- 
 ing-down nature. Indeed, the case is now a labor 
 in miniature, and the patient is sure to miscarry. 
 
 There are two stages of miscarriage — first, the 
 separation of the ovum from the womb ; and sec- 
 ond, the expulsion of the ovum from the womb. 
 The former, from the rupture of vessels, is neces- 
 sarily attended with more or less of flooding. The 
 latter, in addition to the flooding, from the con- 
 traction of the womb, with more or less of pain. 
 If there is separation, there must follow expulsion, 
 as Nature is doing all she can to get rid of the 
 separated ovum, which has now become a foreign 
 body ; and if there is expulsion, there must, of 
 necessity, be pain, as contraction of the womb 
 invariably causes pain ; hence there is, in every mis- 
 carriage, more or less of flooding and of pain ; 
 indeed, you cannot have a miscarriage without 
 both the one and the other. 
 
 The most usual time for a woman to miscarry, 
 is from the eighth to the twelfth week. It is not 
 confined to this period, as during the whole time 
 of pregnancy there is a chance of premature ex- 
 pulsion of the contents of the womb. A miscar- 
 
146 MISCARRIAGE AND ABORTION. 
 
 riage before the fourth month is at the time attended 
 with little danger; although, if neglected, it may 
 forever injure the constitution. 
 
 A miscarriage sometimes begins and ends in a 
 few days — five or six ; it at other times continues 
 two, and even three weeks- 
 
 Treatment. — If the patient has the slightest 
 show, she should immediately confine herself to 
 the bed and keep perfectly quiet. A soft feather 
 bed must be avoided ; it both enervates the body 
 and predisposes to miscarriage. There is nothing 
 better for her to sleep on than a hair mattress. 
 
 Sexual intercourse should be carefully avoided ; 
 indeed, the patient ought to have a separate bed. 
 This is most important advice, and must be fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 The patient should be put on low diet, such as 
 arrowroot, tapioca, sago, gruel, chicken bro + .h, 
 tea, toast and water, and lemonade ; and whatever 
 she drinks ought to be cold. Grapes at these 
 times are cooling and refreshing. 
 
 The temperature of a bedroom should be kept 
 cool; and if in summer, the window ought to be 
 thrown open. Laxative medicines must be 
 avoided ; and if the flooding is violent, cold com- 
 presses should be applied externally to the parts. 
 
 The same care is required after a miscarriage as 
 alter a confinement; indeed, a patient requires to 
 be treated much in the same manner. She ought 
 to keep her bed for a few days, and should live 
 upon the diet recommended after a confinement, 
 
 
TREATMENT. 1 47 
 
 avoiding for the first few days stimulants of all 
 kinds. Many women date their state of ill health 
 to a neglected miscarriage; and it behooves every 
 woman to guard against such a misfortune. 
 
 A patient prone to miscarry ought to use every 
 means to brace and strengthen her system, before 
 again becoming pregnant. The best plan that she 
 can adopt will be to leave her husband for 
 several MONTHS, and go to some healthy spot ; 
 neither to a fashionable watering-place, nor to a 
 friend's house where much company is kept, but 
 to some quiet country place — if to a healthy farm- 
 house so much the better. 
 
 Early hours are quite indispensable. She ought 
 to lie on a hair mattress, and should have but scant 
 clothing on the bed. She must sleep in a well- 
 ventilated apartment. Her diet should be light 
 and nourishing. Gentle exercise ought to be taken, 
 which should alternate with frequent rest. 
 
 Cold baths ought to be used every morning, 
 and the body should afterward be dried with coarse 
 towels. If in winter let the water be made tepid, 
 and its temperature gradually lowered until used 
 quite cold. A shower bath is in these cases serv- 
 iceable ; it braces and invigorates the system, and 
 is one of the best tonics she can use. 
 
 If she is already pregnant it would not be admis- 
 sible, as the shock of the shower bath would be 
 too great and might bring on a miscarriage; but 
 still she ought to continue the cold bathing. 
 
 A lady who is prone to miscarry ought, as soon 
 
I48 MISCARRIAGE AND ABORTION. 
 
 as she is pregnant, to lie down a great part of eveVy 
 day ; she must keep her mind calm and unruffled, 
 live on a plain diet, retire early to rest, and have a 
 separate sleeping apartment. She ought to abstain 
 from taking laxative medicine, and constipation 
 should be avoided or treated by following the sug- 
 gestions in the chapter on constipation. 
 
 Gentle walking exercise daily is desirable ; long 
 walks and horseback riding must be sedulously 
 avoided. 
 
 As the usual period for miscarrying approaches 
 (for it frequently comes on at one particular time), 
 let the patient be more than usually careful ; let 
 her lie down the greatest part of the day ; let her 
 mind be kept calm and unruffled ; let all fash- 
 ionable society and every exciting amusement be 
 eschewed ; let both the sitting and the sleeping 
 apartments be kept cool and well ventilated ; let 
 the bowels, if costive, be opened by an enema of 
 warm water, or the external application of castor 
 oil ; let the diet be simple, yet nourishing ; let all 
 stimulants be avoided ; and if there are the 
 slightest symptoms of an approaching miscarriage, 
 such as pains in the loins, the hips, or in the lower 
 abdomen, or the slightest show of blood, let a 
 physician be instantly sent for, as he may, at an 
 early period, be able to ward off the threatened 
 mishap. 
 
 Criminal abortion. — Children have a right to be 
 born ! Alas, that this God-given privilege should 
 ever be called in question ! That it is so, how- 
 
CRIMINAL ABORTION. I49 
 
 ever, the testimony of modern physicians, the daily 
 records of the newspapers, the fulminations from 
 the pulpit, the remonstrances of philanthropists, 
 and the forebodings of philosophers, abundantly 
 prove. 
 
 If we examine the history of abortion, we shall 
 find that this crime, now so commonly practiced 
 as to demand the attention it is receiving from 
 moralists, is of extremely ancient origin, having 
 existed among pagan nations from the earliest 
 times ; that the influence of Christianity has ever 
 been to banish the practice, and that in proportion 
 as Christianity becomes weakened or destroyed, 
 the fearful evil in question reappears and extends. 
 
 " If this evil were principally resorted to for 
 the purpose of covering up the fruits of licenti- 
 ousness, and shielding from open disgrace, the 
 victims of dishonored virtue, there might perhaps 
 be a faint apology for silence, but with shame for 
 the wives and mothers of our land, the statement 
 is made, that they are the chief offenders. This 
 statement may seem strange to the ears of many a 
 devoted wife and mother, but to the physician, 
 who is generally a receiver of family secrets, it is 
 a well-known fact." 
 
 Intentional abortion is to all purposes a murder. 
 This is now conceded by all who are informed 
 upon the subject. Among the ancients the dis- 
 tinction was made that before the time of quicken- 
 ing the child has no life, and therefore there was 
 no sin in its destruction. This monstrous heresy 
 
150 MISCARRIAGE AND ABORTION. 
 
 against religion, science and common sense is not 
 without its imitators in our own time. That the 
 embryo is alive and hence quick from the moment 
 of conception, modern science has abundantly 
 proven. It follows, then, that this crime is equally 
 as great whether committed in the early weeks of 
 pregnancy or at a more advanced period in the life 
 of the foetus. 
 
 The laws of all civilized countries make abor- 
 tion a crime, and the punishment severe. All who 
 are accessory to it may be punished with imprison- 
 ment, and in some cases even with death. Aside 
 from this, however, the maternal instinct of the 
 mother and a sufficient regard for her own health 
 should prevent any and all attempts oi this char- 
 acter. The amount of physical suffering that may 
 follow cannot be estimated. Inflammations of the 
 womb and kindred disorders of the generative 
 organs are almost sure to result, and frequently 
 will resist the most skillful treatment. At other 
 times blood poisoning may follow from the reten- 
 tion of the placenta and membranes of the foetus. 
 This may produce immediate death, and at best 
 can but end in broken health and lifelong suffering. 
 
 In extenuation of this evil some may say that 
 many of the diseases of delicate women are due 
 to excessive child-bearing. This is undoubtedly 
 true. Hardly a day passes that a physician of 
 large practice will not see instances of debility 
 from this source. The evils of a too rapid suc- 
 cessions of pregnancies are likewise conspicuously 
 
A LAW OF NATURE. 151 
 
 seen in the children. Puny, sickly, short-lived or 
 idiotic children are apt to follow over-production. 
 Often they come to the mother already over- 
 burdened with the cares of numerous progeny, and 
 cannot receive at her hand the care and attention 
 they require. To some women pregnancy is a 
 nine-months' torture, and there are others to whom 
 it is almost certain to prove fatal. In such cases 
 an increase of family is a condition not to be 
 desired, but the remedy lies, not in destroying the 
 product of conception, but rather in preventing 
 that condition. In a preceding chapter the method 
 by which this result may be attained, has been 
 mentioned. It is a law of nature — to which there 
 may be some exceptions — that conception must 
 take place at about the time of the menstrual flow. 
 If sexual intercourse occurs a short time before 
 this period, the male germ may remain viable, and 
 undoubtedly the female germ remains in the womb 
 and retains its vitality a few days after the flow 
 ceases. The conditions of health, temperament and 
 surroundings are so varied that no infallible law 
 can be stated that will govern all cases. It may 
 be said with certainty, however, that from ten days 
 after the cessation of the menstrual flow until 
 three days preceding its return, there is very little 
 chance of conception, while the converse is equally 
 true. An understanding of this simple law has 
 enabled many to regulate the number of offspring 
 at will. To do this, however, requires something 
 more on the part of the husband than to blindly 
 
152 
 
 MISCARRIAGE AND ABORTION. 
 
 follow the animal passion so long his inheritance. 
 It requires continence, self-control and a will- 
 ingness to deny himself, and when he can accom- 
 plish this then there will be fewer cases of out- 
 raged nature, and more of the children born will 
 be conceived and nurtured in love 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 That a mother may, during the period of gesta- 
 tion, exercise some influence, by her own volun* 
 tary mental and physical action, either unwittingly 
 or purposely (and aside from the usual involuntary 
 action of the laws of heredity) in determining the 
 traits and tendencies of her offspring, is now a 
 common belief among intelligent people. But 
 probably few have any definite understanding of 
 the process by which sucn results are effected, or 
 conception of the extent to which this process may 
 be controlled, by intelligent purpose and wise di- 
 rection, for the benefit of our children and the im- 
 provement of our race. 
 
 No more important subject can engage the 
 attention of parents, and there is none in which in- 
 telligent and loving mothers will take a deeper 
 interest when once made intelligible to them. 
 
 The assertion has been made that " it is for the 
 mother, by the use of appropriate means (provided 
 a sufficient organic capacity has been germinally 
 contributed by the father, and provided, also, the 
 mother's efforts are properly seconded by the 
 father) to produce a poet, a thinke*- an artist, an 
 
 (153) 
 
154 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 inventor, a philanthropist, or any other type of 
 manhood or womanhood, desirable or undesirable, 
 as she will." 
 
 If this, or any near approximation to it, is pos- 
 sible, it is surely worth the while of every mother, 
 and father also, to make an effort to know in what 
 these appropriate means consist, and how to apply 
 them successfully. 
 
 An author, Dr. Brittan, who has given much 
 study to the occult problems of human life, gives 
 the following very reasonable hypothesis as to the 
 law or process of embryonic moulding : 
 
 " The singular effects produced on the unborn 
 child by the sudden mental emotions of the mother 
 are remarkable examples of a kind of electrotyping 
 on the sensitive suifaces of living forms. It is 
 doubtless true that the mind's action, in such cases, 
 may increase or diminish the molecular deposits in 
 the several portions of the system. The precise 
 place which each separate particle assumes in the 
 new organic structure may be determined by the 
 influence of thought or feeling. If, for example, 
 there exists in the mother any unusual tendency of 
 the vital forces to the brain at the critical period, 
 there will be a similar cerebral development and 
 activity in the offspring." 
 
 In illustration and confirmation of this law, the 
 same author gives the following facts : 
 
 "A lady, who, during the period of gestation, 
 was chiefly employed in reading the poets and in 
 giving form to her dav-dreams of the ideal world, 
 
THE LAW OF EMBRYONIC MOULDING. 1 55 
 
 at the same time gave to her child (in phreno- 
 logical parlance) large ideality •, and a highly imag- 
 inative turn of mind. 
 
 " Some time since we met with a youth who 
 had finely moulded limbs and a symmetrical form 
 throughout. His mother has a large, lean, atten- 
 uated frame, that does not offer so much as a 
 single suggestion of the beautiful. The boy is 
 doubtless indebted for his fine form to the presence 
 of a beautiful French lithograph in his mother's 
 sleeping apartment, and which presented for her 
 contemplation the faultless form of a naked child." 
 
 The electrotyping process referred to in the 
 above quotation may not be familiar to every 
 reader. It consists in causing, by means of elec- 
 trical agency, the deposit of fine particles of metal 
 (as gold, silver or copper) dissolved in a powerful 
 acid, upon the surface of any article which it is 
 desired should receive a coating of such metal. 
 Gilding, silver-plating and copper-facing are now 
 executed to a large extent by this curious process, 
 the coating of metal thus deposited becoming ex- 
 ceedingly compact and durable, and capable of 
 being made of any desirable thickness, propor- 
 tionate to the time occupied in the process. It is 
 reasonable to suppose that by a somewhat similar 
 process, effected by the vital forces of the mother, 
 and to some extent controllable by her mental 
 operations and emotions, are deposited the mole- 
 cules of matter which go to form the human em. 
 bryo in all its various parts. 
 
156 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 A striking- fact, in further illustration of the same 
 law, is given by the author of the valuable book 
 entitled "Husband and Wife." 
 
 It is to this effect : A teacher in a Western 
 State had under her instruction five children be- 
 longing to one family. " The two eldest were dull, 
 inert, and slow to learn ; while the third, a girl about 
 twelve years of age, was remarkably bright, sensi- 
 tive and talented. Not only apt and quick at her 
 lessons, she possessed a fine poetic temperament, 
 accompanied by a keen appreciation of the beauties 
 of nature ; she could also write a theme in prose or 
 verse with ease and facility. The children younger 
 than this one were both physically and mentally 
 superior to the two eldest, but far inferior to her 
 in talent and refinement of manners." These dif- 
 ferences were so marked that the teacher's curi- 
 osity was excited to learn the cause. Becoming 
 intimately acquainted with the mother (who at 
 first could assign no reason for the diversity), the 
 teacher at length ascertained the following facts : 
 Some months prior to the birth of the favored 
 child, the mother (who, though reared in an East- 
 ern State, in the enjoyment of fair advantages, had 
 become the wife of a farmer in a new country, 
 deprived of literary and social privileges, and 
 overworked in the struggle to acquire a compe- 
 tence) had her attention attracted to a volume of 
 Walter Scott's poems, brought to the house by a 
 canvasser ; and she was so seized with a desire to 
 possess and read the book, that, not having at hand 
 
a teacher's observations. 157 
 
 the money to purchase it, she had walked lour 
 miles at night to borrow of a friend a sufficient 
 sum for the purpose. " And a glorious time I had 
 in reading it," she said ; " for often in the perusal 
 of its pages I forgot my fatigues and cares." Hav- 
 ing read the book so often that she came to know 
 much of it by rote, she used to sing the songs to 
 the child when an infant, and afterward to repeat 
 the stories to her when a little girl. Here, no 
 doubt, was the source of the superior intelligence, 
 refinement and poetic tendencies of the child. 
 
 An old schoolmaster stated that in the course 
 of his personal experience he observed a remark- 
 able difference in the capacities of children for 
 learning, which was connected with the education 
 and aptitude of their parents; that the children of 
 people accustomed to arithmetic learned figures 
 quicker than those of differently educated persons; 
 while the children of classical scholars more easily 
 learned Latin and Greek ; and that, notwithstand- 
 ing a few striking exceptions, the natural dullness 
 of children born of uneducated parents was pro- 
 verbial. 
 
 Every observant teacher could doubtless bear 
 witness to the same general facts, and it would be 
 easy to fill a volume with testimonies from various 
 sources illustrative and confirmatory of the law 
 under discussion. Such facts seem to establish 
 beyond question the conviction that the mother has 
 it largely in her power, by the use of suitable means, 
 to confer on her child such a tendency of mind and 
 
158 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 conformation of brain as shall not only facilitate ^*o 
 acquisition of knowledge in any specific direction, 
 but make it morally certain that such knowledge 
 will be sought and acquired. 
 
 Not only this, but they indicate also that any 
 desired type of physical beauty may be conferred, 
 even where the mother possesses no such quality. 
 
 And if this is true in respect to ordinary intel- 
 lectual abilities and physical features, it must be 
 equally true in regard to extraordinary mental 
 gifts — the qualities of genius of every type — and of 
 all moral dispositions and spiritual tendencies as 
 well. 
 
 But it will be noted that in the cases thus far 
 narrated, the moulding power appears to have been 
 exercised merely by accident or chance ; that is, 
 without any intelligent purpose on the part of 
 mothers to produce the results that have followed. 
 
 Can there be any doubt that the same or similar 
 means, if purposely and wisely adopted, and applied 
 with the greater care and precision which enlight- 
 ened intention would secure, would produce under 
 the same law, even more perfect results, and is it 
 not altogether probable that an intentional direc- 
 tion of the vital or mental forces to any particular 
 portion of the brain will cause a development and 
 activity in the corresponding portion of the brain 
 in the offspring? 
 
 There seems to be no reasonable ground on 
 which these propositions can be denied. 
 
 If then, we accept, as many do, the theory of 
 
A REASONABLE THEORY. 1 59 
 
 modern phrenology, and regard the brain as made 
 up of a congeries of organs, which are the instru- 
 ments of distinct faculties of the mind or soul, it 
 follows that if the mother during gestation main- 
 tains a special activity of any one organ, or group 
 of organs, in her brain, she thereby causes a more 
 full development of the corresponding organ or 
 group in the brain of the foetus, and thus deter- 
 mines a tendency to special activity of the faculties 
 of which such organs are the instruments, in the 
 child. 
 
 And further, it is plain that if any one organ or 
 faculty may be thus cultivated before birth, and 
 its activity enhanced for life, so may any other — 
 and so may all. 
 
 It would seem, then, clearly within the bounds 
 of possibility that a mother, by pursuing a syste- 
 matic and comprehensive metJwd, may give a well- 
 rounded and harmoniously developed organism to 
 her child — and this, notwithstanding even her own 
 defects, which under the unguided operation of 
 hereditary law, are so likely to be repeated in 
 offspring. Or it is within her power to impart a 
 leading tendency in any specific direction that she 
 may deem desirable for a life of the highest use- 
 fulness. 
 
 In this way, it would seem, may ancestral defects 
 and undesirable hereditary traits, of whatever 
 nature, or however strong, be overcome, or in a 
 good degree counterbalanced by giving greater 
 activity to counteracting tendencies ; and in this 
 
l6o PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 way, too, it would appear, may the coveted gifts 
 of genius be conferred. 
 
 But some may object that the phrenological 
 theory relative to the division of the brain into a 
 congeries of separate organs is not and cannot be 
 demonstrated. Very well. The fact still remains 
 in every one's consciousness, that our minds or 
 souls possess a variety of powers or faculties, in 
 some sense distinct ; and the evidence still holds 
 good that the mothe*-, by the special exercise of 
 any one faculty during the critical period referred 
 to, can and does create a special tendency to the 
 activity of the same faculty in her offspring, which 
 may last throughout its earthly life. 
 
 And since it is on the activity, or the lack of it, 
 of the several faculties and propensities of our na- 
 ture that the characters of individuals depend — 
 their loveliness or deformity, their morality or 
 immorality, their success or failure in life, their 
 happiness or wretchedness here and hereafter — 
 and since the welfare and progress of humanity as 
 a whole is determined by the characters of in- 
 dividuals — and since, again, the tendencies for 
 good or evil inwoven into the very woof and text- 
 ure of the embryo evidently have greater power 
 in shaping the characters and acts of individuals 
 than all the training and discipline of childhood 
 and youth — this matter of culture before birth 
 assumes an importance far above that which per- 
 tains to any and all other departments of educa- 
 tion. Hitherto it has been least and last in the 
 
RECAPITULATION. 1 6 1 
 
 estimation of mankind generally. The time must 
 
 COme when THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST, 
 
 To recapitulate : We* seem justified by present 
 physiological knowledge in stating the law of pre- 
 natal moulding to be somewhat as follows : The 
 human embryo (the structural basis of which is 
 probably contributed by the father) is formed and 
 developed in all its parts, even to the minutest 
 details, by and through the action of the vital, 
 mental and spiritual forces of the mother, which 
 forces act in and through the corresponding por- 
 tions of her own organism. And while this process 
 may go forward unconsciously, or without the 
 mother's voluntary participation or direction, in 
 which case the results are measurably uncertain or 
 chance-determined (or, perhaps, more strictly 
 speaking, shaped by influences extraneous to her 
 own will), yet she may consciously and purposely so 
 direct her activities as with a good degree of cer- 
 tainty to accomplish specially-desired ends in de- 
 termining the traits and qualities of her offspring. 
 
 In other words, it would seem to be within the 
 mother's power, by the voluntary and intelligent 
 direction of her own forces, in orderly and sys- 
 tematic methods, to both mould the physical form 
 to lines of beauty and shape the mental, moral and 
 spiritual features of her child to an extent to which 
 no limit can be assigned. 
 
 The methods by which the tendencies of off- 
 spring may be shaped before birth are indicated in 
 a general way by the facts and observations 
 
l62 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 already set forth. But that this momentous work 
 may be performed with anything like complete- 
 ness, so that not only each department, physical, 
 mental and moral, shall receive its due proportion 
 of attention, and at the proper time, but also that 
 each specific faculty of the intellect and of the 
 moral nature shall be given the requisite impetus 
 to result in a well-balanced and harmonious char- 
 acter, would seem to require the pursuit of some 
 well-devised plan or system in the application of 
 methods. 
 
 This is probably important in pre-natal as in 
 post-natal culture. No one thinks of conducting a 
 common primary school without an order of exer- 
 cises, and such a curriculum of studies as shall, by 
 progressive steps, cover the whole ground desired 
 within the allotted time. If the course of proced- 
 ure were left to chance, or to the impulse of the 
 moment, it is pretty certain that much would be 
 overlooked and neglected, and much done out of 
 place, and therefore to little purpose. So in the 
 process of embryotic moulding, if left merely to 
 the ordinary action of the laws of heredity, with 
 the chance occurrence of modifying influences, as 
 is usually the case, what else can be expected than 
 that parental or ancestral traits, good or bad, will 
 strongly preponderate in the child, with now and 
 then an erratic variation, desirable or undesirable, 
 and perhaps a sad deficiency of some faculty or 
 quality important to wholeness. Every wise and 
 loving parent must desire to confer on offspring 
 wholeness and soundness in every part. 
 
ANTECEDENT PREPARATION. 1 63 
 
 Besides, if the mother has before her mind a 
 definite plan and purpose, to the execution of 
 which she is directing and disciplining her ener- 
 gies, she will doubtless be thereby measurably 
 guarded and fortified against the often disastrous 
 effects of surprises and sudden emotions. 
 
 But it will be apparent to every one that the 
 work of pre-natal culture, however intelligently 
 and systematically undertaken, cannot effect its 
 best results if the mother's attention to the subject 
 is limited merely to the nine or twelve months 
 next preceding birth. Before attempting, then, to 
 suggest a plan for orderly and systematic pro- 
 cedure during the season of gestation, let us first 
 give some attention to the matter of antecedent 
 preparations. 
 
 Great as may be the effects produced by judi- 
 cious management during pregnane) 7 , yet these 
 effects must be subject to important modifications 
 by previous life-habits, long-indulged tendencies, 
 weaknesses, diseases of whatever nature, in both 
 parents, and in their ancestors on both sides. 
 
 It is manifestly important, then, to the best re- 
 sults, that both our habitual states and our tran- 
 sient impulses should be such as will bless and not 
 curse our offspring — important to have all these 
 sources of influences wholly on the side of noble- 
 ness, virtue, and beauty of character in all respects. 
 To this end does it not behoove every one who 
 aspires to the god-like honor of begetting a being in 
 his or her own likeness, to first enter in thorough 
 
164 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 earnest upon the work of self-improvement, self- 
 discipline, and moral and spiritual purgation? Is 
 it not incumbent upon all such by no means to 
 attempt or consent to become instrumental in ini- 
 tiating a new life until reasonably sure of not 
 imparting the taint of moral or physical evils to 
 curse its existence? Can any stronger motive to 
 self-improvement be presented to a conscientious 
 mind than this consideration affords? And can 
 any time in life be too early to begin this work ? 
 
 All should remember that children have rights, 
 which are as sacred as can be those of any other 
 beings ; and among the first of these is THE RIGHT 
 TO BE WELL-BORN. 
 
 It hardly need be said, except for the woful 
 thoughtlessness that often exists on the subject, 
 that so momentous an undertaking as the orig- 
 inating and nurturing of a young immortal — a 
 being that is to enjoy or suffer throughout eons of 
 existence, and that is to bless or curse its fellows 
 on earth through unknown generations, largely 
 according to the characteristics enstamped on it 
 by its parents — it hardly need be said that such an 
 undertaking should be left in no avoidable degree 
 to chance or accident. Above all, it should not 
 be (as it so often is) the hap-hazard result of blind 
 passion, or mere pleasure-seeking indulgence. 
 Realizing the august responsibilities involved, 
 both parents should not only act with intelligent 
 forethought and deliberate intention, but surely 
 shoild make the best preparation in themselves 
 
THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN. IDS 
 
 and their surroundings of which they are capable. 
 
 Since "like begets like," on every plane of ex- 
 istence, it is evident that the preparations referred 
 to should include every department of the being. 
 We are told that the women of ancient Sparta ex- 
 ercised in gymnasiums in order to attain the 
 highest bodily vigor, preparatory to the exercise 
 of maternity. That practice, or its equivalent, 
 may well be revived ; or better, women from child- 
 hood should be taught to practice such physical 
 exercises as will develop and preserve the best 
 bodily health and vigor. It should be remembered 
 that ordinary occupations, even of the more active 
 kinds, exercise but a part of the muscles of the 
 body. The whole should be brought into frequent 
 action for the fullest vigor. 
 
 But the physical robustness and power of en- 
 durance for which the Spartans were noted are 
 by no means all that is desirable in our day. A 
 universal culture is now demanded. The mental, 
 affectional, moral, aesthetical, and spiritual depart- 
 ments of our being require no less development 
 and fullness of expression in us, if we would do 
 our noblest work, and discharge our full duty to 
 our offspring. 
 
 But the self-culture from which these result is 
 not the work of a day, or even a year. In fact, 
 the whole previous life is none too long a period in 
 which to prepare for so serious an undertaking as 
 :he reproduction of one's self. The earlier, 
 therefore, the young of both sexes can be intel- 
 
1 66 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 ligently instructed in these matters, and impressed 
 with the importance of living for those who may 
 come after them, the better may they become fitted 
 for the highest responsibilities of life. 
 
 If the taint of physical disease, of a mental 
 unsoundness, or of moral obliquity, lurks in the 
 system of either parent, it is liable (perhaps not 
 always certain) to be infused into the germ, and 
 thus to be reproduced after its kind. 
 
 Some persons have imagined that because the 
 impregnating germ contributed by the male parent 
 is of microscopic dimensions, it matters little what 
 his character or qualities may be. But this opinion 
 is contrary to all evidence, and to the analogies of 
 the animal and vegetable worlds. The potency of 
 spiritual elements or forces is by no means deter- 
 mined by the physical dimensions of their vehicle. 
 While the mother may, no doubt, do much by 
 appropriate management toward modifying and 
 counterbalancing in manifestation the traits, good 
 or bad, of the father, nevertheless the latter evi- 
 dently furnishes a sort of substratum of character 
 which is difficult, if not impossible, of entire erad- 
 ication. Hence, in human culture, as in agriculture, 
 good seed is of no less importance than good soil. 
 This being so, the importance, on the part of both 
 parents, of attaining both physical health and men. 
 tal and moral soundness before reproduction is 
 attempted, will be apparent to every one. It is 
 plain that when once the germinal elements of dis- 
 ease and of moral evils shall have been extirpated 
 
SOME PERTINENT SUGGESTIONS. \6j 
 
 in parents, such elements cannot be transmitted to 
 offspring, and the latter will then be spared the 
 painful processes of purgation which otherwise 
 are rendered necessary. This certainly should be 
 a most potent inducement to every intending par- 
 ent to seek to attain this condition, if attainable. 
 Of its attainability we will speak further on. 
 
 Let us ask ourselves, what right have we to 
 transmit to others — to the dear offspring which 
 every true parental heart yearns to bless with every 
 good, and to guard from every evil — what right 
 have we to inflict on them the ills and weaknesses, 
 the vices and meannesses, which mar and deform 
 our own lives ? If we allow the desire for a 
 momentary gratification to overbear all these con- 
 siderations, and impel us to give origin to a new 
 life regardless of its best interests, what else may 
 we expect than that the being thus begotten in our 
 unworthy likeness will, when it comes on the 
 stage of action, prove equally indifferent to our 
 welfare and that of others? Such, alas! is the 
 general characteristic of the children of humanity 
 to-day. 
 
 But it will be asked by many doubting readers, 
 Is there practically any help for the existing state 
 of things? Are there reasonable grounds for 
 hoping that parents in general, physically diseased 
 and morally imperfect as they are, may by any 
 process of self-culture, or of spiritual regeneration 
 attain to such a state as that they shall not transmit 
 physical diseases or moral obliquities to their off- 
 
1 68 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. ' 
 
 spring? Can the sexual appetite, for example, 
 whose imperious demands are the chief obstacle 
 to such preparatory culture as has been herein 
 recommended, be so regulated by any means as to 
 admit of this culture ? 
 
 The foregoing are pertinent suggestions, and 
 deserve candid consideration. 
 
 In the past so little regard has been paid to the 
 finer laws of adaption, temperamental and spiritual, 
 between persons entering the parental relation — 
 so seldom has the sacred right of the mother to 
 choose, in accordance with her own highest moni- 
 tions, the time and the circumstances under which 
 she would assume the maternal function, been deli- 
 cately respected — so often, indeed, has she been 
 compelled, or made to believe it her religious duty 
 to accept this function at the husband's imperious 
 desire, even against the vehement protest of both 
 soul and body on her part, causing an aversion, if 
 not a loathing, which quite unfits her for the 
 proper discharge of its duties, and produces most 
 unhappy effects upon the temper and tendencies of 
 her offspring — and so shadowy is the ordinary 
 faith of even Christians in any available help or 
 guidance from superior sources in these important 
 concerns, that the common results furnish little in- 
 dication of what might be, and what will be when 
 greater light and wisdom shall have become prev- 
 alent relative to these matters. 
 
 Especially should the husband refrain from ever 
 intruding, by either demand or solicitation, against 
 
THE SACRED RIGHTS OF MOTHERS. 169 
 
 the intuitions of the partner. All such intrusions 
 are outrages of the most flagrant character, the 
 same in essence as positive physical violence, and 
 the same within as without the legal marriage rela- 
 tion. Offspring begotten when any degree of 
 reluctance or want of preparation exists on the 
 part of the mother, are robbed of a portion of their 
 birthright, and to that degree incapacitated for the 
 full enjoyment of existence. That birthright in- 
 cludes a full and loving welcome to the world. 
 Without this, what a pitiable object is a child — 
 virtually orphaned and outcast from its earliest 
 heart-throb, liable to be followed through life by a 
 sense of homelessnessandfriendlessness, a life-long 
 mourner in a vale of tears ! But a child wisely 
 desired, intelligently prepared for, begotten in 
 sweet mutual love, properly cultivated in embryo/ 
 and at length joyfully welcomed to loving arms, is 
 an object of interest and jov to all humanity. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the sad experience of com- 
 mon life, in suffering the ills entailed upon us by 
 our progenitors and in entailing the same upon our 
 offspring, there are reasons for the firm conviction 
 that provision exists in the constitution of things 
 for the overcoming of hereditary evils, so far, at 
 least, that, if transmitted at all, it shall be in only 
 an ameliorated instead of an intensified form ; if, in 
 fact, they may not be entirely eradicated in our- 
 selves. There is help at hand to aid us in this 
 work, if we sincerely seek and intelligently appty 
 the agencies within our reach. 
 
 
170 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 First, it seems evident, on careful reflection, that 
 Khe great forces of nature, the life-currents of the 
 universe, tend to health rather than to disease — to 
 physical, mental and moral soundness, rather than 
 to their opposites. Otherwise deterioration, degra- 
 dation, must have been the constant tendency of 
 the race in all the past, and utter extinction must 
 long ere this have been reached. On the contrary, 
 it is generally conceded that, notwithstanding all 
 the ignorance, disease, vice, and corruption that 
 have existed through all historic time, an actual, 
 though slow, improvement has taken place in both 
 the physical and moral status of the human race at 
 large within the historic period. 
 
 The general tendency of nature to health is also 
 seen in the recuperative force of nature — that pow- 
 er present in all living organisms which tends at 
 once to heal every wound and to cure every dis- 
 ease, and which accomplishes these results when 
 not thwarted by obstacles too great to be over- 
 come. Drugs and potions never heal ; the most 
 they do is to facilitate the operations of this inhe- 
 rent recuperative force. 
 
 In other words, it appears that health and moral 
 excellence are normal to human beings, while disease 
 and evil are abnormal. The former are in harmony 
 with the great forces of the universe, while the 
 latter are antagonistic to these forces, whose con- 
 stant tendency is to overcome and remove them. 
 
 Now it has been demonstrated, in the scientific 
 propagation of animals, that abnormal character- 
 
LIKE BEGETS LTKE. I"I 
 
 istics are far less persistent in transmission than 
 are normal ones. The tendency of nature's forces 
 is to maintain the normal type. The same law- 
 doubtless obtains in the human species. The law 
 that "like begets like " is thus subject to a modify- 
 ing- principle, and one that is full of hope for suf- 
 fering humanity. Not alone do the evils of our 
 nature tend to reproduce themselves, but by virtue 
 of this natural reversion to what is normal, health- 
 ful, improving, the goods and excellences have a 
 still better chance of survival — provided adverse in- 
 fluences can be kept in abeyance, and that the salutary 
 life-currents of the universe shall be unobstructed. 
 
 How, then, may this be done? The answer is : 
 First, by right living. 
 
 We must cease to nourish the germs of physical 
 disease and moral evil implanted in us by our pro- 
 genitors, and avoid generating more of the same 
 in ourselves. To do this we must cease those 
 unphysiological habits of diet and regimen in gen- 
 eral, and those impure habits of thought and feel- 
 ing, in which such germs have their origin. In 
 other words, we must learn the laws or conditions of 
 physical and moral health, and conform our lives to 
 them. 
 
 To be more specific, we must cease to ruin our 
 stomachs and destroy our digestive powers by the 
 use of indigestible hot bread, pastry, greasy food, 
 complicated and highly spiced dishes, and all the 
 many abominations of modern un-hygienic cookery. 
 We must abstain from slop-fed swine's flesh, that 
 
172 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 prolific generator of scrofula and trichince, and from 
 the flesh of all animals slaughtered in diseased 
 conditions, or treated after slaughtering in such a 
 manner as to fill it with disease-producing germs: 
 must also abjure those common narcotic and alco- 
 holic beverages, which, under the guise of stimu- 
 lating, only weaken and lower the tone of the 
 nervous system, creating a demand for more and 
 more of the same deceptive stimuli, until the unfor- 
 tunate victim comes to imagine them " necessaries 
 of life." We must beware, too, of inhaling the 
 foul atmospheres of unventilated apartments, 
 crowded assemblies, and miasmatic localities, 
 which are full of morbific germs. And, on the 
 other hand, we must learn to content ourselves 
 with the simple, nutritious and healthful foods, 
 chiefly from the vegetable kingdom (including, of 
 course, the cereals, fruits and nuts), which experi- 
 ence shows most conducive to bodily soundness, 
 mental vigor and moral purity ; we must be much 
 in the open air ; exercise duly all parts of the 
 muscular system ; dress rationally instead of fasJrion- 
 ably; bathe often and thoroughly, in order to rid 
 the system of effete matters which become poison- 
 ous by retention in the pores of the skin ; and, in 
 short, must practice all those rules of hygiene 
 which sanitary science has found requisite to the 
 highest bodily health. So much, at least, must 
 commend itself to the good sense of every reader. 
 The matter of dress, above alluded to, is of far 
 greater importance to general right living — not 
 
SOME SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS. 1 73 
 
 merely during the period of pregnancy, but through 
 all the previous life — than most people think ; so 
 great, indeed, as to justify further remark in this 
 connection. Any method of compressing the body 
 about the waist, chest, or abdomen tends, as every 
 one can perceive, to crowd the abdominal viscera 
 down upon the delicate parts located in the pelvic 
 region, producing irritation, inflammations, and 
 various " female weaknesses." This devitalizes the 
 organs of reproduction, and in greater or less de- 
 gree unfits them for their proper function when 
 called into use. It also greatly increases the labor 
 and dangers of child-bearing. Besides, such com- 
 pression, 'by either sex, interferes with the free* 
 circulation of the blood, tending to congest the 
 pelvic organs, and thus to stimulate inordinate 
 sexual excitement, leading to wasteful excesses. 
 These tendencies are further aggravated by the 
 wearing of an excessive amount of clothing about 
 those portions of the body, as often required by 
 fashion's dictates, keeping them at too high a 
 temperature. Such fashions are unnatural and 
 irrational, and will be discarded by all who are 
 seeking a true life. 
 
 It is plain to be seen that one who carefully re- 
 gards these conditions of health stands in a far 
 different relation to the life-giving, health-impart- 
 ing forces of the universe from that occupied by 
 one who, through a disregard of these conditions, 
 is constantly thwarting the recuperative tenden- 
 cies of nature, and is nourishing and adding to the 
 
174 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 morbid proclivities derived from ancestry. The 
 former is co-operating with the beneficent forces 
 of the universe on the side of health and improve- 
 ment; the latter is continually antagonizing the 
 same forces on the side of disease and depravation. 
 In the former the tendencies to health are likely to 
 become positive or ascendant, and hence more 
 liable to be transmitted ; in the latter the pro- 
 clivities to disease are kept in such constant 
 activity that they are almost sure to reproduce 
 themselves in offspring, and often with intensified 
 force. 
 
 But correct habits of diet and regimen are rot 
 the whole of right living. Thought and feeling 
 should also be pure and elevated. There can be 
 no question in minds well informed but that lm . 
 pure and unkind thoughts, debased, selfish and 
 malevolent feelings cherished by any one, no mat- 
 ter how secretly, generate a subtle poisonous 
 virus, which envelopes the person, and is more or 
 less imparted to all who come in contact. Persons 
 of keen and pure sensibilities often scent these im- 
 pure and malignant atmospheres, and instinctively 
 shrink from their possessors, they may not know 
 why. There are good reasons for believing that 
 many physical diseases, or at least morbid tenden- 
 cies, as well as moral perversities, have their origin 
 in the subtle, malign influences of impure thought 
 and evil passion. At all events, it is well known 
 that cheerful good-will and generous affections 
 tend to promote health of body and mind in their 
 
HOPE FOR ALL. 175 
 
 possessor, and all about him ; while selfishness, 
 hatred, revenge, and the like, tend in the opposite 
 direction. All right and pure emotions are doubt- 
 less in harmony with the life forces of the universe, 
 and thus invite their salutary action upon the 
 whole system ; while impure and malevolent feel- 
 ings are discordant with nature, repeilant to her 
 divine forces, and conducive to disorder and 
 misery. 
 
 If the foregoing suggestions are well founded, 
 then there is hope for all, based in the very consti- 
 tution of things. Improvement for the individual 
 and for the race is possible, and that without limit. 
 The grand energies of the universe are in its favor. 
 In our ills and weaknesses, our conscious basenesses 
 and evil proclivities, inherited though they may 
 have been from a long line of ancestry, we need 
 not lie prone and helpless, with no alternative 
 (except in rare instances) but either to transmit 
 these hateful qualities to our offspring, or to refrain 
 from the supreme joy of reproducing ourselves. 
 
 Should such preparations for parentage as have 
 been suggested in preceding pages be in any good 
 measure attained, it is probable that results of a 
 very desirable character would be realized without 
 recourse to any detailed plan of embryo culture 
 as outlined in what is to follow. But } T et it is 
 apparent that if these are succeeded by the wise 
 and judicious use of such further means as are 
 within the power of parents, and especially of 
 mothers during gestation, still more complete 
 results may be assured. 
 
IJ(3 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 The importance of order in the method employed 
 has already been indicated. What that order shall 
 be, the mother may doubtless infer, in a general 
 way, by observing the order in which the several 
 classes of faculties naturally unfold and arrive at 
 maturity after birth, during the periods of child- 
 hood, youth, etc. Let us then attempt a classifi- 
 cation of human instincts and faculties in the 
 general order of their development. This appears 
 to be somewhat as follows : 
 
 First. The Vital and Self-Preservative Instincts, 
 which form the basis of individual existence, are 
 the earliest to manifest themselves. The infant 
 simply eats and grows. 
 
 Second. The Domestic and Social Affections 
 ordinarily come next into prominent activity. 
 The child* begins to love its parents and care- 
 takers. 
 
 Third. The Perceptive and Observing Faculties, 
 with which are associated the Retentive and 
 Recording, are next markedly developed. The 
 child observes and remembers. 
 
 Fourth. The Constructive and Beautifying 
 Faculties next display themselves. The child 
 shows a disposition to make things, and to orna- 
 ment. 
 
 Fifth. The Directive and Regulative Faculties, 
 including the reflective intellect and the moral 
 powers, come into activity. The youth begins to 
 reason, and to feel strongly the force of moral 
 obligations. 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF ORDER. 1 77 
 
 Sixth. The Humane or Philanthropic impulse 
 asserts its sway ; and, 
 
 Seventh. The Aspirational, Worshipful, or Up- 
 ward-looking tendency usually comes latest to 
 maturity, 
 
 It is by no means claimed that human devel- 
 opment in any case follows strictly this order, nor 
 that it should be followed by mothers in any such 
 rigid way as to exclude all attention to any one 
 department out of the course named. On the 
 contrary, the several steps or stages will merge 
 more or less into each other, and some exercises 
 will doubtless be at all times in place. But it is 
 plainly out of natural order, lor instance, to stim- 
 ulate the activity of the reasoning faculties before 
 the vital forces are well established, or even before 
 the perceptive or observing pow T ers have been 
 duly cultivated. Such a process would be in 
 reverse of the order of nature, and its tendency 
 is to produce physical weaklings and intellectual 
 dreamers, who incline to ignore the solid facts of 
 existence and live in the regions of speculation. 
 A vigorous body is desirable as the basis of a 
 vigorous mind, and habits of accurate observation 
 are an essential pre-requisite to sound reasoning. 
 
 Again, it is evident that in any effort by a 
 mother to cultivate her offspring in embryo 
 through her own mental and physical action, she 
 needs to give more especial attention to those de- 
 sirable qualities, faculties or tendencies which may 
 be deficient in herself, or in the father, and most 
 
178 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 especially such as may happen to be deficient in 
 both. Those powers whose activity is in excess in 
 either parent, and those also whose activity is 
 spontaneous and easy, are likely to be transmitted 
 without special effort. The more difficult it is, then, 
 to exercise any desirable faculty in either parent, the 
 greater the need of its exercise in the mother during 
 gestation, in order that the offspring may not suffer 
 from the deficiency. 
 
 To give specific directions for the culture of 
 each and every faculty, when deficient, would ex- 
 tend this chapter far beyond its proposed limits, 
 but a few general suggestions will enable the 
 intelligent reader to clearly apprehend the method, 
 and to make the application as required in the 
 individual case. 
 
 Every one can readily understand that any oft- 
 repeated exercise of muscle or of mental faculty 
 (unless over-done) tends to develop and strengthen 
 such muscle or faculty. It does this in the 
 mother, and, if the law of fcetal moulding has been 
 correctly stated in the foregoing pages, it must 
 have the same effect through the mother upon the 
 embryo. For example, if the mother (at the 
 proper stage in pregnancy) takes care to exercise 
 her own muscles freely by walking, light gym- 
 nastics, bathing, etc., the probabilities are, other 
 things being favorable, that she will thereby not 
 only improve her own health, but at the same 
 time confer upon her child a vigorous muscular 
 system. If she, at the proper time, exercises her 
 
CAUSE AND EFFECT. 179 
 
 mind somewhat persistently, for example, in reck 
 oning or calculating numbers, she will thereby 
 increase her own arithmetical faculty, and simul- 
 taneously increase the molecular deposits in that 
 part of the fcetal brain which is the organ of calcu- 
 lation, according to modern phrenology — at all 
 events will be likely to confer upon her child the 
 power to become a good arithmetician. If the 
 mother spends any considerable portion of her 
 time in philosophic study or thought, in efforts to 
 understand the "whys and wherefores of things," 
 she thereby exercises and expands her own cause- 
 discerning faculty {Causality), and insures its ac- 
 tivity in her offspring. So, if she practices 
 thoughtful and unselfish kindness toward those 
 about her, and is benevolent to the needy and 
 suffering, she enstamps the same noble trait 
 {Benevolence) upon the unborn ; and if she at all 
 times firmly adheres to the right because it is 
 right, she keeps her own conscience ever clear, 
 and imparts to the coming one that priceless 
 quality, Conscientiousness. So of all the other 
 faculties. 
 
 In short, reading, thought, conversation or any 
 employment which occupies the mind in any 
 special direction, and thus calls into prolonged 
 exercise any specific faculty or set of faculties in 
 the mother, must tend to modify the mental and 
 cerebral development of the embryo in such a way 
 as in all probability will determine, to a large ex- 
 tent, its capacities and tendencies in all after life. 
 
180 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 The whole matter is thus simple and compre- 
 hensible to the most ordinary capacity 
 
 Where any one faculty or tendency is in excess 
 of a well-balanced character, in either of the par- 
 ents, and deficient in the other, it may reasonably 
 be expected that the excess on the one side may 
 be counterbalanced by the lack on the other — 
 except when, as is sometimes the case, one parent 
 overwhelmingly preponderates over the other in 
 imparting the characteristics of the child — a result 
 due, perhaps, to the possession of greater physical 
 or mental vigor at the time of inception. 
 
 Where the same faculties or tendencies are in 
 excess in both parents, the probabilities are that 
 the excess will be increased in the offspring to the 
 extent, perhaps, of creating a deformity, or an un- 
 desirable one-sidedness of character. In such a 
 case, the propriety of restraint, instead of culture, 
 would seem to be apparent. But it is suggested 
 that such restraint may best be sought: indirectly ; 
 that is, by special efforts to cultivate and exercise 
 the opposite or counterbalancing faculties, rather 
 tb?m to attempt repression by direct exercise of 
 the will on the excessive tendency. For example, 
 should the selfish proclivities or passions tend to in- 
 ordinate activity, endeavor to cultivate and exercise 
 more fully the faculties classed as Directive and 
 Regulative — that is, the Reasoning powers, the 
 Conscience and Benevolence. This will be level- 
 ing up instead of down, thus making more of the 
 wK/le man or woman by enlarging the better side. 
 
MOTHERS SHOULD KNOW THEMSELVES. l8l 
 
 Besides, it is probable that fixing the mind upon 
 any particular faculty or propensity, in an effort 
 to repress its action by direct will-force, may tend, 
 by sending the vital fluids to the cerebral organ 
 of such faculty, to increase rather than diminish 
 its activity ; whereas, the drawing of these fluids 
 to other parts of the brain, by increasing the ac- 
 tivity of the latter, will naturally lessen the action 
 in those which it is desirable to repress. This, 
 doubtless, furnishes the reason why efforts to over- 
 come inordinate appetites by force of will are so 
 seldom successful. 
 
 Where deficiencies exist in the same faculties 
 in both parents, of course there will be required 
 more assiduous attention to the means of culture 
 by the mother, if she would have these deficiencies 
 supplied, and her offspring saved from the disa- 
 bilities and misfortunes that are likely to result. 
 
 If the foregoing suggestions are at all in the 
 right direction, it plainly follows that it behooves 
 all prospective parents, and especially mothers, 
 who would confer upon their children healthful 
 and well-balanced organisms, to first thoroughly 
 know themselves. Not only should the}' intelli- 
 gently understand their own respective physical 
 conditions, as regards healthfulness, adaptation of 
 temperaments, constitutional tendencies, etc., but 
 also they should have a just estimate of their own 
 mental powers and moral characteristics in all par- 
 ticulars. And since few persons are competent to 
 know themselves accurately in either of the above 
 
i82 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 named respects, it is well to consult with intelli- 
 gent and judicious friends, or with competent 
 professional advisers, if such can be found, who 
 are skilled in the detection of physical, mental and 
 moral characteristics, and will faithfully point out 
 both defects and redundances. It may be true 
 that there are few persons now to be found in any 
 of our communities who are fully qualified to give 
 needed advice in these momentous matters ; but it 
 is believed that as public attention shall be turned 
 in this direction, and the want become felt, such 
 advisers will appear. 
 
 The specific measures which seem adapted to the 
 several successive stages into which embryo culture 
 may be divided, in accordance with the suggestion 
 already made regarding an orderly method of 
 procedure. 
 
 First stage. — It seems scarcely to admit of ques- 
 tion that the first thing to be done, in the order of 
 time, is to secure to the new immortal the basis of 
 a good physical organization, with strong vital 
 powers. If the parents, and especially the mother, 
 have given proper attention to their own personal 
 preparation in all respects, as hereinbefore sug- 
 gested, a good beginning will have been made. 
 But the mother should endeavor by all means to 
 maintain throughout the whole period of gestation 
 the best possible condition of bodily health and 
 vigor. Neither too much labor nor care, nor too 
 little, should be undertaken. During the earlier 
 months, while the foundations, so to speak, of the 
 
THE FIRST STAGE. 1 83 
 
 child's physical constitution are being laid, open 
 air exercise, gymnastics, bathing-, riding 1 , travel, 
 with the best diet, proper dress, cheerful compan- 
 ionship — in short, everything that will contribute 
 to the highest physical vigor — should be availed of 
 as far as practicable. At later stages a greater 
 amount of repose and seclusion is naturally sought, 
 and travel and the more active forms of exercise 
 cannot so well be participated in. 
 
 The question, what constitutes the best diet dur- 
 ing pregnancy, will be fully discussed in another 
 chapter, and cannot be treated at length here. The 
 * good sense of every reader will suggest that the diet 
 ought to be regulated, not by custom or fashion, 
 or the dictates of a perverted appetite, but by 
 a thoughtful and intelligent consideration of what 
 is best adapted to supply the needs and promote 
 the healthy functions of the organism, with special 
 adaptations to the circumstances of the case. 
 
 During the earlier stages of pregnancy, as well 
 as at all subsequent periods, it is desirable that 
 the mother have at hand, for frequent contem- 
 plation, some of the best works of art, in statuary, 
 or pictures, or both, as models of the beautiful and 
 graceful in form, and of the amiable and noble in 
 expression. Perhaps some one admired figure 
 may be chosen, to be copied by the mother's won- 
 derful electrotyping power in her living work of 
 art ; but care should be taken that it be one in 
 which goodness as well as physical beauty is bodied 
 forth. 
 
1 84 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 In this is to be found one of the noblest uses of 
 art ; and there can be no doubt that the works of 
 the great masters have had more effect than the 
 world imagines in producing and multiplying forms 
 of beauty and manliness through impressions 
 made on the minds of matrons. 
 
 It is said that travelers in Italy, that land of 
 paintings and sculpture, are often struck with the 
 frequency with which the lovely features of the 
 Madonna are to be seen in the faces of children of 
 even the uncultured peasantry. When it is re- 
 membered that almost jvery church and chapel in 
 that country is provided with a representation of 
 a Virgin and Child, from the hand often of some 
 master of the noble art, and that these pictures are 
 regarded with devout reverence by the common 
 people, it is easy to see whence come those beau- 
 tiful faces of Italian children. 
 
 The several specific instincts or propensities of 
 the Vital and Self-Preservative group, included in 
 our first class, are, according to the phrenological 
 system, termed as follows : I, Vitativeness, or love 
 and tenacity of life ; 2, Alimentiveness, desire for 
 an enjoyment of food ; 3, Destructiveness, or ex- 
 ecutive power, ability to overcome obstacles ; 4, 
 Combativeness, or self-defense; 5, Acquisitiveness, or 
 disposition to own and accumulate ; 6, Secretiveness, 
 tact, ability to keep one's own counsel. 
 
 This analysis and these definitions, let it be re- 
 marked, may be neither strictly accurate nor ex- 
 haustive, yet they may answer practical purposes 
 
THE NOBLEST USE OF ART. 1 85 
 
 until better can be furnished. And the same 
 remarks apply to all the groupings and definitions 
 to be hereafter given. The phrenological analysis 
 and nomenclature of instincts and faculties is used 
 here, not because it is entirely satisfactory, but be- 
 cause it appears better adapted to the purpose in 
 view than any other which the author has met 
 with. 
 
 It should be noted that none of the propensities 
 above specified, when rightly defined, can be dis- 
 pensed with in a fully rounded character. They 
 are not evil in themselves, nor are their organs (if 
 such exist) " bad organs," as some have supposed. 
 It is their overplus, or over-action as compared 
 with that of others, that is bad. A deficiency in 
 any one of these basic instincts of human nature 
 constitutes in that particular a weak and deficient 
 character. 
 
 Second stage. — Next in order after the vital in- 
 stincts, and to some extent simultaneous with 
 them, comes the development of the domestic and 
 social affections, or the loves. These precede, in 
 a general way, the manifestations of intellect. 
 That is, the child ordinarily loves before it reasons 
 to any extent. It would seem appropriate, there- 
 fore, that the mother, before applying herself to 
 special exercises for intellectual culture, should 
 see to it that any deficiencies that may exist in the 
 affectional department are provided against, as far 
 as may be, by appropriate self-training. If her 
 own personal affections are kept in lively and well- 
 
I 86 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 balanced exercise, she may expect that her off- 
 spring will be well endowed in this department. 
 
 The several divisions of the affectional group of 
 faculties recognized by phrenologists are the fol- 
 lowing: i, Amativeness, or attachment to the op- 
 posite sex; 2, Conjugality, desire to pair, or love for 
 the partner; 3, Parental Love (philoprogenitive- 
 ness), or love of children and pets ; 4, Adhesiveness, 
 (friendship), attachment to friends ; 5, Inhabitive- 
 ness y love of home and country. 
 
 Third stage. — -Next in natural order of promi- 
 nent activity, appear to come the observing or 
 perceptive powers, intimately associated with 
 which are the communicative and the retentive or 
 recording faculties. These, as designated by phre- 
 nologists are : 1, Individuality ', or power to indi- 
 vidualize or distinguish and separately observe 
 objects (the investigating faculty) ; 2, Form, or per- 
 ception of shapes, outlines, memory of faces, etc.; 
 3, Size, the power to notice and remember dimen- 
 sions; 4, Weight, or perception of forces ; 5, Color, 
 appreciation and love of colors, tints, etc.; 6, Order, 
 love of arrangement, system ; 7, Calculation, or 
 perception of numbers and their relations (tne 
 arithmetical faculty) ; 8, Eventuality, memory of 
 events, facts, dates, etc. (the historic faculty) ; 9, 
 Locality, observation and memory of places, scen- 
 ery, directions, etc. (the geographical faculty); 10, 
 Timey sense of duration, capacity for punctuality ; 
 11, Tune, the musical faculty ; and 12, Language, or 
 the power of verbal expression. To these are 
 
THE PROGRESSIVE STAGES. 1 87 
 
 closely related the five external senses— feeling, 
 seeing, hearing, taste and smell. 
 
 Deficiency in any one of these faculties is not 
 desirable — in some it is a sad misfortune. 
 
 Exercise for the "culture of the observing and 
 perceptive faculties, it is suggested, may properly 
 commence about the third month ; and it is re- 
 peated that special attention should be given to 
 those which are lacking, or which are least in- 
 clined to spontaneous exercise, in the mother, or in 
 both parents. 
 
 Aids in the systematic culture of these faculties 
 may doubtless be obtained from modern element- 
 ary works on object teaching for primary schools 
 and kindergartens, The defects of such works, or 
 perhaps their entire absence, may be readily sup- 
 plied by intelligent mothers, when they once un- 
 derstand the thing to be done, and its importance. 
 
 Fourth stage. — The next group of faculties, in 
 order of normal development in life, embraces 
 what have been termed the constructive and beau- 
 tifying powers, sometimes designated as the semi- 
 intellectual group. These in phrenological par- 
 lance are named : 1, Constructiveness, or ingenuity 
 (the building and mechanical faculty); 2, Ideality, 
 love of the beautiful and refined (the poetical 
 faculty) ; 3, Sublimity, sense of the grand and sub- 
 lime ; 4, Mir thf ulness, or love of pleasantry, wit. 
 Under the same general division may be classed : 5, 
 Imitation, or the power to copy, represent, mimic ; 
 and 6, Suavity, or agreeableness, blandness. 
 
1 88 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 Closely associated with this group are also the 
 Reasoning and Reflective, and the Moral and 
 Regulative faculties, all of which may be classed 
 together as the Directive and Regulative group. 
 These include what are phrenologically termed : 
 i, Causality, or power to apprehend first principles, 
 to trace causes, etc. ; 2, Comparison, or power to 
 analyze, classify, and generalize ; 3, Human Nature, 
 or sagacity in discernment of character; 4, 
 Cautiousness, or prudence ; 5, Continuity, power of 
 consecutiveness or application ; 6, Approbativeness, 
 regard for the good opinion of others, ambition ; 
 7, Self-Esteem, or self-respect ; 8, Conscientiousness, 
 love of right and abhorrence of wrong ; and 9, 
 Firmness, or perseverance. 
 
 Nothing need be said, to any intelligent reader, 
 as to the importance of each and every one of 
 these faculties, in due exercise, to the formation of 
 a well balanced or perfect character; and the 
 proper methods of their culture, respectively, are 
 to some extent suggested by the names given 
 them. 
 
 Special exercises for the development in the 
 foetus of the brain organs through which these 
 faculties may manifest themselves, would seem to 
 be in order after those adapted to the preceding 
 group — say about from the fifth to the seventh 
 month. 
 
 Fifth stage. — In the last and highest group of 
 human faculties — last and highest whether consid- 
 ered with reference to their value in human char- 
 
THINGS TO BE AVOIDED. 1 89 
 
 acter, or the period at which they ordinarily arrive 
 at maturity in the individual and in the race — we 
 find what may be classed as the Humanitarian or 
 Beneficent, the Religious or Worshipful, and the 
 Aspirational, Spiritual, or Upward-Looking pow- 
 ers. These are designated as: 1, Benevolence, 
 philanthropy, or universal love; 2, Veneration, 
 reverence or worship ; 3, Hope, or cheerful expect- 
 ancy ; 4, Spirituality, aspiration, prescience, faith, 
 or power to apprehend spiritual realities, and to 
 lay hold on unseen verities. 
 
 These constitute, indeed, the crowning attri- 
 butes of human nature. No character can be re- 
 garded as complete and symmetrical in which they 
 are not in full and harmonious exercise. If any of 
 this group, as of the preceding, are deficient in 
 either parent, the expectant mother cannot dis- 
 charge her full duty to the unborn unless she 
 make earnest efforts to supply the deficiency by 
 self-culture before its birth. The definitions of the 
 several faculties as given above will suggest the 
 nature of the exercises by which such culture may 
 be attained. 
 
 While the faculties of this group should unques- 
 tionably be at all times kept in full exercise for the 
 )arent's highest good, yet their special culture 
 may well occupy attention during the final weeks 
 of the gestatory period — say from the seventh to 
 the ninth month, inclusive. 
 
 Things to be avoided. — The prospective mother, 
 in her efforts to improve herself and to worthily 
 

 190 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 endow her offspring, should by all means avoid 
 anxiety, over-carefulness, an oppressive fear of 
 mistake, and a painful sense of duty. These feel- 
 ings would tend to enstamp upon the coming one 
 an over-anxious, foreboding, painfully-careful dispo- 
 sition, than which hardly a greater evil can be 
 entailed. On the contrary, everything should be 
 done with a cheerful delight, because its purpose 
 is to confer blessings on an object of the tenderest 
 affection, and it should be done with a joyful confi- 
 dence as to the result. No greater blessing can be 
 conferred than that of a cheerful, hopeful, helpful 
 disposition, that delights in bestowing good upon 
 others, and that meets all the vicissitudes of life 
 with a calm trustfulness. And there can be no doubt 
 that such characteristics are determined in a large 
 degree by the mother's state during gestation. 
 
 It hardly seems necessary in this connection to 
 advert to the importance of avoiding all exercise 
 of malevolent feelings, such as anger, envy, jeal- 
 ousy, hatred, revenge, covetousness, or wrong 
 desire of any nature, since all readers of the fore- 
 going pages must understand the danger that such 
 emotions, if indulged, may implant in the embryo 
 the subtle germs, from which will grow in after 
 years the bitterest fruits. 
 
 Another thing important to be avoided, as far 
 as practicable, by the mother, is the presence of 
 disagreeable and unprofitable associates of either 
 sex. The untoward mental and moral influence 
 that may be excited through the mother upon the 
 
THE FATHER'S DUTY. 191 
 
 forming child, by the frivolous and unseemly con- 
 versation of persons unappreciative of the nobility 
 and grandeur of the work which occupies her — 
 the effect of coarse, indelicate speeches and the 
 like — can be readily understood. But beyond 
 this, there may be persons whose atmospheres are 
 repugnant, and from whom the matron feels 
 an instinctive shrinking. On no account should 
 she allow herself, or be permitted by others, to be 
 tortured by the presence of such repulsive indi- 
 viduals, whether as companions or domestics. 
 There is reason to believe that the disagreeable 
 characteristics of such repugnant persons are 
 sometimes, by an occult law of transfer, enstamped 
 upon offspring. At all events their influence can- 
 not be otherwise than detrimental to the best 
 devlopment of the embryo. 
 
 It scarcely need be said that the father should 
 take equal interest with the mother, for he is 
 equally concerned in the object in view, namely, 
 the production of noble and worthy offspring. 
 Having given due attention to his own antecedent 
 preparations, he may perform essential service in 
 the proper development of the embryo before 
 birth. He can accompany and assist the mother, 
 to some extent at least, in the various exercises 
 appropriate to- the successive stages of its un- 
 folding, provide the proper facilities therefor, so 
 far as practicable, and he can lend his sympathy 
 and encouragement at every step, guarding her 
 against all untoward conditions or influences, and 
 
192 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 thus helping to secure such a result as will be a 
 source of mutual joy forever. 
 
 If on the contrary, he manifests indifference, 
 neglect, or untoward conduct of any kind, he may 
 thwart and defeat the best efforts the mother can 
 put forth, and may excite in her such feelings of 
 depression, disappointment, grief, perhaps of re- 
 pining, aversion, or disgust, as shall enstamp upon 
 the child she is bearing characteristics which will 
 prove a life-long burden or a curse. Many a child 
 has been impressed before its birth with repug- 
 nance and dread toward its father, caused by his 
 selfish or harsh treatment of the mother during 
 this critical period, which can never be fully over- 
 come in after life. Such a child is robbed of its 
 birthright in paternal affection, and such a father 
 robs himself of the bliss of filial love and con- 
 fidence. 
 
 In addition to the traits of a well-balanced char- 
 acter, it is doubtless desirable that parents should 
 implant in each child a tendency to and aptitude 
 for some special occupation or form of usefulness. 
 Such an inborn tendency and aptitude greatly en- 
 hance the probabilities of success in any pursuit 
 that may be followed in life ; and the want of it 
 often results in failure, poverty, vagabondism, and 
 crime. 
 
 But how may special tendencies and aptitudes 
 be imparted ? The facts and suggestions already 
 submitted clearly indicate the methods. Let the 
 parents, during the ten or twelve months ante- 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF ASPIRATIONS. I93 
 
 cedent to the birth of a child, interest themselves 
 in, and prominently but cheerfully devote their 
 minds to the occupation, profession, or department 
 of human interest to which they wish to destine 
 the child. If they cannot practically engage in 
 the chosen occupation, they may yet think, talk, 
 read and study about it, and perhaps take oppor- 
 tunities to witness the labors of others who are 
 engaged in it, and thus become conversant with its 
 details. This, if done with pleasure and delight, 
 can hardly fail of producing the desired result. 
 In addition to all this is the power of aspiration. 
 Let the mother cherish strong aspirations, breathed 
 in earnest prayers, that her child may be what she 
 desires. The psychological influence of such as- 
 pirations at such a time cannot reasonably be 
 questioned. No doubt, in the condition of recep- 
 tivity or impressibility resultant from yearning 
 aspiration, or some other adequate cause, in one or 
 both parents, at the time of inception or subse- 
 quently, is to be found the explanation of many 
 cases of the occasional endowment of offspring 
 with qualities far superior to what either parent 
 has possessed. 
 
 In so important an undertaking as the initiation 
 of an immortal being, doubtless it is well to have 
 due regard to times and seasons. Though the 
 matter is one of much delicacy, yet these pages 
 would be incomplete without some reference to it. 
 In the animal kingdom we observe that, as a gen- 
 eral rule, instinct leads to the bringing forth of 
 
194 PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 
 
 young in the springtime, or in early summer. 
 That seems to be Nature's chosen and orderly time 
 for the ushering in of new life in all departments. 
 Probably human beings may well give heed to an 
 intimation so broadly given. 
 
 To what grander achievement can either wo- 
 man or man aspire than to be an artist in that 
 noblest of arts, the moulding and rearing of im- 
 mortal beings? Fadeless renown has crowned the 
 efforts of gifted sculptors and limners in the past 
 to portray the perfect ideal of the " human form 
 divine." That field of high art is open to compar- 
 atively few competitors — those fortunately en- 
 dowed with rare genius. But there is a field of 
 higher art, worthy of still greater honor — as much 
 greater as the living perfect man is better than a 
 senseless image. And this field is open to almost 
 every one, even the humblest, through the means 
 set forth in the foregoing chapter. Yes ! the god- 
 like privilege is brought within the reach of the 
 great mass of those now entering the prime of 
 manhood and womanhood, as well as of those who 
 have not yet passed its noon-time, of endowing with 
 the noble gifts of genius their own sons and daughter s, 
 however lowly born. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN* 
 
 For ages, womankind has submitted, not al- 
 ways uncomplainingly, it is true, but evidently 
 without hope of any redemption from the pains 
 and perils of maternity. The object sought in this 
 chapter is to suggest such measures as will afford 
 an assurance of safety and a mitigation, if not com- 
 plete redemption, from such suffering. If woman 
 was made for maternity, then it is evident that the 
 proper exercise of this function should be attended 
 by the highest health, enjoyment and happiness. 
 That it is not so in any case indicates that some- 
 thing is wrong, and that the kindly purpose of Na- 
 ture has been thwarted at some point. There is 
 little question that proper attention to the laws of 
 health, as regards diet, regimen, clothing, etc., will 
 secure to any well-organized and well-mated wo- 
 man exemption*from most, if not all, of the suffer- 
 ings and dangers now usually considered incident 
 to child-bearing. 
 
 Doubtless, woman must endure some burdens 
 and suffering to the end of time, but the accounts 
 given by travelers of the marvelous ease, quick- 
 
 *The above is the title of a little book by M. L. Holbrook, M. D. 
 (195) 
 
I96 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 ness, painlessness and freedom from disablement 
 with which many savage women bring forth chil- 
 dren, are well known. There is abundant reason 
 for believing that among some savage races neither 
 pregnancy nor labor interrupts the usual avocations 
 and movements of the mother, except, perhaps, for 
 an hour or two at the birth itself. It is not, how- 
 ever, so generally known that the records of med- 
 ical observations contain accounts of a number of 
 cases of almost equally complete contradictions of 
 what is commonly considered a primal and uni- 
 versal curse upon humanity. 
 
 Dr. Tuke, a high authority, says : "Parturition 
 itself, according to the general testimony of trav- 
 elers interferes much less and for a shorter period 
 with the healthy action of the body and mind 
 among savage nations, than among the luxurious 
 daughters of artificial life." 
 
 Dr. Gaillard Thomas says : " Neither appre- 
 ciation of, nor desire for physical excellence suffi- 
 ciently exists among refined women of our day. 
 Our young women are too willing to be delicate, 
 fragile, and incapable of endurance. They dread 
 above all things the glow and hue of health, the 
 rotundity and beauty of muscularity, the comely 
 shapes which the great masters gave to Venus de 
 Medieis and Venus de Milo. All these attributes 
 are viewed as coarse and unladylike, and she is re- 
 garded as most to be envied whose complexion 
 wears the livery of disease, whose muscular de- 
 velopment is beyond the suspicion of embonpoint. 
 

 TESTIMONY OF PHYSICIANS. 197 
 
 and whose waist can almost be spanned by her 
 own hands. As a result, how often do we see our 
 matrons dreading the process of child-bearing, as 
 if it were an abnormal and destructive one ; 
 fatigued and exhausted by a short walk, or ordi- 
 nary household cares ; choosing houses with spec- 
 ial reference to freedom from one extra flight of 
 stairs, and commonly debarred the one great ma- 
 ternal privilege of nourishing their own off- 
 spring. These are they who furnish employment 
 for the gynecologist, and who fill our homes with 
 invalids and sufferers." 
 
 Dr. Dewees says : " Pain in childbirth is a mor- 
 bid symptom ; that it is a perversion of nature 
 caused by modes of living not consistent with the 
 most healthy condition of the system, and that 
 such a regimen as should insure such a completely 
 healthy condition might be counted on with cer- 
 tainty to do away with such pain." 
 
 The great English scientist, Professor Huxley, 
 says : " We are indeed fully prepared to believe 
 that the bearing of children may and ought to 
 become as free from danger and long debility to 
 the civilized woman as it is to the savage." 
 
 The following paragraphs, from one of the 
 essays in Dr. Montgomery's classical work on 
 Pregnancy, are interesting, as giving circum- 
 stantial details of cases in illustration of the belief 
 in the practicability of painless parturition : 
 
 " In a letter to me, Dr. Douglas states that he 
 was called about six A. M., September 26, 1828, to 
 attend a Mrs. D., residing on Eccles street. 
 
I98 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 "On his arrival he found the house in the utmost 
 confusion, and was told that the child had been 
 born before the messenger was dispatched for the 
 doctor. From the lady herself he learned that, 
 about half an hour previously she had been awak- 
 ened from a natural sleep by the alarm of a 
 daughter about five years old, who slept with her. 
 This alarm was occasioned by the little girl feel- 
 ing the movements, and hearing the crying of an 
 infant in the bed. To the mother's great surprise 
 she had brought forth her child without any con- 
 sciousness of the fact. A lady of great respec- 
 tability, the wife of a peer of the realm, was 
 actually delivered once in her sleep ; she immedi- 
 ately awakened her husband, being alarmed at 
 finding one more in bed than was before. I have 
 elsewhere mentioned the case of a patient of mine 
 who bore eight children without ever having 
 labor pains. Her deliveries were so sudden and 
 void of sensible effort that in more than one in- 
 stance they took place under most awkward cir- 
 cumstances, but without any suffering." 
 
 Dr. Holbrook says: "Those women of savage 
 nations who bear children without pain, live much 
 in the open air, take much exercise, and are phy- 
 sically active and healthy to a degree greatly 
 beyond their more civilized sisters. These in- 
 stances tend directly to prove that parturition is 
 likely to be painless in proportion as the mother is 
 physically perfect, and in a perfect condition of 
 health. They certainly tend even more strongly 
 
EXPERIENCE OF ELIZABETH C. STANTON. 1 99 
 
 to prove that pain is not an absolutely necessary 
 attendant of parturition." 
 
 Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in a lecture to ladies, 
 thus strongly states her views regarding maternity 
 and painless parturition : 
 
 " We must educate our daughters to think that 
 motherhood is grand, and that God never cursed 
 it. And the curse, if it be a curse, may be 
 rolled off, as man has rolled away the curse of 
 labor ; as the curse has been rolled from the de- 
 scendants of Ham. My mission among women is 
 to preach this new gospel. If you suffer, it is not 
 because you are cursed of God, but because you 
 violate his laws. What an incubus it would take 
 from woman could she be educated to know that 
 the pains of maternity are no curse upon her kind. 
 We know that among Indians the squaws do not 
 suffer in child-birth. They will step aside from 
 the ranks, even on the march, and return in a short 
 time bearing with them the new-born child. What 
 an absurdity, then, to suppose that only enlight- 
 ened Christian women are cursed. But one word 
 of fact is worth a volume of philosophy; let me 
 give you some of my own experience. I am the 
 mother of seven children. My girlhood was spent 
 mostly in the open air. I early imbibed the idea 
 that a girl is just as good as a boy, and I carried it 
 out. I would walk five miles before breakfast, or 
 ride ten on horseback. After I was married, I 
 wore my clothing sensibly. The weight hung en- 
 tirely on my shoulders. I never compressed my 
 
200 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 body out of its natural shape. When my first 
 four children were born, I suffered very little. I 
 then made up my mind that it was totally unne- 
 cessary for me to suffer at all ; so I dressed lightly, 
 walked every day, lived as much as possible in 
 the open air, ate no condiments, and took proper 
 care of myself. The night before the birth of the 
 child I walked three miles. The child was born 
 without a particle of pain. I bathed it and dressed 
 it myself, and it weighed ten and one-half pounds. 
 The same day I dined with the family. Every- 
 body said I would surely die, but I never had a 
 moment's inconvenience from it. I know this is 
 not being delicate and refined, but if you would 
 be vigorous and healthy, in spite of the diseases of 
 your ancestors, and your own disregard of nature's 
 laws, try it." 
 
 An abstemious diet, during the early period of 
 pregnancy, is essential, as the habit of body, at 
 that time, is usually feverish and inflammatory. 
 
 A lady who is enciente may depend upon it that 
 the less stimulants she takes at these times the bet- 
 ter it will be both for herself and for her infant; 
 the more kind will be her labor and her recovery, 
 the more vigorous and healthy will be her child. 
 
 It is a mistaken notion that she requires more 
 nourishment during early pregnancy than at any 
 other time ; she, if anything, requires less. It has 
 often been asserted that a lady who is pregnant 
 ought to eat very heartily, as she has two to pro- 
 vide for. When it is taken into account that during 
 
A MISTAKEN NOTION. 201 
 
 pregnancy she ceases to menstruate, and that there 
 is no drain on that score; and when it is also con- 
 sidered how small the ovum containing the embryo 
 is, not being larger for the first two or three 
 months than a hen's egg, it will be seen how futile 
 is the assertion. A wife in early pregnancy does 
 not require more than at another time ; if any- 
 thing, she requires less. Again, during pregnancy, 
 especially in the early stage, she is unusually more 
 or less sick, feverish, and irritable, and a super- 
 abundance of food would only add fuel to the fire, 
 and would increase her sickness, fever, and irrita- 
 bility. Moreover, she frequently suffers from 
 heartburn and from indigestion. Can anything be 
 more absurd when such is the case than to overload 
 a stomach already loaded with food which it is -not 
 able to digest? No, let Nature in this, as in every- 
 thing else, be her guide, and she will not then go 
 far wrong! When she is further advanced in her 
 pregnancy — that is, after she has quickened — her 
 appetite generally improves, and she is much bet- 
 ter in health than she was before ; indeed, after 
 she has quickened, she is frequently in better health 
 than she has ever been. The appetite is now in- 
 creased. Nature points out that she requires 
 more nourishment than she did at first, for this 
 reason ; the foetus is now rapidly growing in size, 
 and consequently requires more support from the 
 mother. The food of a pregnant woman should 
 now be increased in quantity, but let it be both 
 light and nourishing. 
 
202 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 The food taken cannot be too plain; highly 
 seasoned dishes ought to be avoided. Roasted 
 apples, ripe pears, raspberries, strawberries, 
 grapes, tamarinds, figs, Muscatel raisins, stewed 
 rhubarb, stewed or baked pears, stewed prunes, 
 the inside of ripe gooseberries, and the juice of 
 oranges, are particularly beneficial ; they quench 
 the thirst, open the bowels, and help to make par- 
 turition easy and painless. 
 
 Within the past few years the theory has been 
 advanced by physiologists that if a pregnant 
 woman subsists upon food, the elements of which 
 do not nourish and develop the osseous tissue, the 
 cranial structure will thereby be rendered pliable, 
 and labor thus be made comparatively easy and 
 painless. In 1841 this idea was first advanced, in 
 a small pamphlet published by a Mr. Rowbotham 
 — a chemist, of London. His wife, in two previous 
 .confinements, had been a great sufferer, and he 
 feared she would not survive the third. 
 
 His theory was that, "in proportion as a woman 
 subsists during pregnancy upon food that is free 
 from earthy and bony matter, will she avoid pain 
 and danger in. delivery ; hence, the more ripe fruit, 
 acid fruit in particular, and the less of other kinds 
 of food, particularly of bread or pastry of any 
 kind, is consumed, the less will be the danger and 
 suffering in childbirth. 
 
 "The subject of this experiment had, within 
 three years, given birth to two children, and not 
 only suffered extremely in the parturition, but for 
 
MRS. ROWBOTHAM S EXPERIMENT. 203 
 
 two or three months previous to delivery iier 
 general health was very indifferent, her lower ex- 
 tremities exceedingly swollen and painful ; the 
 veins so full and prominent as to be almost bursting; 
 in fact, to prevent such a catastrophe, bandages 
 had to be applied ; and for the last few weeks of 
 gestation, her size and weight were such as to 
 prevent her attending to her usual duties. She 
 had on this occasion, two years and a half after 
 her last delivery, advanced full seven months in 
 pregnancy before she commenced the experiment 
 at her husband's earnest instance ; her legs and 
 feet were, as before, considerably swollen ; the 
 veins distended and knotty, and her health dimin- 
 ishing. 
 
 " She began the experiment in the first week of 
 January, 1841. She commenced by eating an 
 apple and an orange the first thing in the morning, 
 and again at night. This was continued for about 
 four days, when she took just before breakfast, in 
 addition to the apple and orange, the juice of a 
 lemon mixed with sugar, and at breakfast two or 
 three roasted apples, taking a very small quantity 
 of her usual food, viz., wheaten bread and butter. 
 During the forenoon she took an orange or two, 
 and an apple. For dinner she took fish or flesh in 
 a small quantity, and potatoes, greens and apples, 
 the apples sometimes peeled and cut into pieces ; 
 sometimes boiled whole with the potatoes ; some- 
 times roasted before the fire, and afterward mixed 
 with sugar. In the afternoon she sucked an 
 
204 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 orange or ate an apple or some grapes, and 
 always took some lemon juice mixed with sugar or 
 syrupo At first the fruits acted strongly on the 
 stomach and intestines, but this soon ceased, and 
 she could take several lemons without incon- 
 venience. For supper she had again roasted 
 apples or a few oranges, and rice or sago boiled 
 in milk ; sometimes the apples, peeled and cored, 
 were boiled along with the rice or sago. On 
 several occasions she took for supper apples and 
 raisins, or figs with an orange cut among them, and 
 sometimes all stewed together. Two or three 
 times a week she took a teaspoonful of a mixture 
 made of the juice of two oranges, one lemon, half 
 a pound of grapes, and a quarter of a pound of 
 sugar. The sugar served mainly to cover the 
 taste of the acids, but all saccharine matter is very 
 nutritious. The object in giving the acids was to 
 dissolve as much as possible the earthy or bony 
 matter which she had taken with her food in the 
 first seven months of her pregnancy. She con- 
 tinued in this course for six weeks, when, to her 
 surprise and satisfaction, the swollen and prominent 
 state of the veins, which existed before she began, 
 had entirely subsided ; her legs and feet, which were 
 also swollen considerably, had returned to their 
 former state ; and she became so light and active 
 she could run up and down a flight of more than 
 twenty stairs, with more ease than usual when she 
 was perfectly well. Her health became unwont- 
 edly excellent, and scarcely an ache or a pain 
 
MRS. ROWBOTHAM'S EXPERIMENT. 205 
 
 affected her up to the night of her delivery. Even 
 her breasts, which, at the time she commenced the 
 experiment, as well as during her former preg- 
 nancies, were sore and tender, became entirely free 
 from pain, and remained in the very best condition 
 after her delivery also, and during her nursing." 
 
 He continues: " At nine o'clock, after having 
 cleaned her apartments, she was in the adjoining 
 yard shaking her own carpets, which she did with 
 as much ease as any one else could have done. At 
 half-past ten she said she believed her 'time was 
 come,' and the accoucheur was sent for. At one 
 o'clock the child was born and the surgeon had left 
 the room. He knew nothing of the experiment 
 being made, but on being asked on paper by the 
 husband two days afterward if he ' could pro- 
 nounce it as safe and as easy a delivery as he gen- 
 erally met with,' he replied on paper: ' I hereby 
 testify that I attended Mrs. Rowbotham on the 
 3d inst, and that she had a safe labor and more 
 easy than I generally meet with.' On his asking 
 the midwife if she thought it as easy as usual, she 
 replied : ' Why, I should say that a more easy 
 labor I never witnessed — I never saw such a thing 
 and I have been at a great many labors in my 
 time ! ' 
 
 " The child, a boy, was finely proportioned and 
 exceedingly soft, his bones resembling gristle. He 
 became of large size and very graceful, athletic 
 and strong as he grew up. The diet of his mother 
 was immediately changed, and she ate bread and 
 
206 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 milk and all articles of food in which phosphate of 
 lime is to be found, and which had been left out 
 before. She also got up from her confinement 
 immediately, and well. After her last delivery, 
 July, 1838, full ten days elapsed before she could 
 leave her bed, and then swooned at the first 
 attempt; on this occasion, March, 1841, she left 
 her bed the fourth day and not only washed, but 
 partly dressed herself. Had she not been influ- 
 enced by custom and somewhat timid, she might 
 have done so sooner. To be assisted appeared 
 like a burlesque to her, not to say annoyance. She 
 had no assistance from medicine." 
 
 In the former pregnancies she had subsisted 
 very much on bread, puddings, pies, and all kinds 
 of pastry, having an idea that solid food of this 
 kind was necessary to support the foetus. Nutri- 
 tious food can be had without that hard and bony 
 element which is so large an ingredient of wheaten 
 flour. Sago, tapioca, rice, etc., have little of it. 
 
 Beans, rye, oats, barley, have not so much earthy 
 matter as wheat ; potatoes and peas not more than 
 half as much ; flesh of fowls and young animals, 
 one-tenth; rice, sago, fish, eggs, etc., still less; 
 cheese, one-twentieth ; cabbage, savoy, artichokes, 
 coleworth, asparagus, rhubarb, cauliflower, celery, 
 and fresh vegetables generally, turnips, carrots, 
 onions, radishes, garlic, parsley, spinach, small 
 salad, lettuce, cucumbers, leeks, beet roots, pars- 
 nips, and all kinds of herbs and flowers, average 
 less than one-fifth ; apples, pears, plums, cherries, 
 
MRS. ROWBOTHAMS EXPERIMENT. 20," 
 
 strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, cranberries, 
 blackberries, huckleberries, currants, melons, ol- 
 ives, peaches, apricots, pineapples, nectarines, 
 pomegranates, dates, prunes, raisins, figs, lemons, 
 limes, oranges and grapes, on the average are two 
 hundred times less ossifying than bread, or anything 
 else prepared from wheat flour. Such articles as 
 honey, treacle, sugar, butter, oil, vinegar and al- 
 cohol, if unadulterated, are quite free from earthy 
 matter. 
 
 Mr. Rowbotham's idea originated from reading 
 in the Penny Cyclopcedia, the following : 
 
 " When first the human embryo becomes dis- 
 tinctly visible, it is almost wholly fluid, consisting 
 only of soft gelatine and pulp. In this gelatinous 
 pulp solid substances are formed, which gradually 
 increase, and are fashioned into organs. These 
 organs, in their rudimentary state, are soft and 
 tender, but in the progress of their development 
 constantly acquiring a greater number of solid 
 particles, the cohesion of which progressively in- 
 creases, the organs at length become dense and 
 firm. As the soft solids augment in bulk and 
 density, the bony particles are deposited, sparingly 
 at first and in detached masses, but accumulated 
 by degrees. These too, are at length fashioned 
 into distinct osseous structures which, extending 
 in every direction until they touch at every point, 
 ultimately form the connected bony framework of 
 the system. The bony fabric, although soft, tender 
 and pliable at first, becomes by degrees firm and 
 resisting." Upon this he reasoned thus : 
 
208 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 " If the first visible state of the human being is 
 that of a fluid, or soft, gelatinous pulp, and if the 
 embryo or foetus gradually consolidates in firm- 
 ness or density by the accumulation of bony 
 particles, will it not, at any given period of its ex- 
 istence, be more or less firm according to the bony 
 matter which has been deposited ! And is not the 
 mother's blood the source of this bony matter, 
 since it builds, supports and nourishes the foetus? 
 And is not the mother's blood derived from her 
 food and drink ? And according to the proportion 
 of bony matter existing in them, will not the foetus 
 become more or less firm and resisting? 
 
 " Moreover, he knew that it made all the differ- 
 ence whether the foetus were in gristle or not, at 
 birth, with respect to the pain of labor ; and that 
 it was better for the future size and beauty of the 
 child, and even its strength, that it should be born 
 with gristle and not with the bones hardened ; but 
 that the latter process should be the consequence 
 of its own food taken after birth. Hence, he very 
 philosophically concluded to try the experiment 
 of having his wife feed, during gestation, on sub- 
 stances which did not hold a large proportion of 
 phosphate of lime, which is the hard ingredient of 
 bones ; but take those substances during her period 
 of nursing, and feed the child upon them during 
 its growth. 
 
 " The experiment succeeded by a partial trial 
 in this morbid case, and in every case where the 
 theory has been thoroughly tested, the results 
 
OTHER CASES. 20Q. 
 
 have been highly satisfactory. One lady who had 
 learned from the pamphlet, said that from the first 
 moment that she thought she was pregnant, she 
 lived without eating any bread, potatoes or milk, 
 but subsisted on sago, tapioca, rice, young meat — 
 when she took meat — fruits of all kinds, and vege- 
 tables, and drank tea and lemonade made with dis- 
 tilled water. She said she never had an hour of 
 nausea, or discomfort during her pregnancy; had so 
 easy a labor that she thought it not worth dreading ; 
 and her boy, small and soft at birth, became 
 unusually large, hard and strong, in six months. 
 When born, he, like Mrs. Rowbotham's, was 
 covered from head to foot with a downy sub- 
 stance that could only be seen when held against 
 the light, superior to the finest velvet, and of a 
 beautiful feathery appearance. 
 
 " Another, who governed herself wholly by the 
 teachings of the pamphlet, never experienced a 
 moment's discomfort before delivery. She took 
 nothing made from our grains, but confined her- 
 self to the West Indian ones — rice, sago, tapioca ; 
 and taking a disgust to our summer fruits, sub- 
 sisted largely on oranges, tamarinds, marmalades 
 and also took a great many lemons. At first the 
 fruits made her bowels too loose, but she did not 
 abandon them on that account, but took mutton 
 broth with rice in it to correct this effect. She 
 had so little thirst that she drank nothing but a 
 little tea, made with distilled water. In all cases 
 she rigidly adhered to the fruit diet without a 
 
2IO PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 single day's exception ; her labors were short and 
 comparatively painless; and her three children 
 were splendid instances of large, healthy, strong 
 and beautiful physique." 
 
 Many cases might be shown here were it neces- 
 sary, but those already quoted are sufficient to 
 show what correct living, healthful exercise and a 
 fruit diet strictly adhered to, will accomplish, and 
 the reader is earnestly requested to ponder well 
 and follow closely the teachings of these pages. 
 
 While the fruit diet alone will accomplish much 
 and go far toward making labor easy to be borne, 
 there are other essentials that should not be neg- 
 lected. Bathing and exercise are powerful aids ; 
 indeed, they are co-partners in acquiring the de- 
 sired result. The bathing should be thorough and 
 of everyday occurrence, as recommended in pre- 
 vious pages ; the body should be thoroughly 
 sponged with tepid water each morning, and a 
 cool, quick sitz-bath be immediately taken, followed 
 by a brisk drying of the parts with a moderately 
 coarse Turkish towel. The vaginal canal must be 
 kept thoroughly cleansed by tepid douche baths, 
 and in the last days of pregnancy, both the sitz- 
 bath and the vaginal douche should be taken 
 warm, while in the early stages of labor, or in hard 
 and lingering labors, they should be taken hot. 
 
 Daily exercise, thorough and systematic, is 
 equally as important a factor as the diet and the 
 bath. In pleasant weather gentle walks in the open 
 air and sunlight should be taken. Care must be 
 
DIET, BATHING AND EXERCISE. 211 
 
 used that the patient, if delicate, be not fatigued. 
 Thorough training, however, if begun in time will 
 make the delicate woman strong, and the exercise 
 which was before an effort will soon become easy 
 and a pleasure; the strength required be but a 
 tithe of that possessed. Light gardening cannot 
 be too highly recommended, and where possible, 
 is very beneficial. Housework at this time also 
 comes in for a good share of attention, and ought 
 not to be neglected. Care should be taken in this, 
 as in all exercise and work, that there is no 
 straining or heavy lifting, no running up or 
 down stairs, no shocks, fatigue, or over-exertion. 
 This is eminently a period of home making, 
 or nest building, and a woman's heart should never 
 be lighter than when attending to the little wants 
 that go to make home happy and a place of con- 
 tentment and rest. 
 
 She should see that the ventilation is perfect, 
 that the whole house is well aired, and especial 
 care should be taken to banish all mustiness, damp- 
 ness and impurities from the sleeping room. The 
 air should be cool and pure ; the sleep sweet and 
 invigorating. The patient should retire early to 
 bed and rest during the day when so inclined. 
 The dress should be loose and the clothing hung 
 from the shoulders. All pressure should be 
 removed and the utmost freedom of action, both 
 of body and limb, be secured. 
 
 If the breath is short, exercise in deep breathing 
 should be taken. Full breathing is necessary to 
 
212 PARTURITION WITHOUT PAIN. 
 
 thoroughly oxygenize the blood. " To learn deep 
 breathing be as passive as possible ; that is, assume 
 a position in which all the voluntary motor muscles 
 are inactive. Lie flat on the back, perfectly hori- 
 zontal, without even an elevation of the head. 
 Shut the mouth and draw the air in through the 
 channel provided by nature, the nose. As a result 
 of bad habits most persons will raise the upper 
 ribs ; yet this expansion will soon yield to the 
 movement of the lower ribs, and this again will 
 gradually cease by continual practice, as will also 
 every distension of the ribs. All these faulty 
 movements will be superseded by a bulging out of 
 the abdomen, whose outward swelling will be 
 proportional to the amount of air inhaled. 
 
 " Look at that quietly sleeping cat upon the rug. 
 Its sole indication of vitality is the bellows-like 
 motion of its body in breathing. You must also 
 have observed, that in all domestic animals, at 
 each respiration, an undulating motion extends 
 quite through the whole trunk, and that this motion 
 terminates only at the hindermost limbs. This is 
 natural respiration as it is performed throughout 
 quadruped existence. 
 
 "Have you a perfectly healthy lady friend? 
 Lay your hand upon her and you will find that the 
 abdomen rises and falls in exactly the same way at 
 every respiratory act ; not only so, but this act is 
 involuntarily performed in a more profound man- 
 ner every few moments, and that this increased 
 
FULL BREATHING. 
 
 213 
 
 motion operates particularly upon the lowest por- 
 tion of the trunk. 
 
 " Observe in the same way your own person. If 
 you are an invalid you will find this motion dimin- 
 ished, perhaps suppressed. When half performed 
 you only half live." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 As the first labor is generally the most tedious 
 and severe, it behooves a newly married woman 
 to prepare for the coming event. Strict observ- 
 ance of the advice contained in these pages will 
 often make a first labor as easy and as expeditious 
 as an after labor. 
 
 A day or two before the labor commences the 
 patient usually feels better than she has done for a 
 long time; she is light and comfortable; she is 
 smaller, and the child is lower down ; she is more 
 cheerful, breathes more freely, and is more inclined 
 to take exercise and to attend to her household 
 duties ; she has often an inclination to tidy her 
 drawers, and to look up and have in readiness her 
 own linen, and the baby's clothes, and the other 
 requisites for the long-expected event ; she seems 
 to have a presentiment that labor is approaching, 
 and she has the feeling that now is the right time 
 to get everything in readiness, as in a short time 
 she will be powerless to exert herself. 
 
 Although the majority of patients, a day or two 
 before the labor comes on, are more bright and 
 
 (214) 
 
SYMPTOMS OF LABOR. 21 5 
 
 cheerful, some few are more anxious, fanciful, 
 fidgety and restless. 
 
 A few days, sometimes a few hours, before labor 
 commences, the child "settles," that is there is a 
 subsidence — a dropping of the womb — lower down 
 into the abdomen. These are the reasons why 
 she feels lighter and more comfortable, and more 
 inclined to take exercise, and why she can breathe 
 more freely. 
 
 The only inconvenience of the settling of the 
 womb is, that the womb presses more on the blad- 
 der, and sometimes causes an irritability of that 
 organ, inducing a frequent desire to urinate. 
 
 At this time there is an increased moisture of 
 the vagina, and of the external parts. She has, at 
 length, slight pains followed by a "show," as it is 
 called. The show is generally tinged with a little 
 blood. When this takes place labor has actually 
 commenced. Another early symptom of labor is 
 frequent desire to relieve the bladder. 
 
 She has now grinding pains, coming on at un- 
 certain periods ; sometimes once during two hours, 
 at other times every hour or half hour. These 
 lancinating pains ought not to be interfered with ; 
 at this stage, therefore, it is useless to send for a 
 doctor, if he is near ; yet the nurse should be in the 
 house, to make preparations for the coming event. 
 Although at this early period it is not necessary 
 to send for the physician, nevertheless, it is well 
 to let him know that his services might shortly be 
 required, in order that he might be in the way, or 
 
2l6 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 that he might leave word where he might quickly 
 be found. 
 
 These lancinating pains gradually assume more 
 regularity in their character, return at shorter 
 intervals, and become more severe. 
 
 About this time, shivering, in the majority of 
 cases, is apt to occur, so as to make the teeth 
 chatter again. Shivering during labor is not an 
 unfavorable symptom ; it proves, indeed, that the 
 patient is in real earnest, and that she is making 
 progress. 
 
 Although the patient shivers and trembles, 
 until, in some instances, the bed shakes under her, 
 it is unaccompanied with real coldness of the skin ; 
 she shivers and feels cold, but her skin in reality 
 is not at all cold, but is hot and perspiring — per- 
 spiring at every pore ! 
 
 She ought not, on any account, unless ordered 
 by the physician, to take brandy as a remedy for 
 the shivering. A cup either of hot tea or of hot 
 gruel will be the best remedy for the shivering ; 
 an extra blanket or two should be thrown over 
 the patient and well tucked around her, in order 
 to thoroughly exclude the air from the body. As 
 soon as she is warm and perspiring the extra 
 clothing should be gradually removed, as she 
 ought not to be kept very hot, or it will weaken 
 her, and will thus retard her labor. 
 
 Sickness frequently comes on in the beginning 
 of the labor, and may continue during the whole 
 process. She is not only sick, but she actually 
 
SYMPTOMS OF LABOR. 2\J 
 
 vomits, and she can keep little or nothing on her 
 stomach. 
 
 There is, in such a case, little or nothing to be 
 done, as the less an irritable stomach is meddled 
 with, the better. The sickness will probably leave 
 as soon as the labor is over. 
 
 She had better, during this stage, either walk 
 about or sit down, and not confine herself to bed ; 
 indeed, there is no necessity for her, unless she 
 particularly desire it, to remain in her chamber. 
 
 If, at the commencement of labor, the "waters" 
 should break, even if there is no pain, the doctor 
 ought immediately to be sent for; as it is neces- 
 sary that he should know the exact presentation 
 of the child. 
 
 After an uncertain length of time, the character 
 of the pains alters. From being lancinating they 
 become grinding, and are now more regular and 
 frequent, and the skin becomes both hot and per- 
 spiring. These may be considered the true labor 
 pains. The patient ought to bear in mind that 
 "the true labor pains are situated in the back and 
 loins ; they come on at regular intervals, rise 
 gradually up to a certain pitch of intensity, and 
 abate as gradually ; it is a dull, heavy, deep sort of 
 pain, producing occasionally a low moan from the 
 patient ; not sharp or twinging, which would elicit 
 a different expression of suffering from her." 
 
 As soon as the pains assume a bearing-down 
 character, the doctor ought to be in attendance ; if 
 he is sent for during the early stage, when the 
 
2l8 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 pains are of a lancinating character, and when 
 they come on few and far between and at uncer- 
 tain intervals, he can do no good ; for, if he attempts 
 in the early stage to force on the labor, he might 
 do irreparable mischief. 
 
 Cramps of the legs and thighs are a frequent, 
 although not constant, attendant on child-birth. 
 These cramps come on more especially if the 
 patient is kept for a lengthened period in one posi- 
 tion ; hence the importance of allowing her, during 
 the first and second stages of labor, to move about 
 the room. Cramps are generally worse during 
 the third or last stage of labor, and then, if they 
 occur at all, they usually accompany each pain. 
 The poor patient, in such a case, has not only to 
 bear the labor-pains but the cramp-pains There 
 is no danger in these cramps ; it is rather a sign 
 that the child is making rapid progress, as he is 
 pressing upon the nerves which supply the 
 thighs. 
 
 The nurse ought to well rub, with her warm 
 hand, the cramped parts; and, if the labor is not 
 too far advanced, it would be well for the patient 
 to change her position, and to sit on a chair, or to 
 walk about the room ; there being, of course, an 
 attendant, one on each side, to support her. If 
 either a pain or a cramp should come on while she 
 is thus moving about, let her instantly take hold 
 of some article of furniture for support. 
 
 Child-birth is a natural process, and ought not 
 to be interfered with, or woe betide the unfor- 
 
CHILD-BIRTH A NATURAL PROCESS. 2lQ 
 
 tunate patient. I firmly believe that a woman 
 would stand a much better chance of getting well 
 over her confinement without assistance than if she 
 had been hurried with assistance. 
 
 In a natural labor very little assistance is needed, 
 and the doctor is only required in the room occa- 
 sionally, to ascertain that things are going on 
 rightly. Those patients do best, both at the time 
 and afterward, who are the least interfered with. 
 Bear this in mind, and let it be indelibly written 
 on your memory. This advice only holds good in 
 natural confinements. 
 
 Meddlesome midwifery cannot be too strongly 
 reprobated. The duty of a doctor is to watch the 
 progress of a child-birth, in order that if there is 
 anything wrong, he may rectify it; but if the labor 
 is going on well, he has no business to interfere. 
 
 As a rule, it is neither necessary nor desirable 
 for a doctor to be much in a lying-in room. In a 
 natural labor, it is surprising how very little his 
 presence is required. After he has once ascertained 
 the nature of the case, which it is absolutely neces- 
 sary that he should do, and has found all going on 
 right and straight, it is better, much better, to allow 
 nature time and full scope to take her own course 
 without hurry and without interference, without 
 let and without hindrance. Nature hates hurry, 
 and resents interference. 
 
 Women are far more patient than men ; it is 
 well they are, for men would never be able 
 patiently to endure, as women do, the bitterest 
 pangs of child-birth. 
 
220 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 Bear in mind, then, that in every well-formed 
 woman, and in every ordinary confinement, nature 
 is perfectly competent to bring, without the assist- 
 ance of man, a child into the world, and that it is 
 only an ignorant person who would, in a natural 
 case of labor, interfere to assist nature. Assist 
 nature! Can anything be more absurd? As 
 though God, in His wisdom, in performing one of 
 His greatest wonders and processes, required the 
 assistance of man. It might, with as much truth, 
 be said that in every case of the process of healthy 
 digestion it is necessary for a doctor to assist the 
 stomach in the process of digesting the food ! No, 
 it is high time that such fallacies were exploded, 
 and that common sense should take the place of 
 such folly. A natural labor ought never to be 
 either hurried or interfered with, or frightful con- 
 sequences might, and in all probability will, ensue. 
 Let every parturient woman bear in mind that the 
 more patient she is, the more kind and the more 
 speedy will be her labor and her recovery. 
 
 There are times, and times without number, 
 when a doctor is called upon to do but little or 
 nothing; and there are others — few and far be- 
 tween — when it is imperatively necessary that he 
 should do a great deal. 
 
 It ought to be borne in mind, too, that tedious 
 labors are oftentimes natural, and that they only 
 require time and patience from all concerned to 
 bring them to a successful issue. 
 
 The first confinement is generally twice the 
 
DURATION OF CONFINEMENT. 221 
 
 length of time of an after one, and usually the 
 more children a lady has had, the quicker is her 
 labor; but this is by no means always the case, as 
 some of the after labors may be the tedious, while 
 the early ones may be the quick ones. 
 
 It may be said that a first labor, as a rule, lasts 
 six hours, while an after confinement probably 
 lasts but three. This space of time, of course, does 
 not usually include the commencement of labor 
 pains, but the time that a lady may be actually said 
 to be in real travail. If we are to reckon from the 
 commencement of the labor, we ought to double 
 the above numbers — that is, we should make the 
 average duration ol a first labor twelve ; of an after 
 one, six hours. 
 
 When a lady marries late in life — for instance, 
 after she has passed the age of thirty — her first 
 labor is usually much more lingering and tedious, 
 demanding a great stock of patience from the pa- 
 tient, from the doctor, and from the friends ; not- 
 withstanding this, both she and her babe generally 
 do remarkably well. Supposing a lady marries 
 late in life, it is only the first confinement that is 
 usually hard and lingering ; the after labors are as 
 easy as though she had married when young. 
 
 A natural labor may be divided into three 
 stages. The first, the premonitory stage, compris- 
 ing the "settling" of the womb, and the show. The 
 second, the dilating stage, which is known by the 
 pains being of a lancinating nature, and in which 
 the mouth of the womb gradually opens or dilates 
 
222 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 until it is sufficiently large to admit the exit of the 
 head of the child, when it becomes the third, the 
 completing stage, which is now indicated by the 
 pains being of an expulsive character. 
 
 In the first or premonitory stage, which is much 
 the longest of the three stages, it is neither neces- 
 sary nor desirable that the patient should be con- 
 fined to her room ; on the contrary, it is better for 
 her to be moving about the house, and to be at- 
 tending to her household duties. 
 
 In the second and dilating stages, it will be 
 necessary that she should be confined to her room, 
 but not to her bed. She is better up, and walking 
 about the room. 
 
 In the first and second stages she must not, on 
 any account, strain or bear down to the pains, as 
 many ignorant nurses advise, as by robbing her of 
 her strength, it would only retard the delivery. 
 Besides, while the mouth of the womb is dilating, 
 bearing, down cannot be of the slightest earthly 
 use — the womb is not in a fit state to expel its con- 
 tents. If by bearing down she could (but, which 
 fortunately, she cannot) cause the expulsion of the 
 child ; it would, at this stage, be attended with 
 frightful consequences — no less than with the 
 rupture of the womb. 
 
 In the third or completing stage it is necessary 
 that she should lie in the bed, and that she should, 
 as above advised, bear gently down to the pains. 
 The expulsive pains will indicate when to bear 
 down. 
 
SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF LABOR. 223 
 
 Even in the last stage she ought never to bear 
 down unless the pain is actually upon her ; it wili, 
 if she does, do her great harm. In bearing down 
 the plan is to hold the breath, and strain down as 
 though she were straining to have a stool. 
 
 By adopting the above rules much weariness 
 may be avoided ; cramp, from not being kept long 
 in one position, may be warded off ; the labor, from 
 being amused by change of room and scene, may 
 be expedited ; and thus the confinement may be 
 deprived of much of its monotony and misery. 
 
 The pains of labor are sometimes heavy and 
 dull, or what an intelligent patient of mine once 
 described as groany pains. They are occasionally 
 sharp and cutting, while they are at other times 
 boring and twisting. These are all expressive 
 terms, as many labor patients will be able emphat- 
 ically to indorse. 
 
 During the latter stages of labor the patient 
 ought always to keep her eyelids closed, or the 
 straining may cause an attack of inflammation of 
 the eyes, or at all events, make them blood-shot. 
 
 Let a large room, if practicable, be selected for 
 the lab ?r, and let it be airy and well ventilated, 
 and if in summer, take care that the chimney is 
 not stopped. If the weather is intensely hot there 
 is no objection to the window being a little open. 
 
 If the bedstead is one with a fixed footboard a 
 hassock should be placed against it, in order that 
 the patient, during the latter part of the labor — 
 

 224 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 during the expulsive pains — may be able to plant 
 her feet firmly against it (the hassock), and thus be 
 enabled the better to aid her pains. 
 
 If there is besides the bed, a straw mattress 
 and a hair mattress, let the straw mattress be re- 
 moved, as a high bed is inconvenient, not only to 
 the patient, but to the doctor and to the nurse. 
 
 Preparations for labor. — I should strongly urge 
 a patient not to put everything off to the last. She 
 must take care to have in readiness a good pair of 
 scissors and a skein of thread. And she ought to 
 have in the house a small pot of prepared lard, 
 a flask of salad oil, and a cake of Castile soap, 
 that they may be at hand in case they are wanted. 
 Some doctors, at such times, prefer the prepared 
 lard, while others prefer the salad oil. Let every- 
 thing necessary, both for herself and the babe, be 
 well aired and ready for immediate use, and be 
 placed in such order that all things may be found, 
 without hurry or bustle, at a moment's notice. 
 
 Another preparation for child-birth, and a most 
 important one, is attending to the state of the 
 bowels. If they are at all costive, the moment 
 there is the slightest premonitory symptoms of 
 labor, she ought to take an enema of warm water. 
 She will, by adopting the above plan, derive the 
 greatest comfort and advantage ; it will prevent 
 her delicacy from being shocked by having her 
 bowels open, without her being able to prevent 
 them, during the last stage of the labor ; and it 
 will, by giving the adjacent parts more room, 
 
 
DRESS FOR THE OCCASION. 22 5 
 
 much expedite delivery, and lessen her sufferings. 
 
 The next thing to be attended to is the way in 
 which she ought to be dressed for the occasion. I 
 would recommend her to put on a clean night- 
 gown ; which, in order to keep unsoiled, should 
 be smoothly and carefully rolled up about the 
 waist ; then she ought to have on a flannel petti- 
 coat to meet it, and, over all, a dressing-gown. If 
 it is winter, the dressing-gown had better either be 
 composed of flannel or be lined with that material. 
 
 The bed should be covered with a large piece 
 of waterproof cloth, or bed-sheeting, as it is some- 
 times called ; over this folded sheets ought to be 
 placed. If a waterproof cloth cannot be procured, 
 an oilcloth table cover will answer the purpose. 
 Either of the above plans will effectually protect 
 the bed from injury. 
 
 The room should be kept, not hot, but comfort- 
 ably warm ; if the temperature is high, the patient 
 will become irritable, feverish and restless, and the 
 labor will be prolonged. 
 
 In order to change the air, let the door of the 
 room, every now and then, be left ajar. If the 
 weather is very warm the lower sash of the window 
 may be opened a few inches. 
 
 Many attendants are not only unnecessary but 
 injurious. They excite and flurry the patient, they 
 cause noise and confusion, and rob the air of its 
 purity. One lady friend, besides the doctor and the 
 nurse, is all that is needed. In making the selection 
 of a friend, care should be taken that she is the 
 
226 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 mother of a family, that she is kind-hearted and 
 self-possessed, and of a cheerful turn of mind. 
 All chatterers, croakers, and putter ers ought, at these 
 times, to be carefully excluded from the room. No 
 conversation of a depressing character should for one 
 moment be allowed. Nurses and friends who are in 
 the habit of telling of bad cases that have occurred in 
 their experience, must be avoided as the plague. 
 
 Boisterous conversation during the progress of 
 child-birth ought never to be permitted ; it only 
 irritates and excites the patient. Although noisy 
 merriment is bad, yet at such times gentle, cheer- 
 ful and agreeable chat is beneficial ; toward the 
 conclusion of the labor, however, perfect quietude 
 must be enjoined ; as during the latter stage, talk- 
 ing, be it ever so little, is usually most distasteful 
 and annoying to the patient. The only words 
 that should then be spoken are a few words of 
 comfort from the doctor, announcing, from time 
 to time, that her labor is progressing favorably, 
 and that her pain and sorrow will soon be con- 
 verted into ease and joy. 
 
 The attendants and all around a parturient 
 woman must be patient, let the patient herself be 
 ever so impatient — she has frequently cause for 
 her impatience ; the bitter pangs of labor are 
 oftentimes severe enough to make even an angel 
 impatient. Not a note, then, of impatience must 
 grate upon her ear ; but words of gentleness, of 
 encouragement, and of hope, must be the remedies 
 used by those about her and around her to soothe 
 her impatience. 
 
CHILD-BIRTH A NATURAL PROCESS. 227 
 
 Another preparation for labor is — to soothe her 
 mind by telling her of the usual safety of confine- 
 ments, and by assuring her that, in the generality 
 of instances, it is a natural process, and no disease 
 whatever ; and that all she has to do is to keep up 
 her spirits, to adhere strictly to the rules of her 
 doctor, to have a little patience, and that she will 
 do remarkably well. 
 
 All needless cause of fear must be kept out of 
 sight. Labor is, as a rule, perfectly safe and 
 natural; and confidence and cheerfulness are two 
 of the grand remedies to bring it to a happy con- 
 clusion. 
 
 Brandy ought always to be in the house ; but 
 let me impress upon the minds of the attendants 
 the importance of withholding it from the patient 
 unless ordered by the doctor. Numbers have 
 fallen victims to its being indiscriminately given. 
 I am of the opinion that the great caution which 
 is now adopted in giving spirits to women in labor 
 is one reason, among others, of the great safety of 
 the confinements of the present day compared 
 with those of former times. 
 
 Brandy is, in cases of flooding, of exhaustion, 
 of fainting, or any other emergency, indispensable. 
 But brandy should be considered as a medicine 
 — as a valuable but powerful medicine — and, like 
 all powerful medicines, should be prescribed by 
 a doctor, and by a doctor only ; who will indi- 
 cate the fit time and proper dose on the adminis- 
 tration thereof. If this advice is not strictly fol- 
 
228 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 lowed, deplorable consequences may ensue. 
 Brandy, according to the way it is used, is either 
 a faithful friend or a bitter enemy ! 
 
 The best beverage for a patient during labor is 
 either a cup of warm tea, or of gruel, or of arrow- 
 root. It is folly in the extreme, during the pro- 
 gress of labor, to force her to eat ; her stomach 
 recoils from it, as at these times there is generally 
 a loathing for food, and if we will, as we always 
 should, take the appetite as our guide, we shall 
 never go far wrong. 
 
 Chloroform in hard and in lingering labor. — 
 Mothers and doctors are indebted to Sir James 
 Simpson for the introduction of chloroform, one 
 of the greatest and most valuable discoveries ever 
 conferred on suffering humanity. 
 
 The inhalation of chloroform, according to the 
 will of the operator, causes either partial or com- 
 plete unconsciousness, and, either for a longer or 
 for a shorter time, freedom from pain. In other 
 words, the effects might, with perfect safety, be 
 continued, either for a few minutes, or from time 
 to time, for several hours ; indeed, if given in 
 proper cases, and by a judicious doctor, with 
 immense benefit, and with perfect safety. 
 
 Chloroform is more applicable and useful in a 
 labor — more especially in a first confinement — 
 when it is lingering, when the throes are very 
 severe, and when, notwithstanding the pain, the 
 labor is making but little progress — then chloroform 
 is a priceless boon. Chloroform too, is, when the 
 
VALUE OF CHLOROFORM. 22Q 
 
 patient is of a nervous temperament, and when she 
 looks forward with dread and apprehension to 
 every pain, very beneficial. 
 
 It may be asked — Would you give chloroform 
 in every case of labor, be it ever so easy and quick ? 
 Certainly not ; it is neither advisable nor expedient 
 in an ordinarily easy, quick confinement to admin- 
 ister it. The cases in which it is desirable to give 
 chloroform are all lingering, hard and severe 
 labors ; in such I would gladly use it. But, before 
 administering it, I would, as a rule, wait for at 
 least six hours from the commencement of the 
 true pains. 
 
 It may be asked — Does the inhalation of chloro- 
 form retard the patient's recovery ? I emphatically 
 declare that it does not. Those who have had 
 chloroform have always, in my practice, had as 
 good and as speedy recoveries as those who have 
 not inhaled it. 
 
 Another important consideration in the giving 
 of chloroform is, that a patient has seldom, if ever, 
 while under the effects of it, been known to die. 
 
 One reason why it may be so safe to give 
 chloroform in labor is, that in the practice of mid- 
 wifery a doctor does not deem it needful to put 
 his patient under the extreme influence of it. He 
 administers just enough to ease her pain, but not 
 sufficient to rob her of total consciousness ; while 
 in a surgical operation the surgeon may consider 
 it necessary to put his patient under the full in- 
 fluence of chloroform ; hence the safety in the one, 
 
230 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 and the danger in the other case. "It is quite 
 possible to afford immense relief to render the 
 pains quite bearable," as a patient of mine ob- 
 served, by a dose which does not procure sleep or 
 impair the mental condition of the. patient, and 
 which all our experience would show is absolutely 
 free from danger. 
 
 There is another advantage in chloroform — 
 the child, when he is born, is usually both lively 
 and strong, and is not at all affected by the mother 
 having had chloroform administered to her. This 
 is a most important consideration. So highly do I 
 think of chloroform, that I never take charge of 
 a case of confinement without a bottle in my 
 pocket. I find this plan very convenient, as I am 
 then in proper cases, always prepared to give 
 chloroform, and there is no precious time wasted 
 in sending for it. 
 
 Chloroform ought never to be administered, 
 either to a patient in labor or to any one else, 
 except by a doctor. This advice admits of no ex- 
 ception. And chloroform should never be given 
 unless in a lingering or a hard labor. As I have 
 before advised, in a natural and easy labor, Nature 
 ought not to be interfered with, but should be al- 
 lowed to run its own course. Patience, gentleness, 
 and non-interference are the best and the chief 
 requisites in the majority of cases. 
 
 Hints to attendants in case the doctor is unavoidably 
 absent. — It frequently happens that after the first 
 confinement the labor is so rapid that the child is 
 
HINTS TO ATTENDANTS. 23 1 
 
 born before the doctor has time to reach the pa- 
 tient. It is consequently highly desirable — nay, 
 imperatively necessary — for the interest and for 
 the well-doing both of the mother and of the babe, 
 that either the nurse or the lady friend, should in 
 such an emergency, know what to do and what 
 NOT to do. 
 
 In the first place, let the attendants be both 
 calm and self-possessed, and let there be no noise, 
 no scuffling, no excitement, no whispering, and 
 no talking, and let the patient be made to thor. 
 oughly understand that there is not the slightest 
 danger, as the principal danger will be in causing 
 unnecessary fears, both as to herself and her child : 
 — " A woman, naturally born to fears, is, at these 
 times, especially timid." Tens of thousands are 
 annually delivered without the slightest assistance 
 from a physician — and yet both mother and babe 
 almost invariably do well. Let her be informed 
 of this fact, and it will be a comfort to her, and 
 will assuage her fears. The physician, as soon as 
 he arrives, will soon make all right and straight. 
 
 In the meantime let the following directions be 
 followed : — Supposing a child be born before the doc- 
 tor arrives, the nurse ought to ascertain whether 
 a coil of navel string is around the neck of the 
 infant; if so, it must be instantly liberated, or he 
 might be strangled. Care should be taken that he 
 has sufficient room to breathe ; that there is not a 
 membrane over his mouth ; and that his face is not 
 buried in the clothes. Any mucus about the 
 
232 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 mouth of the babe ought to be wiped away with a 
 soft napkin, or it might impede the breathing. 
 
 If the babe should be born apparently dead, a 
 few smart blows must be given on the thighs and 
 on the back ; a smelling bottle ought to be applied 
 to the nostrils ; or a bit of cloth should be singed 
 under the nose, taking care that the burning tin- 
 der does not touch the skin ; and cold water must 
 be freely sprinkled on the face. But after all, a 
 good smacking on the thighs, in an apparently 
 still-born babe, is the most handy, quick, and ready 
 remedy. Thousands of apparently still-born chil- 
 dren have, by this simple remedy, been saved from 
 threatened death. If you can once make an ap- 
 parently still-born babe cry — and cry he must — he 
 is, as a rule, safe. The navel string, as long as 
 there is pulsation in it, ought not to be tied. 
 
 The limbs, the back, and the chest of the child 
 ought, with the warm hand, to be well rubbed. 
 The face should not be smothered up in the 
 clothes. If pulsation has ceased in the navel 
 string (the above rules having been strictly fol- 
 lowed, and having failed), let the navel string be 
 tied and divided, and then let the child be plunged 
 into warm water — 98°- Fahr. If the sudden plunge 
 does not rouse respiration into action, let him be 
 taken out of the warm bath, as keeping him for 
 any length of time in the water will be of no avail. 
 
 If these simple means should not quickly suc- 
 ceed, although they generally will, Dr. Marshall 
 Hall's Ready Method ought to be tried :— " Place 
 
HOW TO RESTORE ANIMATION. 233 
 
 the infant on his face ; turn the body gently but 
 completely on the side and a little beyond, and then 
 on the face alternately ; repeating these measures 
 deliberately, efficiently, and perseveringly, fifteen 
 times in the minute only." 
 
 Another plan of restoring suspended animation 
 is by artificial respiration, which should be em- 
 ployed in the following manner : — Let the nurse 
 close with her left hand, the child's nose, to pre- 
 vent any passage of air through the nostrils ; 
 then let her apply her mouth to the child's mouth, 
 and breathe into it, in order to inflate the lungs ; 
 as soon as they are inflated, the air ought, with 
 the right hand, to be pressed out again, so as to 
 imitate natural breathing. Again and again, for 
 several minutes, and for about fifteen times a min- 
 ute, should the above process be repeated ; and 
 the operator will frequently be rewarded by hear- 
 ing a convulsive sob, which will be the harbinger 
 of renewed life. 
 
 Until animation is restored, the navel string 
 ought not to be tied, so long as it pulsates. If tied 
 before the child breathes, he will have but a slight 
 chance of recovery. While the navel string is left 
 entire, provided it still pulsates, he has the ad- 
 vantage of the mother's circulation and support. 
 
 Should the child have been born for some time 
 before the doctor has arrived, it may be necessary to 
 tie and divide the navel string. A ligature, com- 
 posed of four or five threads, nearly a foot in 
 length, and with a knot at each end, ought to be 
 
234 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 tightly tied around the navel string, about two 
 inches from the body of the child. A second 
 ligature must, in a similar manner, be applied 
 about three inches from the first, and the navel 
 string should be carefully divided midway between 
 the two ligatures. If the doctor is shortly ex- 
 pected, any interference would not be advisable, as 
 such matters ought always to be left entirely to 
 him. 
 
 The after-birth must never be brought away by the 
 nurse. If the doctor has not yet arrived, it should 
 be allowed to come away (if left alone it usually 
 will) of its own accord. The only treatment that 
 the nurse ought to adopt is, to apply firm pressure 
 with the hands over the region of the womb. 
 This will have the effect of encouraging the con- 
 traction of the womb, of throwing off the after- 
 birth, and of preventing violent flooding. 
 
 If the after-birth does not soon come away, say 
 in an hour, or if there is flooding, another doctor 
 ought to be sent for ; but on no account should the 
 nurse be allowed to interfere with it further than 
 by applying firm pressure over the region of the 
 womb, and not touching the navel string at all. I 
 have known dangerous, and in some cases, even 
 fatal, consequences to ensue from such meddling. 
 
 Rest after delivery. — The patient, for at least an 
 hour after the delivery, ought not to be disturbed, 
 or violent flooding may be produced. The soiled 
 napkins may be removed and clean ones put in 
 their place. Her head ought to be made easy ; she 
 
REST AFTER DELIVERY. 235 
 
 must still lie on her side ; indeed, for the first hour, 
 let her remain nearly in the same position as that 
 in which she was confined, with this only differ- 
 ence, that if her feet have been pressing against 
 the bed-post, they should be removed from that 
 position. 
 
 A patient, after delivery, usually feels shivering 
 and starved ; it will therefore be necessary to throw 
 additional clothing, such as a blanket or two, over 
 her, which ought to envelope the body, and should 
 be well tucked around her; but the nurse ought 
 to be careful not to overload her with clothes, or 
 it. might produce flooding, fainting, etc. As soon 
 as she is warm, let the extra clothing be gradually 
 removed. If the feet are cold let them be wrapped 
 in warm flannel, over which a pillow should be 
 placed. 
 
 A frequent change of linen after child-birth is 
 desirable. Nothing is more conducive to health 
 than cleanliness. Great care should be taken to 
 have the sheets and linen well aired. 
 
 A foolish nurse fancies that clean linen will give 
 her patient cold, and that dirty linen will prevent 
 it, and keep her warm. Such folly is most dan- 
 gerous ! A parturient woman should bear in mind 
 that dirt breeds fever, and fosters infectious dis- 
 eases. There would, if cleanliness (of course I 
 include pure water in this category) and ventilation 
 were more observed than they are, be very little 
 fever, or infectious diseases of any kind in the 
 world. 
 
236 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 A cup of cool, black tea, directly after the 
 patient is confined, ought to be given. I say cool, 
 not cold, as cold tea might chill her. Hot tea 
 would be improper, as it might induce flooding. 
 As soon as she is settled in bed, there is nothing 
 better than a small basin of warm gruel. 
 
 Brandy ought never to be given after a con- 
 finement ; indeed, stimulants of all kinds must be 
 carefully avoided, as they produce fever, and 
 inflammation. 
 
 Bandage after labor, — This consists of thick linen, 
 similar to sheeting, about a yard and a half long, 
 and sufficiently broad to comfortably support the 
 abdomen. Two or three folded diapers — folded 
 in a triangular shape — should be first applied over 
 the region of the womb, and then the bandage 
 should be neatly and smoothly applied around the 
 lower portion of the abdomen to keep the diapers 
 firmly fixed in their position. The bandage ought 
 to be put on moderately tight, and should be 
 retightened every night and morning, or oftener, 
 if it becomes slack. An Obstetric Binder is 
 admirably adapted to give support after a con- 
 finement, and may be obtained of any surgical 
 instrument maker. If there is neither a proper 
 bandage or binder at hand — a yard and a half of 
 unbleached calico, folded double, will answer the 
 purpose. The best pins to fasten the bandage are 
 the patent safety pins. 
 
 A support after labor is important ; in the first 
 place, it is a great comfort ; in the second, it 
 
BANDAGE AFTER LABOR. 237 
 
 induces the abdomen to return to its original size ; 
 and lastly, it prevents flooding. Those women, 
 more especially if they have had large families, 
 who have neglected proper bandaging after their 
 confinements, frequently suffer from enlarged and 
 pendulous abdomens, which give them an unwieldy 
 and ungainly appearance ; indeed, completely ruin- 
 ing their figures. 
 
 The patient ought not, immediately after a labor, 
 under any pretext or pretense whatever, to be 
 allowed to raise herself in bed. If dressed as 
 recommended in a previous paragraph, her soiled 
 linen may readily be. removed ; and she may be 
 drawn up by two assistants to the proper place, 
 as she herself must not be allowed to use the slightest 
 exertion. Inattention to the above recommendation 
 has sometimes caused violent flooding, fainting, 
 falling of the womb, etc., and in some cases, even 
 fatal consequences. 
 
 A nurse is too apt, after the confinement is 
 over, to keep a large fire. Nothing is more injur- 
 ious. A little fire, providing the weather is cold, 
 to dress the baby by, and to encourage a circula- 
 tion of the air, is desirable. The door, in order 
 to change the air of the apartment, must occa- 
 sionally be left ajar. The patient requires pure 
 air as much as or more than any other person ; but 
 how frequently does a silly nurse fancy that it is 
 dangerous for her to breathe it ! 
 
 After the labor is over, the blinds ought to be 
 put down, and the window curtains should be 
 
238 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 drawn in order to induce the patient to sleep, and 
 thus to rest herself after her hard work. Perfect 
 stillness must reign both in the room and in the 
 house. This advice is most important. 
 
 It is really surprising", in this present enlight- 
 ened age, how much ignorance there still is among 
 the attendants of a lying-in* room ; they fancy labor 
 to be a disease, instead of being what it really is — 
 a natural process, and that old-fashioned notions, 
 and not common sense, ought to guide them. 
 
 The patient should, after the birth of her child, 
 be strictly prohibited from talking, and noisy con- 
 versation ought not to be allowed ; indeed, she 
 cannot be kept too quiet, as she may then be 
 induced to fall into a sweet sleep, which would 
 recruit her wasted strength. As soon as the babe 
 has been washed and dressed, and the mother 
 made comfortable in bed, the nurse ought alone to 
 remain; let every one else be banished from the 
 room. Visitors should on no account be allowed 
 to see the patient. Perfect rest is most essential 
 to recovery, and is the best of medicines. 
 
 Before going to sleep, if there is the slightest 
 inclination to urinate, it should be promptly re- 
 sponded to by the patient. This will make her 
 more comfortable, and the sleep more sweet. Let 
 me urge the importance of performing this func- 
 tion while in a lying position. 1 have known 
 violent flooding to result from allowing the patient 
 to sit up while obeying the demands of nature. 
 
 The bed pan (previously warmed by dipping it 
 
TREATMENT OF THE BOWELS. 239 
 
 in very hot water and then quickly drying it) 
 ought to be used for some days after confinement. 
 It is admirably adapted for the purpose, as it takes 
 up but little room, and is conveniently shaped, and 
 readily slips under the patient, and enables her to 
 make water comfortably, she being perfectly 
 passive the while. It should be passed under her 
 in the front, and not at the side of the body. 
 
 The bowels,— After a confinement the bowels are 
 usually costive. This confined state of the bowels 
 after labor, is doubtless a wise provision of nature, 
 in order to give repose to the surrounding parts — 
 especially to the womb; it is well, therefore, not to 
 interfere with them, but to let them have for three 
 days perfect rest. Sometimes, before the expira- 
 tion of the third day, the bowels are relieved by 
 taking a cup of warm coffee. If such is the case, 
 all well and good ; as it is much better that 
 the bowels should be relieved without medicine 
 than with medicine ; but if, having taken the coffee, 
 at the end of the third day they are not opened, 
 then early on the following day let the nurse ad- 
 minister an enema of warm water — a pint each time. 
 This is an excellent, indeed the best, method of 
 opening the bowels, as it neither interferes with 
 the appetite nor with the digestion ; it does away 
 with the nauseousness of castor oil, and does not, 
 in the administration, give the slightest pain. If 
 the first enema should not have the desired effect, 
 let one be given every quarter of an hour until 
 relief is obtained, One of the best for the pur- 
 
240 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 pose — if the warm water is not sufficiently active 
 is the following : — 
 
 Take of — Olive oil, two tablespoonfuls ; 
 
 Table salt, two tablespoonfuls ; 
 Warm oatmeal gruel, one pint ; 
 To make a clyster. 
 
 Another capital enema for the purpose is one made 
 of Castile soap dissolved in warm water. But if 
 the water is sufficient for the purpose, so much the 
 better — it is far preferable to either of the others. 
 Remedies, providing they are effectual, cannot be 
 too simple; and all that is usually required in such 
 cases is, to wash the bowels out, which, as a rule, 
 the warm water is of itself quite able to do. It is 
 therefore desirable, before any other more compli- 
 cated enema be used, simply to try the warm 
 water only. 
 
 If the patient object to the administration of an 
 enema, then either a teaspoonful of calcined mag- 
 nesia, mixed in a little water, or the following 
 draught, will be found useful ; either will act 
 kindly, and will neither gripe the mother nor the 
 child : 
 
 Concentrated Essence of Senna, half an ounce; 
 Syrup of Ginger, one dram; 
 Pure Water, seven drams ; 
 To make a draught. To be taken early in the morning. 
 
 If in twelve hours the above draught should 
 not have the desired effect, let the draught be re- 
 peated. If the bowels are easily moved, half of 
 the above draught is usually sufficient. Or, one 
 or two teaspoonsful of an electuary of figs, raisins 
 
TREATMENT OF THE BOWELS. 
 
 241 
 
 and senna may be eaten early in the morning* — 
 but let every parturient woman bear in mind that 
 as soon as her bowels will act, either naturally or 
 by the taking of a cupful of warm coffee, or by the 
 administration of a warm water enema, not a 
 particle of medicine should be swallowed. Much 
 laxative medicine is an abomination. 
 
 An enema is, both during nursing and during 
 pregnancy, an admirable method of opening 
 costive bowels, and deserves to be more universally 
 followed than it now is ; fortunately, the plan is 
 making rapid progress, and shortly will entirely 
 supersede the necessity of administering cathartic 
 drugs. Aperients are a clumsy and roundabout 
 way of opening costive bowels, and sometimes 
 harass the patient exceedingly. The lower bowel, 
 and not the stomach, needs emptying ; the stomach 
 should be left alone, and not be worried by ca- 
 thartics. The stomach has its proper work to do, 
 namely, to digest the food put into it, and which 
 function aperients sadly interfere with. Hence 
 the great value of an enema, and of keeping the 
 bowels regular, when possible, by fruit and not 
 by physic, by gentleness and not by violence. 
 
 The cleansings. — This watery discharge occurs 
 directly after a confinement, and lasts a week or 
 ten days, and sometimes even longer. It is of 
 a reddish color, which gradually changes to a 
 brownish hue, and afterward to a greenish shade; 
 hence the name of "green waters." It has in some 
 
 *See p. 113. 
 *6 
 
242 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 cases a disagreeable odor. A moderate discharge 
 is necessary ; but when it is profuse it weakens the 
 patient. 
 
 Some ignorant nurses object to having the 
 parts bathed after delivery ; they have the im- 
 pression that such a proceeding would give cold. 
 Warm fomentations twice a day, and even oftener, 
 either if the discharge or if the state of the parts 
 require it, are absolutely indispensable to health, 
 cleanliness, and comfort. Cleanliness at these 
 times is far more necessary than at any other period 
 of a woman's existence. Neglecting to bathe the 
 parts at these times is shameful, and leads to 
 miserable consequences. 
 
 There is nothing better for the purpose than a 
 soft sponge and warm water, unless the parts are 
 very sore ; when this is the case, a warm fomen- 
 tation, two or three times a day, of marshmallows 
 and camomile,* will afford great relief; or the 
 parts may be bathed with warm, well-made and 
 well-boiled oatmeal gruel, of course without salt. 
 The parts ought, after each fomentation, to be 
 well, but quickly, dried with warm, dry, soft 
 towels, and after the bathing and the drying, 
 should, by means of a piece of soft linen be well 
 anointed with warm salad oil. Warm salad oil 
 for this purpose is a most soothing, healing, and 
 comfortfng dressing, and is far superior to all ani- 
 mal oils. 
 
 *Boil two handfuls of marshmallows and two handfuls of camo- 
 mile blows in two quarts of water for a quarter of an hour, and strain* 
 
REST AFTER DELIVERY. 243 
 
 The internal parts should be well syringed out 
 with either of the above remedies two or three 
 times a day. 
 
 Let the above rules be strictly followed. Let 
 no prejudices stand in the way of the above advice. 
 Bathing of the parts after confinement, and that 
 frequently, is absolutely required, or evil results 
 will ensue, 
 
 Notwithstanding the great good that results 
 from exercise and the " fruit diet," in confinement, 
 I would urge my reader, despite her inclination to 
 be up and about, to remain quiet in bed for a few 
 days after labor. 
 
 The womb requires rest, and the only way to 
 obtain it is by remaining in bed for the first five or 
 six days. After this the patient may safely be re- 
 moved for a short period of the day either to 
 another bed or to a sofa. She should be trans- 
 ferred by two assistants, one taking hold of her 
 shoulders and the other of her hips, and thus lift- 
 ing her from one bed to the other. 
 
 The above plan may appear irksome, but my ex- 
 perience tells me that it is necessary, absolutely 
 necessary. The benefit the patient will ultimately 
 reap from it will amply repay the temporary an- 
 noyance of so much rest. 
 
 Poor women who go about too soon after their 
 confinements frequently suffer from falling of the 
 womb. An abundance of exercise during preg- 
 nancy, and perfect rest for a few days after labor, 
 cannot be too strongly insisted upon, 
 
244 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 Falling of the womb is a disagreeable complaint, 
 and the misfortune of it is, that every additional 
 child increases the infirmity. In the majority of 
 cases this trouble might have been prevented, if 
 the recumbent posture had been strictly adopted, 
 for ten days, or two weeks after delivery. 
 
 Dietary. — For the first day the diet should con- 
 sist of nicely made and well boiled Graham gruel, 
 arrowroot, and milk, bread and milk, tea, dry toast 
 and butter, or bread and butter; taking care not 
 to overload the stomach with too much fluid. A 
 cupful of either food should not be exceeded, 
 otherwise the patient will feel oppressed , she will 
 be liable to violent perspiration, and there will be a 
 too abundant secretion of milk. 
 
 For the second day. — Breakfast, — either dry toast 
 and butter, or bread and butter, and black tea. 
 Dinner, — either chicken or game, mashed potatoes 
 and bread. Supper, — a breakfast-cupful of well- 
 boiled and well-made gruel, made either with 
 water or with fresh milk, or with equal parts of 
 milk and water, or with water with a table- 
 spoonful of cream added to it. 
 
 On the third and fourth days. — Similar diet to 
 the second day, with this difference, that for dinner 
 the patient should have mutton — either a mutton 
 chop or a cut out of a joint of mutton, instead of 
 the chicken or game. The diet ought gradually 
 to be improved, so that at the end of four days she 
 should return to her usual diet — providing it is 
 plain, wholesome and nourishing. 
 
DIETARY. 24^ 
 
 The above, for the generality of cases, is the scale 
 of dietary ; but of course every patient ought not 
 to be treated alike. If weak and delicate, she may 
 require good nourishment from the beginning, and 
 instead of gruel, it may, from the very commence- 
 ment, be necessary to prescribe good strong beef 
 tea, veal and milk broth, chicken broth, mutton 
 chops, grilled chicken, game, the yolk and the 
 white ol an egg beaten up together in half a tea- 
 cupful of good fresh milk, etc. 
 
 For the first week either toast and water or 
 barley water and milk, with the chill taken off, is 
 the best beverage. Barley water, either with or 
 without the milk, forms an admirable drink; but 
 in either case, it ought always to be eaten flavored 
 with table salt. A little salt should always be 
 added to barley water — it takes off its insipidity, 
 it gives it a relish which it otherwise would not 
 possess. Some of my patients like it not only 
 flavored with salt, but also slightly sweetened 
 with loaf sugar. 
 
 Wine, spirits, and beer, during this time, unless 
 the patient is weak and exhausted, or unless or- 
 dered by the doctor, ought not to be given. All 
 liquids given during this period should be admin- 
 istered by means of a feeding-cup ; this plan I 
 strongly recommend, as it is both a comfort and a 
 benefit to the patient ; it prevents her every time 
 she has to take fluids from sitting up in bed, and it 
 keeps her perfectly still and quiet, which, for the 
 first week after confinement, is very desirable. 
 
246 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 When she is weak, and faint, and low, it may, 
 as early as the first or second day, be necessary to 
 give a stimulant, such as either a tumblerful of 
 home-brewed ale or a glass or two of wine daily ; 
 but in the generality of cases either toast and 
 water, or barley water and milk, for the first week 
 after confinement, is the best beverage. 
 
 An excellent beverage to quench the thirst in 
 hot weather, after a confinement, is cold, weak 
 black tea, with very little sugar, but with plenty 
 of cream in it. 
 
 Tea for breakfast and supper is, during a re- 
 covery, better than coffee ; but if tea is distasteful, 
 then either cocoa or chocolate, made with one-half 
 fresh milk, should be taken. Cocoa and chocolate 
 are both invigorating and nourishing, and are very 
 suitable as beverages, both at and after a con- 
 finement. 
 
 If the bowels are costive, coffee is, from time to 
 time, preferable to either tea ; cocoa or chocolate; 
 but not otherwise. Coffee, if used regularly, re- 
 quires the taking of exercise, which, in this case, 
 is quite out of the question. An occasional cup of 
 coffee is often of great service, as it will do away 
 with the necessity of swallowing a cathartic — 
 which is an important consideration. The best 
 time for taking the cup of coffee is early in the 
 morning. Coffee, after a confinement, ought to be 
 taken, not as a beverage regularly, but as an 
 aperient occasionally. 
 
 Milk will often be made to agree with a nursing 
 
water a valuable aperient. 247 
 
 mother if she will always take it mixed with an 
 equal quantity of water. The water added to the 
 milk, prevents the milk from binding up the bowels, 
 which it otherwise would do ; not only so, but 
 milk without the addition of an equal quantity of 
 water is usually too heavy for the stomach easily 
 to digest. 
 
 I have for years paid great attention to the 
 subject, and come to the conclusion that water is a 
 most valuable aperient. While milk, by itself, binds 
 up the bowels, producing obstinate constipation; 
 the mixing of an equal quantity of water with the 
 milk entirely deprives milk of its binding qualities, 
 and keeps the bowels in a regular state. These 
 facts are most important to bear in mind ; and I 
 know them to be facts, having had great expe- 
 rience in the matter, and having made the subject 
 my especial study, and having had the honor of 
 first promulgating the doctrine that water, in 
 proper quantities, is a valuable aperient, and that 
 water, in due proportions, mixed with milk, pre- 
 vents the milk from confining the bowels, which it 
 otherwise would do. 
 
 Some persons have an idea that a wife, for 
 some months after child-birth, should be treated as 
 an invalid — should lead an idle life. This is an 
 error ; for of all people in the world, a nursing 
 mother should remember that "employment is 
 Nature's physician, and is essential to human 
 happiness." The best nurses and the healthiest 
 mothers, are wives who are employed from morn- 
 
248 
 
 CHILD-BIRTH. 
 
 ing until night — wno have no spare time unem- 
 ployed to feel nervous, or to make complaints of 
 aches and of pains — to make a fuss about ; indeed, 
 so well does employment usually make them feel 
 that they have really no aches or pains — either 
 real or imaginary — to complain of, but are hearty 
 and strong, happy and contented; indeed, the 
 days are too short for them. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 NURSING. 
 
 
 A mother ought not, unless she intends to 
 devote herself to her baby, to undertake to nurse 
 him. She must make up her mind to forego the 
 so-called pleasures of a fashionable life. There 
 ought to be no half-and-half measures ; she should 
 either give up her helpless babe to the tender 
 mercies of a wet nurse, or she must devote her 
 whole time and energy to his welfare — to the 
 greatest treasure that God hath given her. 
 
 If a mother is blessed with health and strength, 
 and has a good breast of milk, it is most unnatural 
 and very cruel for her not to nurse her child. 
 
 A mother who does not nurse her child is very 
 likely soon to be in the family way again. This is 
 an important consideration, as frequent child-bear- 
 ing is much more weakening to the constitution 
 than is the nursing of children. Indeed nursing, 
 as a rule, instead of weakening, strengthens the 
 mother's frame exceedingly, and assists her mus- 
 cular development. Those mothers who nurse 
 and cherish their own offspring are not only more 
 truly mothers, but they have a double reward in 
 that, while their children thrive and thus gladdeji 
 
 (249) 
 
2$0 NURSING. 
 
 their hearts, they themselves are also very ma- 
 terially benefited. No woman is so healthy as she 
 who bears healthy children healthily. 
 
 The breast. — As soon as the patient has recovered 
 from the fatigue of labor — say, in about four to 
 six hours — attention ought, especially in a first 
 confinement, to be paid to the breasts. 
 
 In the first confinement there is, until the third 
 day, but very little milk ; although there is usually 
 on that day, and for two or three days afterward, a 
 great deal of swelling, hardness, distension, and 
 uneasiness of the breasts ; in consequence of which, 
 both care and attention are needed. 
 
 Not only this, but there is frequently a degree 
 of feverishness, which, in some cases, is rather 
 severe, amounting even to what is called milk 
 fever. 
 
 If there is milk in the breast, which may be 
 readily ascertained by squeezing the nipple be- 
 tween the finger and the thumb, the infant should 
 at first be applied, not frequently, but at consid- 
 erable intervals, say until the milk is properly 
 secreted, every four hours. When the milk flows, 
 the child ought to be applied more frequently, but 
 still at stated times. 
 
 The child ought never to be given the nipple 
 until it is first satisfactorily ascertained that there 
 is really milk in the breasts; neglect of this advice 
 has caused many a gathered breast, and has fre- 
 quently necessitated the weaning of the child. 
 
 To wash away any viscid mucus from the nip- 
 
THE BREASTS— TREATMENT. 2$f 
 
 pie, or any stale perspiration, the breasts and 
 nipples should be sponged with a little warm 
 water, and dried with a warm, soft napkin. Some 
 infants are so particular, that, unless the breasts 
 are perfectly free from stale perspiration, and the 
 nipples from dried-up milk, they will not nurse. 
 If after the above cleansing- process, there is any 
 difficulty in making him nurse, smear a little cream 
 on the nipple, and then immediately apply him 
 to it. 
 
 If the breasts are full, hard, knotty, and painful, 
 which they generally are two or three days after 
 a first confinement, let them be well but tenderly 
 rubbed every four hours, with the best olive oil 
 (a little of which should be warmed in a teacup) 
 or with equal parts of olive oil and of Eau de Co- 
 logne, which should be well shaken in a bottle 
 every time before using. 
 
 On the third day, more especially after a first 
 confinement, the breasts are apt to become very 
 much swollen, painful and distended. If such is 
 the case, it may be necessary, for a few days, to 
 have them drawn once or twice daily. 
 
 If the breasts are more than usually large and 
 painful, in addition to assiduously using the one or 
 the other of the above liniments, apply to the 
 breasts, in the intervals, young cabbage leaves, 
 which should be renewed after each rubbing. Be- 
 fore applying them, the veins of the leaves should 
 with a sharp knife be cut smooth — level with the 
 leaf. It will require several, as the whole of the 
 
252 NURSING. 
 
 breast ought to be covered. The cabbage leaves 
 will be found both cooling and comforting. Each 
 breast should then be nicely supported with a soft 
 folded silk handkerchief which should be tied at 
 the back of the neck — thus acting as a kind of sling 
 to the breasts. 
 
 While the breasts are full and uncomfortable 
 the patient ought not to drink much fluid, as it 
 would only encourage a larger secretion of milk. 
 
 When the secretion of milk is at its height, she 
 ought, for a couple of mornings, to take a little 
 cooling medicine — a Seidlitz powjder — and every 
 four hours the following effervescing mixture : 
 
 Take of — Bicarbonate of Potash, one dram and a half ; 
 
 Distilled Water, eight ounces ; 
 To make a mixture. — Two tablespoonfuls to be taken, with two 
 tablespoonfuls of the Acid Mixture, every four hours, while 
 effervescing, 
 
 Take of — Citric Acid, three drams ; 
 
 Distilled Water, eight ounces ; 
 Mix. — The Acid Mixture. 
 
 The best way of taking the above is to put two 
 tablespoonfuls of the first mixture into a tumbler, 
 and two tablespoonfuls of the acid mixture into a 
 wine glass, then to add the latter to the former, 
 and it will bubble up like soda water. Instantly 
 drink it while effervescing. 
 
 The size of the breasts under the above manage- 
 ment will soon decrease, all pain will cease, and the 
 infant will, with ease and comfort, take the breast. 
 Second and succeeding confinements. — If the breasts 
 
MILK FEVER — TREATMENT. 253 
 
 are comfortable (which in the second and in suc- 
 ceeding confinements they probably will be), let 
 nothing be done to them, except as soon as the 
 milk comes, at regular intervals, apply the child 
 alternately to each of them. Many a breast has 
 been made uncomfortable, irritable, swollen, and 
 even has sometimes gathered, by the nurse's inter- 
 ference and meddling. Meddlesome midwifery iu 
 bad, and I am quite sure that meddlesome breast- 
 tending is equally so. A nurse, in her wisdom, 
 fancies by rubbing, by pressing, by squeezing, 
 by fingering, by liniment, and by drawing, that she 
 does great good, while in reality, in the majority 
 of cases, by such interference she does great harm. 
 
 The child will, in second and in succeeding con- 
 finements, as a rule, be the best and the only doctor 
 the bosoms require. I am quite convinced that, 
 in a general way, nurses interfere too much, and 
 that the breasts in consequence suffer. It is the 
 doctor's province, in such matters, to direct the 
 treatment; while it is the nurse's duty to fully 
 carry out the doctor's instructions. 
 
 Let the above advice be borne in mind, and 
 much trouble, misery, and annoyance may be 
 averted. Nature manages these things much bet- 
 ter than any nurse possibly can do ; and does not, 
 as a rule, require helping. 
 
 Milk fever or weed. — The patient is liable a few 
 days — generally on the third day after confinement 
 — to a feverish attack, called Milk Fever or Weed, 
 or Ephemeral Fever, and ephemeral it truly is, as 
 
254 NURSING. 
 
 it lasts only twenty-four hours, or at most, unless 
 some mischief should intervene, forty -eight hours. 
 It comes like an ague fit, having its three stages — 
 its cold stage, its hot stage, and its sweating stage. 
 There is usually accompanying it headache, and 
 pains flying about one or both the breasts, the 
 back, and the lower part of the abdomen. 
 
 The fever on the secretion of the milk, usually 
 passes off, leaving no damage in its track ; yet, 
 notwithstanding, it sometines does leave injury 
 behind, either in the womb or in the breast — caus- 
 ing, in some instances, a badly gathered breast. 
 
 The ephemeral fever, therefore, requires great 
 care and attention, both from the doctor and from 
 the nurse to ward off such a serious disease as a 
 gathered breast. 
 
 Stated time for nursing. — After the babe is 
 washed, he generally falls asleep, and sleeps for 
 several hours. It is not necessary to arouse him 
 from his slumber to give hin sustenance — cer- 
 tainly not ; the mother's milk is not always ready 
 for him ; but as soon as it is, he instinctively 
 awakes, and becomes importunate, and cries until 
 able to obtain it. Nature — beneficent Nature — if 
 we will but listen to her voice, will usually tell us 
 what to do and what not to do. The teasing of a 
 mother's breasts by putting the babe to them 
 before there is milk, and the stuffing of an infant 
 with artificial food, are evils of great magnitude, 
 and cannot be too strongly condemned. 
 
 A mother ought to nurse her babe at stated 
 
STATED TIMES FOR NURSING. 255 
 
 times. It is a bad habit to give him the breast 
 every times he cries, regardless of the cause ; for 
 be it what it may — over-feeding, griping, wind, or 
 acidity — she is apt to consider the breast a panacea 
 for all his sufferings. A mother generally nurses 
 her infant too often — having him almost constantly 
 at the breast. This practice is injurious both to 
 parent and to child. For the first month, the child 
 should be nursed about every hour and a half ; for 
 the second month, every two hours ; gradually 
 increasing as he becomes older, the distance of 
 time between, until at length he has the breast 
 about every four hours. If nursed at stated pe- 
 riods, he would only look for it at those times, and 
 be satisfied. 
 
 A mother frequently allows her babe to nurse 
 a great part of every night. This plan is hurtful 
 both to herself and the child ; it weakens her, and 
 thus enfeebles him ; it robs them both of their 
 sleep, and generates bad habits, which it will be 
 difficult to break ; it often gives the mother a sore 
 nipple and the child a sore mouth ; it sometimes 
 causes the mother to have a gathered breast, and 
 fills the child with wind. 
 
 It is surprising how soon an infant may, by 
 judicious management, be brought into good 
 habits ; it only requires, at first, a little deter- 
 mination and perseverance ; a nursing mother 
 therefore ought at once to commence by giving 
 her child the breast at stated periods, and should 
 rigidly adhere to the times above recommended. 
 
256 NURSING. 
 
 A mother should not, directly after taking a long 
 walk, and while in a state of violent perspiration, 
 give her babe the breast ; the milk, being at that 
 time in a heated state, will disorder her child's 
 bowels, or it may originate some skin disease, and 
 one difficult to cure. She ought before giving him 
 the breast, to wait until the surface of her body be 
 moderately cool, but not cold. Let her be careful 
 not to sit in draughts. 
 
 Clothing. — A nursing mother ought to have her 
 dress made loose and comfortable. If not in the 
 habit of wearing a flannel waistcoat, she ought at 
 least to have the breast covered with flannel, 
 taking care that there is a piece of soft linen over 
 the nipples. I should advise a nursing mother to 
 provide herself with a waterproof nursing apron, 
 which may be procured at any druggist's. 
 
 Dietary. — A nursing mother ought to live 
 plainly; her diet should be both light and nour- 
 ishing. It is a mistaken notion that at these times 
 she requires extra good living. She ought never 
 to be forced to eat more than her appetite de- 
 mands, or indigestion, heartburn, sickness, cos- 
 tiveness, or a bowel complaint, will ensue. It is 
 folly at any time to force the appetite. If not 
 hungry, compelling her to eat will do her more 
 harm than good. 
 
 The best meats are mutton and beef; veal and 
 pork may be eaten for a change. Salted meats 
 are hard of digestion ; if boiled beef is eaten, it 
 ought to be only slightly salted. Salt of course. 
 
DIETARY. 257 
 
 must be eaten with unsalted meat. Highly-sea- 
 soned dishes are injurious; they inflame the blood, 
 and thus disorder the milk. 
 
 Some persons consider that no care is required 
 in the selection of food, and that a nursing mother 
 may eat anything, be it ever so gross and un- 
 wholesome ; but if we appeal to reason and facts, 
 we shall be borne out in saying that great care is 
 required. It is well known that cow's milk par- 
 takes of the properties of the food on which the 
 animal lives. Thus, if a cow is fed on swedes, the 
 milk and the butter will have a turnipy flavor. 
 This, beyond a doubt, decides that the milk does 
 partake of the qualities of the food on which she 
 feeds. The same reasoning holds good in the 
 human species, and proves the absurdity of al- 
 lowing a nursing mother to eat anything, be it 
 ever so gross, indigestible, or unwholesome. 
 Again, either a dose of purgative medicine or 
 greens eaten at dinner, will sometimes purge the 
 babe as violently, or even more so, than the 
 mother herself. 
 
 A babe who is nursed by a mother who lives 
 grossly is more prone to disease, particularly to 
 skin diseases, and to inflammatory complaints, and 
 to diseases which are difficult to subdue. On the 
 other hand, a nursing mother, who lives on nour- 
 ishing diet, yet simply and plainly, has usually the 
 purest, as well as the most abundant, supply of 
 milk. 
 
 Do not let me be misunderstood : I am not ad- 
 
258 NURSING. 
 
 vocating that a mother should be fussily particulai 
 Let her take a variety of food, both animal and 
 vegetable. But what I object to are gross meats, 
 such as goose and duck; highly salted beef; shell- 
 fish, such as lobster and crab ; rich dishes ; highly 
 seasoned soup ; pastry , unless plain ; cabbage, greens 
 and pickles, if found to disagree with the babe, 
 and with any other article of food which is either 
 rich, gross, or indigestible, and which, from ex- 
 perience, she has found to disagree with herself 
 or with her child. It will be seen from the above 
 catalogue, that my restrictions as to diet are lim- 
 ited, and I hope are founded both on reason and 
 on common sense — which ought to be the guides 
 and counselors of every nursing mother, and of 
 every one else besides. 
 
 A mother who is nursing is at times liable to at- 
 tacks of depression. Let me strongly urge the im- 
 portance of her abstaining from wine and from all 
 other stimulants as a remedy; they would only 
 raise her spirits for a time and then would depress 
 them in an increased ratio. Either a drive in the 
 country, a short walk, a cup of tea, or a chat with 
 a friend, would be the best medicine. 
 
 Fresh air and exercise. — Outdoor exercise dur- 
 ing nursing cannot be too strongly insisted upon ; 
 it is the finest medicine both for babe and mother. 
 Whenever the weather will admit, it must be 
 taken. It is utterly impossible for a nursing 
 mother to make good milk unless she takes an 
 abundance of exercise, and breathes plenty of 
 fresh air. 
 
OCCUPATION. 259 
 
 Whatever improves the health of the mother, 
 at the same time benefits the child. There is 
 nothing more conducive to health than an 
 abundance of outdoor exercise. It often happens 
 that a mother who is nursing seldom leaves the 
 house ; she is a regular fixture, or like a cabbage 
 that vegetates in one spot ; the consequence is both 
 she and her babe are usually delicate and prone to 
 sickness — it would, indeed, be strange if they were 
 not. 
 
 Carriage riding, if the weather is hot and 
 sultry, is preferable to walking ; if that is not 
 practicable, she ought to have the windows thrown 
 wide open, and should walk about the hall, and 
 the rooms, as she would by such means avoid the 
 intense heat of the sun. Although carriage exer- 
 cise during intensely hot weather is preferable to 
 walking exercise, yet walking must, during some 
 portion of the day, be practiced. There is no sub- 
 stitute, as far as health is concerned, for walking. 
 Many ailments that women now labor under 
 could be walked away ; and really it would be a 
 pleasant medicine — far more agreeable and effect- 
 ual than either pill or potion ! 
 
 Occupation. — I strongly recommend a nursing 
 mother to attend to her household duties. She is 
 never so happy, nor so well, as when her mind is 
 moderately occupied with something useful. She 
 never looks so charming as when attending to the 
 little cares of her home. 
 
 A patient must have occupation — bustling oc- 
 
26o NURSING. 
 
 cupation— -real downright work, either in the form 
 of outdoor exercise, or of attending" to her house- 
 hold duties, if she desires to have a good breast 
 of milk, and healthy children. The Almighty is 
 no respecter of persons. He has ordained that 
 work shall be the lot of man, and of woman too ! 
 It is a blessed thing to be obliged to work. If 
 we do not work, we have to pay a heavy penalty 
 in the loss of both health and happiness. Work 
 is the grand cure of all the maladies and miseries 
 that ever beset mankind. 
 
 A mother who is listless and idling the greater 
 part of every day in an easy chair, or reclining 
 on a sofa, in a room where a breath of air is not 
 allowed to enter, usually makes a miserable and 
 wretched nurse. She is hysterical, nervous, dys- 
 peptic, emaciated and dispirited ; having but little 
 milk, and that little of a bad quality ; her babe is 
 puny, pallid and unhealthy, and frequently drops 
 into an untimely grave. Occupation, with fresh 
 air and exercise, is indispensable to a mother who 
 is nursing. How true it is that to be employed 
 is to be happy, while the converse is equally cor- 
 rect — to be idle is to be miserable. 
 
 No wife — more especially a nursing mother — 
 can be strong and well unless she has occupation. 
 Occupation is emphatically a necessity. "Nature 
 has made occupation a necessity ; society makes 
 it a duty ; habit may make it a pleasure." 
 
 Ailments, etc. — A good nipple is important, both 
 to the comfort of the mother and to the well- 
 doing of the child. 
 
RETRACTED NIPPLES. 26 1 
 
 One, among many, of the ill effects of corsets is 
 the pushing in of the nipples ; sore nipples, and con- 
 sequent suffering, are the result ; a mother thus 
 afflicted may be quite unable to nurse her infant ; 
 and then she will be severely punished for her 
 ignorance and folly. Women who never wear 
 stays have much better nipples, and more fully 
 developed breasts ; hence such mothers are more 
 likely to make better nurses to their babes. There 
 is no doubt that the pressure of the stays tends to 
 decrease the size of the breasts and cause the 
 nipples to be pushed in, and thus to sadly interfere 
 with their functions. I should strongly advise 
 every mother who has daughters old enough to 
 profit by it, to bear this fact in mind, and thus to 
 prevent mischief when mischief might be pre- 
 vented, by not allowing them to wear stays. 
 
 Treatment of very small and retracted nipples. — 
 The baby ought to nurse by means of a glass 
 nipple shield, placed over the nipple. I have 
 known many mothers able to nurse their children 
 with this invention, who otherwise would have 
 been obliged to have weaned them, or to have 
 procured the assistance of a wet nurse. The above 
 aid, in the generality of instances, will enable the 
 infant to nurse with ease. After this has been used 
 for a time, the nipples will be so improved as to 
 render the continuance of it unnecessary. I do 
 not advise the use of this nipple shield until a fair 
 trial has been given by applying the babe at once 
 to the nipple ; but if he cannot draw out the 
 
262 NURSING. 
 
 nipple, then, rather than wean him, or than employ 
 a wet nurse, it ought, by all means, to be tried. 
 
 The following is an excellent remedy for re- 
 tracted nipples: Apply a zone of collodion, an 
 inch or two wide around the nipple — at the dis- 
 tance of half an inch. This has been found a very 
 efficient remedy. The application may be made 
 with a camel's hair brush, or with the finger. Col- 
 lodion is harmless in its effect, and can be applied 
 often, till desired result is attained. 
 
 As soon as the nipple is sufficiently drawn out, 
 the nipple shield should be dispensed with. When 
 the infant is not at the breast a metallic shield 
 should be worn. Small, bad and sore nipples 
 have, by wearing these shields, frequently been 
 drawn out and made good ones; the dress will 
 suffice to keep them in their places. These shields 
 are very cooling and healing, and serve to keep off 
 all pressure from the clothes ; they will frequently 
 cure sore nipples when other remedies have failed. 
 
 Sore nipples. — If a woman during the latter 
 months of pregnancy, were to adopt means to 
 harden the nipples, sore nipples during nursing 
 would not be so prevalent as they now are. 
 
 Sore nipples are frequently produced by the in- 
 judicious custom of allowing the child to have the 
 nipple almost constantly in his mouth. Stated 
 periods for nursing, as recommended in a previous 
 paragraph, should be strictly adopted. Another 
 frequent cause of a sore .nipple is a result of the 
 babe having the thrush. It is folly to attempt to 
 

 SORE NIPPLES — TREATMENT. 263 
 
 cure the nipple, without at the same time, curing 
 the mouth of the infant. 
 
 Treatment. — One of the best remedies for a sore 
 nipple is the following powder: 
 
 Take of - Borax, one dram ; 
 
 Powdered starch, seven drams ; 
 Mix. — A pinch of the powder to be frequently applied to the 
 nipple. 
 
 The following remedy for sore nipple is a very 
 good one : 
 
 Take of — Finely-powdered Gum Arabic, half an ounce ; 
 
 Powdered Alum, five grains ; 
 Mix well together to make a powder. A pinch of it to be fre- 
 quently applied to the sore nipple. 
 
 There is nothing in either of the above powders 
 injurious to the infant, therefore not necessary to 
 be wiped off, before applying him to the breast. 
 Indeed, the former one, as it contains borax, is 
 likely to be of service both in preventing and in 
 curing the sore mouth of the child. 
 
 If the above powders should not have the de- 
 sired effect, a liniment composed of equal parts of 
 glycerine and brandy (say a vial containing two 
 drams of each) should be tried. Shake the bottle 
 before using and then by means of a camel's hair 
 brush apply every time directly after the baby has 
 been nursed. A piece of old soft cambric, about 
 the size of the palm of the hand, snipped to make 
 it fit, ought to be moistened in the glycerine and 
 brandy, and applied to each of the sore nipples, 
 whenever the child is not at the breast, and worn 
 until they are cured. These applications will be 
 

 264 NURSING. 
 
 found of much more service and of great comfort, 
 protecting- and healing the nipples. A soft sponge 
 of warm water should be gently applied to the 
 nipples just before putting the child to the breast. 
 
 Sometimes the pure glycerine, without the 
 brandy, painted on the sore nipple, does the most 
 good ; if the glycerine and brandy does not suc- 
 ceed, the pure glycerine should be tried ; there is 
 nothing in the pure glycerine injurious to the 
 child. Equal parts of collodion and castor oil form 
 a preferable application to collodion alone for 
 sore nipples. Excoriations and fissures of the 
 nipples are more readily healed by this than any 
 other application. 
 
 Cracked and fissured nipples. — Sometimes the 
 nipple is sore from having either cracks or fissures 
 upon it. These cracks or fissures may attack any 
 part of the nipple, but are very apt to form where 
 the nipple joins the breast. 
 
 Treatment. — A good remedy for a cracked and 
 fissured nipple is for the infant to nurse through 
 a nipple shield ; and every time, directly after the 
 babe has nursed, apply to the parts affected, brandy 
 and glycerine. When the child is not at the breast 
 the metallic shield should be worn. 
 
 The nipple ought, after nursing, to be thor- 
 oughly dried by means of soft linen or cambric, 
 and then apply the collodion and castor oil mix- 
 ture. The result will be most satisfactory. 
 
 A nursing mother is sometimes annoyed by the 
 milk flowing away constantly ', making her wet and 
 

 GATHERED BREASTS — SYMPTOMS. 265 
 
 uncomfortable. All she can do under such cir- 
 cumstances is to wear nipple glasses, and to apply 
 a piece of flannel to the bosom, which will prevent 
 the milk from chilling her, and will thus do away 
 with the danger of her catching cold, etc. 
 
 If there is a supply of milk in the breasts, and 
 the child will not nurse, the doctor's attention 
 ought to be drawn to the fact, in order that he 
 may ascertain whether the babe is tongue-tied ; 
 if he is, a trifling, painless operation will soon 
 make all right. 
 
 Gathered breast. — A healthy woman with a well- 
 developed breast and a good nipple scarcely, if 
 ever, has a gathered breast. 
 
 A gathered breast is more likely to occur after 
 a first confinement, and during the first month. 
 Great care, therefore, ought to be taken to avoid 
 such misfortune. A gathered breast is frequently 
 owing to the carelessness of a mother in not cov- 
 ering her breast while nursing. Too much atten- 
 tion cannot be paid to keeping the breasts 
 comfortably warm. This should be done by throw- 
 ing either a shawl or a square of flannel over 
 the neck, shoulders and breasts. 
 
 Another cause of gathered breasts arises from 
 a mother sitting up in bed to nurse her babe. He 
 ought to be accustomed to take the breast while 
 she is lying down ; if this habit is not at first in- 
 stituted, it will be difficult to adopt it afterward. 
 Good habits may, from earliest babyhood, be 
 taught a child. 
 
266 NURSING. 
 
 A sore nipple is another fruitful cause of a 
 gathered breast. A mother, in consequence of the 
 suffering it produces, dreads putting the babe to 
 it ; she therefore keeps him almost entirely to the 
 other breast. The result is, the breast becomes 
 distended with milk, which, being unrelieved, ends 
 in inflammation, and subsequently in gathering. 
 
 There are two forms of gathered breast ; one 
 being of vast, and the other of trifling importance. 
 The first, the serious one, consists of gathering of 
 the structure of the mammary gland; the latter 
 merely of the superficial part, and ought to be 
 treated in the same manner as any other external 
 gathering, with warm poultices. 
 
 In the mild or superficial kind of gathered 
 breast, the mother may still persevere in nursing 
 her child, as the secreting portion of the. breast is 
 not at all implicated in the gathering ; but in the 
 severe form, she ought not to do so, but should 
 instantly wean her child from the affected side. 
 The healthy breast she may continue to nurse from. 
 
 A severe gathered breast is always ushered in 
 with a severe chill ; the more severe the gathering, 
 the longer the chill lasts. Let this fact be im- 
 pressed deeply upon the mother's mind, as it ad- 
 mits of no exception. This shivering is either 
 accompanied or followed by sharp, lancinating 
 pains. The breast now greatly enlarges, becomes 
 hot, and is very painful. The milk in the affected 
 breast either lessens or entirely disappears. If the 
 child is applied to the breast (which ought not to 
 
GATHERED BREASTS— CAUSES. 267 
 
 be), it gives the mother intense pain. She is fever- 
 ish and ill, she is hot one minute, and cold the 
 next — feeling as though cold water were circu- 
 lating with the blood in her veins ; she loses her 
 strength and appetite, and is very thirsty ; she 
 feels, in fact, very ill. 
 
 A doctor must, at the very onset of the chill, be 
 sent for ; and he will usually be able to prevent 
 such painful and distressing occurrence as a 
 gathered breast. If twelve hours elapse after the 
 chill has taken place, the chances are that the 
 gathering cannot be prevented ; although, even 
 then, it may, by judicious treatment, be materially 
 lessened. 
 
 We sometimes hear of a woman suffering for 
 months, and of having a dozen holes in her breast ! 
 This is generally due to a neglect in sending for 
 the doctor iimnediately after the chill ; I cannot too 
 strongly insist, under such circumstances, upon 
 obtaining prompt assistance ; not only to obviate 
 present suffering, but to prevent the function of the 
 breast from being injured. 
 
 When once a woman has had the severe form of 
 gathered breast, she ought, in all subsequent con- 
 finements, before nursing her babe, to obtain the 
 express permission of the doctor to do so, or she 
 may have a return of the gathered breast, and the 
 concomitant pain, misery and annoyance. The 
 reason of the above is obvious — the function of the 
 breast, in a severe gathering, might be irreparably 
 injured ; so that, in all subsequent confinements, 
 
 
268 NURSING. 
 
 the very attempt of nursing may, instead of induc- 
 ing secretion of milk, set up inflammatory action, 
 terminating in gathering of the breast. 
 
 When a nursing mother feels faint, she ought 
 immediately to lie down and take a little nourish- 
 ment ; a cup of beef tea with the yolk of an egg 
 beaten in it, will answer the purpose extremely 
 well. 
 
 A mother is sometimes faint from nursing her 
 child too often. As long as she continues this 
 foolish practice, she must expect to suffer from 
 faintness. When a nursing mother feels faint it is 
 often an indication that the child is robbing her 
 strength, and tells her, in unmistakable language, 
 that she must give him artificial food, or wean 
 him altogether. Warnings of faintness during 
 nursing, are not to be disregarded. 
 
 Aperients, etc., during nursing. — Strong purga- 
 tives during this period are highly improper, as 
 they are apt to give pain to the infant, as well as 
 to injure the mother. An enema, either of warm 
 water alone, or of gruel, oil and table salt,* ad- 
 ministered- by a good fountain syringe, is an excel- 
 lent method of opening the bowels, as it neither 
 interferes with the digestion of the mother nor of 
 the child. 
 
 The less laxative medicine a nursing mother 
 takes, the better will it be for herself and her 
 infant. If the bowels will not act, an enema is by 
 
 *Two tablespoonfuls of olive oil, two tablespoonfuls of table 
 salt, and a pint of warm oatmeal gruel. 
 
WEANING. 269 
 
 far the best remedy ; you can never do any harm, 
 either to the mother or to the babe, by the ad- 
 ministration of an enema; it will neither induce 
 future constipation, nor interfere with the diges- 
 tion of the mother, nor with the bowels, nor with 
 the health of the infant. For habitual constipa- 
 tion follow the directions in Chapter V. 
 
 Weaning. — There is an old saying, "That a 
 woman should carry her child nine months, and 
 should nurse him nine months.'' It is well known 
 that the first part of the old adage is correct, and 
 experience has proved the latter to be equally so. 
 If a babe is weaned before he is nine months old he 
 loses that muscular strength which the breast 
 milk alone can give ; if he is nursed after he is nine 
 months, he becomes pallid, flabby, weak and deli- 
 cate. It is generally recognized that the healthiest 
 children are those weaned at nine months com- 
 plete. Prolonged nursing hurts both child and 
 mother; in the child, causing a tendency to brain 
 disease, probably through disordered digestion 
 and nutrition ; in the mother, causing a strong 
 tendency to deafness and blindness. It is a very 
 singular fact, that in those districts of Scotland 
 where the mothers nurse their infants from fourteen 
 to eighteen months, deaf-dumbness and blindness 
 prevail to a very much larger extent among the 
 people than in districts where nine or ten months 
 is the usual limit of the nursing period. 
 
 The time, when an infant should be weaned, must 
 depend upon the strength of the child, and upon 
 
270 NURSING. 
 
 the health of the mother ; nine months on an 
 average being the proper time. If she is delicate, 
 it may be found necessary to wean him at six 
 months ; or if he is weak, or laboring under any 
 disease, it may be well to continue nursing him 
 for twelve months ; but after that time the breast 
 will do him more harm than good, and will injure 
 the mother's health. 
 
 If nursed after he is twelve months old, he is 
 generally pale, flabby, unhealthy, and rickety ; and 
 the mother is usually nervous, emaciated, and 
 hysterical. A child who is nursed beyond the 
 proper time, more especially if there is any predis- 
 position, sometimes dies either of water on the 
 brain, of consumption, or of mesenteric disease. 
 
 The manner in which a mother should zvean her 
 child. — She must, as the word signifies, do it grad- 
 ually — that is she should by degrees give him less 
 and less of the breast, and more and more of 
 artificial food ; she ought at length only to nurse 
 him at night, and lastly, it would be well for the 
 mother either to send him away or to leave him 
 at home, and for a few days go away herself. 
 
 A good plan is to have in the bed a half-pint 
 bottle of new milk, which, to prevent it from turn- 
 ing sour, has been previously boiled, so as to give 
 a little to the child in place of the breast. The 
 warmth of the body will keep the milk of a proper 
 temperature, and will supersede the use of lamps, 
 of candle frames, and all other troublesome con- 
 trivances. 
 
TREATMENT OF THE BREASTS. 2^1 
 
 If the mother is not able to leave home herseit. 
 or to send her child from home, she ought to let 
 him sleep in another room, with some responsible 
 person — I say responsible person, for a babe must 
 not be left to the tender mercies of a giggling, 
 thoughtless young girl. 
 
 If the mother, during the daytime, cannot resist 
 having the child in the room with her, then I 
 should advise her to make a paste of aloes — mix a 
 little powdered aloes with a few drops of water, 
 until of the consistence of paste — and smear a little 
 of it on the nipple every time just before putting 
 him to the breast; this will be quite enough, and 
 one or two aloe-applications to the nipple will 
 make him take a disgust to the breast; and thus 
 the weaning will be accomplished. A mother 
 need not be afraid that the aloes will injure her 
 babe ; the minute quantity he will swallow will do 
 no harm ; for the moment he tastes it, the aloes 
 being extremely bitter, he will sputter it out of his 
 mouth. 
 
 The best way of drying up the milk is to apply 
 to each breast soap plaster spread on soft pieces of 
 wash leather, the shape and size of the top of a 
 hat, with a round hole in the middle of each to 
 admit the nipple, ani with a slit from the center 
 to the circumference of each plaster to make a 
 better fit. These plasters ought to be spread by 
 a druggist. 
 
 When the child is weaned, the breasts ought 
 not to be drawn, as drawing them would cause 
 
272 NURSING. 
 
 them, to secrete larger quantities of milk ; if the 
 breasts are ever so full or uncomfortable, a mother 
 ought to leave them alone ; she should wait pa- 
 tiently, and the milk will gradually diminish, and 
 at length disappear. 
 
 Drawing the breasts during weaning, either by 
 a breast pump, the mouth, or other contrivances, 
 has frequently caused gathered breasts. If not 
 drawn, they rarely ever gather. 
 
 The above plan will generally in five or six days 
 greatly lessen the flow of milk, but if, at the end 
 of three days, the breasts still continue full and 
 uncomfortable, the plasters should Le removed, 
 and the breast ought every four hours to be well 
 but tenderly rubbed with equal parts of olive oil 
 and eau de Cologne. 
 
 Symptoms denoting the necessity of weaning. — A 
 mother sometimes cannot nurse her child ; the at- 
 tempt bringing on a train of symptoms somewhat 
 similar to the following — ringing in the ears ; dim- 
 ness of sight, aching of the eyeballs, throbbing in 
 the head, nervousness, hysterics, tremblings, faint- 
 ness, loss of appetite and of flesh, fluttering and 
 palpitation of the heart, feelings of great ex- 
 haustion, indigestion, costiveness, sinking sensa- 
 tions of the stomach, pains in the left side, great 
 weakness and dragging pains of the loins, which 
 are usually increased whenever the infant is put to 
 the breast; pallor of the countenance, shortness of 
 breath, swelling of the ankles. 
 
 Every mother who is suffering from nursing 
 
WARNING SYMPTOMS. 273 
 
 does not have the whole of the above long cata- 
 logue of symptoms! But if she has three or four 
 of the more serious of them, she ought not to dis- 
 obey the warnings, but should discontinue nursing ; 
 although it may be necessary, if the babe is not 
 strong enough to wean, to obtain a healthy wet 
 nurse to take her place. 
 
 Remember, that if the above warning symp- 
 toms are disregarded, dangerous consequences 
 may result. It might either throw the mother into 
 consumption, or bring on heart disease ; and in 
 consequence of his not being able to obtain suffi- 
 cient or proper nourishment, it might cause the 
 infant to pine away, and eventually to die either 
 of water on the brain, or of atrophy. 
 
 If there is during any period of nursing, a 
 sudden and great diminution of milk in the breasts, 
 the chances are that the mother is again enciente; 
 the child should be either weaned, or supplied 
 with a healthy wet nurse. It is most injurious 
 both to parent and to child, for a mother, when she 
 is pregnant, to continue nursing. 
 
 Soon after nine months' nursing the monthly 
 periods generally return. This is another warning 
 that the babe ought immediately to be weaned, as 
 the milk will lessen both in quantity and in nour- 
 ishment, and the child in consequence will become 
 delicate and puny, and every day he is nursed will 
 lose, instead of gain, ground. I have known many 
 children become, from protracted nursing, smaller 
 at twelve months than they were at nine months. 
 
274 NURSING. 
 
 When the nipples are persistently very sore, it 
 is often an indication that a mother ought to wean 
 her babe. Long-continued, obstinate sore nipples 
 frequently occur in a delicate woman, and speak in 
 language not to be misunderstood, that the child, 
 as far as the mother herself is concerned, must be 
 weaned. Of course, if the infant is not old enough 
 to wean, a wet nurse ought to take the mother's 
 place. If the above advice were more frequently 
 followed, gathered breasts, much suffering and 
 broken health would not so frequently prevail as 
 they now do. 
 
 If a mother is predisposed to consumption; if 
 she has had spitting of blood ; if she is subject to 
 violent palpitation of the heart ; if she is laboring 
 under great debility and extreme delicacy of con- 
 stitution, she ought not, on any account, to nurse 
 her child, but should, by all means, procure a 
 healthy wet nurse. 
 
 A mother, when weaning her child, should live 
 very abstemiously ; she should avoid highly spiced 
 and rich dishes, and stimulants of all kinds ; she 
 should drink very little fluid ; she should, as much 
 as possible, be out of sight and hearing of her 
 babe ; she should rub her breasts three times a 
 day, with warm camphorated oil. Once having 
 weaned her child, she should not again put him to 
 the breast. The less the breasts are meddled with 
 the better; except it be to rub them with warm 
 camphorated oil, or the application of soap plaster 
 spread on wash leather to each breast. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 
 A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded. — Byron. 
 
 I deem it the imperative duty of every moiher 
 to study the following subjects well. The proper 
 management of children is a vital question — a 
 mother's question, — and the most important that 
 can be brought under the consideration of a 
 parent. Strange to say, it is one that has been 
 more neglected than any other. How many 
 mothers undertake the responsible management of 
 children without previous instruction, or without 
 forethought ; they undertake it as though it may 
 be learned either by intuition, by instinct, or by 
 affection. The consequence is, that frequently 
 they are in a sea of trouble and uncertainty, 
 tossing about without rule or compass ; until, too 
 often, their hopes and treasures are shipwrecked 
 and lost. 
 
 The care, management, and consequently the 
 health and future well-doing of the child, princi- 
 pally devolve upon the mother ; " for it is the 
 mother after all that has most to do with the mak- 
 ing or marring of the man." How many cele- 
 brated men have owed their greatness and their 
 
 (275) 
 
276 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 goodness to a mother's training ? Napoleon owed 
 much to his mother. u The fate of a child," said 
 Napoleon, " is always the work of his mother," and 
 this extraordinary man took pleasure in repeating, 
 that to his mother he owed his elevation. All his- 
 tory confirms this opinion. The character of the 
 mother influences the children more than that of 
 the father, because it is more exposed to their 
 daily, hourly observation. 
 
 I am not overstating the importance of the sub- 
 ject in hand when I say that a child is the most 
 valuable treasure in the world, that '• he is the 
 precious gift of God," that he is the source of a 
 mother's greatest and purest enjoyment, that he is 
 the strongest bond of affection between her and 
 her husband, and that 
 
 "A babe in a house is a well-spring of pleasure, 
 A messenger of peace and love." — T upper. 
 
 In the writing of the following pages, I have 
 had one object constantly in view — namely, health 
 — and if the following pages insist on the import- 
 ance of one mother's duty more than another, it is 
 this, — that the mother herself look well into every, 
 thing pertaining to the majiagement of her child t 
 Blessed is that mother among mothers of whom 
 it can be said, that she hath done what she could 
 for her child — for his welfare, his happiness, and 
 his health. If a mother hath not done what she 
 could for her child — mentally, morally and physi- 
 cally — woe betide the unfortunate little creature, 
 better for him had he never been born., 
 
BAfHING OF INFANTS. 27f 
 
 Ablution. — A new-born infant ought to be 
 washed in warm water. It is not an uncommon 
 plan to use cold water from the first, under the im- 
 pression of its strengthening the child. This 
 appears to be a cruel and barbarous practice, and 
 is likely to have a contrary tendency, frequently 
 producing inflammation of the eyes, stuffing of 
 the nose, inflammation of the lungs, or looseness 
 of the bowels. Although I do not approve of cold 
 water, we ought not to run into an opposite ex- 
 treme, as hot water would weaken and enervate 
 the babe, and thus predispose him to disease. 
 Lukewarm rain water is the best to wash him 
 with. This, if in summer, should have its tem- 
 perature gradually lowered, until quite cold; if in 
 winter, a little warm water to be added, to take 
 off the chill. (By thermometer = 90 to 92 degrees). 
 
 Castile soap should be used, and care should be 
 taken that it does not get into the eyes, as it may 
 produce inflammation or smarting of these organs. 
 If the skin is delicate, or there are any excoria- 
 tions or breaking-out, then glycerine soap, instead 
 of Castile soap, ought to be used. 
 
 When the navel string comes away a mother 
 ought to commence washing her infant either in a tub, 
 or a nursery basin. Do not be afraid of water, as 
 it is one of the best strengtheners to a child's con- 
 stitution. How many infants suffer for the want 
 of water, from excoriation ! For the first part of 
 the washing a piece of flannel is very useful to use 
 with the soap, and to loosen the dirt and perspi- 
 
278 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 ration, but for the finishing up process a large 
 sponge is superior to flannel. A sponge cleanses 
 and gets into all the nooks, corners, and crevices 
 of the skin. Besides, it is softer and more agree- 
 able to the tender skin of a babe than flannel. 
 
 Any tenacious, paste-like substance, adhering to 
 the skin of a new-born babe ought to be washed 
 off at the first dressing, if it can be done with a 
 soft sponge and with care. Should there be any 
 difficulty in removing the substance, gently rub it, 
 by means of a flannel, either with a little lard, 
 fresh butter, or sweet oil. After the parts have 
 tr^en well anointed and gently rubbed with the 
 lard, oil or butter, wash off all by means of a 
 sponge, soap and warm water, and then, to com- 
 plete the process, gently put him for a minute or 
 two in his tub. If this paste-like substance is 
 allowed to remain on the skin, it might produce a 
 breaking-out. Besides, it is impossible, if allowed 
 to remain, for the skin to perform its proper 
 functions. 
 
 A babe ought, every morning of his life, to be 
 thoroughly washed from head to foot ; and this 
 can only be properly done by putting him bodily 
 into a bath. The head, before placing him in the 
 bath, should be wet, then, with a piece of flannel 
 well soaked, cleanse his whole body, particularly 
 his arm-pits, his thighs, and his groins ; then take 
 a large sponge in hand, and allow the water from 
 it to stream all over the body, particularly over 
 his back and loins. Follow this advice and you 
 
CLEANLINESS AN INCENTIVE TO HEALTH. 279 
 
 will find the plan most strengthening to your 
 child. After every bath, the skin must be thor- 
 oughly but quickly dried with warm, dry, soft 
 towels. 
 
 The ears must be carefully and well dried with 
 a soft, dry napkin; inattention to this advice has 
 sometimes caused a gathering in the ear, and at 
 other times it has produced deafness. Direct^ 
 after the infant is dried, all the parts that* are at 
 all likely to be chafed ought to be well powdered; 
 after he is well dried and powdered the chest, 
 back, bowels, and limbs should be gently rubbed, 
 taking care not to expose him unnecessarily during 
 such friction. 
 
 He ought to be partially washed every evening ; 
 indeed, it may be necessary to use a sponge and 
 warm water during the day, each time after the 
 bowels have been relieved. Cleanliness is one of 
 the great incentives to health, and therefore cannot 
 be too strongly insisted upon. If more attention 
 were paid to this subject, children would be more 
 exempt from chafings, breakings-out, and conse- 
 quent suffering, than at present. After the second 
 month, if the babe is delicate, the addition of two 
 handfuls of table salt to the water will tend to 
 brace and strengthen him. 
 
 With regard to the best powder to dust an 
 infant with, there is nothing better for general 
 use than starch — the old-fashioned starch made of 
 wheat en flour — reduced by means of a pestle and 
 mortar to a fine powder ; or Violet Powder, which 
 
2So INFANTS— AND MOW To CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 is nothing more than finely powdered starch 
 scented, and which may be procured of any drug- 
 gist. Some are in the habit of using white lead, 
 but as this is poison, it ought, on no account, to be 
 used. 
 
 If the parts about the groin and fundament are 
 excoriated, after sponging them with tepid rain 
 water, there is nothing better than dusting the 
 parts frequently with finely powdered Native Car- 
 bonate of Zinc-Calamine Powder. The best way 
 of using this powder is to tie up a little of it in a 
 piece of muslin and then gently patting the parts 
 with it. 
 
 Remember, excoriations are generally owing to 
 the want of water — to the want of an abundance of 
 water. An infant who is well bathed every morn- 
 ing seldom suffers from excoi lations, or from any 
 of the numerous skin diseases. Cleanliness is 
 the grand preventive and the best remedy for 
 excoriations. 
 
 An infant's clothes, napkins especially, ought 
 never to be washed with soda ; the washing of 
 napkins with soda is apt to produce excoriations 
 and breaking out. As washerwomen often deny 
 that they use soda, it can be easily detected by 
 simply soaking a clean white napkin in fresh water 
 and then tasting the water ; if it is brackish and salt, 
 soda has been employed. 
 
 Further advice on the question of the ablution. — It 
 is dangerous for a babe to remain for a long period 
 in a bath ; this holds good in a tenfold degree if 
 
THE NAVEL STRING. 28 1 
 
 the child has a cold or pain in his bowels. Take 
 care that, after he comes out of his tub, he is well 
 dried with warm towels. It is well to let him have 
 his bath the first thing in the morning, and before 
 he has been put to the breast. Besides, he ought 
 to have his morning ablution on an empty stomach, 
 or it may interfere with digestion, and might pro- 
 duce sickness and pain. In putting him in his tub, 
 let his head be the first part washed. We all know, 
 that in bathing in the sea, how much better we can 
 bear the water if the head is first wet. If this is 
 not done we feel shivering and starved and miser- 
 able. Let there be no dawdling in the washing ; 
 let it be quickly over. When he is thoroughly 
 dried let him be well rubbed with the warm hand 
 of the mother. While drying let him repose, kick 
 and stretch either on the warm flannel apron, or 
 else on a small blanket placed on the lap. One 
 bath in the tub, and that in the morning, is suffi- 
 cient, and better than night and morning. 
 
 Remember, it is absolutely necessary to every 
 child from his earliest babyhood to have a bath, to 
 be immersed every morning of his life in the water. 
 This advice, unless in cases of severe illness, ad- 
 mits of no exception. Water to the whole body is 
 a necessity of life, health and happiness ; it wards 
 off disease, braces the nerves, hardens the frame, 
 and is the finest tonic in the world. Oh, if even- 
 mother would follow to the very letter this counsel 
 how much misery, how much ill-health might be 
 averted ! 
 
282 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 The navel string should be wrapped in a piece 
 of fine old linen, unsinged; when singed it fre- 
 quently irritates the infant's skin. 
 
 Take a piece of soft linen, about three inches 
 wide and four inches long, and wrap it neatly 
 round the navel string, in the same manner you 
 would around a cut finger, and then tie it with a 
 few rounds of white thread. The navel string 
 thus covered should, pointing upward, be placed 
 on the belly of the child, and must be secured in 
 its place by means of a flannel belly-band. 
 
 If after the navel string has been secured, bleed- 
 ing should occur, the attendant ought imme- 
 diately to take off the covering and tightly retie 
 the navel string. To make assurance doubly 
 sure, after once tying it, she should pass the threads 
 a second time around the navel string, and tie it 
 again. After carefully ascertaining that it no 
 longer bleeds, fasten it up as before. Bleeding of 
 the navel string rarely occurs, yet in case it should, 
 if the above directions are not adopted, the child's 
 after health, or even his life, may be endangered. 
 
 The navel string separates from the child from 
 five days to a week after birth ; in some cases not 
 until ten days or two weeks, or, in rare cases, not 
 until three weeks. If the navel string does not 
 come away at the end of a week, nothing should 
 be done to cause the separation. It ought always 
 to be allowed to drop off. Meddling with the 
 navel string has frequently cost the babe a great 
 deal of suffering, and in some cases even his life. 
 
RUPTURE OF THE NAVEL. 283 
 
 The navel is sometimes a little sore after the navel 
 string comes away, in which case a little simple 
 cerate or cosmoline should be spread on lint, and 
 be applied every morning to the part affected, and a 
 white bread poultice, every night, until it is quite 
 healed. 
 
 A rupture of the navel is sometimes occasioned 
 by a meddlesome nurse. She is very anxious to 
 cause the navel string to separate from the infant's 
 body, more especially when it is longer in coming 
 away than usual. She therefore forces it away. 
 The rupture, at another time, is occasioned by the 
 child incessantly crying. A mother should always 
 bear in mind, that a rupture of the navel is often 
 caused by much crying, and that it occasions much 
 crying ; indeed, it is a frequent cause of incessant 
 crying. A child, who, without any assignable 
 cause, is constantly crying, should have his navel 
 carefully examined. 
 
 A rupture of the navel ought always to be 
 treated early — the earlier the better. Ruptures of 
 the navel can only be cured in infancy and child- 
 hood. If allowed to run until adult age, a cure is 
 impossible. Palliative means only can be adopted. 
 
 The best treatment is a Burgundy pitch plaster, 
 spread on a soft piece of wash leather, about the 
 size of the top of a tumbler, with a properly-ad- 
 justed pad (made from the plaster) fastened on the 
 center of the plaster, which will effectually keep 
 up the rupture, and in a few weeks will cure it. 
 It will be necessary, from time to time, to renew 
 
284 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CJARE FOR THEM. 
 
 the plaster until the cure is effected. These plas- 
 ters will be found more efficacious and pleasant 
 than either truss or bandage; which appliances 
 sometimes gall, and do more harm than good. 
 
 A groin rupture can also be cured, if properly 
 attended to. Consult a doctor, and he will supply 
 you with a well-fitting truss, which will eventually 
 cure him. If the truss is properly made by a skillful 
 surgical-instrument maker, a nicely-fitting one will 
 be supplied, which will take the proper and exact 
 curve of the lower part of the infant's abdomen, 
 and will thus keep on without using any under- 
 strap whatever — a great desideratum, as these un- 
 der-straps are so constantly wetted and soiled as to 
 subject the patient to cold. But if this under-strap 
 is to be superseded, the truss must be made ex- 
 actly to fit the child — a very difficult thing to ac- 
 complish unless fashioned by a skilful workman. 
 
 These groin ruptures require great attention 
 and supervision, as the rupture (the bowel) must, 
 be cautiously and thoroughly returned into the 
 abdomen before putting on the truss, and much care 
 should be used to prevent the chafing and galling 
 of the tender skin of the babe, which an ill-fitting 
 truss will be sure to occasion. The truss must not 
 be discontinued until a perfect cure is effected. 
 
 Let me strongly urge you to see that this advice 
 is carried out to the very letter, as a groin ru^ 
 ture can only be cured in infancy and in childhood. 
 If allowed to run until adult age, he will be 
 obliged to wear a truss all his life, which would 
 
CLOTHING. ?85 
 
 be a great annoyance and a perpetual irritation to 
 him. 
 
 Clothing. — The flannel belly-band ought to be 
 moderately, but not tightly applied. If tightly 
 applied it would interfere with the necessary move- 
 ment of the bowels. When the child is two or 
 three months old, the belly-band should be discon- 
 tinued. The best way of leaving it off is to tear a 
 strip off daily for a few mornings, and then leave 
 it off altogether.* Nurses who take charge of an 
 infant when the monthly nurse leaves, are fre- 
 quently in the habit of leaving off the belly-band 
 at once, which often leads to ruptures when the 
 child cries or strains. It is far wiser to retain it 
 too long than too short a time ; should a child catch 
 whooping-cough, while still very young, it is wise 
 to resume the belly-band. 
 
 * Much has recently been said and written on the subject of dress 
 for infants There are those, eminent in the medical profession, who 
 are strongly in favor of discarding all bandaging. These contend 
 that bandages are unnecessary and unnatural, and ought not to be 
 used. In a lecture delivered at the Chicago Homoeopathic Medical 
 College, L. C. Grosvenor, M. D., says: 
 
 A few years ago, when attending at the birth of a child, I chanced 
 to be the only old lady present, competent and willing to make the 
 little one's first toilet. 
 
 Now, when we old ladies of the male persuasion attempt to do any- 
 thing, we like to do it well. I got along nicely with the bath, but 
 when the wardrobe was brought in, it set me to thinking again, as it 
 had done many times before, upon the very inconvenient and harmful 
 way in which we dress our infants. 
 
 In the first place, here was a little bandage to go two or three times 
 around the body over the navel dressing, and -to be pinned with four 
 pins — and you know it is customary to wear this until the child goes 
 into short clothes, or even through the second summer. Now, the 
 Creator has made the abdominal wall elastic for a purpose — to accom- 
 modate itself to the varying conditions of the child's digestion. If it 
 has a full meal the wa.1 is large enough, and if it has eaten little it is 
 
286 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 none too iarge. If there is wind in the bowel the abdomen distends 
 and gives it room till it can find its way through sixteen feet of con- 
 voluted intestine. The bandage destroys all this elasticity and defeats 
 the Creator's plans in the matter. 
 
 " But," say the old ladies, " we must put on a bandage and put it 
 on snugly, or the baby will be ruptured, or big-bellied, and all out of 
 shape." Nonsense ! Nature does not do her work in such a careless 
 way. 
 
 When the infant cries lustily this elastic wall distends evenly in all 
 directions, and if not bandaged seldom ruptures. It is the bandaged 
 babies who rupture. 
 
 Let us see ! The band was well applied in the morning, but in the 
 constant motion so characteristic to the young of all animals, it is par- 
 tially displaced, compressing a portion of the abdomen but exposing 
 the umbilicus, which now has to take the whole pressure, and bursts, 
 and we have an umbilical hernia. "But," says the grandmother or 
 nurse, " I do not apply the band in any such careless way. I adjust 
 it evenly and put in four pins, the lower one through the diaper 
 to hold it down." What happens now? The child cries, and the 
 chance of distension being gone, he ruptures into the scrotum if a boy, 
 or in the femoral region if a girl — surely not a very desirable condition. 
 
 No. I would dress the navel with a pad of absorbent cotton and a 
 light band held by two pins, just enough to retain the navel dressing, 
 and discard the band when the navel dressing comes off. 
 
 The matrons and nurses will oppose this encroachment upon time- 
 honored customs, but a little tact and explanation will win them to 
 your way of thinking. I have seen only one ruptured baby in twenty 
 years among the unbandaged. 
 
 The next article that I came across was a little shirt, made of linen 
 — the coldest goods in the world — starched stiff at that, and having 
 saw-teeth around the neck to keep the baby irritable. Surely this 
 should have no place in the infant's wardrobe. It is neither comfort- 
 able to the child, nor convenient to the mother. 
 
 Then came the pinning blanket, one of the most uncomfortable 
 and unhealthy garments ever invented, Let us see: The chest wall 
 is made to expand and contract at every inspiration and expiration. 
 The ribs do not pass around Hhe body like a barrel hoop, but curve 
 downward and upward from the sternum to the spine in such a way 
 as to favor this expansion and contraction — and we put on this pin- 
 ning blanket, whose band is made of unelastic material close up under 
 the arms, and pin snugly — over two fingers is the rule — and so spoil 
 all the expansive pow r er of the chest during the first weeks and months 
 of the infant life. We forget that within these thoracic w r alls are 
 great vital organs, which, during these beginnings of life should have 
 the freest play. Who shall say that much of the Phthisis pulmonalis 
 and other lung diseases which scourge our land have not one, at least, 
 of their predisposing causes right here? But I have another indict- 
 ment against this absurd pinning blanket. One side is folded over 
 
CLOTHING — SOME NEW IDEAS. 287 
 
 one limb and the other over the other, and then the bottom is folded 
 upon the thighs and pinned so that the little one cannot move a limb, 
 at which he cries, and we say Colic! and commence to dose him. 
 This garment is an abomination, and should be thrown away. 
 
 After this comes the skirt, which has the same objection as the 
 pinning blanket — tightness about the chest. Another objection I 
 have to all these is, that they clothe the chest warmly and leave the 
 shoulders with only a slight covering of muslin — the dress. How a 
 more uncomfortable, unphysiological, or inhuman dress could be in- 
 vented I can hardly see. The attention of the Humane Society 
 should be called to it. 
 
 While I am aware it is easy to find fault, but not so easy to show 
 a better way, I am confident I can give you something indefinitely 
 better, in "The Gertrude Baby Suit" (this suit takes its name from 
 my own little daughter, Gertrude, for whom they were first designed, 
 some years ago, and who helped beautifully to illustrate my parlor 
 talks on this subject), entirely free from all these objections, per- 
 fectly healthful and beautiful, and very convenient to the mother in 
 using; then, too, the baby now handles like a baby. 
 
 The under garment should be made of nice fleecy goods — Canton 
 flannel is the best we have at present — cut princess, reaching from the 
 neck to ten inches (twenty-five inches long) below the feet, with 
 sleeves to the wrists, and having all the seams smooth, and the hems 
 at the neck, wrist and bottom upon the outside — the latter turned over 
 once and felled or cat-stitched with colored worsted — a tie and button 
 behind. Here you have a complete fleece-lined garment, comfortable 
 and healthy, and one that can be washed without shrinking. The 
 next garment is made of baby flannel (woolen), also cut princess, 
 same pattern, only one-half inch larger, reaching from the neck to 
 twelve or fourteen inches below the feet — to cover the other — with 
 generous armholes pinked or scalloped, but not bound, and with two 
 buttons behind at the neck, and may be embroidered at pleasure. 
 The dress cut princess to match the other garments is preferable. 
 
 The ordinary baby dresses are all right except that I would have 
 them only from thirty inches to a yard in length. 
 
 Now, these garments are put together before dressing — sleeve 
 within sleeve — and then are put over the little one's head at once and 
 buttoned behind, and the baby is dressed, there being but one pin — a 
 diaper pin — in baby's dress instead of fifteen. No shoulder blanket 
 should be used, because it is sometimes over the head, sometimes 
 about the shoulders and neck, and sometimes off entirely, and these 
 changes are exposures. Accustom the little one from the first to go 
 without it. 
 
 At night the dress should be simply a Canton flannel nightdress 
 and a diaper — the dress being not unlike the under garment in the 
 suit, only a little longer. It is absurd to think that a child can rest 
 sweetly in a diaper, a bandage, a pinning blanket, a skirt and a 
 double gown, as many a child is expected to do. A good rule is to 
 
288 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 A babe's clothing ought to be light, warm, 
 loose, and free from pins. // should be light y with: 
 out being too airy. Many infants' clothes are both 
 too long and too cumbersome. It is really pain- 
 ful to see how some poor little babies are weighted 
 down with a weight of clothes. They may be 
 said to bear the burden, and that a heavy one, 
 from the very commencement of their lives. How 
 absurd, too, the practice of making them wear 
 long clothes. Clothes to cover a child's feet, and 
 even a little beyond, may be desirable ; but for 
 clothes, when the infant h carried about, to reach 
 
 "dress the little one as you woulrf love to be dressed if you were a 
 babe." There is nothing wonOr/.^ul about this simple dress. The 
 only wonder is that we have dressed our little ones so badly so 
 long. 
 
 If your husband and I wsce to go into business together, we 
 would sit down and calculate 9fid say: How can we obtain the best 
 results with the least outlay of money or labor, and make our business 
 abreast of the freshest thought of to-day? But when our young 
 mothers go into the business of dressing their first little one, they do 
 not ask, "How can I dres? the child best in the physiological light of 
 to-day? How can I dresrj it so that it will be perfectly comfortable 
 and healthy? How can I dress it with the greatest ease and comfort 
 to myself?" but, "How did my grandmother do this?" So they go 
 b .ck fifty years for the ; ijf models. All honor to our grandmothers, 
 they did beautifully in the light they had — but if our girls of to-day 
 do not do better than their grandmothers, they do very badly. The 
 main advantages of this method are : 
 
 i. Perfect freedom to all thoracic, abdominal and pelvic 
 organs. 
 
 2. That all the clothing shall hang from the shoulders. 
 
 3. The greatest saving of the time and strength of the mother in 
 caring for the babe, there being one pin instead of fifteen. 
 
 4. The resulting health and comfort of the child. 
 
 5. The evenness of the covering of the body, there being the 
 same covering over the shoulders as elsewhere. 
 
 Let us make the physical life of our babies so perfect and happy 
 as to realize the words of Wordsworth : "Heaven lies all about us in 
 our infancy." 
 
CLOTHING— QUALITIES REQUIRED. 2S9 
 
 to the ground, is foolish and cruel in the extreme. 
 I have seen a delicate baby almost ready to faint 
 under the infliction. The clothing should be warm, 
 without being too warm. The parts that ought 
 to be kept warm are the chest, bowels, and feet. 
 If the infant is delicate, especially if subject to in- 
 flammation of the lungs, he ought to wear a fine 
 flannel, instead of his shirts, which should be 
 changed as frequently. The dress should be loose, so 
 as to prevent any pressure upon the bloodvessels, 
 which would otherwise impede the circulation, 
 and thus hinder a proper development of the 
 parts. It ought to be loose about the chest and 
 waist, so that the lungs and heart may have free 
 play. It should be loose about the stomach, so 
 that digestion may not be impeded ; it ought to be 
 loose about the bowels, in order that the spiral 
 motion of ihe intestines may not be interfered 
 with — hence the importance of putting on a band- 
 age moderately slack ; it should be loose about the 
 sleeves, so that the blood may course without 
 hindrance, through the arteries and veins; it 
 ought to be loose everywhere, for nature delights 
 in freedom from restraint, and will resent, sooner 
 or later, any interference. Oh, that a mother 
 would take common sense, and not custom, as her 
 guide ! As few pins should be used in the dressing 
 of a baby as possible. Inattention to this advice 
 has caused many a little sufferer to be thrown into 
 convulsions. 
 
 When an infant is sent out for exercise in the 
 
29O INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 winter time, be sure that he is well wrapped. He 
 ought to have under his cloak a knitted worsted 
 spencer, which should button behind ; and if the 
 weather is very cold, a shawl over all. He will 
 then come from his walk refreshed and strength- 
 , ened, for cold air is an invigorating tonic. In a 
 subsequent paragraph I will indicate the proper 
 age at which a child should be first sent out to 
 take exercise in the open air. 
 
 In the summer the right time " for shortening a 
 babe," as it is called, is at the end of two months ; 
 in the winter, at the end of three months. But if 
 the right time should happen to be in the spring, 
 let it be deferred until the end of May, as the 
 spring is usually very trying and treacherous ; and 
 sometimes, in April, the weather is almost as cold, 
 and the wind as biting as in winter. It is treach- 
 erous, for the sun is hot, and the wind at this time 
 of the year is frequently easterly, and is keen and 
 cutting. I should far prefer to shorten a child in 
 the winter than in the early spring. 
 
 Diet. — The infant ought to be given the breast 
 soon after birth ; the interest, both of mother and 
 child, demand it. It will be advisable to wait two 
 or three hours, that the mother may recover from 
 her fatigue, and then the babe must be put to the 
 breast. If this is done, he will generally take the 
 nipple with avidity. 
 
 It may be said, at so early a period that there 
 is no milk in the breast ; but such is not usually 
 the case. There generally is a little from the very 
 
HINTS ON NURSING. 29I 
 
 beginning, which acts like a purgative medicine, 
 and appears to be intended by nature to cleanse 
 the system of the babe. But, providing there is 
 no milk at first, the very act of nursing not only 
 gives the child a notion, but at the same time 
 causes a draught in the breast, and enables the 
 milk to flow easily. 
 
 Of course, if there is no milk in the breast, wait 
 a few hours, until the milk is secreted, before ap- 
 plying him again to the nipple. 
 
 An infant who is kept from the breast two or 
 three days, and fed upon gruel, generally becomes 
 feeble, and frequently will not take the nipple at 
 all. Besides, there is a thick cream which, if not 
 drawn out by the child, may cause inflammation and 
 gathering of the breasts, and consequently, great 
 suffering to the mother. Placing him early to the 
 breast moderates the severity of the mother's after 
 pains, and lessens the risk of her flooding. A 
 new-born babe must not have gruel given to him, 
 as it disorders the bowels, causes a disinclination 
 to nurse, and thus makes him feeble. 
 
 If there is no milk at first, wait with patience ; 
 the child will not require artificial food for at 
 least twelve hours. In the generality of instances, 
 artificial food is not at all necessary, but if it 
 should be needed, one-third of new milk to two- 
 thirds of warm water, slightly sweetened with loaf 
 sugar (or with brown sugar, if the babe's bowels 
 have not been opened) should be given, in small 
 quantities at a time, every four hours, until the 
 
292 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 milk is secreted, and then it must be discontinued. 
 The infant ought to be put alternately to each 
 breast every few hours, until he becomes able to 
 find nourishment. 
 
 I say alternately to each breast. This is most 
 important advice. Sometimes a child, for some 
 inexplicable reason, prefers one breast to the other, 
 and the mother, to save a little contention, con- 
 cedes the point, and allows him to have his own 
 way. And what is frequently the consequence? — 
 a gathered breast ! 
 
 We frequently hear of a babe having no notion 
 of nursing. This may generally be traced to bad 
 management, to stuffing him with food, and thus 
 giving him a disinclination to take the nipples at all. 
 
 If a baby were nursed at stated periods, he 
 would only look for the breast at those times, and 
 be satisfied. A mother is frequently in the habit 
 of giving her child the breast every time he cries, 
 regardless of the cause. The cause frequently is 
 that he has been too often nursed — his stomach 
 has been overloaded ; the little fellow is con- 
 sequently in pain, and he gives utterance to it by 
 cries. How absurd is such a practice ! We may 
 as well endeavor to put out a fire by feeding it 
 with fuel. An infant ought to be accustomed to 
 regularity in everything, in times for nursing, for 
 sleeping, etc. No children thrive so well as those 
 who are thus early taught. Artificial food must 
 not, for the first five or six months, be given, if the 
 mother is moderately strong ; if feeble, a little food 
 
ON SELECTING A WET NURSE. 293 
 
 will be necessary. Many delicate women enjoy 
 better health while nursing than at any other 
 period of their lives. As a rule, when the child 
 and the mother are tolerably strong, he is better 
 without artificial food until three or four months 
 old ; then it will usually be necessary to feed him 
 twice a day, so as gradually to prepare him to be 
 weaned at the end of nine months. If it is ascer- 
 tained, past all doubt, that a mother cannot nurse 
 her child, then a healthy wet nurse should be 
 procured, as the food which nature has supplied 
 is superior to any invented by art. Never bring 
 up a baby, if you can possibly avoid it, on artificial 
 food. It is impossible to imitate, perfectly, the 
 admirable and subtle chemistry of nature. The 
 law of nature is, that a babe, for the first few 
 months of his existence, shall be brought up by 
 the breast ; and Nature's law cannot be broken 
 with impunity. In selecting a wet nu . *e, I would 
 inquire particularly into the state of her health ; 
 whether she is of a healthy family, of consumptive 
 habits, or if she* or any of her family have the 
 scrofula, ascertaining if there are any seams or 
 swellings about her neckj any eruptions or blotches 
 upon her skin ; if she has a plentiful breast of milk, 
 and if of good quality (which may readily be 
 ascertained by drawing a little into a glass) ; if she 
 has good nipples, sufficiently long for the baby 
 to hold ; that they are not sore ; and if her own 
 child is of the same or nearly of the same age 
 as the one you wish her to nurse. Ascertain 
 
294 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 whether she menstruates during- nursing ; if she 
 does, the milk is not so good and nourishing, and 
 you had better decline taking her. Assure your- 
 self that her own babe is strong and healthy, and 
 that he is free from a sore mouth and from a 
 breaking-out of the skin. Indeed, if possible to 
 procure such a wet nurse, she ought to be from 
 the country, of ruddy complexion, of clear skin, 
 and between twenty and twenty-five years of age. 
 The milk will then be fresh, pure, and nourishing. 
 
 I consider it of great importance that the infant 
 of the wet nurse should be, as nearly as possible, 
 of the same age as your own, as the milk varies in 
 quality according to the age of the child. For 
 instance, during the commencement of nursing, 
 the milk is thick and creamy ; if given to a babe a 
 few months old, it would cause derangement of the 
 stomach and bowels. After the first few days, the 
 appearance of the milk changes ; it becomes of a 
 bluish-white color, and contains less nourishment. 
 The milk gradually becomes more and more nour- 
 ishing as the infant becomes older and requires 
 more support. 
 
 In selecting a wet nurse for a very small and 
 feeble babe, you must carefully ascertain that the 
 nipples of the wet nurse are good and soft, and yet 
 not very large; if very large the child's mouth 
 may not be able to hold them. You must note, 
 too, whether the milk flows readily from the nip- 
 ple into the child's mouth ; if it does not, he may 
 not have strength to draw it, and he would 
 
MORTALITY IN HAND-FED CHILDREN. 295 
 
 soon die of starvation. The only way of ascer- 
 taining whether the infant actually draws the milk 
 from the nipple, is by examining the mouth of the 
 child immediately after his taking the breast, and 
 seeing for yourself whether there is actually milk 
 in his mouth. The following extract, from " Play- 
 fair's Midwifery," explains the causes of mortality 
 in hand-fed children : 
 
 " Much of the mortality following hand-feeding 
 may be traced to unsuitable food. Among the 
 poorer classes especially there is a prevalent notion 
 that milk alone is insufficient ; and hence the 
 almost universal custom of administering various 
 farinaceous foods, such as corn flour or arrowroot, 
 even from the earliest period. Many of these 
 consist of starch alone, and are therefore absolutely 
 unsuited for forming the staple of diet, on account 
 of the total absence of nitrogenous elements. In- 
 dependently of this, it has been shown that the 
 saliva of infants has not the same digestive prop- 
 erty on starch that it subsequently acquires, and 
 this affords a further explanation of its so con- 
 stantly producing intestinal derangement. Reason, 
 as well as experience, abundantly proves that the 
 object to be aimed at in hand-feeding is to imitate 
 as nearly as possible the food which nature sup- 
 plies for the new-born child, and therefore the 
 obvious course is to use milk from some animal, 
 so created as to make it resemble human milk as 
 nearly as may be." 
 
 Artificial human milk. — An admirable plan of 
 
296 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 treating cow's milk, so as to reduce it to almost 
 absolute chemical identity with human milk has 
 been devised by Professor Frankland, to whom I 
 am indebted for permission to insert the recipe. 
 I have followed this method in many cases, and 
 find it far superior to the usual one, as it produces 
 an exact and uniform compound. With a little 
 practice nurses can employ it with no more trouble 
 than the ordinary mixing of cow's milk with water 
 and sugar. The following extracts from Dr. 
 Frankland's work will explain the principles on 
 which the preparation of the artificial human milk 
 is founded : "The rearing of infants, who cannot 
 be supplied with their natural food, is notoriously 
 difficult and uncertain, owing chiefly to the great 
 difference in the chemical composition of human 
 milk and cow's milk. The latter is much richer in 
 casein, and poorer in milk-sugar than the former, 
 while asses' milk, which is sometimes used for feed- 
 ing infants, is too poor in casein and butter, 
 although the proportion of sugar is nearly the 
 same as in human milk. The relations of the three 
 kinds of milk to each other are clearly seen from 
 the following analytical numbers, which express 
 the percentage amounts of the different constit- 
 uents : 
 
 Woman. Abb. Cow. 
 
 "Casein , 2.7 1.7 4.2 
 
 Butter 3.5 1.3 3.8 
 
 Milk-sugar 5.0 4.5 3.8 
 
 Salts 2 .5 .7 
 
 " These numbers show that by the removal of 
 
ARTIFICIAL HUMAN MILK. 297 
 
 one-third of the casein from cow's milk and the 
 addition of about one-third more milk-sugar a 
 liquid is obtained which closely approaches human 
 milk in composition, the percentage amounts of 
 the four chief constituents being as follows: 
 
 "Casein 2.8 
 
 Butter 3.8 
 
 Milk-sugar 5.0 
 
 Salts 7 
 
 " The following is the mode of preparing the 
 milk : Allow one-third of a pint of new milk to 
 stand for about twelve hours, remove the cream 
 and add to it two-thirds of a pint of new milk, as 
 fresh from the cow as possible. Into the one-third 
 of a pint of blue milk left after the abstraction of 
 the cream, put a piece of rennet about an inch 
 square. Set the vessel in warm water, until the 
 milk is fully curdled, an operation requiring from 
 five to fifteen minutes, according to the activity of 
 the rennet, which should be removed as soon as 
 the curdling commences, and put into an egg cup 
 for use on subsequent occasions, as it may be em- 
 ployed daily for a month or two. Break up the 
 curd repeatedly, and carefully separate the whole 
 of the whey, which should then be rapidly heated 
 to boiling in a small tin pan placed over a spirit or 
 gas lamp. During the heating a further quantity 
 of casein, technically called ' fleetings,' separates, 
 and must be removed by straining through muslin. 
 Now dissolve no grains of powdered sugar of 
 milk in the hot whey, and mix it with two-thirds 
 
298 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 of a pint of new milk to which the cream from the 
 other third of a pint was added as already de- 
 scribed. The artificial milk should be used within 
 twelve hours of its preparation, and it is almost 
 needless to add that all the vessels employed in 
 its manufacture and administration should be kept 
 scrupulously clean." 
 
 " Never give the child the white rubber nipple 
 nursing bottle, since it contains in its composition 
 the carbonate of lead, which is a sure poison — 
 sometimes slow, but none the less sure. I have 
 watched the effects of the white rubber nipple for 
 many years ; have known cases of spinal curva- 
 ture, one of complete humpback, often decayed 
 teeth, innumerable cases of sore mouth, and dysen- 
 tery or diarrhoea, many times causing death, large 
 indolent boils on the scalp, eruptions behind the 
 ears and in the folds of the neck, in consequence 
 of nursing the rubber nipple. All rubber gum 
 rings and toys should be avoided ; indeed, I wish 
 everything made from the white rubber could be 
 banished from the nursery. Any babe can be fed 
 at first with a spoon, and in a few weeks it will 
 drink from a cup or glass. If any artificial nipple 
 must be used one of silver, glass or porcelain can 
 be procured. The black rubber may not be as 
 objectionable as the white. I have known a very 
 good artificial nipple to be made of fine sponge, 
 with cambric linen covering it. A small quill 
 stitched in thoroughly is passed through the center 
 nearly to the cover, and by fitting the sponge over 
 
DIET — ARTIFICIAL FOODS. 299 
 
 the top of a small sized bottle, it answers a good 
 purpose. The vessels and tubes can scarcely be 
 kept clean of any nursing bottles, and here is 
 another plea for teaching a child that must be fed, 
 to drink from a cup or glass." 
 
 If for any reason it becomes impossible to follow 
 the above directions, then give the following milk- 
 water-and-sngar-of- m ilk food: 
 
 Fresh milk, from one cow; 
 
 Warm water, of each a quarter of a pint, 
 
 Sugar-of-milk, one teaspoonful. 
 
 The sugar-of-milk should first be dissolved in 
 the warm water, and then the fresh milk unboiled 
 should be mixed with it. The sweetening of the 
 above food with sugar-of-milk, instead of with 
 lump sugar, makes the food more resemble the 
 mother's own milk. The infant will not, probably, 
 at first take more than half of the above quantity 
 at a time, even if he does so much as that ; but 
 still the above are the proper proportions, and as 
 he grows older, he will require the whole of it at 
 a meal. Or the following milk-zvater-salt-and-sugar 
 food, should be given : 
 
 New milk, the produce of one healthy cow; 
 
 Warm water, of each, equal parts; 
 
 Table salt, a few grains — a small pinch; 
 
 Lump sugar, a sufficient quantity to slightly sweeten it. 
 
 The milk itself ought not to be heated over the 
 fire,* but should, as above directed, be warmed by 
 
 *It now and then happens, that if the milk is not boiled, the 
 motions of an infant are offensive; when such is the case, let the milk 
 be boiled, but not otherwise. 
 
 
300 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 water ; it must be fresh morning and evening, 
 The milk and water should be of the same temper- 
 ature as the mother's milk, viz., ninety degrees 
 Fahrenheit. The milk should be gradually in- 
 creased as the child grows older, and the water de- 
 creased, until two-thirds of milk and one-third of 
 water is used, but remember, that either much or 
 little water must always be given with the milk. 
 
 The great desideratum is to make the food re- 
 semble as much as possible a mother's own milk. 
 
 As soon as the child begins to cut his teeth the 
 case is altered, and farinaceous food, with milk and 
 with water, becomes an absolute necessity. 
 
 I wish to call especial attention to the following 
 facts, for they are facts : Farinaceous foods, of 
 all kinds, before the child commences cutting his 
 teeth (which is when he is about six or seven 
 months old) are worse than useless — they are posi- 
 tively injurious ; they are, during the early period 
 of infant life, perfectly indigestible, and may bring 
 on convulsions. A babe fed on farinaceous food' 
 alone would certainly die of starvation. 
 
 A babe's salivary glands do not secrete its 
 proper fluid — namely, ptyalin, and consequentlv 
 the starch of the farinaceous food is not converted 
 into dextrine and grape sugar, and is therefore 
 perfectly indigestible and useless, nay, injurious 
 to an infant, and may bring on pain, convulsions, 
 and even death. The giving of farinaceous food 
 until a child is six or seven months old, is one, and 
 the principal cause of the frightful infant mor- 
 
DIET — ARTIFICIAL FOODS. 3OI 
 
 tality at the present time, and which is a disgrace 
 to any civilized land ! 
 
 After a child begins teething any of the follow- 
 ing foods may be given : The food that suits one 
 infant, however, will not agree with another. 
 (1) The one that I have found the most useful, is 
 made as follows: Boil the crumb of bread for 
 two hours in water, taking particular care that it 
 does not burn, then add only a little loaf-sugar (or 
 brown sugar, if the bowels are costive) to make it 
 palatable. Mix a little new milk — the milk of ONE 
 cow — with it, gradually as it becomes older, in- 
 crease the quantity until it is nearly all milk, there 
 being only enough water to boil the bread ; the 
 milk should be poured boiling hot on the bread. 
 Sometimes the two milks — the mother's and the 
 cow's milk — do not agree ; when such is the case, 
 let the milk be left out, both in this and in the 
 foods following, and make the food with water, 
 instead of with milk and water. In other respects, 
 until the child is weaned, make as above directed ; 
 when he is weaned, good fresh cow's milk MUST, 
 as previously recommended, be used. (2) Or cut 
 thin slices of bread into a basin, cover the bread 
 with cold water, place it in an oven for two hours 
 to bake ; take it out, beat the bread up with a fork, 
 and then slightly sweeten it. This is an excellent 
 food. (3) Another good food is the following: 
 Take about a*pound of flour, put it in a cloth, tie 
 it up tightly, place it in a saucepanful of water, 
 and let it boil for four or five hours ; then take it 
 
302 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 out, peel off the outer rind, and the inside will be 
 found quite dry, which grate. (4) Another way 
 of preparing an infant's food, is to bake flour — 
 biscuit flour — in a slow oven, until of a light fawn 
 color. Baked flour ought, after it is baked, to be 
 reduced, by means of a rolling-pin, to fine powder, 
 and should then be kept in a covered tin, ready 
 for use. (5) An excellent food for a baby is baked 
 crumbs of bread, prepared as follows: Crumb 
 some bread on a plate ; put it a little distance from 
 the fire to dry. When dry, rub the crumbs in a 
 mortar, and reduce them to a fine powder, then 
 pass them through a sieve. Having done this, put 
 in a slow oven, and bake until they are of a light 
 fawn color. A small quantity of the boiled, or 
 baked flour, or the baked crumbs of bread, ought 
 to be made into food, in the same way as gruel is 
 made, and should then be slightly sweetened, ac- 
 cording to the state of the bowels, either with loaf 
 or brown sugar. (6) Baked flour sometimes pro- 
 duces constipation ; when such is the case, a mix- 
 ture of baked flour, and prepared oatmeal, in the 
 proportion of two of the former and one of the 
 latter, should be used. To avoid the constipating 
 effects, I have always had mixed, before baking, 
 one part of prepared oatmeal with two parts of 
 flour ; this compound I have found both nourish- 
 ing and regulating to the bowels. One table- 
 spoonful of it, mixed with a quarter of a pint of 
 milk, or milk and water, when well boiled, flavored 
 and sweetened with white sugar, produces a thick, 
 
DIET — ARTIFICIAL FOODS. 303 
 
 nourishing, and delicious food for infants or inva- 
 lids. I know of no food, after repeated trials, that 
 can be so strongly recommended by the profession 
 to all mothers in the rearing of their infants, with- 
 out or with the aid of the breasts, at the same time 
 relieving them of much draining and dragging 
 while nursing with an insufficiency of milk, as 
 baked flour and oatmeal. (7) The following is a 
 good and nourishing food for a baby : Soak for 
 an hour some best rice in cold water, strain and 
 add fresh water to the rice, then let it simmer till 
 it will pulp through a sieve ; put the pulp and the 
 water in a saucepan, with a lump or two of sugar, 
 and again let it simmer for a quarter of an hour ; a 
 portion of this should be mixed with one-third of 
 fresh milk, so as to make it of the consistence of good 
 cream. This is an excellent food for weak bowels. 
 New milk should be added to any of the above 
 articles of food, in a similar way to that recom- 
 mended for boiled bread. 
 
 If a child's bowels are relaxed and weak, or if 
 the motions are offensive, the milk must be boiled, 
 but not otherwise. The following (8) is a good 
 food when an infant's bowels are weak and re- 
 laxed : " Into five large spoonfuls of the purest 
 water, rub smooth one dessert-spoonful of fine 
 flour. Set over the fire five spoonfuls of new milk, 
 and put two bits of sugar into it ; the moment it 
 boils, pour into it the flour and water, and stir it 
 over a slow fire twentv minutes." 
 
 Where there is much emaciation, I have found 
 
304 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE f5r THEM. 
 
 genuine arrowroot a very valuable article of food 
 for an infant, as it contains a great deal of starch, 
 which helps to form fat and to evolve heat ; both 
 of which a poor emaciated, chilly child stands so 
 much in need of. It must be made with equal 
 parts of water and of good fresh milk, and ought 
 to be slightly sweetened with loaf sugar ; a small 
 pinch of table salt should be added to it. 
 
 Arrowroot will not give bone and muscle ; but 
 it will give — what is very needful to a delicate 
 child — fat and warmth. It is principally com- 
 posed of starch, and comes under the same 
 category as cream, butter, sugar, oil and fat. Ar- 
 rowroot should always be given with new milk 
 (mixed with one-half of water) ; it will then fulfill, 
 to perfection, the exigencies of nourishing, of 
 warming, and fattening the child's body. 
 
 New milk is the only food, which of itself alone, 
 will nourish, and warm and fatten. It is, for a 
 child, par excellence, the food of foods ! 
 
 Arrowroot, and all other farinaceous foods are, 
 for a child, only supplemental to milk. Bear in 
 mind, and let there be no mistake about it, that fari- 
 naceous food is not suitable for a child until he 
 begins to cut his teeth ; until then the "Artificial 
 human milk" is the best food for a dry-nursed 
 child. 
 
 I have given a large and well-tried infant's 
 dietary to choose from, as it is sometimes difficult 
 to fix on one that will suit ; but remember, if one 
 of the above agree, keep to it, as a babe requires 
 a simplicity in food — a child a greater variety. 
 
MANNER OF FEEDING. 305 
 
 Let me insist upon the necessity of great care 
 and attention being observed in the preparation of 
 any of the above articles of diet. A babe's stomach 
 is very delicate, and will revolt at either ill-made, 
 lumpy, or burnt food. Great care ought to be 
 observed as to the cleanliness of the cooking 
 utensils. The above directions require the strict 
 supervision of the mother. 
 
 Broths have been recommended, but I think 
 they are objectionable for a young infant. They 
 are apt to turn to acid on the stomach, and to 
 cause flatulence and sickness. Sometimes they 
 disorder the bowels, and induce griping and 
 purging. 
 
 Whatever artificial food is used ought to be 
 given by means of a bottle, not only as it is a more 
 natural way than any other of feeding a baby, as 
 it causes him to nurse as though he were drawing 
 it from the mother's breasts, but as the act of nurs- 
 ing causes the salivary glands to press out their 
 contents, which materially assists digestion ; besides 
 it seems to satisfy and comfort him more than it 
 otherwise would do. 
 
 The food ought to be of the consistence of 
 good cream, and should be made fresh each time. 
 It ought to be given milk-warm. Very little sugar 
 should be used in the food, as much sugar weakens 
 the digestion. A small pinch of table salt ought 
 to be added to whatever food is given. Salt is 
 most wholesome — it strengthens and assists diges- 
 tion, prevents the formation of worms, and, in 
 
 30 
 
306 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 small quantities, may be given with advantage to 
 the youngest babe. 
 
 When it is found necessary to give an infant 
 artificial food while nursing, he ought not to be 
 fed oftener than twice during the twenty-four 
 hours, and then only in small quantities at a time, 
 as the stomach requires rest, and can digest only 
 a little food. Let me again urge upon mothers 
 the importance, if at all practicable, of keeping 
 the child entirely to the breast for the first five or 
 six months of his existence. Remember, there is 
 no absolute substitute for a mother's milk ; there 
 is no food so well adapted to his stomach ; there is 
 no diet equal in developing muscles, in making 
 bone or in producing that beautiful plump rounded 
 contour of the limbs ; there is nothing like a 
 mother's milk alone in making a child contented 
 and happy, in laying the foundation of a healthy 
 constitution, in preparing the body for a long life, 
 in giving him tone to resist disease, or in causing 
 him to cut his teeth easily and- well ; in short, the 
 mother s milk is the greatest temporal blessing an 
 infant can possess. 
 
 In passing, allow me to urge you never to stuff 
 a babe — never to overload his little stomach ; it 
 is far more desirable to give him too little than too 
 much. Many a poor child, like a young bird, is 
 killed with stuffing. If a child is at the breast, 
 and at the breast alone, there is no fear of his 
 taking too much, but if brought up on artificial 
 Jood, there is great fear of his overloading his 
 
DENTITION. 307 
 
 stomach. Stuffing a child brings on vomiting and 
 bowel complaints, and a host of other diseases 
 which would be tedious to enumerate. Let me 
 urge you, on no account, to overload the stomach 
 of a little child. 
 
 A small quantity of sugar in an infant's food is 
 requisite, sugar being nourishing and fattening, 
 and causing cow's milk to resemble somewhat in 
 its properties human milk; but bear in mind, it 
 must be used sparingly. Much sugar cloys the 
 stomach, weakens the digestion, produces acidity, 
 sour belchings and wind. 
 
 Dentition. — The period at which dentition com- 
 mences is uncertain. It may be said that, as a 
 rule, a babe begins teething when seven months 
 old. Some have cut teeth at three months; in- 
 deed, there are instances on record of infants having 
 been born with teeth. On the other hand, teething, 
 in some children, does not commence until they 
 are a year and a half or two years old, and, in 
 rare cases, not until they are three years old. 
 There are cases recorded of adults who have 
 never cut any teeth. An instance of the kind came 
 under my own observation. If an infant is fever- 
 ish, irritable, or otherwise restless, and the gums 
 hot, swollen and tender, lancing will, in the gen- 
 erality of cases, almost instantly relieve them. 
 
 It has been asserted that lancing the gums 
 hardens them ; this is a mistake — it has a contrary 
 effect. It is a well-known fact, that a part which 
 has been divided gives way much more read \j 
 
308 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 than one which has not been cut. Again, the 
 tooth is bound down by a tight membrane, which, 
 if not released by lancing, frequently brings on 
 convulsions. If the symptoms are urgent, it may 
 be necessary from time to time to repeat the 
 lancing. But it would be the height of folly to 
 lance the gums unless they are hot and swollen, 
 and the tooth, or teeth, near at hand. It is not to 
 be considered a panacea for every baby's ill, 
 although in those cases where lancing the gums 
 is indicated, the beneficial effect is sometimes 
 almost magical. 
 
 The proper person to lance the gums is a 
 doctor. But if, perchance, you should be miles 
 away and out of reach of one, it would be well 
 to know how the operation ought to be performed. 
 Lay the child on the nurse's lap upon his back, 
 and let her take hold of his hands in order that he 
 may not interfere with the operation. Then, if it 
 is the upper gum that requires lancing, go to the 
 head of the child, looking over into his mouth, 
 and steady the gum with the index finger of your 
 left hand. Take the gum-lancet with your right 
 hand — holding it as if it were a table-knife at 
 dinner — and cut firmly along the inflamed and 
 swollen gum and down to the tooth, until the edge 
 of the gum-lancet grates on the tooth. Each 
 incision ought to extend along the ridge of the 
 gum to about the extent of each expected tooth. 
 
 If it is the lower gum that requires lancing, go 
 to the side of the child and steady the outside of 
 
DENTITION— DISORDERS. 3(X 
 
 the jaw with the fingers of the left hand, and the 
 gum with the left thumb, and then perform the 
 operation as before directed. 
 
 Although lancing gums to make^it intelligible to 
 a non-professional person, requires a long descrip- 
 tion, it is a simple affair, soon performed, and gives 
 but little pain. 
 
 If teetliing causes convulsions, the first thing to 
 be done is to freely dash water upon the face, and 
 sponge the head with cold water. As soon as 
 warm water can be procured, put the child into 
 a warm bath* of 98 degrees Fahrenheit. If a 
 thermometer is not at hand,f plunge your elbow 
 into the water ; a comfortable heat for your elbow 
 will be a proper heat for the infant. He must re- 
 main in the bath for a quarter of an hour, or until 
 the fit is at an end. The body must be wiped with 
 warm, dry, coarse towels after coming out of 
 the bath, then placed in a warm blanket. The 
 gums must be lanced, and cold water should be 
 applied to the head. An enema, composed of 
 table salt, olive oil and warm oatmeal gruel — in 
 the proportion of a tablespoonful of salt, to one of 
 oil, and a teacupful oi gruel — ought to be admin- 
 istered; and until the bowels have been well 
 opened, should be repeated every quarter of an 
 hour ; as soon as he comes to himself laxative 
 medicine ought to be given. 
 
 *For the precautions to be used in putting a child into a warm 
 bath, see the paragraph on " Warm Baths." 
 
 •f-Xo family, where there are young children, should be without 
 Fahrenheit's thermometer. 
 
310 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM, 
 
 It may be well, for the comfort of a mother, to 
 state that a child in convulsions is perfectly insen- 
 sible to all pain whatever; indeed, a return to con- 
 sciousness speedily puts convulsions to the rout. 
 A nurse is often in the habit of giving a child who 
 is teething, either coral, or ivory, to bite. I think 
 it a bad practice to give him any hard, unyielding 
 substance, as it tends to harden the gums, and by 
 so doing, causes the teeth to come through with 
 greater difficulty. I have found softer substances, 
 such as either piece of a wax taper, or a black India 
 rubber ring, or a piece of the best bridle leather, of 
 great service. The pressure of any of these excites 
 a more rapid absorption of the gum, and thus causes 
 the tooth to come through easily and quickly. 
 
 When a baby is cutting his teeth there is no 
 objection to his sucking his thumb. The thumb is 
 the best gum-stick in the world ; it is convenient; 
 it is handy (in every sense of the word); it is of the 
 right size, and of the proper consistence, neither 
 too hard nor too soft ; there is no danger, as of 
 some artificial gum-sticks, of its being swallowed, 
 and thus of its choking the child. The sucking of 
 the thumb causes the salivary glands to pour out 
 their contents, and thus not only to moisten the dry 
 mouth, but assist the digestion ; the pressure of 
 the thumb eases the pain and irritation of the 
 gums, and helps to bring them through the gums. 
 Sucking of the thumb will often make a cross 
 infant contented and happy, and will frequently 
 induce a restless babe to fall into a sweet, refresh- 
 
TEETHING— TREATMENT. 3 1 1 
 
 ing sleep. By all means, then, let your child suck 
 his thumb whenever he likes, as long as he chooses 
 to do so. After he has cut the whole of his first 
 set of teeth, if it is likely to become a habit, 
 he may be readily cured by making a paste of 
 aloes and water, and smearing it upon his thumb. 
 One or two dressings will suffice, as after tasting 
 the bitter aloes he will take a disgust to his former 
 enjoyment, and the habit will be broken. 
 
 A child who is teething dribbles, and thereby 
 wets his chest, which frequently causes him to 
 oatch cold. The best remedy is to have in readi- 
 ness several flannel dribbling bibs, so that they 
 may be changed as often as they become wet ; or, 
 if he dribbles very much, the oiled silk bibs may be 
 used, instead of the flannel ones. 
 
 A child, during teething, should have little 
 fruit, unless it is a few ripe strawberries, raspber- 
 ries, a roasted apple, the juice of five or'six grapes 
 — taking care that he does not swallow either the 
 seeds or the skin — the inside of ripe gooseberries, 
 or an orange. Such fruits, if the bowels are in a 
 costive state, will be particularly useful. 
 
 All stone fruits, raw apples or pears, ought to be 
 carefully avoided, as they not only disorder the 
 stomach and the bowels, — causing convulsions, 
 gripings, etc., — but they have the effect of weaken- 
 ing the bowels, and thus of engendering worms. 
 
 The teeth are a fruitful source of suffering and 
 of disease ; and are with truth styled our first and 
 our last plagues. Dentition is the most important 
 
312 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 period of a child's life, and is the exciting cause of 
 many infantile diseases. During this period he 
 requires constant and careful watching. When 
 we consider how the teeth elongate and enlarge 
 in his gums, pressing on the nerves and the sur- 
 rounding parts, and how frequently they produce 
 pain, irritation and inflammation; when we con- 
 template what sympathy there is in the nervous 
 system, and how susceptible the young are to 
 pain, no surprise can be felt at the immense dis- 
 turbance, and consequent suffering and danger 
 frequently experienced by children while cutting 
 their first set of teeth. The complaints or diseases 
 induced by dentition are numberless, affecting 
 almost every organ of the body, — the brain, occa- 
 sioning convulsions, water on the brain, etc.; the 
 lungs, producing congestion, inflammation, cough, 
 etc.; the stomach, exciting sickness, flatulence, acid- 
 ity, etc.; the bowels, inducing griping, at one time 
 costiveness, and at another time purging ; the skin, 
 causing eruptions. 
 
 To prevent these diseases, means ought to be 
 used to invigorate a child's constitution by plain, 
 wholesome food, as recommended under the article 
 on the diet ; by exercise and fresh air ; by allowing 
 him to be out of doors a great part of every 
 pleasant day ; by lancing the gums when they get 
 red, hot and swollen ; by attention to the bowels, 
 and if he suffers more than usual, by keeping them 
 rather in a relaxed state by any simple aperient ; 
 and, let me add, by attention to his temper ; many 
 
TEETHING — TREATMENT. 313 
 
 children are made feverish and ill by petting and 
 spoiling them. 
 
 Painful dentition may be divided into two forms, 
 the mild and the severe. In the mild form the 
 child is peevish and fretful, and puts his fingers, 
 and everything within reach, to his mouth ; he 
 likes to have his gums rubbed, and takes the breast 
 with avidity ; indeed, it seems a greater comfort 
 to him than ever. There is generally a con- 
 siderable flow of saliva, and a tendency to a re- 
 laxed condition of the bowels. 
 
 In the severe form the gums are red, swollen and 
 hot, and he cannot bear to have then touched ; 
 hence at the breast, he is constantly losing the 
 nipple. There is dryness of the mouth, although 
 before there had been a great flow of saliva. He 
 is feverish, restless, and starts up in his sleep. His 
 face is flushed. His head is heavy and hot. He 
 is sometimes convulsed. He is frequently vio- 
 lently griped and purged, and suffers severely 
 from flatulence. He is predisposed to many and 
 several diseases. 
 
 The treatment of the mild form consists of fric- 
 tion of the gum with the finger, with a little 
 soothing syrup,* a tepid-bath of about 92 degrees 
 Fahrenheit, every night at bedtime ; attention to 
 
 * "Soothing syrup." Some of them probably contain opiates, but 
 a perfectly safe and useful one is a little Nitrate of Potass in Syrup of 
 Roses — one scruple to half an ounce. This soothing syrup is not 
 intended to be given as a mixture; but to be used as an application 
 to rub the gums with. It may be well to state that it is a perfectly 
 harmless remedy, even if a little of it were swallowed by mistake. 
 
3 14 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 diet and to bowels ; fresh air and exercise. For 
 the mild form, the above plan will usually be all 
 that is required. If he dribbles, and the bowels are 
 relaxed, so much the better ; the flow of saliva and 
 the increased action of the bowels afford relief, and 
 must not be interfered with. In the mild form 
 lancing of the gums is not desirable. The gums 
 ought not to be lanced, unless the teeth are near 
 at hand, and unless the gums are red, hot and 
 swollen. 
 
 In the severe form a doctor should be consulted 
 early, as more energetic remedies will be de- 
 manded ; the gums will require lancing, warm 
 baths will need to be used, and medicines to be 
 given, to ward off mischief from the head, the 
 chest and the stomach. 
 
 If you are living in town, and your baby suffers 
 much from teething, take him into the country. 
 It is wonderful what change of air will often do, 
 in relieving a child who is painfully cutting his 
 teeth. The number of deaths in cities from teeth- 
 ing is frightful, in the country it is comparatively 
 trifling. 
 
 Should an infant be purged during teething, or* 
 any other time, I should look upon the relaxation 
 as an effort of nature to relieve itself. A child is 
 never purged without a cause ; that cause, in most 
 instances, is the presence of some undigested food, 
 acidity, or depraved motions, and no astringent 
 medicine should be given. The better plan is to 
 give laxatives such as either castor oil, or magnesia 
 
TEETHING— TREATM FAT. 3 I jj 
 
 and rhubarb, and thus work it off. If we LOjCK 
 UP THE bowels, we confine the enemy,* and 
 THUS PRODUCE MISCHIEF. If he is purged more 
 than usual, attention should be paid to the diet, 
 and care must be taken not to overload the 
 stomach. 
 
 A child is subject to a slight cough during 
 dentition, which is an effort of nature to bring up 
 any secretion from the lining membrane of the 
 lungs, or frori the bronchial tubes, hence it ought 
 riot to be interfered with. I have known the ad- 
 ministration of syrup of white poppies, or of 
 paregoric, to stop the cough, and thereby to pre- 
 vent the expulsion of the phlegm, and thus to 
 produce either inflammation of the lungs, or bron- 
 chitis. Both paregoric and syrup of white poppies 
 are dangerous medicines (unless administered by 
 a judicious physician), and ought never to be given 
 by a mother. 
 
 A child while teething, is subject to eruptions, 
 more especially behind the ears — which is most 
 disfiguring, and frequently very annoying. I 
 would apply no external application to cure it, as 
 I should look upon it as an effort of the consti- 
 tution to relieve itself ; and should expect, if the 
 breaking-out were repelled, that either convulsions, 
 or bronchitis, or inflammation of the lungs, or 
 water on the brain, would be the consequence. 
 The only plan I should adopt would be, to be 
 more careful in his diet; to give him less meat (if 
 he is old enough to eat animal food), and to give 
 
316 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 him, once or twice a week, some mild laxative, 
 and if the irritation is great, to bathe it occa- 
 sionally with a little warm milk and water, or with 
 rose water. 
 
 Exercise. — I am a great advocate of exercise in 
 the open air. " The infant makes known its desire 
 for fresh air, by restlessness ; it cries, for it cannot 
 speak its wants ; is taken abroad, and is quiet." 
 The age at which he ought to commence taking 
 exercise will depend upon the season and the 
 weather. If in summer, and the weather fine, he 
 should be carried in the open air, a week or two 
 after birth, but if it is winter, he ought not on any 
 account be taken out under a month, and not even 
 then, unless the weather is mild for the season, 
 and during the middle of the day. At the end of 
 two months he should breathe the open air more 
 frequently. And after the expiration of three 
 months he ought to be carried out every day. By 
 doing this we shall make him strong and hearty, 
 and give the skin that mottled appearance which 
 is so characteristic of health. He must, of course, 
 be well clothed. 
 
 I cannot help expressing my disapprobation of 
 the practice of smothering up an infant's face with 
 a handkerchief, a veil, or any other covering when 
 he is taken out into the air. If his face is so 
 muffled up, he may as well remain at home ; as it 
 is impossible for him to receive anjr benefit from 
 the invigorating effects of the fresh air. 
 
 He must be encouraged to use muscular exertion; 
 
EXERCISE— REST. 3 1 7 
 
 and, for this purpose, he ought to be frequently 
 laid upon a rug, or carpet, or the floor, where he 
 can stretch his limbs and kick about with perfect 
 glee. It is a pretty sight to see a little fellow 
 kicking and sprawling on the floor. He crows 
 with delight, and thoroughly enjoys himself; it 
 strengthens his back, it enables him to stretch his 
 limbs, and to use his muscles, and is one of the 
 best kinds of exercise a very young child can 
 take. While going through this exercise his 
 diaper should be unfastened, in order that he may 
 be untrammeled. By adopting the above plan 
 the babe quietly enjoys himself — his brain is not 
 over excited by it. This is an important consider- 
 ation, for both mothers and nurses are apt to 
 rouse and excite very young children to their 
 manifest detriment. A babe requires rest, and not 
 excitement. In the early period of his existence 
 his time ought to be almost entirely spent in 
 sleeping and in nursing ! 
 
 Some mothers or nurses amuse their children 
 by tossing them. Can anything be more cruel or 
 absurd ? Violent tossing of a young babe ought 
 never to be allowed ; it only frightens him, and has 
 been known to bring on convulsions. He should 
 be gently moved up and down (not tossed); such 
 exercises cause a proper circulation of the blood, 
 promote digestion, and soothe to sleep. He 
 must always be kept quiet immediately after 
 taking the breast ; if he is tossed directly after- 
 ward, it interferes with his digestion, and is 
 likely to produce sickness. 
 
318 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 A new-born babe ought to be kept comfortably 
 warm, but not very warm. It is folly in the ex- 
 treme to attempt to harden a very young- child 
 either by allowing him, in the winter time, to be 
 in a bedroom without a fire, or by dipping him in 
 cold water, or by keeping him with scant clothing 
 on his bed. The temperature of a bedroom in 
 wkiter should be, as nearly as possible, at 60 de- 
 grees Fahr. Although the room should be com- 
 fortably warm, it ought from time to time to be 
 properly ventilated. An unventilated room soon 
 becomes foul and unhealthy. How many in this 
 world, both children and adults, are poisoned with 
 their own breaths ! 
 
 An infant should not be allowed to look at the 
 glare of a fire or a lighted candle, as it tends to 
 weaken the sight, and sometimes brings on in- 
 flammation of the eyes. In speaking to, and in 
 noticing a baby, you ought always to stand before, 
 and not behind him, or it might make him squint. 
 
 A babe ought not to sleep alone from the first, 
 say, for the first few months — he requires the 
 warmth of another person's body, especially in 
 the winter ; but care must be taken not to overlay 
 him, as many infants, from carelessness in this 
 particular, have lost their lives. After the first 
 few months he had better sleep alone, on a hair 
 mattress. 
 
 I do not approve of rocking an infant to sleep. 
 If the rules of health are observed, he will sleep 
 soundly and sweetly without rocking ; if they are 
 

 SLEEP. 319 
 
 not, the rocking might cause him to fall into a 
 feverish, disturbed slumber, but not into a refresh- 
 ing, calm sleep. Besides, if you begin that habit, 
 he will not go to sleep without it. A rocking 
 chair, or rockers to the cradle, may be useful to a 
 lazy nurse or mother, and may induce a child to 
 sleep, but that restlessly, when he does not need 
 sleep, or when he is wet and uncomfortable, and 
 requires changing, but will not cause him to have 
 that sweet and gentle and exquisite slumber so 
 characteristic of a baby who has no artificial ap- 
 pliances to make him sleep. Rockers are perfectly 
 unnecessary, and the sooner they are banished 
 from the nursery the better will it be for the 
 infant community. I do not know a more weari- 
 some and monotonous sound than the everlasting 
 rocking to and fro in some nurseries ; they are 
 often accompanied by a dolorous lullaby from the 
 nurse, which adds much to the misery and 
 depressing influence of the performance. 
 
 If the head of the crib is covered, the babe can- 
 not breathe freely ; the air within the crib be- 
 comes contaminated, and thus the lungs cannot 
 properly perform their functions. If his sleep is 
 to be refreshing, he must breathe pure air. I do 
 not even approve of a head to a crib. An infant 
 must have the full benefit of the air of the room ; 
 indeed, the bedroom door ought to be frequently 
 left slightly open, so that the air of the apartment 
 may be changed ; taking care, of course, not to 
 expose him to a draught. If the flies annoy him 
 
 
320 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 while he is asleep, let a net veil be thrown over his 
 face, as he can readily breathe through net, but 
 not through a handkerchief. 
 
 Whenever he is put down to sleep, be more than 
 usually particular that his dress is loose in every 
 part ; be careful that there are neither strings nor 
 bands to cramp him. Let him during repose, be 
 more than ordinarily free and unrestrained. 
 
 A babe who sleeps a great deal thrives much 
 more than one who does not. I have known many 
 children, who were born small and delicate, but 
 who slept the greater part of their time, to become 
 strong and healthy. On the other hand, I have 
 known those who were born large and strong, yet 
 who slept but little, become weak and unhealthy. 
 The common practice of allowing a baby to sleep 
 upon the nurse's lap is a bad one, and ought never 
 to be countenanced. He sleeps cooler, and more 
 comfortably and soundly in his crib. The younger 
 an infant is the more he generally sleeps, so that 
 during the early months he is seldom awake, and 
 then only to take the breast. 
 
 If there is pain in any part of the body, or if 
 any of the functions are not properly performed, 
 he sleeps but little. On the contrary, if there is 
 exemption from pain, and a due performance of 
 all the functions, he sleeps a great deal ; and thus 
 the body becomes refreshed and invigorated. 
 
 Much sleep is of great advantage, still if an in- 
 fant sleeps but little, composing medicine ought 
 not to be given to him. The practice of giving 
 
CAUSES OF SUFFOCATION. 32 1 
 
 composing medicine to a young child cannot be too 
 strongly reprobated. If he does not sleep enough 
 the mother ought to ascertain if the bowels are 
 in a proper state, that the motions are of a good 
 color — a bright yellow, inclining to orange — and 
 free from slime or from bad smell. An occa- 
 sional dose of rhubarb and magnesia is frequently 
 the best composing medicine he can take. 
 
 We often hear of coroner's inquests upon in- 
 fants who have been found dead in bed — accident- 
 ally overlaid, — usually the cause is suffocation, 
 produced either by ignorance, or by carelessness. 
 From ignorance in mothers, in their not knowing 
 the common laws of life, and the vital importance 
 of free and unrestricted respiration, not only when 
 babies are up and about, but when they are in bed 
 and asleep. From carelessness, in their allowing 
 young and thoughtless servants to have the charge 
 of infants at night ; more especially as young girls 
 are usually heavy sleepers, and are thus too much 
 overpowered with sleep to attend to their neces- 
 sary duties. 
 
 A foolish mother sometimes goes to sleep al- 
 lowing her child to continue nursing. The uncon- 
 scious babe, after a time, loses the nipple, and 
 buries its head in the bedclothes. She awakes in 
 the morning, rinding, to her horror, a corpse by 
 her side, with his nose flattened, and a frothy fluid, 
 tinged with blood, exuding from his lips. A 
 mother ought never to go to sleep until her child 
 has finished nursing. 
 
322 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 The following are a few rules to prevent an in- 
 fant from being accidentally overlaid: Let your 
 baby, while asleep, have plenty of room in the bed. 
 Do not allow him to be too near to you ; or if un- 
 avoidably near you (from the small size of the 
 bed), let his face be turned to the opposite side. 
 Let him lie fairly either on his side or on his back. 
 Be careful to ascertain that his mouth is not cov- 
 ered with the bedclothes; and do not smother 
 his face with clothes, as a plentiful supply of pure 
 air is as necessary when he is asleep as when he is 
 awake. Never let him lie low in the bed. Let 
 there be no pillow near the one his head is resting 
 on, lest he roll to it, and thus bury his head in it. 
 Remember, a young child has neither the strength 
 nor the sense to get out of danger ; and if he turns 
 on his face, or buries his head in a pillow that is 
 near, the chances are that he will be suffocated, 
 more especially as these accidents usually occur at 
 night, when the mother, or the nurse, is fast asleep. 
 Never intrust him at night to a young and thought- 
 less servant. 
 
 A mother ought daily to satisfy herself as to the 
 state of the bladder and the bowels of her child. 
 She herself should inspect the motions, and see 
 that they are of a proper color (bright yellow, in- 
 clining to orange) and consistence (that of thick 
 gruel), that they are neither slimy, nor curdled, 
 nor green ; if they should be either the one or the 
 other, it is a proof that she has, in all probability, 
 been imprudent in her diet ? and that it will be 
 
SLIGHT AILMENTS. 323 
 
 necessary for the future that she be more careful 
 both in what she eats and in what she drinks. 
 
 She ought to satisfy herself that the urine does 
 not smell strongly, that it does not stain the 
 diapers, and that the child makes a sufficient 
 quantity. 
 
 A babe of three months and upward, ought to 
 be held out at least a dozen times during the 
 twenty-four hours ; if such a plan were adopted, 
 diapers might at the end of three months be dis- 
 pensed with — a great desideratum — and he would 
 be inducted into clean habits — a blessing to him- 
 self, a comfort to all around, and a great saving of 
 dresses and of furniture. Teach your children to 
 be clean. A dirty child is the mother's disgrace. 
 Truer words were never written — A DIRTY CHILD 
 
 IS THE MOTHER'S DISGRACE. 
 
 There are many SLIGHT ailments which are not 
 of sufficient importance to demand the assistance 
 of a doctor. I consider it well to make the dis- 
 tinction between serio?ts and slight ailments ; I am 
 addressing a mother. With regard to serious ail- 
 ments, I do not think myself justified, except in 
 certain urgent cases, in instructing a parent to deal 
 with them. It might be well to make a mother 
 acquainted with the symptoms, but not with the ■ 
 treatment, in order that she might lose no time in 
 calling in medical aid. Serious diseases, with a few 
 exceptions, ought never to be treated by a parent, 
 not even in the early stages, for it is in the early 
 Stages that the most good can generally be done, 
 
324 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 It is utterly impossible for any one who is not 
 trained to the medical profession to understand a 
 serious disease in all its bearings, and thereby to 
 treat it satisfactorily. 
 
 There are some exceptions to these remarks. 
 It will be seen in future, that a mother ought to 
 be made acquainted with the treatment of some of 
 the more serious diseases, where delay in obtaining 
 immediate medical assistance might be death. The 
 diseases of infants, such as may be treated by a 
 parent, are the following : Chafings, convulsions, 
 costiveness, flatulence, gripings, hiccough, loose- 
 ness of the bowels (diarrhoea), dysentery, nettle- 
 rash, red-gum, stuffing of the nose, sickness and 
 thrush. In all these complaints I will state what 
 to do and what NOT to do. 
 
 Chafing. — The want of water, inattention, and 
 want of cleanliness are the usual causes of chafing. 
 
 What to do. — The chafed parts ought to be well 
 and thoroughly sponged with tepid rain water — 
 allowing the water from a well-filled sponge to 
 stream over them — and, afterward, they should 
 be thoroughly, but tenderly dried with a soft 
 towel, and then be dusted, either with finely-pow- 
 dered starch, made of wheat flour, lycopodium, 
 or with finely-powdered native carbonate of zinc, 
 or they should be bathed with finely-powdered 
 Fuller's-earth and tepid water. 
 
 If, in a few days, the parts are not healed, dis- 
 continue the above treatment, and use the following 
 application : Beat up well together the whites of 
 
CONVULSIONS — TREATMENT. 325 
 
 two eggs, then add, drop by drop, two tablespoon- 
 fuls of brandy. When well mixed, put it into a bottle 
 and cork it up. Before using it bathe the excori- 
 ated parts gently with lukewarm rain water, and 
 tenderly dry them with a soft napkin, then, by 
 means of a camel's hair brush, having first shaken 
 the bottle, apply the above liniment. But bear in 
 mind, after all that can be said and done, there 
 is nothing in these cases like water — there is nothing 
 like keeping the parts clean, and the only way of 
 thoroughly effecting this object is by putting the child 
 every morning into his tub. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not apply white lead, as it 
 is a poison. Do not be afraid of using plenty of 
 water, as cleanliness is one of the most important 
 items of the treatment. 
 
 Convulsions are caused by stuffing the child in 
 the early months of existence, with food; constant 
 physicking by the mother; teething and whoop- 
 ing-cough, when attacking a very young baby. I 
 never knew a case of convulsions to occur — say 
 for the first four months — (except in very young 
 infants laboring under whooping-cough), where 
 children lived on the breast milk alone, and where 
 they were not frequently quacked by their mother. 
 For the treatment of the convulsions from teeth- 
 ing, see page 309. 
 
 What to do in a case of convulsions which has 
 been caused by feeding an infant too much, or with 
 artificial food. Give him, every ten minutes, a 
 teaspoonful of wise of ipecac, until free vomiting 
 
326 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 is excited, then put him into a warm bath (see 
 Warm Baths) ; and when he comes out of it ad- 
 minister an enema of warm soft water. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not, for at least a month 
 after the fit, give him artificial food, but keep him 
 entirely to the breast. 
 
 In case of convulsions from whooping-cough, there 
 is nothing better than dashing cold water on the 
 face, and immersing him in a warm bath of 98 
 degrees Fahr. If the spasms are caused by denti- 
 tion, let the gums be freely and frequently lanced. 
 Convulsions seldom occur in whooping-cough, 
 unless the child is either very young or exceed- 
 ingly delicate. Convulsions attending an attack 
 of whooping-cough make it a serious complication, 
 and require the assiduous and skilful attention of 
 a judicious physician. 
 
 What NOT to do in such a case.- — Do not apply 
 leeches ; the babe requires additional strength, 
 not to be robbed of it; and do not attempt to 
 treat the case yourself. 
 
 Constipation. — I strongly object to the frequent 
 administration of cathartics, as the repetition of 
 it increases the mischief to a tenfold degree. 
 
 What to do. — If a babe, after the first few 
 months, were held out, and at regular intervals 
 were put upon the chair, costiveness would not so 
 much prevail. It is wonderful how soon the bowels 
 by this simple plan, may be brought into a regular 
 state. Besides, it inducts an infant into clean 
 habits. I know many careful mothers who have 
 
CONSTIPATION — TREATMENT. 327 
 
 accustomed their children, after the first three 
 months, to do without diapers altogether. It 
 causes at first a little trouble, but that trouble is 
 amply repaid by the good consequences that ensue, 
 Diapers frequently chafe, irritate, and gall the 
 tender skin of a baby. But they cannot be dis- 
 pensed with, unless a mother has great judgment, 
 sense, tact, and perseverance, to bring her little 
 charge into the habit of relieving his bowels and 
 bladder every time he is put upon his chair. 
 
 Before giving an infant a particle of laxative 
 medicine, try the effect of a little raw sugar and 
 water, either half a teaspoonful of raw sugar dis- 
 solved in a teaspoonful or two of water, or give 
 him half a teaspoonful of raw sugar to eat. I 
 mean by raw sugar, not the white, but the pure 
 and unadulterated sugar, which can be procured 
 from any reliable grocer. If you are wise, you 
 will defer as long as you can giving an aperient. 
 If you once begin, and continue it for a while, 
 laxative medicine becomes a dire necessity, and 
 then woe betide the poor unfortunate child. Or, 
 give a third of a teaspoonful of honey, early in the 
 morning, occasionally. 
 
 If an infant's bowels are habitually costive, try 
 the effects of a warm water enema. Let three or 
 four, or even more tablespoonfuls (according to 
 the age of the infant) of warm water be admin- 
 istered. If the first enema does not have the de- 
 sired effect, let a second, a third, or even more, be 
 used, as no harm can possibly arise from so simple 
 
328 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 a remedy. The effect of an enema is simply to 
 wash out the bowels — to remove any offending 
 motion pent up therein, and it does not at all in- 
 terfere either with the appetite, with the digestion, 
 or with increasing the obstinacy of the bowels, as 
 a repetition of cathartics assuredly will do. An 
 enema gives no pain, can never do any harm, and 
 is administered in a few seconds. Truly, a warm 
 water enema is a splendid remedy for opening a 
 child's costive bowels. 
 
 Drinking a dessertspoonful or a tablespoonful 
 of cold water the moment a babe awakes in the 
 morning, and every morning of his life, increasing 
 the quantity as he grows older, is another admi- 
 rable remedy for relaxing costive bowels. The 
 warm water enema and the drinking of cold water 
 in the morning, are both simple remedies, and can 
 never do harm, which is more than can be said of 
 the nauseous and powerful drugs that are some- 
 times poured down poor unfortunate children's 
 throats ! 
 
 What to do. — There are two preparations of 
 mercury I wish to warn you against administering 
 of your own accord, viz. : Calomel, and a milder 
 preparation called Grey powder (mercury with 
 chalk). It is a common practice to give calomel, 
 on account of the readiness with which it can be 
 administered, it being small in quantity, and nearly 
 tasteless. Grey powder is, with many mothers, a 
 favorite in the nursery. It is a medicine of im- 
 mense power — either for good or for evil; in 
 
CONSTIPATION— TREATMENT. 329 
 
 certain cases it is very valuable; but in others, and 
 in the great majority, it is very detrimental. This 
 practice of giving mercury, whether in the form 
 either of calomel or grey powder, cannot be too 
 strongly reprobated, as the frequent administration 
 of either weakens the body, predisposes it to cold, 
 and frequently excites scrofula. Calomel and grey 
 powder ought never to be administered unless 
 ordered by a doctor. Syrup of buckthorn and 
 jalap are also frequently given, but they are grip- 
 ing medicines, and ought to be banished from the 
 nursery. 
 
 Let me again urge the importance of your 
 avoiding, as much as possible, all purgative medi- 
 cines. They irritate beyond measure the tender 
 bowels of an infant, and only make him more 
 costive afterward ; they interfere with his diges- 
 tion, and are liable to give him cold. A mother 
 who is always quacking her child with physic, 'is 
 laying up for her unfortunate offspring a debili- 
 tated constitution — a miserable existence. 
 
 Great care should be paid to the rules of health, 
 such as attention to diet, exercise in the open air, 
 thorough bathing of the whole body ; the regular 
 habit of causing him, at stated periods, to be held 
 out that he may solicit a stool. If these rules were 
 observed, costiveness would not so frequently pre- 
 vail, and one of the miseries of the nursery would 
 be done away with. 
 
 Some mothers are frequently dosing their poor 
 unfortunate babes either with magnesia to cool 
 
330 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 them, or with castor oil to heal their bowels. Oh, 
 the folly of such practices ! The frequent repeti- 
 tion of magnesia, instead of cooling an infant, makes 
 him feverish and irritable. The constant adminis- 
 tration of castor oil, instead of healing the bowels, 
 wounds them beyond measure. No ! it would be 
 a blessed thing if a babe could be brought up with- 
 out giving him a particle of any cathartic ; his 
 bowels would then act naturally and well ; but a 
 mother must be particular in attending to Nature's 
 medicines — to fresh air, to exercise, to diet, to 
 thorough ablution, etc. Until that time comes, 
 poor unfortunate babies must be occasionally 
 dosed with an aperient. 
 
 Flatulence most frequently occurs in those 
 infants who live on artificial food, especially if they 
 are over-fed. I therefore beg to refer you to the 
 precautions I have given, when speaking of the 
 importance of keeping a child for the first five or 
 six months entirely to the breast, and, if that is not 
 practicable, of the times of feeding, and of the best 
 kinds of artificial food, and of those which are least 
 likely to cause wind. 
 
 What to do. — Notwithstanding these precautions, 
 if the babe should still suffer, "one of the best and 
 safest remedies for flatulence is Sal-volatile — a tea- 
 spoonful of a solution of one dram to three ounces 
 of water." Or, a little dill or aniseed may be added 
 to the food — half a teaspoonful of dill water. Or, 
 take twelve drops of oil of dill, and two lumps of 
 sugar ; rub them well in a mortar together ; then 
 
FLATULENCE — TREATMENT. 33 I 
 
 add, drop by drop, three tablespoonfuls of spring 
 water ; let it be preserved in a bottle for use. A 
 teaspoonful of this, first shaking the vial, may be 
 added to each quantity of food. Or, three tea- 
 spoonfuls of bruised caraway seeds may be boiled 
 for ten minutes in a teacupful of water, and then 
 strained. One or two teaspoonfuls of the caraway 
 tea may be added to each quantity of his food, or 
 a dose of rhubarb and magnesia may occasionally 
 be given. 
 
 Opodeldoc, or warm olive oil, well rubbed, for 
 a quarter of an hour at a time, by means of the 
 warm hand, over the bowels, will frequently give 
 relief. Turning the child over on his bowels, so 
 that they may press on the nurse's tap, will often 
 afford great comfort. A warm bath generally 
 gives immediate ease in flatulence ; it acts as a 
 fomentation to the bowels. But after all, a little 
 mild aperient medicine, when the babe is suffering 
 severely, is often the best remedy for wind. 
 
 Remember, that whenever it is possible, pre- 
 vention is better than cure. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Cordials are sometimes given 
 in flatulence ; but as most of these quack medicines 
 contain, in one form or another, either opium or 
 poppy, and both are dangerous remedies for chil- 
 dren, the) 7 must be banished from the nursery. 
 
 Syrup of poppies is another remedy which is 
 often given by a nurse to afford relief for flatulence ; 
 but let me urge upon you the importance of ban- 
 ishing it from the nursery. It has caused the un- 
 
332 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 timely end of thousands of children. The medical 
 journals and the newspapers teem with cases of 
 deaths from mothers incautiously giving syrup of 
 poppies to ease pain and to procure sleep. 
 
 What are the symptoms, the causes and the treat- 
 ment of gripings of an infant? — The symptoms: The 
 child draws up his legs ; screams violently ; if put 
 to the nipple to comfort him, he turns away from 
 it and cries bitterly ; he strains, as though he were 
 having a stool ; if he has a motion, it will be slimy, 
 curdled, and perhaps green. If, in addition to the 
 above symptoms, he passes a large quantity of 
 watery fluid from his bowels, the case becomes one 
 of watery gripes, and requires the immediate atten- 
 tion of a doctor. 
 
 The causes of gripings or gripes may proceed 
 either from the infant or from the mother. If 
 from the child, it is generally owing either to im- 
 proper food or to over-feeding; if from the 
 mother it may be traced to her having taken either 
 greens, pork, tart beer, sour porter, pickles, or 
 drastic purgatives. 
 
 What to do. — The treatment, of course, must de- 
 pend upon the cause. If it arises from over- 
 feeding, I would advise giving a small quantity of 
 castor oil, warm fomentations to be applied to the 
 bowels, and the mother, or the nurse, to be more 
 careful for the future. If it proceeds from im- 
 proper food, a dose or two of magnesia and rhubarb 
 in a little dill water, made palatable with simple 
 syrup. 
 
CHOLERA INFANTUM. 333 
 
 Powdered Turkey Rhubarb, half a scruple ; 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia, one scruple ; 
 
 Simple Syrup, three drams ; 
 
 Dill Water, eight drams. 
 Make a mixture./— One or two teaspoonfuls (according to the age 
 of the child) to be taken every four hours, until relief is obtained — 
 first shaking the bottle. 
 
 If it arises from a mother's imprudence in eat- 
 ing trash, or taking violent medicine, a warm bath 
 usually affords instant relief. 
 
 Another excellent remedy is the hot compress. 
 Soak a piece of new flannel, folded into two or 
 three thicknesses, in warm water; wring it toler- 
 ably dry, and apply as hot as the child can com- 
 fortably bear it to the bowels, then wrap him in a 
 warm, dry blanket, and keep him, for at least 
 half an hour, enveloped in it. Under the above 
 treatment he will generally soon fall into a sweet 
 sleep, and awake quite refreshed. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not give opiates, astring- 
 ents, chalk, or any quack medicine whatever. 
 
 If a child suffers from a mother's folly in her 
 eating improper food, it will be cruel in the ex- 
 treme for him a second time to be tormented from 
 the same cause. 
 
 Hiccough is of such a trifling nature as hardly 
 to require interference. It may generally be 
 traced to over-feeding. Should it be severe, four 
 or five grains of calcined magnesia, with a little 
 syrup and aniseed water, and attention to feeding, 
 are all that will be necessary. 
 
 Infantile diarrhoea, or cholera infantum, is one of 
 
334 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 the most frequent and serious of infantile diseases, 
 and carries off more children than any other com- 
 plaint whatever ; a knowledge of the symptoms, 
 therefore, is quite necessary to a mother, in order 
 that she may, at the proper time, call in efficient 
 medical aid. 
 
 Before describing the symptoms, it may be 
 well to state that a child should have from three 
 to six motions in twenty -four hours ; they ought 
 to have a faint and peculiar, but not a strong and 
 disagreeable odor. If there is a strong and dis- 
 agreeable smell, the child is not well, and the case 
 should be investigated, more especially if there 
 were either curds or lumps in the motions ; these 
 latter symptoms denote that the food has not been 
 properly digested. 
 
 If the infant, instead of having from three to 
 six motions, should have more than double the 
 latter number, if they are more watery, if they be- 
 come slimy and green, or green in part and 
 curdled, if they have an unpleasant smell, if he is 
 sick, cross, restless, and fidgety, if every time he 
 has a motion he is griped and in pain, I should 
 say that he is troubled with diarrhoea, and it will 
 be necessary to give a little medicine, which I will 
 indicate in a subsequent paragraph. 
 
 Should there be both blood and slime mixed 
 with the stool, the case becomes more serious ; still, 
 with proper care, relief can generally be quickly 
 obtained. If the evacuations — instead of being 
 stool — are merely blood and slime, and the child 
 
DIARRHCEA — TREATMENT. 335 
 
 strains frequently and violently, endeavoring thus 
 to relieve himself, crying at each effort, the case 
 assumes the character of dysentery.* 
 
 If there is a mixture of blood, slime and stool 
 from the bowels, the case would be called dysen- 
 teric-diarrhoea. The latter case requires great 
 skill and judgment on the part of a doctor, and 
 great attention and implicit obedience from the 
 mother and the nurse. I merely mention these 
 diseases in order to warn you of their importance, 
 and of the necessity of strictly attending to a 
 doctor's orders. 
 
 DiarrJicca. — The causes of Diarrhoea are im- 
 proper food, over-feeding, teething, cold, the 
 mother's milk from various causes disagreeing, 
 namely, from her being out of health, eating un- 
 suitable food, taking improper and drastic purga- 
 tives, or nursing her child, when she is pregnant. 
 Of course, if any of these causes are in operation, 
 they ought to be remedied, or medicine to the 
 babe will be of little avail. 
 
 What to do. — If the case is slight, and has lasted 
 two or three days, do not interfere by giving med- 
 icine at first ; if the cause is some acidity or vitiated 
 stool that should be eliminated, the best treatment 
 is to assist nature by giving either a dose of castor 
 oil, or a moderate one of rhubarb and magnesia,f 
 and thus to work off the enemy. 
 
 *See Symptoms and Treatment cf Dysentery. 
 
 ■[For a rhubarb and magnesia mixture prescription, see page 33^, 
 
336 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 If the relaxation continues for three or four days 
 — then the following mixture should be given : 
 
 Take of — Aromatic Powder of Chalk and Opium, ten grains; 
 Oil of Dill, five drops; 
 Simple Syrup, three drams; 
 Water, nine drams. 
 Half a teaspoonful to be given to an infant of six months and 
 under, and one teaspoonful to a child above that age, every four hours 
 — first shaking the bottle. 
 
 If the babe is at the breast, he ought to be kept 
 entirely to it for a few days. The mother should 
 be most particular in her own diet. 
 
 What NOT to do. — The mother must neither take 
 greens, cabbage, raw fruit, pastry nor beer. The 
 child, if at the breast, ought not, as long as the 
 diarrhoea continues, to have any artificial food. 
 He must neither be dosed with Grey powder, nor 
 with Godfrey's Cordial or any other quack med- 
 icines. 
 
 Dysentery frequently arises from a neglected 
 diarrhoea. It is more dangerous than diarrhoea, 
 as it is of an inflammatory character ; and as it fre- 
 quently attacks a delicate child, requires skillful 
 handling. 
 
 Symptoms. — The infant, in all probability, has 
 had an attack of diarrhoea — bowel complaint as it 
 is called — for several days, having a dozen or two 
 of motions, many of them slimy and frothy, like 
 frog spawn, during the twenty-four hours. Sud- 
 denly the character of the motion changes, — from 
 being principally stool, it becomes almost entirely 
 blood and mucus ; he is dreadfully griped, which 
 
 
DYSENTERY— TREATMENT. 337 
 
 causes him to strain violently, as though his inside 
 would come away every time he has a motion, — 
 screaming and twisting about, evidently being in 
 the greatest pain, drawing his legs up to his belly 
 and writhing in agony, Sickness and vomiting 
 are always present, which still more robs him of 
 his little remaining strength, and prevents the re- 
 pair of his system. His face is the very picture 
 of distress. If he has been a plump, healthy little 
 fellow, you will see his face, in a few days, become 
 old-looking, careworn, haggard, and pinched. 
 Day and night the enemy tracks him ; no sleep, or 
 if he sleeps, he is, every few minutes, aroused. It 
 is heartrending to have to attend to a bad case of 
 dysentery in a child, — the writhing, the screaming, 
 the frequent vomiting, the pitiful looks, the rapid 
 wasting and exhaustion, make it more distressing 
 to witness than almost any other disease a doctor 
 attends. 
 
 What to do. — If the child is at the breast, keep 
 him to it, and let him have nothing else, for dysen- 
 tery is frequently caused by improper feeding. If 
 your milk is not good, or is scanty, i?tstantly pro- 
 cure a healthy wet nurse. Lose not a moment, for 
 in dysentery moments are precious. If you have 
 no milk, and no wet nurse can be procured, feed 
 him entirely on artificial human milk or cow's 
 milk — the milk of one healthy cow. Let the milk 
 be unboiled, and fresh from the cow. Give it 
 in small quantities at a time, and frequently, so 
 that it may be retained on the stomach. If a 
 
338 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 tablespoonful of the milk makes him sick, give 
 him a dessertspoonful ; if a dessertspoonful causes 
 sickness, let him only have a teaspoonful at a time, 
 and let it be repeated every quarter of an hour. 
 But remember, in such a case the breast milk is 
 incomparably superior to any other milk, or to any 
 other food whatever. 
 
 If he is a year old, and weaned, then feed him, 
 as above recommended, on the cow's milk. If 
 there is extreme exhaustion and debility, let fifteen 
 drops of brandy be added to each tablespoonful 
 of new milk, and let it be given every half hour. 
 
 A warm bath, at the commencement of the dis- 
 ease, is very efficacious; but it must be given at 
 the comme7icement. If he has had dysentery for a 
 day or two, he will be too weak to have a warm 
 bath ; then, instead of the bath — wrap him in a 
 blanket, which has been previously wrung out of 
 hot water; over which envelope him in a dry 
 blanket. Keep him in this hot, damp blanket for 
 half an hour; then take him out, put on his night- 
 gown and place him in bed. If it is winter the bed 
 should be previously warmed. The above blanket 
 treatment will frequently give great relief, and 
 sometimes cause him to fall into a sweet sleep. A 
 flannel bag filled with hot powdered table salt, 
 made hot in the oven, applied to the bowels, will 
 afford much comfort. 
 
 Now with regard to medicine. I approach this 
 part of the treatment with some degree of reluc- 
 tance — for dysentery is a case requiring opium— 
 
DYSENTERY — TREATMENT. 339 
 
 and opium I never like a mother of her own accord 
 to administer. But if a doctor cannot be procured 
 in time, the mother must then prescribe, or the 
 child will die ! What then is to be done? In severe 
 dysentery, especially where there is sickness, there 
 is no remedy equal to pure calomel, in a full dose 
 without opium. Therefore, at the very onset of the 
 disease, let from three to five grains (according to 
 the age of the patient), of calomel, mixed with an 
 equal quantity of powdered white sugar, be put 
 dry on the tongue. In three hours after let the 
 following mixture be administered : 
 
 Take of — Compound Powder of Ipecac, five grains; 
 Wine of Ipecac, one dram; 
 Simple Syrup, three drams; 
 Cinnamon Water, nine drams. 
 To make a mixture. — A teaspoonful to be given every three or 
 four hours, first well shaking the bottle. 
 
 Supposing he cannot retain the mixture — the 
 stomach rejecting it as soon as swallowed — what 
 then? Give the opium, mixed with small doses of 
 mercury with chalk and sugar, in the form of 
 powder, and put one of the powders dry on the 
 tongue, every three hours: 
 
 Take of — Powdered Opium, half a grain; 
 
 Mercury with Chalk, nine grains; 
 Sugar of Milk, twenty-four grains; 
 Mix well in a mortar, and divide into twelve powders. 
 
 If the dysentery has for several days persisted, 
 and during that time nothing but mucus and blood 
 has come from the bowels, then a combination of 
 
340 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 castor oil and opium ought, instead of the medi- 
 cine recommended above, to be given: 
 
 Take of — Mucilage of Gum Acacia, three drams; 
 Simple Syrup, three drams; 
 Tincture of Opium, ten drops (not minims); 
 Castor Oil, two drams 
 Cinnamon Water, four drams; 
 Make a mixture. — A teaspoonful to be taken every four hours, 
 first well shaking the bottle. 
 
 What not to do. — Do not give earth artics, unless 
 as before advised, the castor oil guarded with the 
 opium ; do not stuff him with artificial food ; do 
 not fail to send for a judicious and an experienced 
 physician ; for remember, that it requires a skilful 
 doctor to treat a case of dysentery, more especially 
 in a child. 
 
 Hives or nettle rash consists of several irregular, 
 raised wheals, red at the base, and white on the 
 summit, on different parts of the body ; but it sel- 
 dom attacks the face. It is not contagious, and it 
 may occur at all ages and many times. It comes 
 and goes, remaining only a short time in a place. 
 It puts on very much the appearance of the child 
 having been stung by nettles — hence its name. It 
 produces great heat, itching, and irritation, some- 
 times to such a degree as to make him feverish, 
 sick, and fretful. He is generally worse when he 
 is warm in bed, or when the surface of his body is 
 suddenly exposed to the air. Rubbing the skin, 
 too, always aggravates the itching and the ting- 
 ling, and brings out a fresh crop. The cause may 
 commonly be traced to improper feeding; al- 
 though, occasionally, it proceeds from teething. 
 
NETTLE RASH— TREATMENT. 34! 
 
 What to do. — It is a complaint of no danger, and 
 readily gives way to a mild aperient, and to atten- 
 tion to diet. There is nothing better to relieve 
 the irritation of the skin than a warm bath, or fre- 
 quently dusting the rash with toasted rye flour. 
 
 What not to do. — Do not apply cold applica- 
 tions to his skin, and do not wash (while the rash 
 is out) in quite cold water. Do not allow him to 
 be in a draught, but let him be in a well ventilated 
 room. If he is old enough to eat meat, keep it 
 from him for a few days, and let him live on milk 
 and farinaceous diet. Avoid strong purgatives, 
 and calomel, and grey powder. 
 
 Red-gum, tooth-rash, red-gown, is usually owing 
 to irritation from teething ; not always from the 
 cutting, but from the evolution of the teeth. It is 
 sometimes owing to unhealthy stools irritating the 
 bowels, and showing itself, by sympathy, on the 
 skin. Red-gum consists of several small pimples, 
 about the size of pins' heads, and may be known 
 from measles — the only disease for which it is at 
 all likely to be mistaken — by its being unattended 
 by symptoms of cold, such as sneezing, running, 
 and redness of the eyes, etc.; and by the patches 
 not assuming a crescentic — half-moon shape; red- 
 gum may readily be known by the child's health 
 being unaffected ; unless, indeed, there is a great 
 crop of pimples ; then there will be slight fever- 
 ishness. 
 
 What to do. — Little need be done. If there is 
 a good deal of irritation, a mild aperient should be 
 
342 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 given. The child ought to be kept moderately, 
 but not very warm. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Draughts of air, or cold 
 should be carefully avoided ; as, by sending the 
 eruption suddenly in, either convulsions or dis- 
 ordered bowels might be produced. Do not dose 
 him with grey powder. 
 
 Stuffiness of the. nose in a new-born babe may be 
 prevented by rubbing a little tallow on the bridge 
 of the nose. This is the old-fashioned remedy, and 
 answers the purpose. It ought to be applied every 
 evening just before putting him to bed. If the 
 stuffing is severe, dip a sponge in hot water, as 
 hot as he can comfortably bear ; ascertain that it is 
 not too hot, by previously applying it to your own 
 face and then put it for a few minutes to the 
 bridge of his nose. As soon as the hard mucus is 
 within reach, it should be carefully removed. 
 
 Many thriving babies are, after taking the breast, 
 frequently sick ; still we cannot look upon sickness 
 otherwise than as an index of either a disordered 
 or of an overloaded stomach. If the child is sick, 
 and yet thriving, it is a proof that he overloads his 
 stomach. The mother must not allow him to 
 nurse so much at a time. She should, until he 
 retains all he takes, lessen the quantity of milk. If 
 he is sick and does not thrive, the mother should 
 notice if the milk he throws up has a sour smell ; 
 if it has, she must look to her own health ; she 
 ought to ascertain if her own stomach is out of 
 order ; for if such is the case, it is impossible for 
 
THE MOTHER'S HEALTH IMPORTANT. 343 
 
 her to make good milk. She should observe 
 whether in the morning her tongue is furred and 
 dry ; whether she has a disagreeable taste in her 
 mouth, or pains in her stomach, or heartburn, or 
 flatulence. If she has all, or any of these symp- 
 toms, they explain why he is sick and does not 
 thrive. 
 
 But if the mother is in the enjoyment of good 
 health, she must then look to the babe himself, and 
 ascertain if he is cutting his teeth, if the gums re- 
 quire lancing, if the secretions from the bowels are 
 proper both in quantity and in quality, and, if he 
 has had artificial food — whether it agrees with 
 him. 
 
 What to do. — In the first place, if the gums are 
 red, hot and swollen, let them be lanced ; in the 
 second, if the secretions from the bowels are either 
 unhealthy or scanty, then give a dose of aperient 
 medicine, such as castor 6il, or the following: 
 Take two or three grains of powdered Turkish 
 rhubarb, three grains of pure carbonate of mag- 
 nesia and one grain of aromatic powder — mix. 
 The powder to be taken at bedtime, mixed in a 
 teaspoonful of sugar and water, and it should, 
 if necessary, be repeated the following night. In 
 the third place, if the food he is taking does not 
 agree with him, change it ; or, if possible, keep 
 him entirely to the breast. 
 
 What not to do. — Do not let him overload his 
 stomach either with breast milk, or with artificial 
 food. Let the mother avoid greens, cabbage, and 
 all green vegetables. 
 
344 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 The thrush is a frequent disease in infancy, and 
 is often brought on either by stuffing or by giving 
 improper food. A child brought up entirely, for 
 the first three or four months, on the breast, seldom 
 suffers from this complaint. The thrush consists 
 of several irregular, roundish, white specks on the 
 lips, the tongue, the inside, and the angles of the 
 mouth, giving the parts affected the appearance of 
 curds and whey having been smeared upon them. 
 The mouth is hot and painful, and he is afraid to 
 nurse ; the moment the nipple is put in his mouth 
 he begins to cry. The thrush sometimes, though 
 rarely, runs through the whole of the alimentary 
 canal. It should be borne in mind that nearly every 
 child, who is nursing, has his or her tongue white 
 or frosted, as it is sometimes called. The thrush 
 may be mild or very severe. 
 
 What to do. — As the thrush is generally owing 
 to improper and to artificial feeding, if the child is 
 at the breast, keep him, for a time, entirely to it. 
 Do not let him be always nursing, as that will not 
 only fret his mouth, but will irritate and make sore 
 the mother's nipple. 
 
 If he is not at the breast, but has been weaned, 
 then keep him for a few days entirely to a milk 
 diet — to the milk of one cow — either boiled, if it 
 is hot weather, to keep it sweet, or unboiled in 
 cool weather — fresh as it comes from the cow, 
 mixed with lime water in the proportion of two 
 parts of milk to one of lime water. 
 
 The best medicine is the old-fashioned one of 
 
THE THRUSH — TREATMENT. 345 
 
 borax, a combination of powdered lump sugar and 
 borax being a good one for the purpose; the 
 powdered loaf sugar increases, the efficacy and 
 the cleansing properties of the borax ; it tends, 
 also, to make it more palatable : 
 
 Take of — Borax, half a dram; 
 
 Loaf Sugar, two scruples; 
 To be well mixed together, and made into twelve powders. One of 
 the powders to be put dry on the tongue every four hours. 
 
 The best local remedy is honey and borax, which 
 ought to be smeared frequently, by means of the 
 finger, on the parts affected. Thorough ventila- 
 tion of the apartments must be observed ; and 
 great cleanliness of the vessels containing the milk 
 should be insisted upon. In a bad case of thrush, 
 change of air to the country is most desirable ; the 
 effect is sometimes truly magical. If the thrush is 
 brought on either by too much or by improper 
 food, the mother must lessen the quantity and be 
 more careful in her selection. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not mind the trouble of 
 ascertaining that the cooking vessels connected 
 with the baby's food are perfectly clean and sweet. 
 Do not leave the purity and the goodness of the 
 cow's milk to be judged either by the milkman or 
 by the nurse, but take and prove it yourself. Do 
 not keep the milk in a warm place, but in the dairy 
 or the cellar ; and if it is summer time, let the 
 jug holding the milk be put in a crock containing 
 lumps of ice. Do not use milk that has been 
 drawn longer than twelve hours, but, if practi- 
 
346 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 cable, have it direct from the cow, and use imme- 
 diately — let it be really and truly fresh and genuine 
 milk. 
 
 In a severe case of thrush, where the complaint 
 has been brought on by artificial feeding, it is really 
 surprising how rapidly a wet nurse will effect a 
 cure, when all other means have been tried and 
 have failed. The effect has been 'truly magical. 
 In a severe case of thrush, pure air and thorough 
 ventilation are essential to recovery. 
 
 A babe can only express his wants and his ne- 
 cessities by a cry ; he can only tell his aches and 
 his pains by a cry ; it is the only language of baby- 
 hood; it is the most ancient of all languages; it is 
 the language known by our earliest progenitors ; 
 it is, if listened to aright, a very expressive lan- 
 guage, although it is but the language of a cry. 
 
 There is a language in the cry of an infant, 
 which to a mother is the most interesting of all 
 languages, and which a thoughtful physician can 
 well interpret. The cry of a child, to an experi- 
 enced doctor, is, each and all, a distinct sound," 
 and is as expressive as the notes of the gamut. 
 The cry of passion, for instance, is a furious cry ; 
 the cry of sleepiness is a drowsy cry ; the cry of 
 grief is a sobbing cry ; the cry of an infant when 
 roused from sleep is a shrill cry ; the cry of hun- 
 ger is very characteristic — it is unaccompanied 
 with tears, and is a wailing cry ; the cry of teeth- 
 ing is a fretful cry ; the cry of pain tells to a 
 practiced ear the part of pain ; the cry of earache 
 
TOE LANGUAGE OF A CRY. '$dj 
 
 is short, sharp, piercing-, and decisive, the head be- 
 ing- moved about from side to side, and the little 
 hand being often put up to the affected side of the 
 head ; the cry of bowel-ache is also expressive — it 
 is not so piercing as from earache, and is an inter- 
 rupted, straining cry, accompanied with a draw- 
 ing-up of the legs to the belly ; the cry of bron- 
 chitis is a gruff and phlegmatic cry ; the cry of in- 
 flammation of the lungs is more a moan than a 
 cry ; the cry of croup is hoarse, and rough, and 
 ringing, and is so characteristic that it may truly 
 be called the croupy cry ; the cry of inflammation 
 of the membranes of the brain is a piercing shriek 
 — a danger signal — most painful to bear ; the cry 
 of a child recovering from a severe illness is a 
 cross, wayward, and tearful cry; he may truly be 
 said to be in a quarrelsome mood ; he bursts out, 
 without rhyme or reason, into a passionate flood 
 of tears — into a tempest of tears. Tears are al- 
 ways, in a severe illness, to be looked upon as a 
 good omen, as a sign of amendment. Tears, when 
 a child is dangerously ill, are very rarely, if ever, 
 seen ; a cry, at night, for light — a frequent cause of 
 a babe's crying — is a restless cry. 
 
 Broth and beef tea will seldom agree with an 
 infant at the breast, yet, when used as an enema, 
 and in small quantities, so that they may be re- 
 tained, I have frequently found them to be of 
 great benefit ; they have, in some instances, ap; 
 peared to have snatched delicate children from the 
 brink of the grave. 
 
348 INFANTS— AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 If a baby's ankles are weak, let them every 
 morning be bathed, after the completion of his 
 morning's ablution, for five minutes each time, 
 with bay salt and water, a small handful of bay 
 salt dissolved in a quart of rain water, then let 
 them be dried ; after drying the ankles rub well 
 with the following liniment: 
 
 Take of — Oil of Rosemary, three drams ; 
 
 Liniment of Camphor, thirteen drams ; 
 To make a liniment. 
 
 Do not let him be put on his feet early ; but al- 
 low him to crawl and sprawl and kick about the 
 floor, until his body and ankles become strong. 
 
 Do not, on any account, without having compe- 
 tent advice on the subject, use iron instruments, 
 or mechanical supports of any kind ; the ankles are 
 generally, by such artificial supports, made worse, 
 in consequence of the pressure causing a further 
 dwindling away and enfeebling of the ligaments 
 of the ankles, already wasted and weakened. 
 
 Let him wear shoes with straps over the insteps 
 to keep them on, and not boots ; boots will only 
 increase the weakness of the ankles. 
 
 Before concluding this chapter let me again 
 urge upon you the importance — the paramount 
 importance — if you wish your babe to be strong 
 and hearty, of giving him as little physic as pos- 
 sible. The best physic for him is Nature's 
 physic — fresh air and exercise and simplicity of 
 living. A mother, who is herself always drug- 
 ging her child, can only do good to two persons 
 — the doctor and the druggist. 
 
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON INFANCY. 349 
 
 If an infant, from birth, is properly managed, — 
 if he has an abundance of fresh air for his lungs, 
 and plenty of exercise for his muscles, — if he has 
 a good bathing and sousing of water for his skin, 
 — if during the early months of his life, he has 
 nothing but the mother's milk for his stomach, — 
 he will require very little medicine — the less the 
 better. He does not want his stomach to be made 
 into a doctor's shop. The grand thing is not 
 to take every opportunity of administering physic, 
 but of using every means of withholding it; and 
 if physic is necessary, not to doctor him yourself, 
 unless in extreme and urgent cases, but to employ 
 an experienced physician. 
 
 A babe who is always being physicked, is sure to 
 be puny, delicate and unhealthy, and is ready at 
 any moment to drop into an untimely grave. 
 
 I will maintain that a healthy child never re- 
 quires drugging, and that constipation is brought 
 on by bad management. Laxative medicines, to a 
 healthy child, are so much poison. Let me impress 
 the above remarks on every mother s mind; for it is a 
 subject of vital importance. Never give a pur- 
 gative to a healthy child; for if properly managed, 
 he will never require one. If you once begin to 
 give aperients, you will find difficulty in discon- 
 tinuing them. Finally, I will only say with Punch, 
 — "Don't." 
 
 Concluding remarks on infancy. — In concluding 
 this part of my subject, I beg to remark, there are 
 four things essentially necessary to a babe's well- 
 
350 INFANTS — AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. 
 
 doing, namely, plenty of water for his skin ; plenty 
 of fresh genuine milk mixed with water for his 
 stomach (giving him only his mother's milk during 
 the first six, eight, or nine months of his existence); 
 plenty of pure air for his lungs, and plenty of 
 sleep for his brain ; these are the four grand essen- 
 tials for an infant ; without an abundance of one 
 and all of them, perfect health is utterly impossible. 
 Perfect health ! the greatest earthly blessing, and 
 more to be coveted than aught else beside. There 
 is not a more charming sight in the universe than 
 the beaming face of a perfectly healthy babe, — 
 
 "His are the joys of nature, his the smile, 
 The cherub smile, of innocence and health." 
 
CHAPTER Xltt. 
 
 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 The Child is Father of the Man. — Wordsworth. 
 
 Ablution. — A child ought not to be bathed 
 while he is in a state of perspiration, nor while he 
 is perspiring violently, or the perspiration might be 
 checked suddenly, and ill consequences would 
 ensue ; nor ought he to be given a bath when he is cold. 
 or his blood would be chilled, and would be sent 
 from the skin to some internal vital part, and thus 
 would be likely to light up inflammation — prob- 
 ably of the lungs. His skin, when he is placed in 
 his bath, ought to be moderately and comfortably 
 warm, neither too hot nor too cold. When a 
 child is a year old, if it is winter, a little warm 
 water ought to be added, so as to raise the temper- 
 ature to that of new milk. As the summer ad- 
 vances, less. and less warm water is required, so 
 that at length none is needed. 
 
 If a child is delicate, either a handful of table 
 salt, or a half handful of bay salt, stiould be dis- 
 solved in a quart jug of cold water ; then, just be- 
 fore taking the child out of his morning bath, let 
 the above be poured over and down the back and 
 loins of the child — holding the jug while pouring 
 
 (35i) 
 
352 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 its contents on the back, a foot distance from the 
 child, in order that it may act as a kind of douche 
 bath. The child, after he has been dried with the 
 towel, ought to be well rubbed with the hand, as 
 friction encourages the cutaneous circulation, and 
 causes the skin to perform its functions properly, 
 thus preventing the perspiration (which is one of 
 the impurities of the body) from being sent in- 
 wardly either to the lungs or to other parts. The 
 back, the chest, the bowels, and the limbs are the 
 parts that ought to be well rubbed. One bath 
 a day is quite sufficient, in the morning in pref- 
 erence to the evening, unless he is poorly, then 
 evening instead of morning ; as, immediately after 
 he has been washed- and dried, he can be put to 
 bed. 
 
 Clothing. — Children, boys and girls, especially 
 if they are delicate, ought always to wear high 
 dresses up to their neck. The exposure of the 
 upper part of the chest (if the child is sickly) is 
 dangerous. It is in the upper part of the lungs, in 
 the region of the collar bones, that consumption 
 first shows itself. The clothing of the child, 
 especially about the chest, should be large and 
 full in every part, and free from tight strings, so 
 that the circulation of the blood may not be im- 
 peded, and that there may be plenty of room for 
 the full development of the rapidly-growing body. 
 
 His frock,' or tunic, ought to be of woolen 
 material — warm, light and porous, in order that the 
 perspiration may rapidly evaporate. The practice 
 
CLOTHING. 353 
 
 of some mothers in allowing their children to 
 wear tight bands around their waists, and tight 
 clothes, is truly reprehensible. Tight bands or 
 tight belts around the waist of a child, are very in- 
 jurious to health ; they compress the chest, and 
 thus interfere with the rising and falling of the 
 ribs — so essential to the breathing. Tight hats 
 ought never to be worn; by interfering with the 
 circulation they cause headaches. Nature delights 
 in freedom, and resents interference! 
 
 The chest, bowels and feet should be kept 
 comfortably warm. We must guard against an 
 opposite extreme, and not keep them too hot. 
 The head alone should be kept cool, on which ac- 
 count I do not approve either of night or of day 
 caps. The best covering of the head is a loose fitting 
 straw hat, which will allow the perspiration to es- 
 cape. It should have a broad rim, to screen the 
 eyes, A knitted or crocheted woolen hat, or a 
 toboggan hood, makes a nice and comfortable win- 
 ter covering for a child's head. 
 
 It is an abominable practice to cover a child's 
 head either with beaver, felt, or any thick imper- 
 vious material. It is a well ascertained fact that 
 both beaver and silk hats cause men to suffer from 
 headache, and to lose their hair — the reason 
 being that the perspiration cannot possibly escape 
 through them. Neither a child nor any one else 
 Should be permitted to be in the glare of the sun 
 without his hat. When a child walks oris carried 
 out in wintry weather, be sure and see that both 
 
 23 
 
354 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 his hands and legs are well protected from the 
 cold. There is nothing for this purpose like 
 woolen gloves, and woolen stockings coming up 
 over the knees. 
 
 1 should not advise a child to be lightly clad, 
 in order that he may be hardened thereby. Such 
 a plan, instead of hardening., would be likely to 
 produce a contrary effect. It is an ascertained 
 fact that more children of the poor, who are thus 
 lightly clad, die, than of those who are properly 
 defended from the cold. Again, what holds good 
 with a young plant is equally applicable to a 
 young child ; and we all know that it is ridiculous 
 to think of unnecessarily exposing a tender pl?nt 
 to harden it. If it were thus exposed, it would 
 wither and die. 
 
 If a child is delicate, if he has a cold body, a 
 languid circulation, or predisposed to inflamma- 
 tion of the lungs, he should wear flannel instead 
 of linen shirts. Flannel tends to keep the body at 
 an equal temperature, thus obviating the effects of 
 the sudden changes of the weather, and promotes 
 by gentle friction the cutaneous circulation, thus 
 warming the cold body, giving an impetus to the 
 languid circulation, and preventing an undue 
 quantity of blood from being sent to the lungs, 
 either to light up or to feed inflammation. Fine 
 flannel ought to be worn, which should be changed 
 as frequently as the usual shirts. 
 
 If a child has had an attack either of bronchitis 
 or of inflammation of the lungs, or if he has just 
 
CLOTHING. 355 
 
 recovered from scarlet fever, by all means, if he 
 has not previously worn flannel, instantly let him 
 begin to do so, and let him wear a flannel waist- 
 coat next the skin. This is important advice^ and 
 ought not to be disregarded. 
 
 During the winter he ought to wear woolen 
 stockings that will reach above the knees, and thick 
 drawers that will reach a few inches below the 
 knees, as it is of the utmost importance to keep 
 the lower extremities comfortably warm. It is 
 really painful to see how many mothers expose the 
 bare. legs of their little ones to the frosty air, even 
 in the depths of winter. Be sure and see that the 
 boots and shoes of your child are sound and 
 whole; for if they are not, they will let in the 
 damp, and if the damp, disease and perhaps death. 
 " If the poor would take better care of their chil- 
 dren's feet, half the infantile mortality would dis- 
 appear. It costs only a few cents to put a piece 
 of thick felt or cork into the bottom of a boot or 
 shoe, and the difference is often between that and 
 a doctor's bill, with, perhaps, the undertaker's 
 besides." Garters ought not to be worn, as they 
 impede the circulation, waste the muscles, and in- 
 terfere with walking. Stocking supporters are 
 far better. 
 
 Let me urge the importance of not allowing 
 your child to wear tight shoes ; they cripple the 
 feet, causing the joints of the toes, which ought 
 to have free play, and which should assist in walk- 
 ing, to be, in a manner, useless ; they produce corns 
 
356 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 and bunions, and interfere with the proper circu- 
 lation of the foot. A shoe ought to be made ac- 
 cording to the shape of the foot — rights and lefts 
 are therefore desirable. The toe part of the shoe 
 must be made broad, so as to allow plenty of 
 room for the toes to expand, and that one toe can 
 not overlap another. Be sure that there is no 
 pinching and no pressure. In the article of shoes 
 you ought to be particular and liberal ; pay atten- 
 tion to having nicely fitting ones, and let them be 
 made of soft leather, and throw them aside the 
 moment they are too small. It is poor economy, 
 indeed, because a pair of shoes is not worn out, to 
 run the risk of incurring the above evil con- 
 sequences. 
 
 Shoes are far preferable to boots; boots weaken 
 instead of strengthen the ankle. The ankle and 
 instep require free play, and ought not to be ham- 
 pered by boots. Boots, by undue pressure, de- 
 cidedly waste away the ligaments of the ankle. 
 Boots act on the ankles in a similar way that cor-* 
 sets do on the waist — they do mischief by pressure. 
 Boots waste away the ligaments of the ankle ; 
 stays waste away the muscles of the back and 
 chest ; and thus, in both cases, do irreparable mis- 
 chief. A mother ought not to leave off her chil- 
 dren's winter clothing until the spring is far 
 advanced ; it is better to be on the safe side, and 
 to allow the winter clothes to be worn until the 
 ^nd of May 
 
 Diet. — There is no objection when a child is 
 
DIET. 57 
 
 twelve months old, to his occasionally having a 
 mealy, mashed potato and gravy, or a few crumbs 
 of bread and gravy for dinner. Rice pudding or 
 batter pudding may be given for a change, but re- 
 member, the food recommended in a former para- 
 graph is what must be principally given, until he 
 is eighteen months old. He ought not to have 
 meat until he has several teeth to chew it with. If 
 he has most of his teeth — which he very likely 
 will have at this age — there is no objection to his 
 taking a small slice of mutton, or roast beef, 
 which should be well cut into very small pieces, 
 and mixed with a mealy mashed potato, and a few 
 crumbs of bread and gravy ; either every day, if he 
 is delicate, or every other day, if he is a gross or 
 fast feeding child. 
 
 I think so highly of rice, suet, and batter pud- 
 dings, and of other farinaceous puddings, that I 
 should advise you to let him have one or the other, 
 even on those days when he has meat — giving it 
 to him after his meat. But remember, if he has 
 meat and pudding, the meat ought to be given 
 sparingly. A well boiled suet pudding, with 
 plenty of suet in it, is one of the best puddings he 
 can have ; it is, in point of fact, meat and farina- 
 ceous food combined. The objection to fruit pies 
 and puddings is, that the pastry is often too rich 
 for the delicate stomach of a child ; there is no ob- 
 jection to the fruit — cooked fruit being most 
 wholesome ; if fruit puddings and pies are eaten, 
 the pastry part ought to be quite plain. Jam— 
 
358 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 such as strawberry, raspberry, gooseberry — is 
 most wholesome for a child, and ought occasionally 
 to be given, in place of sugar, with rice, batter, or 
 other puddings. Marmalade, too, is very whole- 
 some. 
 
 Puddings ought to be given after and not be- 
 fore meat and vegetables ; if you give him pudding 
 before his meat, he might refuse to eat meat alto- 
 gether. By adopting the plan of giving puddings 
 every day, your child will require less animal food ; 
 much meat is injurious to a young child. But do 
 not run in an opposite extreme ; a little meat ought 
 to be given every day, providing he has cut the whole 
 of his first set of teeth; until then, meat every other 
 day will be often enough. 
 
 As soon as a child has cut the whole of his first 
 set of teeth, he can have nothing better than scald- 
 ing hot new milk poured on sliced bread, with a 
 slice or two of bread and butter to eat with it. 
 Butter, in moderation, is nourishing, fattening, 
 wholesome, and tends to keep the bowels regular. 
 These facts should be borne in mind, as some 
 mothers foolishly keep their children from butter, 
 declaring it to be too rich for their children's 
 stomachs. New milk should be used in prefer- 
 ence to cream or skim milk. Cream, as a rule, is 
 too rich for the delicate stomach of a child, and 
 skim milk is too poor when robbed of the butter 
 which the cream contains. But give cream and 
 water, where new milk (as is occasionally the case) 
 does not agree ; but never give skim milk. Skim 
 
MILK AS FOOD. 359 
 
 milk, among- other evils, produces costiveness, and 
 necessitates the frequent administration of aperi- 
 ents. Cream, on the other hand, regulates and 
 tends to open the bowels. When a child has costive 
 bowels, there is nothing better for his breakfast 
 than well-made and well-boiled oatmeal mush, 
 which ought to be eaten with milk fresh from the 
 cow. Scotch children scarcely take anything else, 
 and a finer race do not exist ; as to physic, many of 
 them do not even know the taste or smell of it! 
 You will find cow's milk is valuable, indeed, an 
 indispensable article of diet for the young ; it is 
 most nourishing, wholesome and digestible. The 
 finest and the healthiest children are those who, 
 for the first four or five years of their lives, are fed 
 principally upon it. No child can live and be 
 healthy unless milk is the staple article of his diet. 
 There is no substitute for milk. To prove the fat- 
 tening and strengthening qualities of milk, look 
 only at a young calf who lives on milk, and on milk 
 alone. He is a Samson in strength, and is as fat 
 as butter; and all young things, if they are in 
 health, are fat. 
 
 Milk contains every ingredient to build up the 
 body, which is more than can be said of any other 
 known substance besides. A child may live en- 
 tirely, and grow, and become both healthy and 
 strong, on milk, and on milk alone, as it contains 
 every constituent of the human body. A child 
 cannot " live by bread alone," but he might on milk 
 alone. Milk is animal and vegetable — it is meat 
 
360 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 and bread — it is food and drink— it is a fluid, but 
 as soon as it reaches the stomach, it becomes a 
 solid — solid food ; it is the most important and 
 valuable article of diet for a child in existence. It 
 is a glorious food for the young, and must never, 
 on any account whatever, be dispensed with. 
 Young children, as a rule, are allowed to eat too 
 much meat. It is a mistaken notion of a mother 
 that they require so much animal food. If more 
 milk were given and less meat, they would be 
 healthier, and would not be so predisposed to dis- 
 ease, especially to diseases of debility, and to skin 
 disease. 
 
 I should strongly recommend you then, to be 
 extravagant in your milk score. Each child ought, 
 in the twenty-four hours, to take at least a quart 
 of good, fresh, new milk. It should be given in 
 various ways — as bread and milk, rice puddings, 
 milk and different kinds of farinaceous food, mush 
 and milk, plain milk, cold milk, hot milk, any way 
 and every way, that will please his palate, and that 
 will induce him to take an abundant supply of it. 
 The advice I have just given you is of paramount 
 importance, and demands your most earnest atten- 
 tion. There would be very few rickety children 
 in the world if my counsel were followed out to 
 the very letter. 
 
 But if a child will not take milk, having an 
 aversion to it, then boil the milk, and sweeten it 
 to suit his palate. After he has been accustomed 
 to it for a while, he will then probably like milk. 
 
MILK AS FOOD. 361 
 
 Gradually reduce the sugar, until at length it is 
 dispensed with. A child will often take milk this 
 way, whereas he will not otherwise touch it. If a 
 child will not drink milk, he must eat meat; it is 
 absolutely necessary that he should have either 
 one or the other, and, if he has cut nearly all his 
 teeth, he ought to have both meat and milk — the 
 former in moderation, the latter in abundance. 
 Milk, either boiled or unboiled, almost always 
 agrees with a child. If it does not, it must be 
 looked upon as the exception, and not as the rule. 
 I would, in such a case, advise one-eighth of lime 
 water to be added to seven-eighths of new milk — 
 that is, two tablespoonfuls of lime water should be 
 mixed with half a pint of new milk. 
 
 The children of the rich suffer much more from 
 costiveness than the children of the poor. The prin- 
 cipal reason is that the children of the rich drink milk 
 without water, while the children of the poor drink 
 water without or with very little milk — milk being 
 binding, and water laxative in its effect. Be sure, 
 then, and bear in mind, as this is most important advice, 
 to see that water is mixed with all the milk that is 
 given to your child. The combination of milk and 
 water for a child is a glorious compound — strength- 
 ening, fattening, refreshing and regulating to the 
 bowels, and thus doing away with that disgraceful 
 proceeding so common in nurseries, of everlasting 
 physicking, irritating and irreparably injuring the 
 tender bowels of a child. Cathartics, as a rule, are 
 quite unnecessary, and should only be given in 
 
362 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 severe illness, and under the direction of a judicious 
 doctor. How much misery and injury might be 
 averted if milk were always given to a child in 
 combination with water ! 
 
 Aperients, by repetition, unlike water, increase 
 the mischief tenfold, and bind up the bowels most 
 effectually. A mother, before she gives an aper- 
 ient to her child should ponder well upon what I 
 have said upon the subject, it being a vital ques- 
 tion, affecting, as it does, the well-being and the 
 well-doing of her child. If a child's bowels are 
 very costive, do not give him a grain or a drop of 
 laxative medicine, but administer an enema, a half 
 teacup or teacupful, according to the age of the 
 child,* of warm water ; this will effectually open 
 the bowels, without confining them afterward, 
 which opening physic would most assuredly do. 
 
 If he wants anything to eat between breakfast 
 and dinner let him have a piece of dry bread ; and 
 if he has eaten very heartily at dinner, and, like 
 Oliver Twist, "asks for more," give him a piece of 
 dry bread to satisfy his craving. He will never eat 
 more of it than will do him good, and yet he will 
 take sufficient to satisfy his hunger, which is very 
 important. He should now have meat, either mut- 
 ton or beef, for dinner, daily, which must be cut 
 up very small, and should be mixed with mealy, 
 mashed potato and gravy. He ought always to be 
 
 * For a babe, from birth until he is two years old, one, two or three 
 tablespoonfuls of warm water will be sufficient. 
 
OBJECTIONABLE FOOD. 363 
 
 accustomed to eat salt with his 'dinner. Let a 
 mother see that this advice is followed, or evil 
 consequences will inevitably ensue. Let him be 
 closely watched, to ascertain that he well masti- 
 cates his food, and that he does not eat too 
 quickly, for young children are apt to bolt their 
 food. 
 
 Pork is rich, gross, and therefore unwholesome 
 food for the delicate stomach of a child. I have 
 known it to produce violent pain, sickness, purg- 
 ing and convulsions. If a child is fed much upon 
 such meat, it will be likely to produce pimples on 
 the skin. In fine, his blood will, put on the same 
 character as the food he is fed with. Pork may 
 be considered a strong meat, and " strong meat and 
 strong drink can only be taken by strong men." 
 My objection to pork is that it is rich and 
 gross ; this does not apply to veal, but the objec- 
 tion to that is, that it is more difficult of digestion 
 than either mutton or beef ; indeed, all young 
 meats are harder of digestion than meats of ma- 
 turity ; thus mutton is more digestible than lamb, 
 and beef than veal. If beef is much salted it is hard 
 of digestion, and therefore ought not to be given ; 
 but if slightly salted, there will be no objection to a 
 little. Lightly boiled egg at any time makes an 
 excellent change ; there is great nourishment in an 
 egg ; it will not only strengthen the frame, but it 
 will 'give animal heat as well. These two qualities 
 are most valuable ; indeed, essential for the due 
 performance of health ; many articles of food con- 
 
364 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 tain the one qualification, but not the other ; hence 
 the egg is admirably suitable for a child's occasional 
 dinner. 
 
 Occasionally, either asparagus, broccoli, cauli- 
 flower, turnips, or Lima beans may with advantage 
 be given. Green peas may occasionally be given, 
 providing they are thoroughly boiled and mashed 
 with the knife on the plate. Underdone and un- 
 mashed peas are not fit for a child's stomach; there 
 is nothing more difficult of digestion than under- 
 done peas. It is important, too, to mash them, 
 even if they are well done, as a child generally 
 bolts peas whole ; and they pass through the 
 alimentary canal without being in the least 
 digested. 
 
 I have recommended a great sameness in an 
 infants diet, but a child's meals, his dinners espe- 
 cially, ought to be much varied. For instance, do 
 not let him have mutton day after day, but ring 
 the changes on mutton, beef, poultry, game, and 
 even occasionally fish — sole or cod. 
 
 Not only let there be a change of meat, but let 
 there be a change in the manner of cooking it ; let 
 the meat sometimes be roasted, at the other times 
 boiled. I have known a mother who prided her- 
 self as being experienced in these matters, feed her 
 child, day after day, on mutton chops. Such a 
 proceeding is most injurious to him, as after a 
 while his unfortunate stomach will digest nothing 
 but mutton chops, and in time, not even those. 
 
 With regard to vegetables, potatoes — mashed 
 
OVER-FEEDING. 365 
 
 potatoes — ought to be his staple vegetable, but 
 every now and then, cauliflower, asparagus, turnips 
 and Lima beans should be given. With respect 
 to puddings, vary them, thus: Rice, one day ; suet, 
 another ; batter, a third; tapioca, a fourth ; or even 
 occasionally, he might have apple, gooseberry or 
 rhubarb pudding — providing the pastry is plain 
 and light. It is an excellent plan, as I have before 
 remarked, to let a child eat jam — such as straw- 
 berry, raspberry, or gooseberry — and that without 
 stint, either with rice or with batter puddings. 
 Variety of diet is good for a child; it will give him 
 muscle, bone and sinew, and what is very import- 
 ant, it will tend to regulate his bowels, and thus 
 prevent the necessity of giving him aperients. 
 
 But do not stuff a child — do not press him, as 
 is the wont of some mothers, to eat more than he 
 feels inclined. On the contrary, if you think that 
 he is eating too much — that he is overloading his 
 stomach — and he should ask for more, then, in- 
 stead of giving him more meat or pudding, give 
 him a piece of dry bread. By doing so, you may 
 rest assured that he will not eat more than is abso- 
 lutely good for him. If he cannot eat well, de- 
 pend upon it, there is something wrong about the 
 system. 
 
 Asking for something to eat, is frequently, in a 
 severe illness, the first favorable symptom ; we may 
 generally then prognosticate that all will soon be 
 well again. If a child refuses his food, neither 
 coax nor tempt him to eat, as food without an ap- 
 
366 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 petite will do him more harm than it will do him 
 good ; it may produce either sickness, bowel 
 complaint, or fever. Depend upon it, there is 
 always a cause for a want of appetite ; perhaps 
 his stomach has been overworked, and requires 
 repose, or his bowels are loaded, and nature wishes 
 to take time to use up the old material ; there 
 may be fever lurking in his system ; nature stops 
 the supplies, and thus endeavors, by not giving 
 it food to work with, to nip it in the bud ; there 
 may be inflammation ; food would then be im- 
 proper, as it would only add fuel to the fire ; let 
 the cause be either an overworked stomach, over- 
 loaded bowels, fever, or inflammation, food would 
 be injurious. Kind Nature, if we will but listen to 
 her voice, will tell us when to eat, and when to 
 refrain. 
 
 Some parents are in the habit of giving their 
 children strong (and frequently green) tea. This 
 practice is most hurtful. It acts injuriously upon 
 their delicate nervous system, and thus weakens 
 their whole frame. If milk does not agree, a cup 
 of very weak tea, water with a dash of black tea in 
 it, with a tablespoonful of cream, may be substi- 
 tuted for milk ; but a mother must never give tea 
 where milk agrees. 
 
 Cakes and sweetmeats are so much slow 
 poison. Such things cloy and weaken the stom- 
 ach, take away the appetite, and thus debilitate 
 the frame. Sweetmeats are usually colored with 
 poisonous pigments. A mother surely is not 
 
POISONOUS SWEETMEATS. 367 
 
 aware, that when she is giving her child sugar 
 confectionery she is, in many cases, administering 
 a deadly poison to him ? 
 
 A child's antipathy to certain articles of diet 
 should be respected; it is a sin and a shame to 
 force him to eat what he has a great dislike to; a 
 child sometimes dislikes the fat of meat, under- 
 done meat, the skin off boiled milk and off rice 
 pudding. Why should he not have his likes and 
 dislikes as well as "children of a larger growth"? 
 Besides, there is an idiosyncrasy — a peculiarity of 
 the constitution in some children — and nature of- 
 tentimes points out what is good and what is bad 
 for them individually, and we are not to fly in the 
 face of Nature. If a child is forced to eat what he 
 dislikes, it will most likely disorder his stomach 
 and bowels; food, if it is really to do him good, 
 must be eaten by him with a relish, and not with 
 disgust or aversion. Some mothers, who are strict 
 disciplinarians, pride themselves on compelling 
 their children to eat whatever they choose to give 
 them. Such children are to be pitied ! 
 
 A child ought to commence to dine with his 
 parents as soon as he is old enough to sit up at the 
 table, providing the father and mother dine or 
 lunch in the middle of the day. I always prefer 
 having children about me at mealtimes. I think 
 it makes them little gentlemen and gentlewomen 
 in a manner that nothing else will. 
 
 The nursery. — The nursery ought to be the 
 largest and most airy room in the house. In town, 
 
368 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 if it is in the top story (providing the apartment 
 is large and airy) so much the better, as the air 
 will then be purer. The architect, in the building 
 of a house, ought to be particularly directed to 
 pay attention to the space, the loftiness, the venti- 
 lation, the light, the warming, and the convent 
 iences of a nursery. A bathroom attached to it will 
 be of great importance and benefit to the health of 
 a child. 
 
 It will be advantageous to have a water-closet 
 near at hand, which should be well supplied with 
 water, be well drained, and well ventilated. If 
 this is not practicable, the evacuations ought to 
 be removed as soon as they are passed. It is a 
 filthy and an idle habit to allow a motion to re- 
 main for any length of time in a room. 
 
 The ventilation of a nursery is of paramount 
 importance. There ought to be a constant supply 
 of fresh pure air in the apartment. But how few 
 nurseries have fresh, pure air? Many nurseries 
 are nearly hermetically sealed — the windows are 
 seldom if ever opened ; the doors are religiously 
 closed ; and, in summer time, the chimneys are 
 carefully stuffed up, so that a breath of air is not 
 allowed to enter. The consequences are that the 
 poor unfortunate children are poisoned by their 
 own breaths, and are made so delicate that they 
 are constantly catching cold ; indeed, it may be 
 said that they are laboring under chronic catarrhs, 
 all arising from Nature's laws being set at defiance. 
 
 The windows ought to be large, and should be 
 
THE NURSERY — VENTILATION. 369 
 
 made to freely open, both at top and bottom. 
 Whenever the child is out of the nursery, the win- 
 dows ought to be thrown wide open ; indeed, when 
 he is in it, if the weather is fine, the upper sash 
 should be a little lowered. A child should be en- 
 couraged to leave the room frequently, in order 
 that it may be freely ventilated ; for good air is as 
 necessary to his health as wholesome food, and air 
 cannot be good if not frequently changed. If you 
 wish to have a strong and healthy child, ponder 
 over and follow this advice. 
 
 A nursery is usually kept too hot ; the tempera- 
 ture in the winter ought not to exceed 60 degrees 
 Fahrenheit. A good thermometer should be con- 
 sidered an indispensable requisite to a nursery. A 
 child in a hot, close nursery is bathed in perspi- 
 ration ; if he leaves the room to go to one of lower 
 temperature, the pores of his skin are suddenly 
 closed, and either a severe cold, or an inflam- 
 mation of the lungs, or an attack of bronchitis, is 
 likely to ensue. More than this, the child is weak- 
 ened and enervated by the heat, and readily falls a 
 prey to disease. 
 
 A child ought never to be permitted to sit with 
 his back to the fire; it weakens the spine, and thus 
 the whole frame ; it causes a rush of blood to the 
 head and face, and predisposes him to colds. 
 Pure air and pure water, and let me add, pure 
 milk, are the grand and principal requirements of 
 health for a child. 
 
 Look well to the drainage of vour house and 
 
370 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 neighborhood. A child is very susceptible to the 
 influence of bad drainage. Bad drains are fruitful 
 sources of scarlet fever, diphtheria, diarrhoea, etc. 
 
 A nursery floor ought not to be washed oftener 
 than once a week ; and then the child or children 
 should be sent into another room until it is dry. 
 During the drying of the floor, the windows must 
 be thrown wide open. 
 
 The constant wetting of a nursery floor is a 
 frequent source of illness among the children. 
 The floor ought to be kept clean ; but this may be 
 done by thoroughly sweeping the room out every 
 morning before the little charge makes his ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 Do not have your nursery wall covered with 
 green paper hangings. Green paper hangings con- 
 tain large quantities of arsenic — arsenite of copper 
 — which is a virulent poison, and which flies about 
 the room in the form of powder. There is frequently 
 enough poison on the walls of a room to destroy 
 a whole neighborhood. There is another great ob- 
 jection to having your nursery walls covered with 
 green paper hangings ; if any of the paper should 
 become loose from the walls a little child is very 
 apt to play with it, and to put it, as he does every- 
 thing else, to his mouth. This is not an imaginary 
 state of things, as four children in one family have 
 just lost their lives from sucking green paper hang- 
 ings. Children's toys are frequently painted a 
 green color with arsenite of copper, and are con- 
 sequently highly dangerous for them to play with. 
 
childhood's ideal home. 371 
 
 The best toy for a child is a box of iinpainted 
 wooden bricks, which is a constant source of 
 amusement to him. 
 
 Let a child's home be the happiest house to him 
 in the world; and to be happy he must be merry 
 and cheerful ; and he ought to have an abundance 
 of playthings, to help on the merriment. If he 
 has a dismal nurse, and a dismal home, he may as 
 well be incarcerated in a prison, and be attended 
 by a jailor. It is sad enough to see dismal, doleful 
 men and women, but it is a truly lamentable and 
 unnatural sight to see a doleful child. The young 
 ought to be as playful and as full of innocent mis- 
 chief as kittens. There will be quite time enough 
 in after years for sorrow and for sadness. 
 
 Bright colors, plenty of light, clean windows 
 (mind this, if you please), an abundance of good 
 colored prints, and toys without number, are the 
 proper furnishings of a nursery. Nursery ! why, 
 the very name tells you what it ought to be — the 
 home of childhood — the most important room in 
 the house — a room that will greatly tend to stamp 
 the character of your child for the remainder of 
 his life. A placid, well-regulated temper is very 
 conducive to health. A disordered, or an over- 
 loaded, stomach, is a frequent cause of peevishness. 
 Appropriate treatment in such a case will, of 
 course, be necessary. 
 
 I do not approve of a carpet in a nursery^ un- 
 less it is' a small piece for a child to roll upon. A 
 carpet harbors dirt and dust, which dust is con- 
 
372 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 stantly floating about the atmosphere, and thus 
 making it impure for him to breathe. The truth 
 of this may be easily ascertained by entering a 
 darkened room, where a ray of sunshine is strug- 
 gling through a crevice in the shutters. If the 
 floor of a nursery must be covered, let a drugget 
 be laid down ; and this may, every morning, be 
 taken up and shaken. The less furniture a nursery 
 contains the better, for much furniture obstructs 
 the free circulation of the air, and prevents a child 
 from taking proper play and exercise in the room 
 — an abundance of which are absolutely necessary 
 for his health. 
 
 You cannot be too particular in the choice of 
 those who are in constant attendance upon him. 
 Yourself must be his head nurse — you only require 
 some one to take the drudgery off your hands. 
 You ought to be particularly careful in the selec- 
 tion of his nurse. She should be steady, lively, 
 truthful, and good tempered ; and must be free 
 from any natural imperfection, such as squinting, 
 stammering, etc., for a child is such an imitative 
 creature that he is likely to acquire that defect, 
 which in the nurse is natural. Children, like 
 babies, are quick at taking notice. What they 
 see they mark, and what they mark they are very 
 prone to copy. 
 
 The nurse ought not to be very young, or she 
 may be thoughtless, careless, and giggling. You 
 have no right to set a child to mind a child ; it 
 would be like the blind leading the blind No ! a 
 
ON FRIGHTENING CHILDREN. 373 
 
 child is too precious a treasure to be intrusted to 
 the care and keeping of a young girl. Many a 
 child has been ruined for life by a careless young 
 nurse dropping him and injuring his spine. 
 
 Never should a nurse be allowed to wear a 
 mask, nor to dress up and paint herself as a ghost, 
 or as any other frightful object. A child is nat- 
 urally timid and full of fears, and what would not 
 make the slightest impression upon a grown up 
 person might throw a child into fits. Never 
 should she be permitted to tell her little charge 
 frightful stories of ghosts and hobgoblins ; if this 
 is allowed, the child's disposition will become 
 timid and wavering, and may continue so for the 
 remainder of his life. 
 
 If a little fellow were not terrified by such 
 stories, the darkness would not frighten him more 
 than the light. The mind, thus rilled with fear, 
 acts upon the body, and injures the health. A 
 child must never be placed in a dark cellar, nor 
 frightened by tales of rats, etc. Instances are re- 
 lated of fear thus induced impairing the intellect 
 for life, and there are numerous examples of sud- 
 den fright causing a dangerous and even fatal 
 illness. 
 
 This frightening of a child by a silly nurse fre- 
 quently brings on night-terrors. He wakes up 
 suddenly, soon after going to sleep, frightened and 
 terrified, screaming violently, and declaring that 
 he has seen either some ghost, or thief, or some 
 object that the silly nurse had been previously 
 
374 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 describing, who is come for him to take him away. 
 The little fellow is the very picture of terror and 
 alarm ; he hides his face in his mother's bosom, 
 perspiration streams down him, and it is some time 
 before he can be pacified — when, at length, he falls 
 into a troubled, feverish slumber, to awake in the 
 morning unrefreshed. Night after night these ter- 
 rors harrass him, until his health materially suffers, 
 and his young life becomes miserable, looking for- 
 ward with dread to the approach of darkness. 
 
 Treatment of night terrors. — If they have been 
 brought on by the folly of the nurse, discharge 
 her at once, and be careful to select a more dis- 
 creet one. When the child retires to rest, leave a 
 candle burning, and let it burn all night ; sit with 
 him until he is asleep ; and take care, in case he 
 should rouse up in one of his night terrors, that 
 either yourself or some kind person is near at 
 hand. Do not scold him for being frightened — he 
 cannot help it ; but soothe him, calm him, fondle 
 him, take him into your arms and let him feel that 
 he has some one to rest upon, to defend and to pro- 
 tect him. It is frequently in these cases necessary, 
 before he can be cured, to let him have change of 
 air and change of scene. Let him live a great 
 part of the day in the open air. 
 
 A nurse-maid should never be allowed to whip 
 a child. " Does ever any man or woman remember 
 the feeling of being ' whipped ' as a child, the fierce 
 anger, the insupportable ignominy, the longing for 
 revenge, which blotted out all thought of contrition 
 
THE CHILDREN S HOUR. 375 
 
 for the fault, or rebellion against the punishment ? 
 With this recollection on their own parts, I can 
 hardly suppose any parents venturing to inflict it, 
 much less allowing its infliction by another under 
 any circumstances whatever. A nurse-maid or 
 domestic of any sort, once discovered to have 
 lifted up her hand against a child, ought to meet 
 jnstant rebuke, and on a repetition of the offense 
 instant dismissal." 
 
 I have seen a lazy nurse sit before the fire in the 
 winter time with a child on her lap, rubbing his 
 cold feet just before putting him to bed. This 
 is not the way to warm his feet. The right method 
 is to let him romp and run either about the room 
 or the hall — this will effectually warm them ; but 
 it will entail a little extra trouble on the nurse, as 
 she will have to use a little exertion to induce him 
 to do so, and this extra trouble a lazy nurse will not 
 relish. Warming the feet before a fire will give 
 the little fellow chilblains, and will make him when 
 he is in bed more chilly. The only way for him 
 to have a good romp before he goes to bed, is for 
 the mother to join in the game. She may rest 
 assured that if she does so, her child will not be 
 the only one to benefit by it. She will find it of 
 marvelous benefit to her own health ; it will warm 
 her own feet, it will be almost sure to insure her 
 a good night, and will make her feel so light and 
 buoyant as almost to fancy that she is a girl again. 
 Let every child before going to bed, hold a high 
 court of revelry ; let him have an hour — the Chii- 
 
376 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 dren's Hour — devoted to romp, to dance, to shout, 
 to sing, to riot, and to play, and let him be the 
 master of the revels — 
 
 " Between the dark and the daylight, 
 
 When the night is beginning to lower, 
 Comes a pause in the day's occupation, 
 Which is known as the Children's Hour." 
 
 — L ongfellow. 
 
 Let a child be employed — take an interest in 
 his employment, let him fancy that he is useful — 
 and he is useful— he is laying up a stock of health. 
 He is much more usefully employed than many 
 other grown up children are. 
 
 A child should be happy ; he must, in every 
 way, be made happy ; everything ought to be done 
 to conduce to his happiness, to give him joy, glad- 
 ness and pleasure. Happy he should be, as happy 
 as the day is long. Kindness should be lavished 
 upon him. Make a chiid understand that you love 
 him ; prove it in your actions — these are better 
 than words ; look after his little pleasures — join in 
 his little sports ; let him never hear a morose 
 word — it would rankle in his breast, take deep 
 root, and in due time bring forth bitter fruit. 
 Love ! let love be his polar star ; let it be the guide 
 and the rule of all you do and all you say to* him. 
 Let your face, as well as your tongue, speak love. 
 Let your hands be ever ready to minister to his 
 pleasures and to his play. " Blessed be the hand 
 that prepares a pleasure for a child, for there is no 
 saying when and where it may again bloom forth. 
 
A LONG-REMEMBERED KINDNESS. 377 
 
 Does not almost everybody remember some kind- 
 hearted man who showed him a kindness in the 
 dulcet days of childhood ? The writer of this 
 recollects himself, at this moment, a barefooted 
 lad, standing at the wooden fence of a poor little 
 garden in his native village, while, with longing 
 eyes, he gazed on the flowers which were bloom- 
 ing there quietly in the brightness of the Sabbath 
 morning. The possessor came from his little cot- 
 tage. He was a wood-cutter by trade, and spent 
 the whole week at work in the woods. He had 
 come into the garden to gather flowers to stick in 
 his coat when he went to church. He saw the 
 boy, and breaking off the most beautiful of his car- 
 nations (it was streaked with red and white), he 
 gave it to him. Neither the giver nor the receiver 
 spoke a word, and with bounding steps the boy 
 ran home. And now here, at a vast distance from 
 that home, after so many events of so many years, 
 the feeling of gratitude which agitated the breast 
 of the boy, expresses itself on paper. The carna- 
 tion has long since faded, but it now bloometh 
 afresh." — Douglas Jerrold. 
 
 The hearty, ringing laugh of the child is sweet 
 music to the ear. There are three most joyous 
 sounds in nature — the hum of the bee, the purr 
 of a cat, and the laugh of a child. They tell of 
 peace, of happiness, and of contentment, and 
 make one for a while forget that there is so much 
 misery in the world. 
 
 A man who dislikes children is unnatural ; he 
 
3;3 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 has no milk of human kindness in him ; he should 
 be shunned. Give me, for a friend, a man — 
 
 " Who takes the children on his knee, 
 And winds their curls about his hand." 
 
 — Tennyson. 
 
 A child's troubles are soon over — his tears are 
 soon dried ; " nothing dries sooner than a tear" — if 
 not prolonged by improper management. Never 
 al]ow a child to be teased ; it spoils his temper. If 
 he is in a cross humor take no notice of it, but di- 
 vert his attention to some pleasing object. This 
 may be done without spoiling him. Do not com- 
 bat bad temper with bad temper — noise with noise. 
 Be firm, be kind, be gentle, be loving, speak 
 quietly, smile tenderly, and embrace him fondly, 
 but insist upon implicit obedience, and you will have, 
 with God's blessing, a happy child. 
 
 Speak gently to a child ; speak gently to all ; but 
 more especially speak gently to a child. Pleasant 
 words ought always to be spoken to a child ; there 
 must be neither snarling, nor snapping, nor snub- 
 bing, nor loud contention toward him. If there 
 is it will ruin his temper and disposition, and will 
 make him hard, harsh, morose and disagreeable. 
 
 Do not always be telling your child how wicked 
 he is; what a naughty boy he is; that God will 
 never love him, and all the rest oi such twaddle 
 and blatant inanity ! Do not, in point of fact, bully 
 him, as many poor little fellows are bullied. It 
 will ruin him if you do ; it will make him in after 
 years, either a coward or a tyrant. Such conver* 
 
HOME TREATMENT OF CHILDREN. 379 
 
 sation, like constant droppings of water, will make 
 an impression, and will cause him to feel that it is 
 of no use to try to be good— that he is hopelessly 
 wicked. Instead of such language, give him con- 
 fidence in himself; rather find out his good points 
 and dwell upon them ; praise him where and 
 whenever you can ; and make him feel that, by 
 perseverance and by God's blessing, he will make 
 a good man. Speak truthfully to your child ; if 
 you once deceive him, he will not believe you for 
 the future. Not only so, but if you are truthful 
 yourself you are likely to make him truthful — like 
 begets like. There is something beautiful in 
 truth ! A lying child is an abomination ! Sir 
 Walter Scott says " that he taught his son to ride, 
 to shoot, and to tell the truth." Archdeacon Hare 
 asserts " that Purity is the feminine, Truth the 
 masculine of Honor " 
 
 As soon as a child can speak he should be made 
 to lisp the noble words of truth, and to love it, and 
 to abhor a lie. What a beautiful character he will 
 then make. 
 
 Have no favorites, show no partiality ; for the 
 young are very jealous, sharp-sighted and quick- 
 witted, and take a dislike to the petted one. Do 
 not rouse the old Adam in them. Let children be 
 taught to be " kindly affectionate one to another 
 with brotherly love ; " let them be encouraged to 
 share each other's toys and playthings, and to 
 banish, selfishness. 
 
 Attend to a child's little pleasures. It is the lit- 
 
380 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 tie pleasures of a child that constitute his happi- 
 ness. Great pleasures come but seldom, and are 
 the exception, and not the rule. 
 
 Let a child be nurtured in love, '* It will be 
 seen," says the author of John Halifax, "that I 
 hold this law of kindness as the Alpha and Omega 
 of education. I once asked one, in his own house, 
 a father in everything but the name, his authority 
 unquestioned, his least word held in reverence, 
 his smallest wish obeyed — ' How did you ever 
 manage to bring up these children ? ' He said, 
 1 By love: " 
 
 Let every word and action prove that you love 
 your children. Enter into all their little pursuits 
 and pleasures. Join them in their play, and be a 
 child again. If they are curious, do not check 
 their curiosity, but rather encourage it ; for they 
 have a great deal — as we all have — to learn, and 
 how can they know if they are not taught ? You 
 may depend upon it the knowledge they obtain 
 from observation is far superior to that obtained 
 from books. Let all you teach them, let all you 
 do, and let all you say, bear the stamp of love. 
 " Endeavor, from first to last, in your intercourse 
 with your children, to let it bear the impress of 
 love. It is not enough that you feel affection 
 toward your children — that you are devoted to 
 their interests ; you must show in your manner 
 the fondness of your heart toward them. Young 
 minds cannot appreciate great sacrifices made for 
 them ; they judge their parents by the words and 
 
EXERCISE. 381 
 
 deeds of everyday life. They are won by little 
 kindnesses, and alienated by little acts of neglect 
 or impatience. One complaint unnoticed, one 
 appeal unheeded, one. lawful request arbitrarily 
 refused, will be remembered by your little ones 
 more than a thousand acts of the most devoted 
 affection." 
 
 Exercise. — A child, during the summer months, 
 should be sent out before breakfast when the 
 weather will permit, and providing the wind is 
 neither in an easterly nor in a northeasterly direc- 
 tion ; indeed, he can scarcely be too mucJi in the open 
 air. He must not be allowed to stand about 
 draughts or about entries, and the only way to pre- 
 vent him doing so is for the mother herself to accom- 
 pany him. She will then kill two birds with one 
 stone, as she will, by doing so, benefit her own as 
 well as her child's health. 
 
 A child ought not to be early put on his feet to 
 walk ; let him learn to walk himself. He ought to 
 be put upon a carpet, and it will be found that 
 when he is strong enough, he will hold by a chair 
 and will stand alone. When he can do so, and at- 
 tempts to walk, he should then be supported. 
 You must, on first putting him upon his feet, be 
 guided by his own wishes. He will have the in- 
 clination as soon as he is strong enough, to walk. 
 When he has the inclination and strength it will 
 be folly to restrain him ; if he has neither the in- 
 clination nor the strength, it will be absurd to 
 urge him on. Rely, therefore, to a certain extent, 
 
382 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 upon the inclination of the child himself. Self-re- 
 liance cannot be too early taught him, and, indeed, 
 every one else. In the generality of instances, 
 however, a child is put on his feet too soon, and 
 the bones at that tender age, being very flexible, 
 bend, causing bowed and bandy-legs ; and the 
 knees, being weak, approximate too closely to- 
 gether, and thus they become knock-kneed. This 
 advice I must strongly insist on, as many mothers 
 are so ridiculously ambitious that their babies 
 should walk early — that they should walk before 
 other children of their acquaintance have at- 
 tempted — that they have frequently caused the 
 above lamentable deformities, which is a standing 
 reproach to them during the rest of their lives. 
 
 In fine weather a child ought to be sent out as 
 often as possible. If children lived more in the 
 open air they would neither be so susceptible to 
 disease, nor suffer so much from teething and from 
 catching cold. 
 
 On wet days, the child ought to run about a 
 large room, or the hall ; and if it does not rain 
 violently, you should put on his hat and throw up 
 the window, taking care while the window is open 
 that he does not stand still. A wet day is the day 
 for him to hold his high court of revelry, and " to 
 make him as happy as the day is long." 
 
 Do not allow him to sit any length of time at a 
 table, amusing himself with books, etc. ; let him be 
 active and stirring, that his blood may freely cir- 
 culate as it ought to do, and that his muscles may 
 
EXERCISE. 383 
 
 be well developed. I would rather see him 
 actively engaged in mischief than sitting still, 
 doing nothing. He ought to be put on the carpet, 
 and should then be tumbled and rolled about to 
 make the blood bound merrily through the vessels, 
 to stir up the liver, to promote digestion, and to 
 open the bowels. 
 
 In winter, even if the weather is very cold, you 
 should still send a child out, provu-*~j he is well 
 wrapped up. The cold will brace and strengthen 
 him. Cold weather is the finest tonic in the world. 
 In frosty weather, send him out to walk, put a 
 pair of large old woolen stockings over his boots 
 or shoes. This will not only keep his legs and feet 
 warm, but it will prevent him from falling down 
 and hurting himself. While thus equipped, he 
 may even walk on a slide of ice without falling 
 down. 
 
 In the winter time a child requires plenty of 
 flannel and plenty of food, plenty of fresh and 
 genuine milk, and plenty of water in his tub to 
 wash and bathe him in the morning, plenty of exer- 
 cise and plenty of play, and then he may brave 
 the frosty air. It is the coddled, the half-washed, 
 and the half-starved child (half-washed and half- 
 starved from either the woman's ignorance or from 
 the mother's timidity), that is the chilly starveling 
 — catching cold at every breath of wind, and every 
 time he goes out into the open air — a puny, skinny, 
 scraggy, scarecrow, more dead than alive, and 
 more fit for the grave than for the rough world he 
 
384 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 will have to struggle in. If the above advice is 
 strictly followed, a child may be sent out in the 
 coldest weather. 
 
 Amusements. — Let the amusements of a child be 
 as much as possible out of doors; let him spend 
 the greater part of every day in the open air ; let 
 him exert himself as much as he please, his feel- 
 ings will tell him when to rest, and when to begin 
 again; let him be what Nature intended him to 
 be — a happy, laughing, joyous child. Do not let 
 him be always poring over books. He ought to 
 be encouraged to engage in those sports wherein 
 the greatest number of muscles are brought into 
 play. For instance, to play at ball, or hoop, or 
 football; to play at horses, to run to certain 
 distances and back, and if a girl, to amuse herself 
 with skipping rope, such being excellent exer- 
 cise — 
 
 "By sports like these are all their cares beguiled, 
 The sports of children satisfy the child." — Goldsmith. 
 
 Every child, where practicable, should have a 
 small plot of ground to cultivate, that he may dig 
 and delve in, and make dirt pies if he choose. 
 Children nowadays are not allowed, unfortu- 
 nately, to soil their hands and their fine clothes. For 
 my own part, I dislike such model children ; let a 
 child be natural — let him, as far as possible, choose 
 his own sports. Do not be always interfering with 
 his pursuits, and be finding fault with him. Re- 
 member, what may be amusing to you may be dis- 
 tasteful to him. I do not, of course, mean but 
 
AMUSEMENTS. 385 
 
 that you should constantly have a watchful eye 
 over him, yet do not let him see that he is under 
 restraint or surveillance ; if you do you will never 
 discover his true character and inclinations. Not 
 only so, but do not dim the bright sunshine of his 
 early life by constantly checking and thwarting 
 him. 
 
 When he is in the nursery or the playground 
 let him shout and riot and romp about as much 
 as he pleases. His lungs and his muscles want 
 developing, and his nerves require strengthening; 
 and how can such be accomplished unless you 
 allow them to be developed and strengthened by 
 natural means? 
 
 The nursery is a child's own domain ; it is his 
 castle, and he should be Lord Paramount therein. 
 If he chooses to blow a whistle, to spring a rattle, 
 or to make any other hideous noise, which to him is 
 sweet music, he should be allowed to do so. If 
 any members of the family have weak nerves, let 
 them keep at a respectful distance. 
 
 A child who never gets into mischief must be 
 either sly, delicate, or idiotic. Indeed, the system 
 many persons employ in bringing up their chil- 
 dren, is likely to make them either the one or the 
 other. The present plan of training children is 
 nearly all work (books), and very little play. 
 Play, and plenty of it, is necessary to the very 
 existence of a child. 
 
 A boy not partial to mischief, innocent mis- 
 chief, and play, is unnatural ; he is a man before 
 
 25 
 
386 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 his time. Girls, at the present time, are made 
 clever simpletons ; their brains are worked with 
 useless knowledge, which totally unfits them for 
 everyday duties. Their muscles are allowed to 
 be idle, which makes them limp and flabby. The 
 want of proper exercise ruins the complexion, and 
 their faces become of the color of a tallow candle. 
 And precious wives and mothers they make when 
 they grow up. Grow up, did you say ? They 
 grow all manners of ways, and are crooked as 
 crooked sticks. 
 
 What an unnatural thing it is to confine a child 
 several hours a day to his lessons ; why, you 
 might as well put a colt in harness, and make him 
 work for his living ! A child is made for play ; 
 his roguish little eye, his lithe figure, his antics, 
 and his drollery, all point out that he is cut out 
 for play — that it is as necessary to his existence as 
 the food he eats, and as the air he breathes. 
 
 A child ought not to be allowed to have play- 
 things with which he can injure himself or others, 
 such as toy-swords, toy-cannons, toy-paint boxes, 
 knives, bows and arrows, hammers, chisels, saws, 
 etc. He will be likely to injure himself and 
 others, and will make sad havoc on furniture, 
 house, and other property. Fun, frolic, and play 
 ought, in all innocent ways, to be encouraged ; but 
 willful mischief and dangerous games ought, by 
 all means, to be discountenanced. This is fre- 
 quently much needed, as children prefer to have 
 arid delight in dangerous toys, and often coax and 
 
AMUSEMENTS. 387 
 
 persuade weak and indulgent mothers to gratify 
 their wishes. 
 
 Children's paint boxes are very dangerous 
 toys for a child to play with ; many of the paints 
 are poisonous, containing arsenic, lead, gamboge, 
 etc., and a child, when painting, is apt to put the 
 brush into his mouth, to absorb the superabundant 
 fluid. Of all the colors, the green paint is the most 
 dangerous, as it is frequently composed of arsenite 
 of copper — arsenic and copper — two most deadly 
 poisons. 
 
 There are some paint boxes warranted not to 
 contain a particle of poison of any kind ; these 
 ought to be chosen by a mother. But remember, 
 although he ought not to be allowed to have 
 poison paint boxes and poison-painted toys, he 
 must have an abundance of toys, such as the white 
 wood to}^s — brewers' drays, express wagons, boxes 
 of wooden bricks, etc. The Noah's Ark is one of 
 the most amusing and instructive toys for a child. 
 "Those fashioned out of brown, unpainted pine 
 wood are the best, I think, because they will sur- 
 vive a good deal of knocking about, and can be 
 sucked with impunity. From the first dawn of 
 recollection, children are thus familiarized with 
 the forms of natural objects, and may be well up 
 in natural history before they have mastered the 
 A B C." 
 
 Parents often make Sunday a day of gloom ; to 
 this I must object. Of all the days in the week, 
 Sunday should be the most cheerful and pleasant. 
 
388 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 It is considered by the church a festival ; and a 
 glorious festival it ought to be made, and one on 
 which our Heavenly Father wishes to see all His 
 children happy and full of innocent joy. Let Sun- 
 day, then, be made a cheerful, joyous, innocently 
 happy day, and not, as it frequently is, the most 
 miserable and dismal in the week. It is my firm 
 conviction that many men have been made irreli- 
 gious by the ridiculously strict and dismal way 
 they were compelled, as children, to spend their 
 Sundays. You can no more make a child reli- 
 gious by gloomy asceticism, than you can make 
 people good by an act of Congress. 
 
 Play is absolutely necessary to a child's very 
 existence, as much as are food and sleep. Play- 
 grounds and play are the best schools we have ; 
 they teach a great deal not taught elsewhere ; they 
 give lessons in health, which is the grandest wealth 
 that can be bestowed — for health is wealth ; they 
 prepare the soil for the future schoolmaster ; they 
 clear the brain, and thus the intellect ; they 
 strengthen the muscles; they make the blood 
 course merrily through the arteries ; they bestow 
 healthy food for the lungs ; they give an appetite ; 
 they make a child, in due time, become every inch 
 a man. Playgrounds and play are one of the 
 finest institutions we possess. What would our 
 large public schools be without their play and ball 
 grounds? They would be shorn of half their 
 splendor and usefulness. 
 
 There is so much talk nowadays about useful 
 
EDUCATION. 389 
 
 knowledge, that the importance of play and play- 
 grounds is likely to be forgotten. I cannot help 
 thinking, however, that a better state of things is 
 dawning. "It seems to be found out that in our 
 zeal for useful knowledge, that knowledge is found 
 to be not the least useful which treats boys as 
 active, stirring, aspiring, and ready." 
 
 Education. — I heartily approve of Kindergarten 
 schools, if the arrangement is such that health is 
 preferred before learning. Let the children be 
 confined for only three or four hours a day, and 
 let what little they learn be taught as an amuse- 
 ment rather than as a labor. A playground ought 
 to be attached to an infant school ; where, in fine 
 weather, for every half-hour they spend indoors, 
 they should spend one in the open air ; and in wet 
 weather, they ought to have, in place of the play- 
 ground, a large room to romp, and shout, and riot 
 in. To develop the different organs, muscles, and 
 other parts of the body, children require plenty 
 of fresh air, the free use of their lungs, active ex- 
 ercise, and their bodies to be thrown in all manner 
 of attitudes. Let a child mope in a corner, and he 
 will become stupid and sickly. The march of in- 
 tellect, as it is called, or rather the double-quick 
 march of intellect, as it should be called, has stolen 
 a march upon health. Only allow the march of 
 intellect and the march of health to take equal 
 strides, and then we shall have a sound mind in a 
 sound body. 
 
 In the education of a young child it is better to 
 
390 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 instruct him by illustration, by pictures, and by 
 encouraging observation on things around and 
 about him, than by books. It is surprising how 
 much, without endangering his health, may be 
 taught in this way. In educating your child, be 
 careful to instill and to form good habits — they 
 will then stick to him for life. 
 
 Children at the present day are too highly edu- 
 cated — their brains are overtaxed, and thus weak- 
 ened. Children are now taught what formerly 
 youths were taught. The chord of a child's life is 
 oft-times snapped asunder in consequence of over 
 education. You should treat a child as you would 
 a young colt. Think only at first of strengthening 
 his body. Let him have a perfectly free, happy 
 life, plenty of food to eat, abundance of air to 
 breathe, and no work to do ; there is plenty of 
 time to think of his learning — of giving him brain 
 work. It will come only too soon ; but do not 
 make him old before his time. 
 
 Remember, as above stated, the brain must have 
 but very little work until the child is seven years old; 
 impress this advice upon your memory, and let no 
 foolish ambition to make your child a clever child 
 allow you, for one moment, to swerve from this 
 advice. Build up a strong, healthy body, and in 
 due time the brain will bear a moderate amount of 
 intellectual labor. As I have given the mother so 
 much advice, permit me, for one moment, to ad- 
 dress a word to the father of the child : 
 
 Let me advise you then, Mr. Paterfamilias, to be 
 
ADVICE TO FATHERS. 391 
 
 cireful how you converse, what language you use, 
 while in the company of your child. Bear in 
 mind, a child is very observant, and thinks much, 
 weighs well, and seldom forgets all you say and 
 all you do. Let no hasty word, and more espe- 
 cially no oath, or impious language, ever pass your 
 lips, if your child is within hearing. It is at all 
 times wicked to swear; but it is heinously and un- 
 pardonably sinful to swear in the presence of your 
 child. "Childhood is like a mirror, catching and 
 reflecting images. One impious or profane 
 thought, uttered by a parent's lip, may operate 
 on the young heart like a careless spray of water 
 thrown upon polished steel, staining it with rust, 
 which no after scouring can efface." 
 
 Never talk secrets before a child — "little 
 pitchers have long ears ;" if you do, and he dis- 
 closes your secrets — as most likely he will — and 
 thus make mischief, it will be cruel to scold him ; 
 you will, for your imprudence, have only yourself 
 to blame. Be most careful, then, in the presence 
 of your child, of what you say, and of whom you 
 speak. This advice, if followed, may save a great 
 deal of annoyance and vexation. 
 
 A child should be taught singing. I consider 
 singing a part of his education. Singing expands 
 the walls of the chest, strengthens and invigorates 
 his lungs, gives sweetness to his voice, improves 
 his pronunciation, and is a great pleasure and 
 amusement to him. 
 
 Sleep. — A hair mattress is the best for a child to 
 
392 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 lie on. The pillow, too, should be made of hair. 
 A feather pillow often causes the head to be bathed 
 in perspiration, thus enervating the child, and 
 making him liable to catch cold. If he is at all 
 rickety, weak in the neck, inclined to stoop, or at 
 all crooked, by all means let him lie without a 
 pillow. 
 
 Let him be put on his mattress awake, that he 
 may sleep for a couple of hours before dinner, then 
 he will rise refreshed and strengthened for the 
 remainder of the day. I said, let him be put down 
 awake. He may cry for the first few times, but by 
 perseverance he will without any difficulty fall to 
 sleep. The practice of sleeping before dinner 
 ought to be continued until he is three years old, 
 and if he can be prevailed upon, even longer. For 
 if he does not have sleep in the middle of the day, 
 he will be cross all the afternoon and the evening, 
 and when he goes to bed he will probably be too 
 tired to sleep, or will fall into a troubled, broken 
 slumber, and not into sweet, soft, gentle repose so 
 characteristic of healthy, happy childhood. 
 
 A child ought to be put to bed in the evening, 
 at six in the winter, and at seven o'clock in the 
 summer. Regularity ought to be observed, as 
 regularity is very conducive to health. It is a repre- 
 hensible practice to keep a child up until nine or 
 ten o'clock at night. If this is done he will be- 
 come old before his time, and the seeds of disease 
 will be sown. 
 
 As soon as he can run, let him be encouraged. 
 
sleep. 393 
 
 for half an hour before he goes to bed, to race 
 either about the hall, or the landing, or a large 
 room, which will be the best means of warming his 
 feet, of preventing chilblains, and of making him 
 sleep soundly. 
 
 If a child sleeps alone, place him fairly on his 
 side in the middle of the bed ; if it is winter time, 
 see that his arms and hands are covered with the 
 bedclothes; if it is summer, his hands may be 
 allowed to be outside the clothes. In putting him 
 down to sleep, you should ascertain that his face is 
 not covered with the bedclothes ; if it is he will be 
 poisoned with his own breath. The breath con- 
 stantly gives off carbonic acid gas ; which gas 
 must be breathed if his face is smothered in the 
 clothes. 
 
 You can readily prove the existence of carbonic 
 acid gas in the breath, by simply breathing into 
 a little lime water; after breathing for a few 
 seconds into it, a white film will form on the top; 
 the carbonic acid gas from the breath unites with 
 the lime of the lime water, and the product of the 
 white film is carbonate of lime. 
 
 A bedroom ought to be darkened at night ; a 
 child sleeps sounder and sweeter in a dark than in 
 a light room. There is nothing better for the pur- 
 pose of darkening a bedroom than Venetian blinds. 
 Remember, a well-ventilated, but a darkened, 
 chamber at night. The cot or the crib ought not 
 to face the window, as the light is best behind. 
 
 The best position for a child when sleeping is 
 
394 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 on his side ; he ought to be accustomed to change 
 about on the right side one night, on the left 
 another, and occasionally he should lie on his 
 back. By adopting this plan, you will not only 
 improve his figure, but likewise his health. Lying, 
 night after night, in one position, would be likely 
 to make him crooked. 
 
 Unless the weather is intensely cold, I dislike 
 fires in bedrooms, especially for children ; they are 
 very enervating, and make a child liable to catch 
 cold. Cold weather is very bracing, particularly 
 at night. " Generally speaking, during winter, 
 apartments are too much heated. The tempera- 
 ture in them ought not to exceed 59° Fahrenheit ; 
 and even in periods of great cold, scientific men 
 declare that 45 ° to 50 had better not be exceeded. 
 In the wards of hospitals, and in the chambers of 
 the sick, care is taken not to have greater heat than 
 56 . Clerks in offices, and other persons of seden- 
 tary occupations, when rooms in which they sit are 
 too much heated, are liable to congestion of the 
 brain and to lung complaints. In bedrooms, and 
 particularly those of children, the temperature 
 ought to be maintained rather low ; only rarely is 
 it even prudent to make fires in them — especially 
 during the night." 
 
 If a cold stable makes a healthy horse, I am 
 quite sure that a moderately cold and well-venti- 
 lated bedroom helps to make a healthy child. 
 Still, if the weather is biting cold, a little fire in the 
 bedroom is desirable. In bringing up children we 
 
MORNING TREATMENT. 395 
 
 must never run into extremes — the coddling system 
 and the hardening system are both to be depre- 
 cated ; the coddling system will make the strong 
 child weakly, while the hardening system will 
 probably kill a delicate one. 
 
 A child's bed ought to be comfortably clothed 
 with blankets — I say blankets, as they are much 
 superior to coverlids; the perspiration will more 
 readily pass through a blanket than a coverlid. 
 A thick coverlid ought never to be used ; there is 
 nothing better for a child's bed than the old-fash- 
 ioned patchwork coverlid, as the perspiration will 
 easily escape through it. 
 
 A child should be washed and dressed as soon 
 as he awakes in the morning, if he awakes in any- 
 thing like reasonable time. If he dozes after he is 
 once awake, such slumber does him more harm 
 than good. He should be up every morning as 
 soon as it is light. If he is taught to rise early, it 
 will make him an early riser for life, and will tend 
 greatly to prolong both his existence and his 
 happiness. 
 
 Never awake a child from his sleep to dress him, 
 to give him medicine, or for any other purpose ; 
 let him sleep as long as he ca?i; but the moment he 
 awakens place him upon his chair, and then let 
 him be washed and dressed. Do not wait until 
 he has wet his bed, until his blood is chilled, and 
 until he is cross, miserable, and uncomfortable. 
 How many babes are made ill by such foolish 
 practices. The moment he leaves his bed turn the 
 
396 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 clothes back to the fullest extent, in order that 
 they may be thoroughly ventilated and sweetened. 
 They ought to be exposed to the air for at least an 
 hour before the bed is made. As soon as he 
 leaves his room, be it winter or summer, throw 
 open the windows. 
 
 A child ought to sleep alone after he is weaned. 
 He will rest more comfortably, and his sleep will 
 be more refreshing. If your child should not 
 sleep well, try the effects of exercise. Exercise in 
 the open air is the best composing medicine in the 
 world. Let the little fellow be well tired out, and 
 there will be little fear of his not sleeping. Send 
 a child joyful to bed. Do not, if you can possibly 
 help it, let him go to bed crying. Let the last 
 impressions he has at night be of his happy home, 
 and of his loving father and mother, and let his 
 last thoughts be those of joy and gladness. He 
 will sleep all the sounder if he is sent to bed in such 
 a frame of mind, and he will be more refreshed 
 and nourished in the morning by his sleep. 
 
 When a child walks in his sleep the usual causes 
 are a disordered stomach, a nervous temperament, 
 or worms. A trusty person ought to sleep in his 
 room, who should have directions given not to 
 arouse him from his sleep, but to gently lead him 
 back to his bed, which may frequently be done 
 without awakening him. 
 
 Second dentition. — A child commences to cut 
 his second set of teeth generally when about 
 seven years old. He begins to cut them at about 
 
SECOND DENTITION. 397 
 
 that time, but it should be borne in mind that the 
 second crop of teeth, in embryo, is actually bred 
 and formed from the very commencement of his 
 life, under the first tier of teeth, but which remain 
 in abeyance for years, and do not come into play 
 until the first teeth, having done their duty, loosen 
 and fall out, and thus make room for the more 
 numerous, larger, stronger and more permanent 
 teeth, which later have to last for the remainder 
 of his existence. The first set is sometimes cut 
 with a great deal of difficulty, and produces various 
 diseases ; the second, or permanent teeth, come 
 easily, and are unaccompanied with any disorder. 
 The following is the process : One after another 
 of the first set gradually loosen, or either drop 
 out, or with little pain are readily pulled out; 
 under these, the second — the permanent — teeth 
 make their appearance, and fill up the vacant 
 spaces. The fang of the tooth that has dropped 
 out is nearly all absorbed or eaten away, leaving 
 little more than the crown. The first set consists 
 of twenty ; the second (including the wisdom- 
 teeth, which are not generally cut until after the 
 age of twenty-seven) consists of thirty-two. 
 
 I would recommend you to pay particular atten- 
 tion to the teeth of your children ; for, besides 
 their being ornamental, their regularity and sound- 
 ness are of great importance to the present as well 
 as to the future health of your offspring. If there 
 is any irregularity in the appearance of the second 
 set, lose no time in consulting an experienced and 
 reliable dentist. 
 
398 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 A mother should be made acquainted with the 
 symptoms of the serious diseases of children. I 
 am not advocating" the doctrine that a mother 
 should treat serious diseases; far from it ; it is- not 
 her province, except in certain cases of extreme 
 urgency, where a doctor cannot be procured, and 
 where delay might be death ; but I do insist 
 upon the necessity of her knowing the symptoms 
 of disease. My belief is that if parents were 
 better informed on such subjects, many chil- 
 dren's lives might be saved, much suffering averted, 
 and sorrow spared. The fact is, the knowledge of 
 the symptoms of disease is, to a mother, almost a 
 sealed book. If she were better acquainted with 
 these matters, how much more useful would she 
 be in a sick room, and how much more readily 
 would she enter into the plans and views of the 
 physician. By her knowledge of symptoms, and 
 by having his advice in time, she would nip dis- 
 ease in the bud, and the fight might end in favor 
 of life, for ''sickness is just a fight between life 
 and death." 
 
 It is really lamentable to contemplate the amount 
 of ignorance that still exists among mothers in all 
 that appertains to the diseases of children*; al- 
 though, fortunately, they are beginning to see and 
 to feel the importance of gaining instruction on 
 such subjects, but the light is only dawning. A 
 writer of the Medical Times and Gazette makes the 
 following remarks, which somewhat bear on the 
 •subject in question. He observes, — " In spite of 
 
WATER ON THE BRAIN. 399 
 
 the knowledge and clear views possessed by the 
 profession on all that concerns the management of 
 children, no fact is more palpable than that the most 
 grievous ignorance and incompetency prevail re- 
 specting it among the public. We want some 
 means of making popular the knowledge which is 
 now almost restricted to medical men, or, at most, 
 to the well-educated classes." 
 
 I think it right to premise, that in all the pre- 
 scriptions I have given for the use of mothers, I 
 have endeavored to make them as simple as pos- 
 sible, and have, whenever practicable, avoided rec- 
 ommending powerful drugs. Complicated pre- 
 scriptions and powerful medicines ought to be 
 seldom given, and when they are, should only be 
 administered by a judicious doctor. A child 
 requires much more care and gentleness in his 
 treatment than an adult; indeed, I often think it 
 would be better to leave a child to nature rather 
 than to give him powerful and large doses of 
 medicine. 
 
 Water on the brain z's, as a rule, a disease of 
 childhood ; after a child is seven years old it is 
 comparatively rare. It more frequently attacks 
 delicate children — children who have been dry- 
 nursed (especially if they have been improperly 
 fed), or have been nursed too long, or have had 
 consumptive mothers, or have suffered severely 
 from teething, or are naturally of a feeble consti 
 tution. Water on the brain sometimes follows an 
 attack of inflammation of the lungs, more espe- 
 
400 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 cially if depressing measures have been adopted. 
 It occasionally follows in the train of contagious 
 eruptive diseases, such as either small-pox or 
 scarlatina. We may divide the symptoms of water 
 on the brain into two stages. The first — the pre- 
 monitory stage — which lasts four or five days, in 
 which medical aid might be of great avail ; the 
 second the stage of drowsiness and of coma — 
 which usually ends in death. 
 
 I shall dwell on the first— the premonitory stage 
 — in order that a mother may see the importance 
 of calling in a doctor without loss of time. 
 
 If her child is feverish and irritable, if his 
 stomach is disordered, if he has urgent vomitings, 
 or a foul breath, if his appetite is capricious and 
 bad, if his nights are disturbed (screaming out in 
 his sleep), if his bowels are disordered, more 
 especially if they are constipated, if he is more 
 than usually excited, if his eyes gleam with un- 
 usual brilliancy, if his tongue runs faster than it is 
 wont, if his cheek is flushed and his head hot, and 
 if he is constantly putting his hand to his head; 
 there is cause for suspicion. If to these symptoms 
 is added, a more than usual carelessness in tumb- 
 ling about, in hitching his foot in the carpet, or in 
 dragging one foot after the other ; if he has com- 
 plained of darting, shooting, lancinating pains in 
 his head, it may then be known that the first stage 
 of inflammation (the forerunner of water on the 
 brain) either has or is about taking place. No 
 time ought to be lost in obtaining medical aid; 
 
CROUP — SYMPTOMS. 401 
 
 for the commencement of the disease is the golden 
 opportunity, when life might probably be saved. 
 
 Croup. — It is unusual for a child until he is 
 twelve months old to have the croup ; but from 
 that time until the age of two years, he is more 
 liable to it than at any other period. The liability 
 after two years, gradually lessens until he is ten 
 years old, after which time it is rare. 
 
 A child is more liable to croup in a low and 
 damp, than in a high and dry neighborhood; in- 
 deed, in some situations, croup is almost an 
 unknown disease ; while in others it is only too 
 well understood. 
 
 There is no disease that requires more prompt 
 treatment than croup, and none that creeps on 
 more insidiously. The child at first seems to be 
 laboring under a slight cold, and is troubled with 
 a little dry cough ; he is hot and fretful, and hoarse 
 when he cries. Hoarseness is one of the earliest 
 symptoms of croup, and it should be borne in 
 mind that a young child, unless he is going to 
 have the croup, is seldom hoarse. If your child 
 is hoarse, he should be carefully watched, in order 
 that not a moment be lost in applying the proper 
 remedies as soon as croup is detected. 
 
 His voice at length becomes gruff, he breathes 
 as though it were through muslin, and the cough 
 becomes crowing. These three symptoms prove 
 that the disease is now fully formed. These latter 
 symptoms sometimes come on without any pre- 
 vious warning, the little fellow going to bed ap- 
 26 
 
402 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 parently well, until the mother is awakened, 
 perplexed and frightened, in the middle of the 
 night, by finding him laboring under the char- 
 acteristic cough and the other symptoms of croup. 
 If she delays to send for assistance, or if proper 
 medicines are not instantly given, in a few hours it 
 will probably be of no avail, and in a day or 
 two the little sufferer will be a corpse. 
 
 When once a child has had croup the after 
 attacks are generally milder. If he has once had 
 an attack of croup, I should advise you always to 
 have in the house a four-ounce bottle of Wine of 
 Ipecac, to fly to at a moment's notice, but never 
 omit, where practicable, in a case of croup, to send 
 immediately for medical aid. There is no disease 
 in which time is more precious than in croup, and 
 where the delay of an hour may decide either for 
 life or for death. 
 
 But suppose a doctor is not immediately to be 
 procured, what then am I to do ? more especially, 
 as you say, that delay might be death ? 
 
 What to do. — I never, in my life, lost a child 
 with croup — -with catarrhal-croup — where I was 
 called in at the commencement of the disease, and 
 where my plans were carried out to the very let- 
 ter. Let me begin by saying, look well to the 
 goodness and purity of the medicine, for the life 
 of your child may depend upon the medicine 
 being genuine. What medicine? Wine of Ipecac, 
 At the earliest dawn of the disease give a tea- 
 spoonful of Wine of Ipecac every five minutes, 
 
CROUP— TREATMENT. 403 
 
 until free vomiting is excited. In croup, then, 
 before he is safe, free vomiting must be established, 
 and that without loss of time. If, after the expi- 
 ration of an hour, the Wine of Ipecac (having given 
 during that hour one or two teaspoonfuls of it 
 every five minutes) is not sufficiently powerful for 
 the purpose, let the following mixture be sub- 
 stituted : 
 
 Take of — Powdered Ipecac, one scruple; 
 
 Wine of Ipecac, one ounce and a half. 
 Make a mixture. One or two teaspoonfuls to be given even' five 
 minutes, first well shaking the bottle, until free vomiting is excited. 
 
 After the vomiting, place the child for a quar- 
 ter of an hour in a warm bath.* When out of the 
 bath give him small doses of Wine of Ipecac every 
 two or three hours. The following is a palatable 
 form of the mixture: 
 
 Take of — Wine of Ipecac, three drams; 
 Simple syrup, three drams; 
 Water, six drams 
 Make a mixture. A teaspoonful to be taken every two or three 
 hours. 
 
 But remember, the emetic which is given at 
 first is pure Wine of Ipecac without a drop of cither 
 water or syrup. 
 
 A large sponge dipped out of very hot water, 
 and applied to the throat, and frequently renewed, 
 oftentimes affords great relief in croup, and ought 
 to be adopted in all cases during the time the 
 emetic is being administered. 
 
 *See " Warm Baths" — directions and precautions to be observed. 
 
404 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 Another very convenient and unfailing remedy 
 for croup is found in the following prescription ; 
 One teaspoonful of powdered alum, mix it either 
 with a teaspoonful of honey or a tablespoonful of 
 molasses. If vomiting does not follow in fifteen 
 minutes repeat the dose. In case of membranous 
 croup, the membrane can be seen floating in any 
 containing vessel on top of water. The remedy 
 is an invaluable one, and devoid of any danger to 
 the child if often repeated. One or two doses, 
 however, is usually all that is needed to break up 
 any case of croup. 
 
 Keep the child from all stimulants; let him 
 live on a low diet, such as milk and water, toast 
 and water, arrowroot, etc.; and keep the room, if 
 practicable, at a temperate heat — 6o° Fahrenheit 
 — and well ventilated. 
 
 The treatment of croup is very simple, and the 
 plan may be carried out by any intelligent mother. 
 Notwithstanding this, it is your duty, where 
 practicable, to send for a physician at the very 
 onset of the disease. 
 
 Let me again reiterate that, if your child is to 
 be saved, the Wine of Ipecac must be genuine and 
 good. This can only be effected by having the 
 medicine from a highly reliable druggist. If your 
 child has ever had croup, let me again urge you 
 always to have in the house a four ounce bottle of 
 Wine of Ipecac, that you may resort to at a 
 moment's notice, in case there is the slightest 
 return of the disease. 
 
CROUP — WHAT XOT TO DO. 405 
 
 Wine of Ipecac, unfortunately, is not a medi- 
 cine that keeps well ; therefore, every three or 
 four months a fresh bottle ought to be procured, 
 either from a doctor or a druggist. As long as 
 the Wine of Ipecac remains clear, it is good; but 
 as soon as it becomes turbid, it is bad, and ought 
 to be replaced by a fresh supply. 
 
 What not to do. — Do not give emetic tartar ; do 
 not keep the room very warm ; do not give stim- 
 ulants ; do not omit to have always in the house a 
 bottle of Wine of Ipecac. 
 
 Child-croiving, or spurious croup, as it is some- 
 times called, is occasionally mistaken for genuine 
 croup. It is a more frequent disorder than the 
 latter, and requires a different plan of treatment. 
 Child-crowing is a disease that invariably occurs 
 only during dentition, and is most perilous; indeed, 
 painful dentition is the cause — the only cause — of 
 child-crowing. But, if a child laboring under it 
 can fortunately escape suffocation until he has cut 
 the whole of his first set of teeth, he is then safe. 
 
 Child-crowing comes on in paroxysms. The 
 breathing during the intervals is quite natural — 
 indeed, the child appears perfectly well ; hence, 
 the dangerous nature of the disease is either over- 
 looked, or is lightly thought of, until perhaps a 
 paroxysm worse than common takes place, and the 
 little patient dies of suffocation ; overwhelming 
 the mother with terror, confusion and dismay. 
 
 In a paroxysm of child-crowing the symptoms 
 are as follows : The child suddenly loses and 
 
406 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 fights for his breath, and in doing so, makes a 
 noise very much like that of crowing ; hence the 
 name of child-crowing. The face during the 
 paroxysm becomes bluish or livid. In a favorable 
 case, after a frightful struggle to breathe, he re- 
 gains his breath, and is perfectly well until another 
 paroxysm occurs. In an unfavorable case, the up- 
 per part of the windpipe — the glottis — remains for 
 a minute or two closed, and the child, not being 
 able to breathe, drops, a corpse, in his nurse's 
 arms. Many children, who are said to have died 
 of fits, have really died of child-crowing. 
 
 The disease is very apt to cause convulsions, 
 
 which complication adds very much to the danger. 
 
 Such a complication requires the constant 
 
 supervision of an experienced and skillful doctor. 
 
 I have entered thus rather fully into the subject, 
 as nearly every life might be saved, if a mother 
 knew the nature and the treatment of the com- 
 plaint, and of the great necessity during the paroxysm 
 of prompt and proper measures. For, too frequently, 
 before a doctor has had time to arrive, the child 
 has breathed his last, the parent herself being per- 
 fectly ignorant of the necessary treatment ; hence 
 the vital importance of the subject, and the para- 
 mount necessity of imparting such information. 
 
 Treatment. — Have a plentiful supply of cold and 
 hot water always at hand, ready at a moment's no- 
 tice for use. The instant the paroxysm is upon 
 the child, plentifully and perseveringly dash cold 
 water upon his head and face. Put his feet and 
 
CHILD-CROWING— TREATMENT. 407 
 
 legs in hot salt, mustard and water, and, if neces- 
 sary, place him up to his neck in a hot bath, still 
 dashing water upon his face and head. If he does 
 not quickly come round, sharply slap his back and 
 thighs. 
 
 In every severe paroxysm of child-crowing, put 
 your forefinger down the throat of the child, and 
 pull his tongue forward. This plan of pulling the 
 tongue forward opens the epiglottis (the lid of the 
 glottis), admits air into the lungs, and thus staves 
 off impending suffocation. If this plan were gen- 
 erally known and adopted, many precious lives 
 might be saved. 
 
 There is nothing more frightfully agonizing to a 
 mother's feelings than to see her child strangled, — 
 as it were, — before her eyes, by a paroxysm of 
 child-crowing. As soon as a doctor arrives, he 
 will lose no time in thoroughly lancing the gums, 
 and in applying other appropriate remedies. 
 Great care and attention ought to be paid to his 
 diet. If the child is breathing a smoky, close at- 
 mosphere, he should be immediately removed to a 
 pure one. In this disease there is no remedy 
 equal to a change of air — to a dry, bracing neigh- 
 borhood. Change of air, even if it is winter, 
 either to the coast or to a healthy mountainous 
 district, is the best remedy. Where it is not prac- 
 ticable to send a child from Jiomc, let him be sent 
 out of doors the greater part of every day ; let 
 him almost live in the open air. T am quite sure, 
 from an extensive experience, that fresh air and 
 
408 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 plenty of it, is the best and principal remedy. 
 Cold sponging of the body too, is useful. 
 
 As the subject is so important, let me recapit- 
 ulate ; the gums ought to be well lanced, in order to 
 remove the irritation of painful dentition — painful 
 dentition being the real cause of the disease — cold 
 sponging should be used twice or three times 
 daily. The diet should be carefully attended to 
 (see Dietary of Child) ; and everything conducive 
 to health should be observed. But, remember 
 after all that can be said about the treatment, 
 there is nothing like change of air, fresh air, cold, 
 dry pure air, and plenty of it. The more the 
 little fellow can inhale, during the day, the better 
 it will be for him ; it will be far better than any 
 drug contained in the Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 I have dwelt on this subject at some length, as 
 nearly every child laboring under this complaint 
 would be saved if the above advice were more 
 generally known and followed ; while now, as 
 coroner's inquests abundantly testify, the disease 
 carries off yearly an immense number of victims. 
 
 Inflammation of the lungs. — If the child has had 
 a shivering fit ; if his skin is very hot and dry, if 
 his lips are parched, if there is great thirst, if his 
 cheeks are flushed, and he is dull and heavy, wish- 
 ing to be quiet in his cot or crib ; his appetite 
 diminished, his tongue furred, his mouth burning 
 hot and dry,* his urine scanty and high-colored, 
 
 *If you put your finger into the mouth of a child laboring under 
 inflammation of the lungs, it is like putting your finger into a hot apple 
 pie, the heat is so great. 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 409 
 
 staining the napkin or the linen ; his breathing short, 
 panting, hurried and oppressed, with a hard dry cough, 
 and if his skin is burning hot; — then there is no doubt 
 that inflammation of the lungs has taken place. 
 
 No time should be lost in sending for medical 
 aid ; indeed, the hot, dry mouth and skin, and short, 
 hurried breathing, would be sufficient cause for your 
 procuring immediate assistance. If inflammation 
 of the lungs were properly treated at the onset, 3. 
 child would scarcely ever be lost by that disease. 
 I say this advisedly, for in my own practice, pro- 
 viding I am called in early, and my plans are strictly 
 carried out, I scarcely ever lose a child from in- 
 flammation of the lungs, You may ask, — What 
 are your plans ? I will tell you in case jj/0# cannot 
 promply obtain medical advice, as delay might be 
 death. 
 
 Treatment. — Keep the child to one room, to his 
 bedroom, and to his bed. Let the chamber be 
 properly ventilated. If the weather is cool, build 
 a small fire in the grate ; otherwise he is better 
 without a fire. Let him live on low diet, such as 
 weak black tea, milk and water (in equal quanti- 
 ties), and toast and water, thin oatmeal gruel, 
 arrowroot, and such like simple beverages, and 
 give him the following mixture : 
 
 Take of — Wine of Ipecac, three drams; 
 Simple Syrup, three drams; 
 Water, six drams. 
 Make a mixture. — A teaspoonful of the mixture to be taken every 
 four hours. 
 
410 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 Be careful that you go to a reliable druggist in 
 order that the quality of the Wine of Ipecac may be 
 good, as the child's life may depend upon it. 
 
 If the medicine produces sickness, so much the 
 better ; continue it regularly until the short, op- 
 pressed and hurried breathing has subsided, and 
 has become natural. 
 
 If the attack is very severe, in addition to the 
 above medicine at once apply a blister, not the 
 common blister, but U Alb esp eyre* s Vesicatoria — a 
 quarter of a sheet. If the child is a year old, the 
 blister ought to be kept on for three hours, and 
 then a piece of dry, soft linen should be applied 
 for another three hours, at the end of which 
 time — six hours — there will be a beautiful blister, 
 which must be cut with a pair of scissors to let 
 out the water ; and then let the blister be dressed 
 night and morning with simple cerate spread on 
 lint. 
 
 If the little patient is more than one year, say two 
 years old, let the Vesicatoria remain on for five 
 hours, and the dry linen for five hours more, be- 
 fore the blister is cut and dressed. If in a day or 
 two the inflammation still continues violent, let 
 another Vesicatoria be applied, not over the old 
 blister, but let a narrow strip of it be applied on 
 each side of the old blister, and managed in the 
 same manner as before directed. 
 
 I cannot speak too highly of D'Albespeyre's Vesi- 
 catoria. It has in my hands, through God's bless- 
 ing, saved the lives of scores of children. It is 
 
INFLAMMATION— TREATMENT. 41 1 
 
 far, very far, superior to the old-fashioned blis- 
 tering plaster. It seldom, if the above rules are 
 strictly observed, fails to rise; it gives much less 
 pain than the common blister ; when it has had 
 the desired effect, it readily heals, which cannot 
 always be said of the common fly blister, more 
 especially with children. 
 
 My sheet anchors, in inflammation of the lungs 
 of children are, Wine of Ipecac and D" Albespeyre s 
 Vesicatoria. Let the greatest care be observed in 
 obtaining genuine and good Wine of Ipecac. 
 This can be only depended upon by having the 
 medicine from a good reliable druggist. Wine of 
 Ipecac, when genuine and good, is, in many chil- 
 dren's diseases, one of the most valuable of 
 medicines. • 
 
 What NOT to do. — Avoid — emphatically let me say 
 so — giving emetic tartar. It is one of the most 
 lowering and death-dealing medicines that can be 
 administered to an infant or to a child. If you 
 wish to try the effect of it, take a dose yourself, 
 and I am quite sure that you will then never be 
 inclined to poison a child with any such abomi- 
 nable preparation. In olden times — many, many 
 years ago — I gave it in inflammation of the lungs, 
 and lost many children. Since leaving it off, the 
 recoveries of patients by the Ipecac treatment, 
 combined with the external application of & Al- 
 bespeyre* s Vesicatoria t have been in many cases 
 marvelous. Avoid broths and wine, and all stimu- 
 lants. Do not put the child into a warm bath ; 
 
412 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 it only oppresses the already oppressed breathing 
 After he is out of the bath, it causes a large.- 
 quantity of blood to rush back to the lungs and 
 to the bronchial tubes, and thus feeds the inflam- 
 mation. Do not keep the temperature of the 
 room high. A small fire, in the winter time, en- 
 courages ventilation, and in such a case does good. 
 When the little patient is on the mother's lap, do 
 not burden him with a heavy blanket or a thick 
 shawl. Either a thin child's blanket, or a thin 
 woolen shawl, in addition to his usual nightgown, 
 is all the clothing necessary. 
 
 Bronchitis is a much more frequent disease than 
 inflammation of the lungs; indeed, it is one of the 
 most common complaints both of infants and of 
 children, while inflammation of the lungs is com- 
 paratively a rare disease. Bronchitis is not nearly 
 such a dangerous disease as inflammation of the 
 lungs. 
 
 The symptoms. — The child for the first few days 
 labors under symptoms of a heavy cold ; he has 
 not his usual spirits. In two or three days, in- 
 stead of the cold leaving him, it becomes more 
 confirmed ; he is now really sick r fretful, and 
 feverish ; his breathing becomes rather hurried 
 and oppressed ; his cough is hard, dry and loud ; 
 he wheezes, and if you put your ear to his naked 
 back, between his shoulder blades, you will hear 
 the wheezing more distinctly. If at the breast, he 
 does not nurse with his usual avidity ; the cough, 
 notwithstanding the breast is a great comfort to 
 
BRONCHITIS— TREATMENT. 413 
 
 him, compels him frequently to loose the nipple ; 
 his urine is scanty and rather high colored, stain- 
 ing the napkin, and smelling strongly. He is gen- 
 erally worse at night. 
 
 Remember, if the child is feverish, if he has 
 symptoms of a heavy cold, if he has an oppression 
 of breathing, if he wheezes and has a tight, dry, 
 noisy cough, you may be satisfied that he has an 
 attack of bronchitis. 
 
 In bronchitis the skin is warm but moist ; in in- 
 flammation of the lungs it is hot and dry ; in bron- 
 chitis the mouth is warmer than usual, but moist; 
 in inflammation of the lungs it is burning hot ; in 
 bronchitis the breathing is rather hurried, and at- 
 tended with wheezing ; in inflammation of the lungs 
 it is very short and panting, and is unaccompanied 
 with wheezing, although occasionally a very slight 
 crackling sound may be heard ; in bronchitis the 
 cough is long and noisy ; in inflammation of the 
 lungs it is short and feeble ; in bronchitis the child 
 is cross and fretful ; in inflammation of the lungs 
 he is dull and heavy, and his countenance denotes 
 distress. 
 
 We have sometimes a combination of bronchitis 
 and of inflammation of the lungs, an attack of the 
 latter following the former. Then the symptoms 
 will be modified, and will partake of the character 
 of the two diseases. 
 
 Treatment. — Confine the child to his bedroom, 
 and if very ill, to his bed. If it is winter, have a 
 little fire in the grate, but be sure that the temper- 
 

 414 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 ature of the chamber is not above 6o° Fahrenheit, 
 and let the room be properly ventilated, which 
 may be effected by occasionally leaving the door 
 a little ajar. 
 
 Place him outside the bed or on a sofa ; if he is 
 very ill, inside the bed, with a sheet and a blanket 
 only to cover him, but no thick coverlid. If he is 
 allowed to lie on the lap, it only heats and makes 
 him restless. If he will not lie on the bed, let him 
 rest on a pillow placed on the lap ; the pillow will 
 cause him to lie cooler, and will more comfortably 
 rest his wearied body. If he is at the breast, 
 keep him to it, and give no artificial food, unless a 
 little toast and water if he is thirsty. If he is 
 weaned, let him have either milk and water, toast 
 and water, barley water, or weak black tea, with 
 plenty of new milk in it, etc., but, until the inflam- 
 mation has subsided, neither broth nor beef tea. 
 
 In mild cases but little medicine is needed. 
 When the fever comes on in the after part of the 
 day, it is well to give a mild febrifuge, as follows: 
 
 Take oir— Potas Citrate, one dram; 
 
 Syrup of Ipecac, one dram; 
 Paregoric, one dram; 
 Rock Candy, two ounces; 
 Water (hot), three ounces. 
 The dose for a child two to four years old, would be a teaspoonful 
 every two or three hours, till the child sleeps. 
 
 A good medicine is Wine of Ipecac, given in 
 large doses, so as to produce constant nausea. 
 The Wine of Ipecac abates fever, acts on the skin, 
 
BRONCHITIS — TREATMENT. 415 
 
 loosens the cough, and, in the majority of cases, 
 will rapidly effect a cure. I have in a preceding- 
 paragraph given you a prescription for the Wine 
 of Ipecac Mixture. A teaspoonful of the mixture 
 should be taken every four hours. 
 
 If in a day or two he is no better, but worse, by 
 all means continue the mixture, whether it pro- 
 duces sickness or otherwise, and put on the chest 
 a Vesicatoria^ a quarter of a sheet. 
 
 The Wine of Ipecac and the Vesicatoria are 
 my sheet anchors in the bronchitis, both of infants 
 and of children. They rarely, even in very severe 
 cases, fail to effect a cure, providing the Vesicatoria 
 is properly applied, and the Wine of Ipecac is 
 genuine and of good quality. 
 
 If there is any difficulty in procuring good Wine 
 of Ipecac, the ipecac may be given in powder in- 
 stead of the wine. The following is a pleasant 
 form : 
 
 Take of — Powder of Ipecac, twelve grains; 
 
 Powdered White Sugar, thirty-six grains. 
 Mix well together, and divide into twelve powders. One of the 
 powders to be put dry on the tongue every four hours. 
 
 The ipecac powder will keep better than the 
 wine — an important consideration to those living 
 in country places ; nevertheless, if the wine can 
 be procured fresh and good, I far prefer the wine 
 to the powder. 
 
 When the bronchitis has disappeared, the diet 
 ought gradually to be improved — rice, sago, 
 tapioca, light batter-pudding, etc., and, in a few 
 
416 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 days, either a little chicken or a mutton chop, 
 mixed with a well-mashed potato and crumb of 
 bread, should be given, But let the improvement 
 in his diet be gradual, or the inflammation may 
 return. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not give either emetic 
 tartar or antimonial wine, which is emetic tartar 
 dissolved in wine. Do not administer either pare- 
 goric or syrup of poppies, either of which would 
 stop the cough, and would thus prevent the expul- 
 sion of the phlegm. Any fool can stop a cough, 
 but it requires a wise man to rectify the mischief. 
 A cough is an effort of Nature to bring up the 
 phlegm, which would otherwise accumulate, and 
 in the end cause death. Again, let me urge upon 
 you the immense importance of not stopping the 
 cough of a child. The Wine of Ipecac will loosen 
 the cough by loosening the phlegm, which is the 
 only right way to get rid of a cough. Let what 
 I have now said be impressed deeply upon your 
 memory, as thousands of children are annually 
 destroyed by having their coughs stopped. Avoid 
 giving him broths, meat, and stimulants of all 
 kinds, until the bronchitis is relieved. For further 
 observation on what NOT to do in bronchitis, I beg 
 to refer you to a previous paragraph on what 
 NOT to do in inflammation of the lungs. That which 
 is injurious in the one case is equally so in the 
 other. 
 
 Diphtheria. — This terrible disease, although by 
 many considered a new complaint, is of very ancient 
 origin. 
 
DIPHTHERIA— SYMPTOMS. 4 1 J 
 
 The symptoms. — The little patient, before the dis- 
 ease really shows itself, feels poorly, and is out of 
 sorts. A shivering fit, though not severe, may 
 generally be noticed. There is heaviness, and slight 
 headache, principally over the eyes. Sometimes, 
 but not always, there is a mild attack of delirium 
 at night. The next day he complains of slight dif- 
 ficulty of swallowing. If old enough, he will com- 
 plain of constriction about the throat. On 
 examining the throat the tonsils will be found to be 
 swollen and more red than usual. Slight specks 
 will be noticed on the tonsils. In a day or two an 
 exudation will cover them, the back of the palate, 
 the tongue, and sometimes the inside of the cheeks 
 and the nostrils. This exudation of lymph grad- 
 ually increases until it becomes a regular mem- 
 brane, which puts on the appearance of leather, 
 hence its name diphtheria. This membrane peels 
 off in pieces, and if the child is old and strong 
 enough he will sometimes spit it up in quantities, 
 the membrane again and again rapidly forming as 
 before. The discharges from the throat are occa- 
 sionally, but not always, offensive. There is 
 danger of croup from the extension of the mem- 
 brane into the windpipe. The glands about the 
 neck and under the jaw are generally much 
 swollen, and the skin is rather cold and clammy ; 
 the urine is scanty and usually pale ; the bowels 
 at first are frequently relaxed. The diarrhoea may 
 or may not cease as the disease advances. 
 
 The child is now in a perilous condition, and it 
 

 41 8 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 becomes a battle between his constitution and the 
 disease. If, unfortunately, as is too often the 
 case — diphtheria being more likely to attack the 
 weakly — the child is very delicate, there is but 
 slight hope of recovery. The danger of the dis- 
 ease is not always to be measured by the state of 
 the throat. Sometimes when the patient appears 
 to be getting well, a sudden change for the worse 
 rapidly carries him off. Hence the importance of 
 great caution, in such cases, in giving an opinion 
 as to ultimate recovery. I have said enough to 
 prove the terrible nature of the disease, and to 
 show the necessity of calling in, at the earliest 
 period of the symptoms, an experienced and skill- 
 ful doctor. 
 
 Diphtheria is contagious, therefore, when prac- 
 ticable, the rest of the children ought instantly to 
 be removed to a distance. I say children, for it is 
 emphatically a disease of childhood. When adults 
 have it, it is the exception and not the rule. 
 
 The causes of diphtheria are bad and imperfect 
 drainage ; want of ventilation ; overflowing privies ; 
 low neighborhoods in the vicinity of rivers ; stag- 
 nant waters, indeed, everything that vitiates the 
 air, and thus depresses the system, more especially 
 if the weather is close and muggy ; poor and im- 
 proper food ; and last, though not least, contagion. 
 Bear in mind, too, that a delicate child is much 
 more predisposed to the disease than a strong one. 
 
 What to do. — Examine well into the ventilation, 
 for as diphtheria is frequently Caused by deficient 
 
DIPHTHERIA — TREATMENT. 419 
 
 ventilation, the best remedy is thorough ventila- 
 tion. Look well to the drains and the privies, and 
 see that the drains from the water-closets and the 
 privies do not in any way contaminate the well 
 water. If the drains are defective or the privies 
 full, the disease in your child will be generated, 
 fed, and fostered. Not only so, but the disease 
 will spread in your family all around you. 
 
 Keep the child to his bedroom and to his bed. 
 For the first two or three days, while the fever 
 runs high, put him on a low diet, such as milk, tea, 
 arrowroot, etc. Apply to his throat, every four 
 hours, a warm bran and oatmeal poultice. If he is 
 old enough to have the knowledge to use a gargle, 
 the following will be found serviceable : 
 
 Take of — Permanganate of Potash, pure, four grains; 
 Water, eight ounces. 
 To make a gargle. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Take of — Bromo Chloralum, two drams; 
 Glycerine, one ounce; 
 Water, three ounces. 
 Make a gargle and use it freely two or three hours apart. 
 
 Another remedy is: 
 
 Take of — Carbolic Acid, forty drops; 
 Glycerine, one half ounce; 
 Water, one half ounce. 
 Mix, and apply with a soft swab three times a day. 
 
 The best medicine for the first few days of the 
 attack is the following mixture : 
 
 Take of — Compound Tinct. Cinchona, two ounces; 
 Potas Chlorate, two drams. 
 
420 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 Make a mixture. — Dose for a child four years old, a teaspoonful 
 every four hours. 
 
 Or, chlorate of potash may be given in the form 
 of powder ; 
 
 Take of — Chlorate of Potash, two scruples; 
 Lump Sugar, one dram. 
 Mix, and divide into eight powders. One to be put into a dry 
 teaspoon and then placed on the tongue every three hours. These 
 powders are very useful in diphtheria; they are very cleansing to the 
 tongue and throat. If they produce much smarting, as where the 
 mouth is very sore they sometimes do, let the patient, after taking one, 
 drink plenty of milk; indeed, I have known these powders induce a 
 patient to take nourishment, in the form of milk, which he otherwise 
 would not have done, and thus to have saved him from dying of 
 starvation, which, before taking the powders, there was every proba- 
 bility of his doing. An extensive experience has demonstrated to me 
 the great value of these powders in diphtheria; but they must be put 
 on the tongue dry. 
 
 As soon as the skin has lost its preternatural 
 heat, beef tea and chicken broth ought to be given. 
 Or if great prostration should supervene, in addi- 
 tion to the beef tea, port wine, a tablespoonful 
 every four hours, should be administered. If the, 
 child is cold, and there is great sinking of the 
 vital powers, brandy and water should be substi- 
 tuted for the port wine. Remember, in ordinary 
 cases, port wine and brandy are not necessary; 
 but in cases of extreme exhaustion they are most 
 valuable. 
 
 As soon as the great heat of the pkin has abated 
 and the debility has set in, one of the following 
 mixtures will be found useful : 
 
 Take of — Wine of Iron, one ounce and a half ; 
 Simple Syrup, one ounce, 
 Water, three ounces and a half, 
 
DIPHTHERIA — TREATMENT. 42 1 
 
 To make a mixture — A tablespoonful to be taken every four 
 hours. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Take of — Tincture of Perchloride of Iron, one dram; 
 Simple Syrup, one ounce; 
 Water, three ounces. 
 To make a mixture. — A tablespoonful to be taken three times a 
 day. 
 
 If the disease should travel downward, it will 
 cause all the symptoms of croup ; then it must be 
 treated as croup ; with only this difference, that a 
 blister must not be applied, or the blistered surface 
 may be attacked by the membrane of diphtheria, 
 which may either cause de *th or hasten that catas- 
 trophe. In every other respect treat the case as 
 croup, by giving an emetic, a teaspoonful of Wine 
 of Ipecac every five minutes, until free vomiting 
 is excited, and then administer smaller doses of 
 Wine of Ipecac every two or three hours, as I 
 recommended in the treatment of croup. 
 
 The following simple remedies have recently 
 been highly recommended : 
 
 "Put a teaspoonful of sulphur into a wine glass 
 of water and stir it with the finger instead of a 
 spoon, as the sulphur does not readily amalgamate 
 with water. When the sulphur is well mixed, 
 then it is to be given to the patient to gargle, and 
 after gargling to swallow it, and the patient will 
 be out of danger in ten minutes. When the 
 fungus is too nearly closing to allow the gargling, 
 the sulphur, in that case, should be blown thrcugh 
 a quill into the throat, and after the fungus has 
 
422 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 shrunk to allow of it, then the gargling. If a 
 patient cannot gargle, take a live coal, put it on 
 a shovel, and sprinkle a spoonful of flour of 
 brimstone upon it ; let the sufferer inhale it by 
 holding the head over it, and the fungus will die. 
 Sulphur kills every species of fungus in man, 
 beast and plant in a few minutes. Recently at 
 Princess Mary's Cottage Home, London, an out- 
 break of diphtheria attacked fifty of the inmates. 
 One of the lady nurses cured them all by causing 
 the patients to gargle with sulphur and swallow 
 the gargle." Or, "Take ten grains of perman- 
 ganate of potassium a^d mix with one ounce of 
 cold water. As soon as dissolved it must be ap- 
 plied with a rag or sponge, mop or swab, to the 
 whitish places in the tonsils and other parts that 
 have the diphtheria membrane on. Do this very 
 gently, but thoroughly, every three hours until 
 better ; then every six hours until well. It does 
 not give pain, but is rather nauseous to the taste. 
 If the tongue is coated white, I mix one dram 
 of hyposulphite of soda and five drops of oil of 
 sassafras in four ounces of syrup made of sugar 
 and hot water, and give a teaspoonful every one 
 to three hours as needed, when awake. If the 
 tongue is not coated white, I mix twenty drops of 
 tincture of phytolacca to four ounces of cold 
 water, and give a teaspoonful every one to three 
 hours, as needed, when awake. The phytolacca 
 is the common poke-root of the South, and, as it 
 loses its strength by drying and age, the tincture 
 
DIPHTHERIA— WHAT NOT TO DO. 423 
 
 should be from the fresh root, or it is worthless." 
 It is well to apply a little sweet oil or cosmoline 
 to the outside of the throat to protect it from the 
 action of the air, as the patient must be protected 
 from all danger of getting chilled. 
 
 In the beginning of the disease, in mild cases, 
 the above solution of permanganate of potassium 
 is all that is needed, as the disease is local at first, 
 but it rapidly affects the whole system when 
 seated. In the stinking form of diphtheria this 
 solution soon destroys the smell, and in every case 
 it destroys the diphtheria membrane without leav- 
 ing any bad effect behind. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not on any account apply a 
 blister. If the latter is applied, it is almost sure 
 to be covered with the membrane of diphtheria, 
 similar to the inside of the mouth and of the throat, 
 which would be a serious complication. Do not 
 give emetic tartar. Do not depress the system by 
 aperients, for diphtheria is an awfully depressing 
 complaint of itself; the patient is laboring under 
 the depressing effects of poison, for the blood has 
 been poisoned either by the drinking water being 
 contaminated by faecal matter from either a privy 
 or a water-closet ; by some horrid drain ; by prox- 
 imity to a pig-sty ; by an overflowing privy, 
 especially if vegetable matter *s rotting at the 
 same time in it ; by bad ventilation, or by con- 
 tagion. Diphtheria may generally be traced to 
 one or the other of the above causes ; therefore 
 let me urgently entreat you to look well into these 
 
424 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 matters, and thus to stay the pestilence. Diph- 
 theria might long remain in a neighborhood if 
 active measures were not taken to exterminate it. 
 
 Measles commences with symptoms of a com- 
 mon cold ; the patient is at first chilly, then hot 
 and feverish ; he has a running at the nose, 
 sneezing, watering, and redness of the eyes, head- 
 ache, drowsiness, a hoarse and peculiar ringing 
 cough, which nurses call " measle-cough," and 
 difficulty of breathing. These symptoms usually 
 last three days ; on the fourth the eruption gener- 
 ally makes its appearance, and continues for four 
 days and then disappears, lasting altogether from 
 the commencement of the symptoms of cold to the 
 decline of the eruption, seven days. It is im- 
 portant to bear in mind that the eruption consists 
 of crescent-shaped patches; that they usually appear 
 first about the face and neck, in which places they 
 are the best marked ; then on the body and on the 
 arms; and, lastly on the legs, and that they are 
 slightly raised above the surface of the skin. The 
 face is swollen, more especially the eyelids, which 
 are sometimes closed for a few days. 
 
 Remember, running at the nose, sneezing, a pecu- 
 liar hoarse cough, and half-moon-shaped patches, are 
 the leading features of the disease, and point out 
 for a certainty that it is measles. 
 
 The principal danger in measles arises from the 
 affection of the chest. The mucus or lining mem- 
 brane of the bronchial tubes is always more or less 
 inflamed, and the lungs are sometimes affected. 
 
MEASLES — TREATMENT. 425 
 
 The only way to throw out the eruption, is to 
 keep the body comfortably warm, and to give the 
 beverages ordered by the doctor, with the chill 
 off. Surfeit water, saffron tea, and remedies of 
 that class, are hot and stimulating. The only effect 
 they can have will be to increase the fever and 
 inflammation — to add fuel to the fire. 
 
 What to do. — The child ought to be confined to 
 his bed, and the room kept comfortably warm. If 
 it is winter time, there should be a small fire in the 
 room ; in the summer time the fire would be im- 
 proper. The child must not be exposed to 
 draughts; though from time to time, the door 
 ought to be left a little ajar in order to change the 
 air of the apartment; for proper ventilation, let 
 the disease be what it may, is absolutely necessary. 
 Keep the child, for the first few days, on a low 
 diet, such as milk and water, arrowroot, bread 
 and butter, etc. 
 
 If the attack is mild, that is, if the breathing is 
 not much affected, and there is not much wheezing, 
 the Acidulated Infusion of Roses' Mixture* will 
 be all that is necessary. 
 
 In case the breathing is short, and there is a 
 great wheezing, instead of giving the mixture 
 just advised, give a teaspoonful of a mixture com- 
 posed of Wine of Ipecac, Syrup and Water,f 
 every four hours. If on the following day, the 
 breathing is not relieved, in addition to the Ipecac 
 
 *See page 403. fSee page 432. 
 
426 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 Mixture, apply a Vesicatoria, as advised under the 
 head of Inflammation of the Lungs. 
 
 When the child is convalescing, batter pud- 
 dings, rice and sago puddings, in addition to the 
 milk, bread and butter, etc., should be given ; and, 
 a few days later, chicken, mutton chops, etc., etc. 
 The child ought not, even in a mild case of measles, 
 and in favorable weather, to be allowed to leave the 
 house under two weeks, or it might bring on an attack 
 of bronchitis. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not give either surfeit 
 water or wine. Do not apply leeches to the chest, 
 Do not expose the child to the cold air. Do not 
 keep the bedroom very hot, but comfortably 
 warm. Do not let the child leave the house, even 
 under favorable circumstances under two weeks. 
 Do not, while the eruption is out, give aperients. 
 Do not administer emetic tartar or paregoric to 
 ease the cough — the former drug is very depres- 
 sing ; the latter will stop the cough, and will thus 
 prevent the expulsion of the phlegm. 
 
 Scarlatina and scarlet fever are indeed one and 
 the same disease, scarlatina being the Latin for 
 scarlet fever. But, in a popular sense, when the 
 disease is mild, it is usually called scarlatina. The 
 latter term does not sound so formidable to the 
 ears either of patients or parents. 
 
 Symptoms of scarlet fever. — The patient is gen- 
 erally chilly, languid, drowsy, feverish and poorly 
 for two days before the eruption appears. At the 
 end of the second, the characteristic bright scar- 
 
SCARLET FEVER— SYMPTOMS. 427 
 
 let efflorescence, somewhat similar to the color of 
 a boiled lobster, usually first shows itself. The 
 scarlet appearance is not confined to the skin, but 
 the tongue, throat and whites of the eyes put on 
 the same appearance; with only this difference, 
 that on the tongue and on the throat the scarlet is 
 much darker, and, as Dr. Elliotson accurately de- 
 scribes it, — " The tongue looks as if it had been 
 slightly sprinkled with Cayenne pepper ; " the 
 tongue, at other times, looks like a strawberry; 
 when it does it is called the strawberry tongue. 
 The eruption usually declines on the fifth, and is 
 generally indistinct on the sixth day ; on the 
 seventh it has completely faded away. After the 
 first few days there is usually great itching on the 
 surface of the body. At the end of the week the 
 skin begins to peel and to dust off, making it look 
 as though meal had been sprinkled upon it. 
 
 There are three forms of scarlet fever — the one 
 where the throat is little, if at all, affected, and this 
 is a mild form of the disease ; the second, which 
 at night is generally attended with delirium, 
 where the throat is much affected, being often 
 greatly inflamed and ulcerated, and the third 
 (which is, except in certain unhealthy districts, 
 comparatively rare, and which is VERY dangerous), 
 the malignant form. 
 
 Cooling physic ought on no account whatever to be 
 given. Aperient medicines are highly improper 
 and dangerous both before and during the period 
 of the eruption. It is my firm conviction that 
 
428 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 the administration of physic at such times, is one 
 of the principal causes why scarlet fever is so fre- 
 quently fatal. This is more applicable to the poor, 
 and to those who are unable to procure a skillful 
 physician 
 
 The principal danger in scarlet fever arises 
 from the affection of the throat, the administration # 
 of aperients during the first ten days, and a pecu- 
 liar disease of the kidneys ending in dropsy ; on 
 which account, the doctor ought, when practi- 
 cable, to be sent for at the onset, that no time 
 may be lost in applying proper remedies. 
 
 When scarlet fevei is complicated — as it some- 
 times is — with diphtheria, the diphtheric mem- 
 brane is very apt to travel into the windpipe, and 
 thus to cause diphtheric croup ; it is almost sure, 
 when such is the case, to end in death. When a > 
 child dies from such a complication, the death 
 might truly be said to be owing to diphtheric 
 croup, and not to scarlet fever, for if the diph- 
 theric croup had not occurred, in all probability 
 the child would have been saved. The deaths from 
 diphtheria are generally from diphtheric croup. 
 
 How to distinguish between scarlet fever and 
 measles. — Measles commences with symptoms of a 
 common cold, scarlet fever does not. Measles has 
 a peculiar hoarse cough, scarlet fever has not. The 
 eruption of measles is in patches of a half-moon 
 shape, and is slightly raised above the skin; the 
 eruption of scarlet fever is not raised above the 
 skin at all, and is one continued mass. The color 
 
SCARLET FEVER — TREATMENT. 429 
 
 of the eruption is much more vivid in scarlet fever 
 than in measles. The chest is the part principally 
 affected in measles, and the throat in scarlet fever. 
 There is an excellent method of determining, 
 for a certainty, whether the eruption is that of 
 scarlatina or otherwise. I have in several in- 
 stances ascertained the truth of it: " For several 
 * years M. Bouchut has remarked in the eruptions 
 of scarlatina a curious phenomenon, which serves 
 to distinguish this eruption from that of measles, 
 erythema, erysipelas, etc., a phenomenon essen- 
 tially vital, and which is connected with the ex- 
 cessive contractibility of the capillaries. The 
 phenomenon in question is a white line, which can 
 be produced at pleasure by drawing the back of 
 the nail along the skin where the eruption is situ- 
 ated. On drawing the nail, or the extremity of a 
 hard body (such as a penholder), along the erup- 
 tion, the skin is observed to grow pale, and to 
 present a white trace, which remains for one or 
 two minutes, or longer, and then disappears. In 
 this way the diagnosis of the disease may be very 
 distinctly written on the skin ; the word ' scar- 
 latina* disappears as the eruption regains its 
 uniform tint." 
 
 It is of much importance to distinguish be- 
 tween scarlet fever and measles, as in measles the 
 patient ought to be kept moderately warm, and the 
 drinks should be given with the chill off, while in 
 scarlet fever the patient ought to be kept cool and 
 the beverages, such as spring water, toast and 
 
430 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 water, etc., should be administered quite cold, 
 only one- half wine glass at once. 
 
 What to do. — Do not fail to pay attention to my 
 rules, and carry out my directions to the letter. I 
 can then promise, that if the scarlet fever is neither 
 malignant nor complicated with diphtheria, the plan 
 I am about to advise will, with God's blessing, be 
 usually successful. 
 
 What is the first thing to be done? Send the 
 child to bed ; throw open the windows, be it winter 
 or summer, and have a thorough ventilation; for 
 the bedroom must be kept cool, 68° to 70 Fahr- 
 enheit, according to the intensity of the fever. 
 Do not be afraid of fresh air, for fresh air, for the 
 first few days, is essential to recovery. Fresh air, 
 and plenty of it, in scarlet fever is the best doctor a 
 child can have ; let these words be written legibly 
 on your mind. 
 
 If the weather is either intensely cold or very 
 damp, there is no objection to a small fire in the 
 room, providing there is at the same time, air — an 
 abundance of fresh air — admitted into the room. 
 If it is summer time, let the child be covered with 
 only a sheet; if it is winter time, in addition to the 
 sheet, he should have one blanket over him. 
 
 Now for the throat. The best external appli- 
 cation is a bran and oatmeal poultice. Put half a 
 teacupful of bran into a saucepan, put it on the 
 fire to boil ; as soon as it boils, take it off the fire, 
 and stir oatmeal into it, until it is of the consistence 
 of a nice soft poultice ; then place it on a rag, and 
 
SCARLET FEVER — DIET. 43 1 
 
 apply it to the throat ; carefully fasten it on with 
 a bandage, two or three turns of the bandage 
 going around the throat, and two or three over 
 the crown of the head, so as nicely to apply the 
 poultice where it is wanted — that is, to cover the 
 tonsils. Tack the bandage ; do not pin it. Change 
 the poultice three times a day. The best medicine 
 is the Acidulated Infusion of Roses, sweetened 
 with syrup : 
 
 Take of — Diluted Sulphuric Acid, half a dram ; 
 Simple Syrup, one ounce and a half ; 
 Acid Infusion of Roses, four ounces and a half. 
 To make a mixture. — A tablespoonful to be taken every four 
 hours. 
 
 It is grateful and refreshing, it is pleasant to take, 
 it abates fever and thirst, it cleanses the throat and 
 tongue of mucus, and is peculiarly efficacious in 
 scarlet fever; as soon as the fever is abated it 
 gives an appetite. My belief is that the sulphuric 
 acid in the mixture is a specific in scarlet fever, 
 as much as quinine is in ague, and sulphur in itch. 
 I have reason to say so, for in numerous cases J 
 have seen its immense value. 
 
 Diet. — If the child is at the breast, keep him en- 
 tirety to it. If he is weaned, and under two years 
 of age, give him milk and water, and cold water 
 to drink. If he is older give him toast and water, 
 and plain water from the pump, as much as he 
 chooses ; let it be quite cold — the colder the better. 
 Weak black tea, or thin gruel, may be given, but 
 not caring, unless an infant at the breast, if he 
 
432 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 takes nothing but cold water. If the child is two 
 years old and upward, roasted apples with sugar 
 and grapes, will be very refreshing, and will tend 
 to cleanse both the mouth and the throat. Avoid 
 broths and stimulants. 
 
 When the appetite returns you may consider 
 the patient safe. The diet ought now to be grad- 
 ually improved. Bread and butter, milk and 
 water, and arrowroot should be given for the first 
 two or three days. Then a light batter or rice 
 pudding may be added, and in a few days, either 
 a little chicken or a mutton chop. 
 
 The essential remedies in scarlet fever are, for 
 the first few days — plenty of fresh air and venti- 
 lation ; plenty of cold water to drink ; yeast or 
 bran poultices to the throat, and the Acidulated In- 
 fusion of Roses mixture as a medicine. 
 
 Now comes very important advice. After the 
 first few days, probably five or six, sometimes as 
 early as the fourth day — watch carefully and warily, 
 and note the time, the skin zuill suddenly become cool, 
 the child will say that he feels chilly ; then is the 
 time you must change your tactics — instantly close 
 the windows and put extra clothing, a blanket or two, 
 on his bed. A flannel nightgown should, until the 
 dead skin has pulled off, be worn next the skin, 
 when the flannel nightgown should be discon- 
 tinued. The patient ought ever after to wear, in 
 the daytime, a flannel waistcoat. His drinks must 
 now be given with the chill off ; he ought to have 
 a warm cup of tea, and gradually his diet should 
 be improved. 
 
SCARLET FEVER— CATHARTICS. 433 
 
 There is one important caution I wish to im- 
 press upon you — do not give cathartics while the 
 eruption is out. In all probability the bowels will 
 be opened ; if so, well and good ; but do not, on 
 any account, for the first ten days, use artificial 
 means to open them. It is my firm conviction 
 that the administration of purgatives in scarlet 
 fever is a fruitful source of dropsy, of disease, and 
 death. When we take into consideration the sym- 
 pathy there is between the skin and the mucus 
 membrane, I think that we should pause before 
 giving irritating medicines, such as purgatives. 
 The irritation of aperients on the mucus membrane 
 may cause the poison of the skin disease (for scar- 
 let fever is a blood-poison) to be driven internally 
 to the kidneys, to the throat, to the pericardium 
 (membrane containing the heart), or to the brain. 
 You may say, Do you not purge if the bowels are 
 not open for a week? I say emphatically, No. 
 
 I consider my great success in the treatment of 
 scarlet fever to be partly owing to my avoidance 
 of aperients during the first ten days of the child's 
 illness. 
 
 If the bowels, after the ten days, are not properly 
 opened, a dose or two of syrup of senna should be 
 given ; that is, one or two teaspoonfuls should be 
 administered early in the morning, and should, if 
 the first dose does not operate, be repeated in four 
 hours. 
 
 In a subsequent paragraph I shall strongly urge 
 you not to allow your child, when convalescent, to 
 
 38 
 
434 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 leave the house for at least a month from the com- 
 mencement of the illness; 1 therefore refer you to 
 that paragraph, and hope that you will give it your 
 best and earnest consideration. During the last 
 twenty years I have never had dropsy from scarlet 
 fever, and I attribute it entirely to the plan I have 
 just recommended, and in not allowing my patients 
 to leave the house under a month— in fact, until the 
 skin that had peeled off had been renewed. 
 
 Let me now sum up the plan I adopt, and which 
 I beg leave to designate as — The Fresh Air Treat- 
 ment of Scarlet Fever : 
 
 1. Thorough ventilation, a cool room, and 
 scant clothes on the bed, for the first five or six 
 days. 
 
 2. A change of temperature of the skin to be 
 carefully regarded. As soon as the skin is cool, 
 closing the windows, and putting additional cloth- 
 ing on the bed. 
 
 3. The Acidulated Infusion of Roses with 
 Syrup is a worthy medicine for scarlet fever. 
 
 4. Purgatives to be religiously avoided for the 
 first ten days at least, and even afterward, unless 
 there is absolute necessity. 
 
 5. Leeches, blisters, emetics, cold and tepid 
 spongings, and painting the tonsils with caustic, 
 inadmissible in scarlet fever. 
 
 6. A strict antiphlogistic (low) diet for the first 
 few days, during which time cold water is to be 
 given freely. 
 
 The patient not to leave the house in the summer 
 under a month ; in the winter, under six weeks. 
 
SCARLET FEVER— WHAT NOT TO DO. 435 
 
 What not to do. — Do not apply either leeches or 
 blisters to the throat; do not paint the tonsils with 
 caustic ; do not give aperients ; do not give emetic 
 tartar; do not, for the first few days of the illness, 
 be afraid of cold air to the skin, and of cold water 
 as a beverage ; do not, emphatically let me say, do. 
 not let the child leave the house for at least a 
 month from the commencement of the illness. 
 
 My firm conviction is, that purgatives, emetics 
 and blisters, by depressing the patient, sometimes 
 cause ordinary scarlet fever to degenerate into 
 malignant scarlet fever. 
 
 I am aware that some of our first authorities 
 advocate a different plan to mine. They rec- 
 ommend purgatives, which, I may say, are my 
 dread and abhorrence. They advise cold and 
 tepid spongings — a plan which I think dangerous, 
 as it will probably drive the disease internally. 
 Blisters, too, have been prescribed ; these I con- 
 sider weakening, injurious and barbarous, and 
 likely still more to inflame the already inflamed 
 skin. They recommend leeches to the throat, 
 which I am convinced, by depressing the patient, 
 will lessen the chance of his battling against the 
 disease, and will increase the ulceration of the 
 tonsils. Again, the patient has not too much 
 blood, the blood is only poisoned. I look upon 
 scarlet fever as a specific poison of the blood, and 
 one which will be eliminated from the system, not 
 by bleeding, not by purgatives, not by emetics, but 
 by a constant supply of fresh and cool air, by the 
 
436 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 acid treatment, by cold water as a beverage, 
 and for the first few days by a strict antiphlogistic 
 (low) diet. Sydenham says that scarlet fever is 
 oftentimes "fatal through the ofriciousness of the 
 doctor." I conscientiously believe that a truer 
 remark was never made, and that under a different 
 system to the usual one adopted, scarlet fever 
 would not be so much dreaded. 
 
 Dr. Budd recommends that the body, including 
 the scalp, of a scarlet fever patient, should be 
 anointed every night and morning, after the fourth 
 day, with camphorated oil ; this anointing to be 
 continued until the patient is able to take a warm 
 bath and use disinfectant soap ; this application 
 will not only be very agreeable to the patient's 
 feelings, as there is usually great irritation and 
 itching of the skin, but it will be an important 
 means of preventing the dead skin, which is highly 
 infectious, and which comes off partly in flakes 
 and partly floats about the air in dust, from in- 
 fecting other persons. The plan is an excellent 
 one, and cannot be too strongly recommended. 
 
 If the case is a combination of scarlet fever and 
 diphtheria, as it unfortunately now frequently is, 
 treat it as a case of diphtheria. 
 
 A child must not be allowed to go out for at least 
 a month from the commencement of the attack, in 
 the summer, and six weeks in the winter ; and not 
 even then without the express permission of a 
 doctor. It may be said that this is an unrea- 
 sonable recommendation ; but when it is considered 
 
SCARLET FEVER— WHAT NOT TO DO. 437 
 
 that the whole of the skin generally peels off, and 
 consequently leaves the surface of the body ex- 
 posed to cold, which cold flies to the kidneys, pro- 
 ducing a peculiar and serious disease in them, 
 ending in dropsy, this warning will not be deemed 
 unreasonable. 
 
 Scarlet fever dropsy, which is really a for- 
 midable disease, generally arises from the carelessness, 
 the ignorance, and the thoughtlessness of parents in 
 allowing a child to leave the house before the new skin 
 is properly formed and hardened. Prevention is 
 better than cure. 
 
 Thus far with regard to the danger to the child 
 himself. Now let me show you the risk of con- 
 tagion that you inflict upon families, in allowing 
 your child to mix with others before a month at 
 least has elapsed. Bear in mind, a case is quite as 
 contagious while the skin is peeling off, as it was 
 before. Thus, in ten days or two weeks, there is 
 as much risk of contagion as at the beginning of 
 the disease, and when the fever is at its height. 
 At the conclusion of the month, the old skin has 
 generally all peeled off, and the new skin has taken 
 its place ; consequently there will be less fear of 
 contagion to others. But the contagion of scarlet 
 fever is so subtle and so uncertain in its duration, 
 that it is impossible to fix the exact time when it 
 ceases. Let me most earnestly implore you to 
 ponder well on the above important facts. If 
 these remarks should be the means of saving only 
 one child from death, or from broken health, my 
 labor will not have been in vain. 
 
43& CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 To purify a house, clothes, and furniture, from 
 the contagion of scarlet fever, let every room in 
 the house, together with its contents, and clothing 
 and dresses that cannot be washed, be well fumi- 
 gated with sulphur — taking care to close both 
 windows and doors while disinfecting the house; 
 let every room be lime-washed and then white- 
 washed ; if the contagion has been virulent, let 
 every bedroom be freshly papered (the walls hav- 
 ing been previously stripped of the old paper and 
 then lime-washed) ; let the bed, the bolsters, the 
 pillows, and the mattresses be cleaned and purified; 
 let the blankets and coverlids be thoroughly 
 washed, and then let them be exposed to the open 
 air — if taken into a field so much the better; let 
 the rooms be well scoured ; let the windows, top 
 and bottom, be thrown open ; let the drains be 
 examined ; let the well water be scrutinized, to see 
 that it is not contaminated by faecal matter, either 
 from the water-closet, the privy, the pig-stye, or 
 the stable ; let the privies be emptied of their con- 
 tents — remember, this is most important advice — then 
 put into the empty places, either lime and pow- 
 dered charcoal, or carbolic acid. > It is a well ascer- 
 tained fact that it is frequently impossible to rid a 
 house of the infection of scarlet fever without 
 adopting such a course. Let the children, who 
 have not had, or who do not appear to be sicken- 
 ing for scarlet fever, be sent away from home — if 
 to a farm house so much the better. Indeed, leave 
 no stone unturned, no means untried, to exter- 
 
SCARLET FEVER — WHAT NOT TO DO. 439 
 
 minate the disease from the house and from the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 Precautions to be taken against the spread of scar- 
 let fever. — Great care should be taken to separate 
 the healthy from the infected. The nurses se- 
 lected for attending scarlet fever patients should 
 be those who have previously had scarlet fever 
 themselves. Dirty linen should be removed at 
 once, and be put into boiling water. Very little 
 furniture should be in the room of a scarlet fever 
 patient — the less the better — it only obstructs the 
 circulation of the air, and harbors the scarlet fever 
 poison. The most scrupulous attention to cleanli- 
 ness should be observed in these cases. A patient 
 who has recovered from scarlet fever before he 
 associates with healthy people, should, for three 
 or four consecutive mornings, have a warm bath, 
 and well wash himself with soap while in the bath; 
 he will, by adopting this plan, get rid of the dead 
 skin, and thus remove the infected particles of the 
 disease. If scarlet fever should appear in a school, 
 the school must be broken up, in order that the 
 disease may be stamped out. There must be no 
 half measures where such a fearful disease is in 
 question. A house containing scarlet fever pa- 
 tients should be avoided as the plague ; it is folly 
 at any time to put one's head into the lion's mouth. 
 Chloralum, carbolic acid, and chloride of lime, are 
 each and all good disinfectants, but not one is to 
 be compared to perfect cleanliness and to an abund- 
 ance of fresh and pure air — the last of which may 
 
440 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 truly par excellence be called God's disinfectant. 
 Either a tablespoonful of chloralum, or two tea- 
 spoonfuls of carbolic acid, or a teaspoonful of 
 chloride of lime in a pint of water, are useful to 
 sprinkle the soiled handkerchiefs as soon as thej 
 are done with, and before they are washed ; to put 
 in the pot-de-chambre and to keep in saucers about 
 the room ; but remember, as I have said before, 
 and cannot repeat too often, there is no prevent- 
 ive like the air of heaven, which should be al- 
 lowed to permeate and circulate freely through 
 the apartment and through the house ; air, air, air 
 is the best disinfectant, curative, and preventive 
 of scarlet fever in the world. 
 
 I could only wish that my treatment of scarlet 
 fever were, in all its integrity, more generally 
 adopted ; if it were, I am quite sure that thousands 
 of children would annually be saved from broken 
 health and from death. Time still further con- 
 vinces me that my treatment is based on truth, as 
 I have every year additional proofs of its value 
 and of its success, but error and prejudice are un- 
 fortunately ever at work, striving all they can to 
 defeat truth and common sense. One of my prin- 
 cipal remedies in the treatment of scarlet fever is 
 an abundance of fresh air, but many people prefer 
 their own inventions to God's grand and yet 
 simple remedies — they pretend that they know 
 better than the Mighty Framer of the universe. 
 
 Chicken-pox is occasionally, but not always, 
 ushered in with a slight shivering fit ; the eruption 
 
CHICKEN-POX. 44I 
 
 shows itself in about twenty-four hours from the 
 child first appearing poorly. It is a vesicular* 
 disease. The eruption comes out in the form of 
 small pimples, and principally attacks the scalp, 
 the neck, the back, the chest and the shoulders, 
 but rarely the face, while in small-pox the face is 
 generally the part most affected. The next day 
 these pimples fill with water, and thus become 
 vesicles ; on the third day they are at maturity. 
 The vesicles are quite separate and distinct from 
 each other. There is a slight redness around each 
 of them. Fresh ones make their appearance while 
 the others are dying away. Chicken-pox is usually 
 attended with a slight itching of the skin ; when 
 the vesicles are scratched the fluid escapes, and 
 leaves hard, pearl-like substances, which, in a few 
 days disappear. Chicken-pox never leaves pit 
 marks behind. It is a child's complaint; adults 
 scarcely ever have it. 
 
 It is not at all dangerous, but, on the contrary, 
 a trivial complaint. It lasts only a few days, and 
 requires but little medicine. The patient ought 
 to keep the house for three or four days, and 
 should abstain from animal food. On the sixth 
 day, but not until then, a dose or two of a mild 
 aperient is all that will be required. 
 
 Is chicken-pox infectious? — There is a diversity of 
 opinion on this head, but one thing is certain — it 
 cannot be communicated by inoculation. 
 
 * Vesicles. Small elevations of the cuticle, covering a fluid which 
 is generally clear and colorless at first, but becomes afterward 
 whitish and opaque or nearly so. — Watson. 
 
44 2 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 Is whooping-cough an inflammatory disease? — 
 Whooping-cough in itself is not inflammatory; it 
 is purely spasmodic, but it is generally accom- 
 panied with more or less of bronchitis — inflamma- 
 tion of the mucous membrane of the bronchial 
 tubes. 
 
 Whooping-cough is emphatically a disease of the 
 young ; it is rare for adults to have it ; if they do, 
 they usually suffer more severely than children. 
 A child seldom has it but once in his life. It is 
 highly contagious, and therefore frequently runs 
 through a whole family of children, giving much 
 annoyance, anxiety and trouble to the mother and 
 the nurses ; hence whooping-cough is much 
 dreaded by them. It is amenable to treatment. 
 Spring and summer are the best seasons of the 
 year for the disease to occur. This complaint 
 usually lasts from six to twelve weeks — sometimes 
 for a much longer period, more especially if proper 
 means are not employed to relieve it. 
 
 Whooping-cough commences as a common cold 
 and cough. The cough, for ten days or a fort- 
 night, increases in intensity ; at about which time 
 it puts on the characteristic " whoop." The at- 
 tack of cough comes on in paroxysms. In a par- 
 oxysm, the child coughs so long and so violently, 
 and expires so much air from the lungs without in- 
 spiring any, that at times he appears nearly suf- 
 focated and exhausted ; the veins of his neck 
 swell ; his eyes, with the tremendous exertions, 
 almost seem to start from their sockets ; at length 
 
wi ioopixn-couGH. 443 
 
 >her«» is a sudden inspiration of air through the 
 contracted chink of the upper part of the wind- 
 pipe — the glottis — causing the peculiar " whoop ;" 
 and after a little more coughing he brings up 
 some glairy mucus from the chest; and some- 
 times food from the stomach by vomiting. This 
 relieves him until the next paroxysm occurs, when 
 the same process is repeated, the child during the 
 intervals appearing quite well, and after the cough 
 *.s over instantly returning either to his play or 
 to his food. Generally, after a paroxysm he is 
 hungry, unless, indeed, there is severe inflamma- 
 tion of the chest or the lungs. Sickness, as I be- 
 fore remarked, frequently accompanies whooping- 
 cough ; when it does, it may be looked upon as a 
 good sign. The child usually knows when an at- 
 tack is coming on ; he dreads it, and therefore tries 
 to prevent it; he sometimes partially succeeds; 
 but if he does, it only makes the attack more 
 severe when it does come. All causes of irritation 
 and excitement ought to be avoided, as passion is 
 apt to bring on a severe paroxysm. 
 
 A new-born babe — an infant of one or two 
 months old — commonly escapes the infection ; but 
 if he catches whooping-cough at that tender age 
 unfortunately it is likely to fare harder with him 
 than if he were older — the younger the child the 
 greater the risk. Still, in such a case, do not de- 
 spair; I have known numerous instances of new- 
 born infants, with judicious care, recovering per- 
 fectly from the attack, and thriving after it as 
 though nothing of the kind had ever happened. 
 

 444 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 A new-born babe, laboring under whooping- 
 cough, is liable to convulsions, which is in this dis- 
 ease the great source of danger. A child who is 
 teething and laboring under the disease, is also 
 liable to convulsions. When the patient is con- 
 valescing, care ought to be taken that he does 
 not catch cold, or the " whoop " might return. 
 Whooping-cough may either precede, attend or 
 follow an attack of measles. 
 
 Treatment of whooping-cough. — We will divide 
 the whooping-cough into three stages, and treat 
 each stage separately. 
 
 What to do. — In the first stage, the commence- 
 ment of whooping-cough, for the first ten days 
 give the following prescription : 
 
 Take of -Fluid Extract of Belladonnae, thirty drops; 
 Tincture Opii Camp., one ounce; 
 Syrup of Aurantii, two ounces. 
 Mix. — Give from four to eight teaspoonfuls in twenty-four hours, 
 to a child three years old. 
 
 If the child is not weaned, keep him entirely to 
 the breast ; if he is weaned, to a milk and farina- 
 ceous diet. Confine him for the first ten days to 
 the house, more especially if the whooping-cough 
 is attended, as it usually is, with more or less 
 bronchitis. But take care that the rooms are well 
 ventilated, for good air is essential to the cure. 
 If the bronchitis attending the whooping-cough 
 is severe, confine him to his bed, and treat him as 
 though it were simply a case of bronchitis.* 
 
 *For the treatment of bronchitis, see page 412. 
 
WHOOPING-COUGH — TREATMENT. 445 
 
 In the second stage, discontinue the above and 
 give nitric acid — which I have found to be an 
 efficacious and valuable remedy in whooping- 
 cough : 
 
 Take of — Diluted Nitric Acid, two drams; 
 
 Compound Tincture of Cardamoms, half a dram; 
 Simple Syrup, three ounces; 
 Water, two ounces and a half. 
 Make a mixture. — One or two teaspoonfuls, or a tablespoonful, 
 according to the age of the child — one teaspoonful for an infant of six 
 months, and two teaspoonfuls for a child of twelve months, and one 
 tablespoonful for a child of two years, every four hours, first shaking 
 the bottle. 
 
 Let the spine and chest be well rubbed every 
 night and morning with the following stimulating 
 liniment (first shaking the bottle) : 
 
 Take of — Oil of Cloves, one dram; 
 Oil of Amber, two drams; 
 Camphorated Oil, nine drams. 
 Make a liniment. 
 
 Let him wear a broad band of new flannel, which 
 should extend around from his chest to his back, 
 and which ought to be changed every night and 
 morning, in order that it may be dried before put- 
 ting on again. To keep it in its place it should 
 be fastened by means of tapes and shoulder straps. 
 
 The diet ought now to be improved — he should 
 gradually return to his usual food ; and, weather 
 permitting, should almost live in the open air — 
 fresh air being one of the finest medicines. 
 
 In the third stage, that is, when the complaint 
 has lasted a month, there is nothing like change of 
 

 446 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 air to a high, dry, healthy country place. Continue 
 the use of Nitric Acid Mixture and liniment, and 
 let him almost live in the open air, and be sure he 
 does not discontinue wearing the flannel until he is 
 quite cured, and then leave it off by degrees. 
 
 If the whooping-cough has caused debility, give 
 him Cod-liver Oil — a teaspoonful twice or three 
 times a day, giving it on a full stomach, after his 
 meals. Remember that after the first three or four 
 weeks change of air, and plenty of it, is for whoop- 
 ing-cough the grand remedy. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not apply leeches to the 
 chest, for I would rather put blood into a child 
 laboring under whooping-cough than to take it 
 out of him — whooping-cough is quite weakening 
 enough to the system of itself without robbing bim 
 of his life's blood ; do not, on any account what- 
 ever, administer either emetic tartar or antimonial 
 wine; do not dose him with quack medicine; do 
 not give him stimulants, but rather give him plenty 
 of nourishment, such as milk and farinaceous food, 
 but no stimulants ; do not be afraid, after the first 
 week or two, of his having fresh air, and plenty of 
 it — for fresh, pure air is the grand remedy, after 
 all that can be said and done, in whooping-cough. 
 Although occasionally we find that, if the child is 
 laboring under whooping-cough, and is breathing 
 a pure country air, and is not getting well so 
 rapidly as we could wish, change of air to a smoky, 
 gas-laden town will sometimes quickly effect a 
 cure ; indeed, some persons go so far as to say that 
 
WHOOPING-COUGH — WHAT NOT TO DO. 447 
 
 the best remedy for an obstinate case of whooping- 
 cough b, for the child to live, the great part of 
 every day, in gas works. 
 
 During a paroxysm of whooping-cough, if the 
 child is old enough, let him stand up ; but if he is 
 either too young or too feeble, raise his head, and 
 bend his body a little forward ; then support his 
 back with one hand, and the forehead with the 
 other. Let the mucus be wiped out of his mouth 
 with a soft handkerchief the moment it is within 
 reach. 
 
 A chill is to be looked upon as an important 
 symptom. Nearly all serious illness commences 
 with a chill ; severe colds, influenza, inflammations 
 of different organs, scarlet fever, measles, small- 
 pox and very many other diseases, begin in this 
 way. If your child should ever have a chill, 
 instantly send for a doctor, as delay might be 
 dangerous. A few hours of judicious treatment, 
 at the commencement of an illness, is frequently of 
 more avail than days and weeks, nay months ot 
 treatment, when disease has gained a firm footing. 
 A serious disease often steals on insidiously, and 
 we have perhaps only a slight chill to tell us of its 
 approach. 
 
 A trifling ailment, too, by neglecting the pre- 
 monitory symptom, which at first might only be 
 indicated by a slight shivering fit, will sometimes 
 become a mortal disorder. 
 
 In case of a chill, instantly have the bed warmed, 
 and put the child to bed. Apply at once a not 
 

 448 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 water bottle or a hot brick, wrapped in flannel, 
 to the soles of his feet. Put an extra blanket on 
 his bed, and give him a cup of hot tea. As soon 
 as the shivering is over, and he has become hot, 
 gradually lessen the extra quantity of clothes on 
 his bed, and take away the hot bottle or hot brick 
 from his feet. 
 
 What NOT to do. — Do not give either brandy or 
 wine, as inflammation of some organ might be 
 about taking place. Do not administer laxative 
 medicine, as there might be an eruption coming 
 out on the skin, and an aperient would probably 
 check it. 
 
 The mumps. — An inflammation of the parotid 
 gland is most commonly ushered in with a light 
 feverish attack. After a short time, a swelling, 
 of stony hardness, is noticed before and under the 
 ear, which swelling extends along the neck toward 
 the chin. This lump is exceedingly painful, and 
 continues painful and swollen for four or five 
 days, at the end of which time it gradually dis- 
 appears, leaving not a trace behind. The swell- 
 ing of mumps never gathers. It may affect one 
 or both sides of the face. It seldom occurs but 
 once in a lifetime. It is contagious, and has been 
 known to run through a whole family or school; 
 but it is not dangerous unless it leaves the parotid 
 gland, which is rarely the case, and migrates to 
 the head, the breast, or testicles. 
 
 The treatment. — Foment the swelling, four or 
 five times a day, with a flannel wrung out of hot 
 
THE MUMPS — TREATMENT. 449 
 
 camomile and hops in equal parts, and apply every 
 night a bran and oatmeal poultice to the swollen 
 gland or glands. Debar the little patient from 
 taking meat and broth for a few days, and let him 
 live on bread and milk, light puddings, and arrow- 
 root. Keep him in a well ventilated room, and 
 shut him out from the company of his brothers, 
 his sisters and young companions. Give him a 
 little mild aperient medicine. Of course, if there 
 is the slightest symptom of migration to any other 
 part or parts, instantly call in a doctor. 
 
 Treatment of a boil. — One of the best applica- 
 tions is a Burgundy-pitch plaster spread on a soft 
 piece of wash-leather. Let a druggist spread a 
 plaster, about the size of the hand ; and from this 
 piece cut small plasters, the size of a twenty-five 
 cent piece or larger (according to the dimensions 
 of the boil), which snip around and apply to the 
 part. Put a fresh one on daily. This plaster will 
 soon cause the boil to break ; when it does break 
 squeeze out the contents and apply one of the plas- 
 ters as before, which renew every day, until the 
 boil is well. 
 
 The old fashioned remedy for a boil — common 
 yellow soap and brown sugar, — is a capital one for 
 the purpose. It is made with equal parts of brown 
 sugar and shredded yellow soap, mixed by means 
 of a table knife on a plate, with a few drops of 
 water, until it is all well blended together, and of 
 the consistence of thick paste ; it should then be 
 spread on a piece of wash-leather, or on thick 
 
 29 
 

 450 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 linen, and applied to the boil, and kept in its place 
 by means of a bandage or a folded handkerchief, 
 and should be renewed once or twice a day. 
 This is an excellent application for a boil — 
 soothing, comforting, and drawing — and will soon 
 effect a cure. A paste of honey and flour, spread 
 on linen, is another popular and good application 
 for a boil. 
 
 If the boil should arise from a delicate state of 
 health, give the child cod-liver oil, meat once a 
 day, and an abundance of milk and farinaceous 
 food. Let him have plenty of fresh air, exercise, 
 and play. 
 
 If the boils should arise from gross and improper 
 feeding, then keep him for a time from meat, and 
 let him live principally on farinaceous food. 
 
 If the child is fat and gross, cod-liver oil will be 
 improper ; a mild aperient, such as rhubarb and 
 magnesia, would then be the best medicine. 
 
 Symptoms of earache. — A young child screaming 
 shrilly, violently, and continuously, is oftentimes 
 owing to earache; carefully examine each ear, and 
 ascertain if there is any discharge ; if there is, the 
 mystery is explained. 
 
 Remedy for earache. — Apply to the ear a small 
 flannel bag, filled with hot salt — as hot as can be 
 'comfortably borne, or foment the ear with a flannel 
 wrung out with a decoction of hot camomile and 
 hops. A roasted onion, inclosed in muslin applied 
 to the ear, is an old fashioned and favorite remedy, 
 and may be tried if the bag of hot salt, or the fo- 
 
EARACHE — TREATMENT. 45 I 
 
 mentation does not relieve. Put into the ear, but 
 not very far, a small piece of cotton wool, moist- 
 ened with warm olive oil. Take care that the 
 wool is always removed before a fresh piece is 
 substituted, as, if allowed to remain in any length 
 of time, it may produce a discharge from the ear. 
 Avoid all cold applications. If the earache is 
 severe, keep the little fellow at home, in a room of 
 equal temperature, but well ventilated, and give 
 him no meat for a day or two. 
 
 If a discharge from the ear should either ac- 
 company or follow the earache, more especially if 
 the discharge is offensive, instantly call in a doctor, 
 or deafness for life may be the result. A knitted 
 or crocheted hat, with woolen rosettes over the 
 ears, is an excellent winter hat for a child subject 
 to earache. 
 
 Causes and the treatment of discharges from the 
 ear. — Cold, measles, scarlet fever, healing up of 
 breakings out behind the ear; pellets of cotton 
 wool, which had been put in the ear and forgotten, 
 are the usual causes of discharges from the ear. 
 It generally commences with earache. 
 
 The treatment consists in keeping the parts clean, 
 by syringing the ear every morning with warm 
 water, by attention to food — keeping the child 
 principally upon a milk and farinaceous diet, and 
 by change of air. If change of air is not prac- 
 ticable, great attention should be paid to venti- 
 lation. As I have before advised, in all cases of 
 discharge from the ear call in a physician, as a 
 
452 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 little judicious medicine is advisable — indeed, es- 
 sential — and it may be necessary to syringe the 
 ear with lotions, instead of with warm water, and, 
 of course, it is only a doctor who has actually seen 
 the patient who can decide these matters, and what 
 is best to be done in each case. 
 
 Treatment of a "stye" on the eyelid. — Bathe the 
 eye frequently with warm milk and water, and 
 apply every night at bedtime, a warm white 
 bread poultice. No medicine is required, but if 
 the child is gross, keep him for a few days from 
 meat, and let him live on bread and milk and 
 farinaceous puddings. 
 
 A sure remedy for a " stye " is as follows : 
 
 Take of — Potas Iodide, eighty grains; 
 Potas Chlorate, five grains; 
 Aqua Rosa, one ounce. 
 Mix. — Put five or six drops in the eye four or five times a day, 
 and occasionally bathe the stye with the same. 
 
 Large bowels. — It ought to be borne in mind 
 that the bowels of a child are larger in proportion 
 than those of an adult. But, if they are actually 
 larger than they ought to be, rub them well for a 
 quarter of an hour at a time night and morning, 
 with soap liniment, and then apply a broad flannel 
 belt. A broad flannel belt worn night and day, 
 firm but not tight, is very serviceable. The child 
 ought to be prevented from drinking as much as 
 he has been in the habit of doing ; let him be en- 
 couraged to exercise much in the open air, and let 
 strict regard be paid to his diet. 
 

 CONSTIPATION IN CHILDREN. 453 
 
 Aperients for a child. — If it is actually necessary 
 to give him physic, one or two teaspoonfuls of 
 Syrup of Senna, repeated, if necessary, in four 
 hours, will generally answer the purpose. Corn- 
 pound Confection of Senna is another excellent 
 aperient for the young, it being mild in its opera- 
 tion, and pleasant to take ; a child fancying it is 
 nothing more than jam, and which it much resem- 
 bles, both in appearance and in taste. The dose is 
 half a teaspoonful early in the morning occasionally. 
 Senna is an admirable aperient for a child, and is 
 a safe one, which is more than can be said of many 
 others. It is worthy of note that the taste of 
 senna may be concealed by sweetening the in- 
 fusion, adding milk, and drinking as ordinary tea, 
 which it much resembles when thus prepared. 
 Honey, too, is a nice aperient for a child — a tea- 
 spoonful ought to be given either by itself, or 
 spread on a slice of bread. 
 
 Fluid Magnesia — Solution of Carbonate of Mag- 
 nesia — is a good aperient for a child, and, as it has 
 very little taste, is readily given, more especially 
 if made palatable by the addition of a little syrup 
 or of brown sugar. The advantages which it has 
 over the solid form are, that it is colorless and 
 nearly tasteless, and never forms concretions 
 in the bowels, as the solid magnesia sometimes 
 does if persevered in for any length of time. A 
 child of two or three years old may take one or 
 two tablespoonfuls of the fluid, either by itself or in 
 his food, repeating it every four hours until the 
 
454 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 bowels are open. When the child is old enough 
 to drink the draught off immediately, the addition 
 of one or two teaspoonfuls of lemon juice to each 
 dose of the fluid magnesia, makes a pleasant 
 effervescing draught, and increases its efficacy as 
 an aperient. 
 
 Graham bread and molasses will frequently 
 open the bowels, and as the latter is wholesome, it 
 may be substituted for butter when the bowels are 
 inclined to be costive. A roasted apple, eaten 
 with raw sugar, is another excellent mild aperient 
 for a child. Milk gruel — that is milk thickened 
 with oatmeal — forms an excellent food, and often 
 keeps the bowels regular, and thus {which is an 
 important consideration) supersedes the necessity of 
 giving an aperient. An orange or a fig after din- 
 ner, or a few Muscatel raisins, will frequently 
 regulate the bowels. 
 
 Stewed prunes is another admirable remedy 
 for the costiveness of a child. The manner of 
 stewing them is as follows : Put a pound of 
 prunes in a brown jar, add two tablespoonfuls of 
 sugar, and cover with cold water, place them in 
 the oven, and stew for four hours. A child should 
 eat half a dozen or a dozen of them every morning 
 until the bowels are relieved, taking care that he 
 does not swallow the stones. Stewed prunes may 
 -be given in treacle — treacle increasing the aperient 
 properties of the prunes. 
 
 A suppository is a mild and ready way of 
 opening the bowels of a child. When he is two 
 
CONSTIPATION IN CHILDREN. 455 
 
 or three years old and upward, a candle sup- 
 pository is better than a soap suppository. Pre- 
 pare as follows : Cut a piece of dip-tallow candle 
 — the length of three inches — and jnsert it as you 
 would a clyster pipe, about two inches up the 
 fundament, allowing the* remaining inch to be in 
 sight, and there let the suppository remain until 
 the bowels are opened. 
 
 Another excellent method of opening a child's 
 bowels is by means of an enema of warm water — 
 from half a teacupful to a teacupful, or even 
 more, according to the age of the child. I cannot 
 speak too highly of this plan as a remedy for con- 
 stipation, as in the generality of cases it entirely 
 prevents the necessity of administering a particle 
 of aperient medicine. This fact stamps it as a 
 most valuable remedy — physic being, as a rule, 
 very objectionable, and injurious to the child's 
 bowels. Bear this fact in mind, and let it be al- 
 ways remembered. 
 
 A wet compress to the bowels will frequently 
 open them, and will thus do away with the neces- 
 sity of giving an aperient — a most important consid- 
 eration. Fold a napkin in six thicknesses, soak it 
 in cold water, and apply it to the bowels, over 
 which put either a thin covering or sheet of oil- 
 cloth, or a piece of oil-silk ; keep it in its place with 
 a broad flannel roller, and let it remain on the 
 bowels for three or four hours, or until they are 
 opened. 
 
 Try what diet will do, as opening the bowels 
 
456 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 by a regulated diet is far preferable to the giving 
 of aperients. Let him have Graham bread, or pure 
 oatmeal made into gruel with new milk. Let him 
 eat stewed prunes, stewed rhubarb, roasted apples, 
 strawberries, the inside of grapes and gooseberries, 
 figs, etc. Give him early every morning a draught 
 of cold water. 
 
 Let me again urge you not to give aperients in 
 these cases, or in any case, unless you are abso- 
 lutely compelled. By following my advice you 
 will save yourself an immense deal of trouble, and 
 your child a long catalogue of misery. Again, I 
 say. look well into the matter, and whenever it is 
 practicable avoid purgatives. 
 
 Protrusion of the lower bowel is due to the com- 
 mon and reprehensible practice of a parent admin- 
 istering frequent aperients to her child. Another 
 cause, is allowing him to remain for a quarter of 
 an hour or more at a time on his chair ; this in- 
 duces him to strain, and to force the bowel down. 
 
 The best manner of returning the bowel is to 
 lay the child upon the bed on his face and bowels, 
 with his hips a little raised, then smear lard on the 
 forefinger of your right hand (taking care that the 
 nail is cut loose), and gently press the bowel 
 into its proper place with the forefinger. Re- 
 member, if the above methods are observed, you 
 cannot do the slightest injury to the bowel ; and 
 the sooner it is returned the better it will be for 
 the child, for if the bowel is allowed to remain 
 long down, it may slough or mortify, and death 
 
PROTRUSION OF THE BOWEL. 45; 
 
 may ensue. After each motion the nurse must see 
 that the bowel does not come down, and if it does, 
 she ought instantly to return it. The nurse should 
 also be careful not to allow the child to remain on 
 his chair more than two or three minutes at a 
 time. 
 
 Another excellent remedy for the protrusion of 
 the bowel, is to use every morning a cold salt and 
 water sitz bath. There need not be more than a 
 depth of three inches of water in the bath ; a small 
 handful of table salt should be dissolved in the 
 water. A dash of warm water in the winter time 
 must be added, to take off the extreme chill, and 
 the child ought not to be allowed to sit in the bath 
 for more than one minute, or while the mother can 
 count a hundred, taking care to throw either a 
 square of flannel or a small shawl over his should- 
 ers. The sitz bath ought to be continued for 
 months, or until the complaint is removed. I can- 
 not speak in too high praise of these baths. 
 
 In administering medicine to a child, if he is old 
 enough, appeal to his reason. If a mother en- 
 deavors to deceive her child, and he detects it, he 
 will for the future suspect her. If he is too young 
 to be reasoned with, and will not take medicine, 
 then he must be compelled. Lay him across your 
 knees, tightly hold both his hands and his nose, 
 then, by means of the medicine spoon, pour the 
 medicine down his throat, and he will be obliged 
 to swallow it. 
 
 It may be said that this is a cruel procedure, 
 
458 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 but it is the only way to compel an unruly child to 
 take physic, and is much less cruel than running 
 the risk of his dying for want of the medicine. 
 
 A sick child ought not to be roused from his 
 sleep to give him medicine, as sleep, being a natural 
 restorative, must not be interfered with. A mother 
 cannot be too particular in administering the med- 
 icine, at stated periods, while he is awake. 
 
 If a child wets his bed while asleep, let him be 
 held out just before he goes to bed, and again 
 when the family retires to rest. If he is asleep at 
 the time, he will become so accustomed to it that 
 he will urinate without awaking. He ought to be 
 made to lie on his side ; for if put on his back the 
 urine will rest upon an irritable part of the bladder, 
 and if inclined to wet his bed he will not be able 
 to avoid doing so. He must not be allowed to 
 drink much with his meals, especially with his 
 supper. Wetting the bed is an infirmity with 
 some children — they cannot help it. It is, there- 
 fore, cruel to scold and chastise them for it. Oc- 
 casionally wetting the bed arises from idleness; in 
 which case a little wholesome correction may be 
 necessary. Water-proof bed sheeting — one yard 
 by three-quarters of a yard — will effectually pre- 
 serve the bed, and ought always on these occa- 
 sions to be used. 
 
 A mother ought, every morning, to ascertain 
 for herself whether a child has wet his bed ; if he 
 has, and if the water-proof cloth has not been 
 used, the mattress, sheets and blankets must be in- 
 
CHILBLAINS— TREATMENT. 459 
 
 stantly taken to the kitchen fire and be properly 
 dried. Inattention to the above has frequently 
 caused a child to suffer from cold, a fever, or an 
 inflammation ; not only so, but if they are not 
 dried he is wallowing in filth, and in an offensive 
 effluvium. If both mother and § nurse were more 
 attentive to their duties — in frequently holding a 
 child out, wetting the bed would be the exception, 
 and not, as it frequently is, the rule. If a child is 
 dirty, you may depend upon it, the right persons 
 to blame are the mother and the nurse, and not the 
 child. 
 
 Chilblains and the way to prevent them. — Let a 
 child who is subject to them, wear in the winter 
 time, a square piece of wash leather over the toes, 
 a pair of warm lamb's wool stockings, and good 
 shoes ; but above all, let him be encouraged to run 
 about the house as much as possible, especially 
 before going to bed ; and on no account allow him 
 to warm his feet before the fire, or to bathe them 
 in hot water. If the feet are cold, and the child 
 too young to take exercise, then let them be well 
 rubbed with the warm hand. If adults suffer 
 from chilblains, I have found friction, night and 
 morning, with horse hair flesh gloves, the best 
 means of preventing them. 
 
 Secondly ; the way to cure them. — If they are un- 
 broken, the old fashioned remedy of onion and salt 
 is one of the best of remedies. Cut an onion in 
 two, take one-half of it, dip it in table salt and rub 
 the chilblain with it for two or three minutes. 
 
460 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 The onion and salt is a famous remedy to relieve 
 that intolerable itching which sometimes accom- 
 panies chilblains ; then let them be covered with 
 a piece of lint, over which a piece of wash leather 
 should "be placed. 
 
 If they are broken, let a piece of lint be spread 
 with spermaceti cerate, and applied every morn- 
 ing to the part, and use a white bread poultice 
 every night. 
 
 Chapped hands. — Tie a teacupful of bran in a 
 muslin bag, and put over night into a large water 
 can or jug of rain water. Use this water to 
 wash with on the following morning, and every 
 morning until the chaps are cured. As often as 
 water is withdrawn from the. water can or jug, 
 refill with fresh rain water, in order that the bran 
 may be constantly soaking in it. The bran in the 
 bag should be renewed about twice a week. 
 
 Take particular care to dry the skin well every 
 time he is washed ; then, as well as every night at 
 bedtime, rub a piece of deer's suet over the parts 
 affected ; a few dressings will perform a cure. 
 The deer's suet may be bought at any of the shops 
 where venison is sold. Another excellent remedy 
 is glycerine, which should be smeared, by means 
 of the finger or a camel's hair brush two or three 
 times a day on the parts affected. If the child is 
 very young, it may be necessary to dilute the 
 glycerine with rose water ; fill a small bottle one- 
 third with glycerine, and fill up the remaining 
 two-thirds of the bottle with rose water — shaking 
 
CHAPPED LIPS. 461 
 
 the bottle every time just before using it. The 
 best soap to use for chapped hands is the gly- 
 cerine soap. 
 
 Chapped lips. — Cold cream (which may be pro- 
 cured of any druggist) is an excellent application 
 for chapped lips. It ought to be frequently smeared 
 on the parts affected. 
 
 The different varieties of worms that infest a 
 child's bowels, are the tape-worm ; the long round- 
 worm ; and the most frequent of all, the common 
 thread or maw-worm. The tape-worm infests the 
 whole course of the bowels, both small and large; 
 the long round worm, principally the small 
 bowels, occasionally the stomach; it sometimes 
 crawls out of the child's mouth, causing alarm to 
 the mother ; there is no danger in its doing so ; the 
 common thread-worm or maw-worm infests the 
 rectum or fundament. 
 
 The causes of worms are : Weak bowels, bad 
 and improper food, such as unripe, unsound, or 
 uncooked fruit, and much green vegetables ; pork, 
 especially underdone pork;* and abundance of 
 sweets ; the want of salt in the food. 
 
 The symptoms of worms are — emaciation ; 
 itching and picking of the nose ; a dark mark 
 
 *One frequent, if not the most frequent, cause of tape-worm is 
 the eating of pork, more especially if it is not well cooked. Under- 
 done pork is the most unwholesome food that can be eaten, and the 
 most frequent cause of tape-worm known. Rare beef also gives tape- 
 worm; let the meat, therefore, be well and properly cooked. These 
 facts ought to be borne in mind, as prevention is always better than 
 cure. 
 
462 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 under the eyes ; grating of the teeth during sleep, 
 starting in the sleep ; foul breath ; furred tongue ; 
 uncertain appetite — sometimes voracious, at other 
 times bad, the little patient sitting down very 
 hungry to his dinner, and before scarcely tasting 
 a mouthful, the appetite vanishing; large bowels ; 
 colicky pains of the bowels, slimy motions ; itching 
 of the fundament. Tape-worm and round-worm, 
 more especially the former, are apt to produce 
 convulsions in children. Tape-worm is very 
 weakening to the constitution, and usually causes 
 great emaciation and general ill health ; the 
 sooner it is expelled from the bowels the better it 
 will be for the patient. 
 
 Many of the obscure diseases of children arise 
 from worms. In all doubtful cases this fact should 
 be borne in mind, in order that a thorough inves- 
 tigation may be instituted. 
 
 Let me caution a mother never to give her 
 child patent medicines for the destruction of 
 worms. There is one favorite quack powder v 
 which is composed principally of large doses ofc 
 calomel, and which is quite as likely to destroy 
 the patient as the worms. No, if your child has 
 worms, put him under the care of a judicious 
 physician, who will soon expel them, without, 
 at the same time, injuring health or constitution. 
 
 Worms generally infest weak bowels, hence the 
 moment a child becomes strong, worms cease to 
 exist. The reason why a child is so subject to 
 them is owing to the improper food which is 
 
WORMS — TREATMENT. 463 
 
 usually given to him. When he is stuffed with un- 
 sound and with unripe fruits, with much sweets, 
 with rich puddings, and with pastry, and when he 
 is oftentimes allowed to eat his meat without salt, 
 and to bolt his food without chewing it, is there 
 any wonder that he should suffer with worms? 
 The way to prevent them is to avoid such things, 
 and, at the same time, to give him plenty of salt to 
 his fresh and well-cooked meat. Salt strengthens 
 and assists digestion, and is absolutely necessary 
 to the human economy. Salt is most emphatically 
 a worm destroyer. The truth of this statement 
 may be readily tested by sprinkling a little 
 salt on a common earth-worm. Look well to 
 it, therefore, ye mothers, and beware of the conse- 
 quences of neglecting such advice, and see for 
 yourselves that your children regularly eat salt 
 with their food. If they neglect eating salt with 
 their food, they must of necessity have worms, and 
 worms that will eventual^ injure them, and make 
 them miserable. All food should be flavored with 
 salt ; flavored, that is, salt should be used in each 
 and every kind of food — not used in excess but in 
 moderation. 
 
 If a child is subject to a scabby eruption about 
 the mouth, leave it to nature. Do not, on any ac- 
 count, use any local application to heal it ; if you 
 do, you may produce injury ; you may either bring 
 on an attack of inflammation, or you may throw 
 him into convulsions. This breaking out is fre- 
 quently a safety-valve, and must not be needlessly 
 
464 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 interfered with. Should the eruption be severe, 
 reduce the child's diet, keep him from butter, from 
 gravy, and from fat meat, or from meat altogether 
 for a few days, and give him mild aperient medi- 
 cine. 
 
 Milk crust is a complaint of very young children 
 — of those who are cutting their teeth— and, as it is 
 a nasty looking complaint, and frequently gives a 
 mother a great deal of trouble, or anxiety and 
 annoyance, it will be well that you should know 
 its symptoms, its causes, and its probable duration. 
 
 Symptoms, — When a child is about nine months 
 or a year old, small pimples are apt to break out 
 around the ears, on the forehead, and on the head. 
 These pimples at length become vesicles (that is 
 they contain water), which run into one large one, 
 break, and form a nasty, dirty-looking, yellowish, 
 and sometimes greenish, scab, which scab is moist, 
 or sometimes quite wet, and gives out a disagree- 
 able odor, and which is sometimes so large on the 
 head as actually to form a skull cap, and so exten- 
 sive on the face as to form a mask. These I an? 
 happy to say, are rare cases. The child's beauty 
 is for a time completely destroyed, and not only 
 his beauty, but his good temper, for as the eruption 
 causes great irritation and itching, he is constantly 
 clawing himself, and crying with annoyance the 
 great part of the day, and sometimes of the night 
 — the eruption preventing him from sleeping. It 
 is not contagious, and soon after he has cut the 
 whole of his first set of teeth it will get well, pro- 
 
MILK CRUST — CAUSES. 461; 
 
 viding it has not been improperly interfered with. 
 
 Causes. — Irritation from teething, stuffing him 
 with over-much meat, thus producing a humor, 
 which Nature tries to get rid of by throwing it 
 out on the surface of the body, the safest place she 
 could fix on for the purpose, hence the folly and 
 danger of giving medicines and applying external 
 applications to drive the eruption in. Diseased 
 nature oftentimes breaks forth in strange eruptions, 
 and cures herself in this way, if she is not too much 
 interfered with, and if the eruption is not driven 
 in by injudicious treatment. I have known in such 
 cases disastrous consequences to follow over-offici- 
 ousness and meddlesomeness. Nature is trying all 
 she can to drive the humor out, while some wise- 
 acres are doing all they can to drive the humor in. 
 
 Duration. — As milk crust is a tedious affair, and 
 will require a variety of treatment, it will be neces- 
 sary to consult an experienced doctor, and although 
 he will be able to afford great relief, the child will 
 not, in all probability, be quite free from the erup- 
 tion until he has cut the whole of his first set of 
 teeth — until he is upward of two years and a half 
 old — when, with judicious and careful treatment, 
 it will gradually disappear, and eventually leave 
 not a trace behind. 
 
 It will be far better to leave the case alone — to 
 get well of itself — rather than to try to cure the 
 complaint either by outward applications or by 
 strong internal medicines. The remedy is often 
 worse than the disease ; of this I am perfectlv 
 convinced, 
 
/j.66 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 In consulting a doctor give him your entire con- 
 fidence. Be truthful and be candid with him. 
 Tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
 but the truth. Have no reservations; give him, 
 as near as you can, a plain, unvarnished statement 
 of the symptoms of the disease. Do not magnify, 
 and do not make too light of any of them. Be 
 prepared to state the exact time the child first 
 showed symptoms of illness. If he has had a 
 shivering fit, however slight, do not fail to tell 
 your physician of it. Note the state of the skin ; 
 if there is a breaking out — be it ever so trifling — 
 let it be pointed out to him. Make yourself ac- 
 quainted with the quantity and the appearance of 
 the urine, taking care to have a little of it saved, 
 in case the doctor may wish to see and examine 
 it. Take notice of the state of the motions — their 
 number during the twenty-four hours, their color, 
 their smell, and their consistence, keeping one for 
 his inspection. Never leave any of these ques- 
 tions to be answered by a servant; a mother is the 
 proper person to give the necessary and truthful 
 answers, which answers frequently decide the fate 
 of the patient. Bear in mind, then, the mother's 
 untiring care and love, attention and truthfulness, 
 frequently decide whether, in a serious illness, the 
 child shall live or die. 
 
 A doctor has arduous duties to perform ; 
 smooth, therefore, his path as much as you can, 
 and you will be amply repaid by the increasing 
 good he will be able to do .your child. Strictly 
 
VALUE OF WARM BATHS. 467 
 
 obey the doctor's orders — in diet, in medicine, in 
 everything. Never throw obstacles in his way. 
 Never omit any of his suggestions ; for, depend 
 upon it, that if he is a sensible man, his directions, 
 however slight, ought never to be neglected. 
 
 If the case is severe, requiring a second opinion, 
 never call in a physician without first consulting 
 and advising with your own doctor. It would be 
 an act of great discourtesy to do so. Inattention 
 to the foregoing advice has frequently caused 
 injury to the patient, and heart burnings and ill 
 will among doctors. 
 
 Warm baths are useful for convulsions, pains in 
 the bowels, restlessness from teething, and flatu- 
 lence. The warm bath acts as a fomentation to 
 the stomach and bowels, and gives ease where the 
 usual remedies do not rapidly relieve. 
 
 Carefully ascertain before he is immersed in 
 the bath that the water is neither too hot nor cold. 
 Carelessness, or over anxiety to put him in the 
 water as quickly as possible, has frequently caused 
 him great pain and suffering. From 96 to 98 
 Fahrenheit is the proper temperature of a warm 
 bath. If it is necessary to add fresh warm water, 
 let him be removed, or not put in when very hot; 
 for if boiling water is added to increase the heat 
 of the bath, it naturally ascends, and may scald 
 him. Again, let the fresh water be put in at as 
 great a distance from him as possible. The usual 
 time for him to remain in the bath is a quarter of 
 an hour or twenty minutes. Let the chest and 
 
468 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 bowels be rubbed by the hand while he is in the 
 bath. Let him be immersed in the bath as high 
 up as the neck, taking care that he is supported 
 under the arm-pits, and that his head is also rested. 
 As soon as he comes out of the bath, he ought to 
 be carefully but quickly rubbed dry, then put to 
 bed. If the desired relief has been obtained he 
 will fall into a sweet refreshing sleep. 
 
 When there is pain in the stomach or bowels, 
 there is nothing which affords greater or quicker 
 relief than the external application of heat. The 
 following are the four different methods of apply- 
 ing heat : A flannel bag of hot salt applied to the 
 stomach or the bowels, is an excellent remedy for 
 these pains. . A rubber hot water bottle,* half 
 filled with hot water, applied to the stomach or 
 bowels, will afford great comfort. Another excel- 
 lent remedy for these cases is a hot bran poultice. 
 To make this, stir bran into a vessel containing 
 either a pint or more of boiling water, until it is 
 of the consistence of a soft poultice, then put into 
 a flannel bag and apply to the part affected. When 
 cool, dip from time to time in hot water. In case 
 a child has a feverish cold, especially if it is at- 
 tended with pains in the bowels, a hot compress is 
 a good external application. Take a yard of 
 flannel, fold it in three widths, then dip it in very 
 hot water, wring it out tolerably dry, and apply it 
 
 *Every house where there are children ought to have one of these 
 rubber hot water bottles. 
 
value of WARM baths. 469 
 
 evenly and neatly round and round the bowels ; 
 over this, and to keep it in its place, put on a dry 
 flannel bandage. If it is put on at bedtime, it 
 ought to remain on all night. Where there are 
 children, it is desirable to have the yard of flannel 
 and the flannel bandage in readiness, and then a 
 mother will be prepared for emergencies. Either 
 of the above applications will usually afford great 
 relief. There is one great advantage in the ex- 
 ternal application of heat — it can never do harm ; 
 if there is inflammation, it will do good ; if cramps 
 or spasms of the stomach, it will be serviceable ; 
 if colic, it will be one of the best remedies that 
 can be used ; if a feverish cold, it will throw the 
 child into a perspiration, and prove beneficial. 
 
 It is well for a mother to know how to make a 
 white bread poultice. Scald a basin, for you can 
 never make a good poultice unless you have per- 
 fectly boiling water, then throw in coarsely crum- 
 bled bread, and cover with a plate. When the 
 bread has soaked up as much water as it will im- 
 bibe, drain off the remaining water, and there will 
 be a light pulp left. Spread it a third of an inch 
 thick on folded linen, and apply. It may be said 
 that this poultice will be very inconvenient if there 
 is no lard in it, for it will soon get dry ; but this is 
 the very thing you want, and it can easily be 
 moistened by dropping warm water on it, while a 
 greasy poultice will be moist, but not wet. 
 
 Accidents. — If a child cuts his finger, there is 
 nothing better than tying it up. Do not wash the 
 
4?0 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 blood away, but apply the rag at once, taking care 
 that no foreign substance is left in the wound. If 
 there is either glass or dirt in it, it will be neces- 
 sary to bathe the cut in warm water before the 
 bandage is applied. Some mothers use turpentine 
 on a fresh wound. This plan is cruel and unne- 
 cessary, and frequently makes the cut difficult to 
 heal. If it bleeds immoderately, sponge the wound 
 freely with cold water. 
 
 If a child receives a blow, causing a bruise r , imme- 
 diately smear a small lump of fresh butter on the 
 part affected, and renew it every few minutes for 
 two or three hours; this is an old fashioned, but a 
 very good remedy. If fresh butter is not at hand 
 olive oil may be used, or soak a piece of brown 
 paperin one-third of French brandy and two-thirds 
 of water, and immediately apply ; when dry, renew 
 it. Either of these simple plans will generally 
 prevent both swelling and disfiguration. 
 
 A black eye. — For a blow over the eye there is 
 no remedy superior to fresh butter. Well anoint 
 the parts for two or three inches around the eye, 
 renewing it every few minutes for the space of an 
 hour or two ; if well done the disagreeable ap- 
 pearance of a black eye will probably be prevented. 
 Another capital remedy is the arnica lotion • 
 
 Take of — Tincture of Arnica, one ounce ; 
 Water, seven ounces. 
 To make a lotion. Bathe the eye frequently by means of a soft 
 piece of linen with this lotion, and between times, let a piece of 
 linen wet in the lotion, be applied to the eye, and be fastened in its 
 place by means of a bandage. 
 
ACCIDENTAL POISONING. 4?f 
 
 If a child falls upon his head and is stunned, he 
 will look deadly pale, very much as if he had 
 fainted. In a few minutes he will in all proba- 
 bility, regain his consciousness. Sickness fre- 
 quently supervenes, which makes the case more 
 serious, it being a proof that injury, more or less 
 severe, has been done to the brain. 
 
 Immediately loosen his collar and tie, lay him 
 flat on his back, sprinkle cold water upon his face, 
 open the windows so as to admit plenty of fresh air, 
 and do not let people crowd around, nor shout to 
 make him speak. 
 
 While he is in an unconscious state, do not 
 allow a drop of blood to be taken from him, 
 either by leeches or from the arm ; if you do, he 
 will probably never rally, but will most likely 
 sleep the sleep that knows no waking. 
 
 Accidental poisoning. — It is a frequent practice 
 for a mother or nurse to leave external applica- 
 tions within the reach of a child. It is also highly 
 improper to put a mixture and an external appli- 
 cation on the same tray or on the same mantel- 
 piece. Many liniments contain large quantities of 
 opium, a teaspoonful of which would cause the 
 death of a child. Hartshorn and oil has fre- 
 quently been swallowed by children, and in sev- 
 eral instances has caused death. Many lotions 
 contain sugar of lead, which is also poisonous. 
 There is not generally sufficient lead in the lotion 
 to cause death ; but there is enough to make the 
 child very sick. All these accidents occur from 
 disgraceful carelessness. 
 

 4^2 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 'Before administering a dose of medicine to a 
 child a mother or nurse ought always to read the 
 label on the bottle. By adopting this simple plan 
 many serious accidents and much after misery* 
 may be averted. Again, I say, let every lotion, 
 every liniment, and indeed everything for external 
 use, be locked up or put out of the way, and far 
 away from all medicine that is given internally. 
 This advice admits of no exception. 
 
 If your child has swallowed a portion of a lini- 
 ment which contains opium, administer a strong 
 mustard emetic (composed of two teaspoonfuls of 
 flour of mustard; mixed with a half a teacupful of 
 warm water). Encourage the vomiting by after- 
 ward forcing him to swallow warm water. Tickle 
 the throat either with your finger or with a feather. 
 Plunge him alternately in a hot and then in a cold 
 bath. Dash cold water on his head and face. 
 Throw open the windows. Walk him about in 
 the open air. Rouse him by slapping him, by 
 pinching him, and by shouting to him ; rouse him, 
 indeed, by every means in your power, for if you 
 allow him to go to sleep, it will, in all probability, 
 be the sleep that knows no waking. 
 
 When a child has swallowed hartshorn and oil, 
 force him to drink vinegar and water, lemon-juice 
 and water sweetened with sugar, barley water, 
 and thin gruel. If he has swallowed a lead lotion, 
 give him a mustard emetic^ and then vinegar and 
 water, sweetened either with honey or with sugar, 
 to drink. 
 
IMPORTANT ADVICE. 4?3 
 
 Lucifer matches are very poisonous ; it is there- 
 fore desirable that they should be put out of the 
 reach of children. A mother ought to be very 
 strict with servants on this head. Matches are not 
 only poisonous but dangerous, as a child may set 
 himself on fire with them. 
 
 If a child's clothes take fire, lay him on the floor, 
 and roll him in the rug, in the carpet, or in any 
 thick article you may have at hand ; if it is woolen, 
 so much the better, or roll him over and over on 
 the floor; by excluding the air, the flame will go 
 out. It is important that a mother should culti- 
 vate presence of mind. If parents were better 
 prepared for such emergencies, such horrid dis- 
 figurations and frightful deaths would be less 
 frequent. Burns are generally more serious than 
 scalds. Burns and scalds are more dangerous on 
 the body, especially on the chest, than either on 
 the face or on the extremities. The younger the 
 child, the greater the danger. 
 
 Scalds both of the mouth and throat, from a 
 child drinking boiling water from the spout of a 
 tea-kettle, are most dangerous. A poor person's 
 child is sometimes shut up in the kitchen by him- 
 self, from the unavoidable absence of the mother, 
 and being very thirsty, and no other water at hand, 
 is tempted to drink from the tea-kettle. 
 
 The best immediate application to a scald or a burn 
 is flour. It ought to be thickly applied over the 
 part affected, and kept in place with a bandage, or 
 with strips of old linen. If this is done, almost 
 
474 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 instantaneous relief will be experienced, and the 
 burn or scald, if superficial, will soon be well. 
 The advantage of flour as a remedy is that it is al- 
 ways at hand. I have seen some extensive burns 
 and scalds cured by the above simple plan. Equal 
 parts of lime water and linseed oil make an ex- 
 cellent application for a burn or scald, and will 
 prevent blistering if faithfully used at once. 
 
 Prepared lard — that is lard without salt* — is an 
 admirable remedy for burns and scalds. The ad- 
 vantages of lard are : It is almost always at hand ; 
 is very cooling, soothing, and unirritating to the 
 part, and gives almost immediate freedom from 
 pain. It effectually protects and sheathes the 
 burn or scald from the air. It is readily and easily 
 applied ; all that has to be done is to spread on 
 pieces of old linen or on lint, and apply smoothly 
 to the parts affected, keeping them in their places 
 by means of bandages. 
 
 Cold applications, such .as cold water, cold 
 vinegar and water, and cold lotions, are most in- 
 jurious, and in many cases, even dangerous. 
 Scraped potatoes, sliced cucumber, salt, and spirits 
 of turpentine, have all been recommended, but in 
 my practice nothing has been so efficacious as the 
 remedies above enumerated. 
 
 Do not wash the wound, and do not dress it 
 more frequently than every other day. If there is 
 
 * If there is no other lard in the house but lard -with salt, the salt 
 may be readily removed by washing the lard in cold water. Prepared 
 lard — lard without salt — can be procured from the nearest druggist in 
 the neighborhood. 
 
SCALDS AND BURNS— TREATME.x I . 475 
 
 much discharge, absorb it with soft linen, but do 
 not, on any account, let the burn be rubbed or 
 roughly handled. I am convinced that, in the 
 majority of cases, wounds are too frequently 
 dressed, and that the washing of wounds prevents 
 their healing. 
 
 After the first two days, if severe, the burn or 
 the scald may require different dressings. 
 
 If the scald is either on the leg or foot, a com- 
 mon practice is to take the shoe and stocking off. 
 In this operation the skin is also at the same time 
 very apt to be removed. Both the shoe and the 
 stocking ought to be slit and taken off, so that 
 neither unnecessary pain nor mischief may be 
 caused. 
 
 If a bit of quicklime should accidentally enter the 
 eye of a child, instantly, but tenderly, either by 
 means of a camel's hair brush, or by a small spill 
 of paper remove any bit of lime that may adhere 
 to the ball of the eye, or be in the eye, or on the 
 eyelashes. Then well bathe the eye, using vinegar 
 and water, one part of vinegar and three parts of 
 water. Bathe the eye for at least a quarter of 
 an hour. The vinegar will neutralize the lime, 
 and will rob it of its burning properties. 
 
 Having bathed the eye with vinegar and water 
 for a quarter of an hour, bathe it for another 
 quarter of an hour with warm water, after which, 
 drop into the eye two or three drops of the best 
 sweet oil. An eye-shade made of three thick- 
 nesses of linen covered with green silk should be 
 
476 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 worn until the eye has fully recovered. If tK 
 above rules are not promptly and properly followed 
 the child may irreparably lose his eyesight. 
 
 The above accident is apt to occur to a child 
 who is standing near a building when the slacking 
 of quicklime is going on, and where portions of 
 lime in the form of powder are flying about the 
 air. It will be well not to allow a child to stand 
 about such places, as prevention is always better 
 than cure. Quicklime is sometimes called caustic 
 lime ; it well deserves its name, for it is a burning 
 lime, and if the proper means are not promptly 
 used, will soon burn away the sight. 
 
 If there is grit, sand, dust, a particle of coal, a 
 gnat, a hair, or an eyelash in the eye, it ought to 
 be tenderly removed by a small tightly folded 
 paper spill, holding down the lower lid with the 
 forefinger of the left hand ; and the eye, if in- 
 flamed, should be frequently bathed with warm 
 milk and water. Generally as soon as the cause 
 is removed the effect will cease, and after treat- 
 ment will be unnecessary. Any foreign substance, 
 however minute, in the eye is very painful ; but a 
 piece of burning lime is excruciating. 
 
 Choking. — Often, a child fills his mouth full and 
 swallows lumps of food in such haste as to choke. 
 
 Treatment. — Instantly put your finger into the 
 throat and feel if the substance is within reach ; if 
 it is food, force it down, and thus liberate the 
 breathing ; should it be a hard substance, endeavor 
 to hook it out ; if you cannot reach it, give a good 
 
CHOKING — TREATMENT. 477 
 
 smart blow or two with the flat of the hand on 
 the back ; or on the chest, taking care to seize the 
 little patient, and place him between your knees 
 sidewise, and in this or some other manner com- 
 press the abdomen, otherwise the blow will be lost 
 by the yielding of the diaphragm and the respira- 
 tory effort will not be produced. If that does not 
 have the desired effect, tickle the throat with your 
 finger, so as to insure immediate vomiting, and 
 subsequent ejection of the offending substance. 
 
 The bite of a dog or cat, especially the latter, is 
 often venomous and difficult to heal. The best 
 application is, to immediately cauterize the wound 
 or wash the part with hartshorn, with a little 
 water added, then apply a large hot white bread 
 poultice to the part, and renew it every four hours. 
 If there is much pain in the wound, foment the 
 part, every time before applying the poultice, 
 with a hot camomile and poppy-head fomentation. 
 Scratches of a cat are best treated by freely smear- 
 ing fresh butter on the part affected. If fresh 
 butter is not at hand, fresh lard — lard without salt 
 — will answer the purpose. If the pain of the 
 scratch is intense, foment the part affected with 
 hot water, then apply a hot white bread poultice, 
 which should be frequently renewed. 
 
 /;/ case of a sting from a bee or wasp, extract the 
 sting, if left behind, by means of a pair of forceps, 
 or by the pressure of the hollow of a small key — a 
 watch key will answer the purpose, wash with 
 hartshorn and water, then the blue-bag (which is 
 
478 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 used in washing) moistened with water, should be 
 applied to the part ; or a few drops of solution of 
 potash, or apply moist tobacco, rubbing it well in- 
 and renew from time to time. If either of these 
 are not at hand, either honey, treacle, or fresh 
 butter, will answer the purpose. Should there be 
 much swelling or inflammation, foment the part 
 with hot water, and apply a hot bread poultice. 
 
 For abrasions of the skin, arnica court plaster 
 will be found an excellent remedy. When wanted, 
 cut a portion as large as may be requisite, moisten 
 it with the tongue, in the same manner as you 
 would a postage stamp, and apply it to the grazed 
 part. It may be removed when necessary by 
 simply wetting with water. The part in two or 
 three days will be well. 
 
 In case a child swallows either laudanum, paregoric ', 
 Godfrey s Cordial, or any other preparation of 
 opium, give, as quickly as possible, a strong mus- 
 tard emetic. Mix two teaspoonfuls of flour of 
 mustard in half a teacupful of water, and force it 
 down his throat. If free vomiting is not induced, 
 tickle the upper part of the throat with a feather, 
 drench the little patient's stomach with large 
 quantities of warm water. As soon as it can be 
 obtained from a druggist, give the following 
 emetic : 
 
 Take of — Sulphate of Zinc, one scruple; 
 
 Simple Syrup, one dram; 
 
 Distilled Water, seven drams. 
 To make a draught. 
 
HOW TO REMOVE INSECTS FROM THE EAR. 479 
 
 Slap his thighs and back ; walk, lead or carry 
 him about in the fresh air ; shake him by the 
 shoulders; pull his hair, tickle his nostrils ; shout 
 in his ears ; plunge him into a warm bath and then 
 into a cold one alternately ; well sponge his head 
 and face with cold water ; dash cold water on his 
 head, face and neck ; and do not, on any account, 
 until the effects of the opiates are gone, allow him 
 to go to sleep ; if you do, he will never wake. 
 
 If a child has put either a pea, bean, bead, 
 cherry stone, or any other smooth substance, into 
 his ear, turn his head on one side, in order to let 
 the ear with the pea or bead in it be undermost, 
 then give with the flat of your hand two or three 
 sharp, sudden slaps or boxes on the other, ox upper- 
 most ear, and most likely the offending substance 
 will drop out. Poking at the ear will, in the 
 majority of cases, only send the substance further 
 in, and make it more difficult to remove. 
 
 If an earwig, or any other living thing should 
 get into the ear of a child, lay the child on his 
 side, the affected ear being uppermost, and fill the 
 ear, from a teaspoon, with either water or sweet 
 oil. The water or oil will carry the insect out of 
 the ear, and the child is at once relieved. Dr. B. 
 F. Kinsley, U. S. A., relates a number of cases 
 where soldiers sleeping on the plains have come to 
 him to have bugs removed from their ears. Acci- 
 dentally he discovered that by holding a lighted 
 candle near the ear, the insects would at once 
 leave the cavity and come forth. The patient 
 should be in the dark when this is done. 
 
480 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 If a child swallows a piece of broken glass, avoid 
 purgatives, as the free action of the bowels would 
 be likely to force the spiculae of glass into the 
 mucous membrane of the bowels, and thus would 
 wound them, and might cause ulceration, and even 
 death. The object of treatment will be to allow 
 them to pass through the intestines well enveloped 
 by other contents of the tube ; and for the purpose 
 a solid, farinaceous diet should be ordered, and 
 purgatives scrupulously avoided. If a child swal- 
 lows a pin, treat him as for broken glass. Give 
 him no aperients, or it might, in action, force the 
 pin into the bowel. 
 
 If a child swallows a coin of any kind, there is, as 
 a rule, no danger. A dose or two of castor oil 
 will be all that is usually necessary. The evacu- 
 ations ought to be carefully examined until the 
 coin is discovered. I once knew a child to swallow 
 a penny piece and pass it in his stool. 
 
 A mother can usually prevent her child from 
 having an accident, by strict supervision over him 
 on her own part, and by not permitting the child 
 to be left to the tender mercies of servants ; by 
 not allowing him to play with fire, to swing over 
 banisters, and to have knives and playthings of a 
 dangerous character ; to keep all poisonous articles 
 and cutting instruments out of his reach ; and, 
 above all, insisting, lovingly, affectionately, but 
 firmly, upon implicit obedience. Accidents gen- 
 erally arise from one of three causes: Either 
 from wilful disobedience, from gross carelessness, 
 
GENERAL TREATMENT. 48 1 
 
 or from downright folly. I quite agree with 
 Davenant, that they do not arise from chance. 
 
 Remarks on the management of a sick room. — In 
 sickness, select a large and lofty room ; if in the 
 town, the back of the house will be preferable — in 
 order to keep the patient free from noise and bustle 
 — as a sick chamber cannot be kept too quiet. Be 
 sure that there is a chimney in the room — as there 
 ought to be in every room in the house — and that 
 it is not stopped, as it will help to carry off the 
 impure air of the apartment. Keep the chamber 
 well ventilated, by opening the window from time 
 to time. The air of the apartment cannot be too 
 pure; therefore, let the evacuations from the 
 bowels be instantly removed, either to a distant 
 part of the house, to an outhouse, or to the cellar, 
 as it may be necessary to keep them for the phy- 
 sician's inspection. 
 
 Before using either the night-commode, or the 
 pot-de-chambre, let a little water be put in the pan, 
 or chambre, in order to sweeten the motion, and 
 prevent the fascal matter from adhering to the 
 vessel. Let there be frequent change of linen, as 
 in sickness it is even more necessary than in health. 
 Especially is this true if the complaint is fever. 
 In an attack of fever, clean sheets ought to be put 
 on the bed every other day ; clean body-linen 
 every day. A frequent change of linen in sick- 
 ness is most refreshing. 
 
 If the complaint is fever, a fire in the grate 
 will not be necessary. Should it be a case of in- 
 
482 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 flammation of the lungs or of the chest, a small 
 fire in the winter time is desirable, keeping the 
 temperature of the room as nearly as possible at 
 6o° Fahrenheit. Bear in mind that a large fire in 
 a sick room cannot be too strongly condemned; 
 for if there is fever — and there are scarcely any 
 complaints without — a large fire only increases it. 
 Small fires encourage ventilation of the apartment, 
 and thus carry off impure air. If it is summer 
 time, fires would be improper. A thermometer is 
 an indispensable requisite in a sick room. 
 
 In fever, free and thorough ventilation is of 
 vital importance, more especially in scarlet fever ; 
 then a patient cannot have too much air. In 
 scarlet fever, for the first few days, the windows, 
 be it winter or summer, must be judiciously 
 opened. The fear of the patient catching cold by 
 doing so is one of the numerous prejudices and 
 baseless fears that haunt the nursery, and the 
 sooner it is exploded the better it will be for 
 human life. 
 
 If it is a case of measles, it will be necessary to 
 adopt a different course ; then the windows ought 
 not to be opened, but the door must from time to 
 time be left ajar. In the case of measles, if it is 
 winter time, a small fare in the room will be neces- 
 sary. In inflammation of the lungs or of the chest, 
 the windows should not be opened, but the door 
 ought occasionally to be left unfastened, in order 
 to change the air and make it pure. Remember 
 that ventilation, either by open window or by open 
 
GENERAL TREATMENT. 483 
 
 door, is in all diseases most necessary. Ventilation 
 is one of the best friends a doctor has. 
 
 In fever, do not load the bed with clothes ; in 
 the summer a sheet is sufficient, in winter a sheet 
 and a blanket. In fever do not be afraid of al- 
 lowing the patient plenty of cold water or cold 
 toast and water; Nature will tell him when 
 he has had enough. In measles, let the chill be 
 taken off the toast and water. In croup, have al- 
 ways ready a plentiful supply of hot water, in case 
 a warm bath is required. In cJiild-cr owing, have 
 always in the sick room a supply of cold water, 
 ready at a moment's notice to dash upon the face. 
 
 In fever, do not let the little patient lie on the 
 lap ; he will rest more comfortably on a hair mat- 
 tress in his crib or cot. If he has pain in the 
 bowels, the lap is most agreeable to him ; the 
 warmth of the body, either of the mother or of 
 the nurse, soothes him ; besides, if he is on the 
 lap, he can be turned on his stomach and on his 
 bowels, which often affords him great relief and 
 comfort. If he is much emaciated, when he is 
 nursed, place a pillow upon the lap and let him lie 
 upon it. 
 
 In head affections, darken the room with a green 
 blind ; keep the chamber more than usually quiet ; 
 let what little talking is necessary be carried on in 
 whispers, but the less of that the better ; and in 
 head affections, never allow smelling salts to be ap- 
 plied to the nose, as they only increase the flow of 
 blood to the head, and consequently do harm, 
 
484 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 It is often a good sign for a child, who is 
 seriously ill, to suddenly become cross. It is then 
 he begins to feel his weakness and to give vent to 
 his feelings. Children are almost always cross 
 when recovering from an illness, however patient 
 they may have been during its severest moments, 
 and the phenomenon is not by any means confined 
 to children. 
 
 A sick child must not be stuffed with much food 
 at a time. He will take a tablespoonful of new 
 milk or a tablespoonful of chicken broth every 
 half hour with greater advantage than a teacupful 
 of one or the other every four hours. The large 
 quantity would probably be rejected from his 
 stomach, and may cause the unfortunately treated 
 child to die of starvation. If a sick child is 
 peevish, attract his attention by a toy or an orna- 
 ment ; if he is cross, win him over to good humor 
 by love, affection, and caresses, but let it be done 
 gently and without noise. Do not let visitors see 
 him; they will only excite, distract, and irritate 
 him, and help to consume the oxygen of the at- 
 mosphere, and thus rob the air of its exhilarating 
 health-giving qualities and purity; a sick room, 
 therefore, is not a proper place, either for visitors 
 or for gossips. 
 
 In selecting a sick nurse, let her be gentle, 
 patient, cheerful, quiet, and kind, but firm withal. 
 She ought to be neither old nor young. If she is 
 old she is often garrulous and prejudiced, and 
 thinks too much of her trouble ; it she is young, 
 
GENERAL TREATMENT. 485 
 
 she is frequently thoughtless and noisy ; therefore 
 choose a middle-aged woman. In the sick room 
 do not let there be more than one efficient nurse 
 besides the mother. A greater number can be of 
 no service — they will only be in each other's way, 
 and will distract the patient. 
 
 Let stillness reign in a sick room. Creaking 
 shoes and rustling silk dresses ought not to be 
 worn in sick chambers — they are quite out of 
 place there. If the child is asleep, or if he is doz- 
 ing, perfect stillness must be enjoined, not even a 
 whisper should be heard. 
 
 If there are other children, let them be removed 
 to a distant part of the house ; or, if the disease is 
 of an infectious nature, send them away from home 
 altogether. 
 
 In an illness — and bear in mind the following is 
 most important advice — a child must be encour- 
 aged to try and urinate, whether he asks or not, at 
 least four times during the twenty-four hours ; and 
 at any other time, if he express the slightest indi- 
 cation to do so. I have known a little fellow to 
 hold his urine to his great detriment, for twelve 
 hours, because either the mother had forgotten to 
 inquire, or the child was too ill or too indolent to 
 make the attempt. 
 
 See that the doctor's directions are carried out 
 to the very letter. Do not fancy that you know 
 better than he does, otherwise you have no busi- 
 ness to employ him. Let him have your implicit 
 confidence and your exact obedience. What you 
 
486 CHILDREN AND THEIR DISEASES. 
 
 may consider to be a trifling matter, may fre- 
 quently be of the utmost importance, and may 
 sometimes decide whether the case shall end in 
 life or death. 
 
 Every mother should have a general idea of 
 what the pulse of children of different ages should 
 be in health and in disease. Every person should 
 know how to ascertain the state of the pulse in 
 health ; then, by comparing it with what it is when 
 he is ailing, he may have some idea of the urgency 
 of his case. Parents should know the healthy 
 pulse of each child, since now and then a person is 
 born with a peculiarly slow or fast pulse, and the 
 very case in hand may be of such peculiarity. An 
 infant's pulse is 140, a child of seven about 80, and 
 from 20 to 60 years it is 70 beats a minute, declin- 
 ing to 60 at fourscore. At 60, if the pulse always 
 exceeds 70, there is a disease; the machine work- 
 ing itself out, there is a fever or inflammation 
 somewhere, and the body is feeding on itself, as in 
 consumption, when the pulse is quick. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 YOUTH. 
 
 Standing with reluctant feet, 
 Where the brook and river meet, 
 Womanhood and childhood fleet. 
 
 —Longfellow. 
 
 Bathing. — Thorough ablution of the body every 
 morning at least, is essential to health. I maintain 
 that no one can be in the enjoyment of perfect 
 health who does not keep the whole of the skin 
 clean. In the absence of cleanliness, a pellicle 
 forms on the skin which engenders disease. A 
 person who does not keep his skin clean is more 
 susceptible to contagious disease, such as small- 
 pox, typhus fever, cholera, diphtheria, scarlet fever, 
 etc. Besides, ablution is a delightful process ; it 
 makes one feel fresh, sweet, young and healthy ; it 
 makes the young look handsome, and the old look 
 young. Thorough ablution may truly be said 
 both to renovate and to rejuvenize. A scrupu- 
 lously clean skin is one of the grand distinctive 
 characteristics both of a lady and of a gentleman. 
 
 It is important that parts that are covered 
 should be kept cleaner than parts exposed to the 
 air, as dirt is more apt to fester in dark places ; be- 
 
 (487) 
 
488 YOUTH. 
 
 sides, parts exposed to the air have the advantage 
 of the air's sweetening properties ; air acts as a 
 bath, and purifies the skin amazingly. 
 
 It is desirable to commence a complete system 
 of bathing early in life, as it then becomes a second 
 nature, and cannot afterward be dispensed with. 
 One accustomed to morning ablution would feel 
 most uncomfortable should anything prevent his 
 taking it, and as soon think of dispensing with 
 breakfast as with his bath. Where there is not a 
 bathroom in the house, every boy, every girl, and 
 every adult, ought each to have a room or a 
 dressing-room to himself or to herself, in order that 
 he or she may disrobe and thoroughly wash ; no 
 one can wash properly and effectually without 
 doing so. 
 
 A little warm water may be added, to take off 
 the chill. The body ought to be quickly dried, 
 first with the wash cloth, and then the Turkish 
 towel. In drying the back and loins throw the 
 Turkish towel over the shoulders and move it a 
 few times from side to side, until the parts are dry. 
 
 A boy ought to wash his head every morning 
 with soap and water, a girl, who has much hair, 
 once a week. The hair, if not frequently washed, 
 gets very dirty, and nothing is more repulsive than 
 a dirty head. 
 
 Let me strongly urge you to teach your sons 
 and daughters to swim. Swimming is a glorious 
 exercise — one of the best that can be taken ; it ex- 
 pands the chest ; promotes digestion ; develops the 
 
SWIMMING AND BATHING. 489 
 
 muscles, and brings into action some muscles that 
 by any other form of exercise are but seldom 
 brought into play ; it strengthens and braces the 
 whole frame, and thus makes the swimmer resist 
 the liability of catching cold ; it gives both boys 
 and girls courage, energy, and self-reliance, splen- 
 did qualities in this rough world of ours. Swim- 
 ming is often the means of saving human life. This 
 of itself would be a great recommendation of its 
 value. It is a delightful amusement ; to breast the 
 waves is as exhilarating to the spirits as clearing 
 a five barred gate on horseback. The art of swim- 
 ming is quite as necessary to be learned by a girl 
 as a boy ; the former has similar muscles, lungs, 
 and other organs to develop, as the latter. 
 
 A boy, after using the cold bath, ought, if it 
 agrees with him, to experience a pleasing glow 
 over the whole surface of his body, his spirits and 
 appetite should be increased, and he ought to feel 
 stronger, but if it disagrees with him, a chilliness 
 and coldness, a lassitude and a depression of spirits, 
 will be the result, the face will be pale and the 
 features pinched, and, in some instances, the lips 
 and nails will become blue. All these are signs 
 that cold bathing is injurious, and that it ought on 
 no account to be persevered in. A tepid bath may 
 be taken at almost any time, and a bather may re- 
 main longer in one, with safety, than in a cold bath. 
 
 A warm bath may be occasionally used with 
 advantage — say, once a week. A warm bath 
 cleanses the skin more effectually than either a cold 
 
490 YOUTH, 
 
 or a tepid bath, but, as it is more relaxing, ought 
 not to be employed so often as either of them. A 
 person should not continue longer than ten minutes 
 in a warm bath. Once a week, as a rule, is quite 
 often enough for a warm bath, and it would be an 
 excellent plan if every boy and girl and adult 
 would make a practice of having one regularly 
 every week, unless some special reason should arise 
 to forbid its use. 
 
 A person, immediately after using a warm bath, 
 should take proper precautions — that is, he must 
 not expose himself to draughts, wash in cold water, 
 or drink ice water. But he may follow his usual 
 exercise or employment, providing the weather is 
 fine. 
 
 Management of the hair. — The best application 
 for the hair is a sponge, cold water and two good 
 hair brushes. Avoid oil, pomatum, bandoline, and 
 all abominations of that kind. There is a natural 
 oil of the hair, which is far superior to any other 
 oil. The best odor for the hair is an occasional 
 dressing of soap and water, the best beautifier of 
 the hair is a downright thorough good brushing 
 with two good hair brushes. Again, I say, avoid 
 oil of all kinds for the hair. If the hair falls off, 
 cocoanut oil is an excellent application, and can 
 never do harm, which is more than can be said of 
 many vaunted remedies. 
 
 Clothing. — Flannel is as necessary in the summer 
 as in the winter ; indeed, we are more likely to sit 
 and stand in draughts in the summer than in the 
 
 
CLOTHING — CORSETS. 49 1 
 
 winter, and thus are more liable to become chilled 
 and to take cold. Woolen shirts are very com- 
 fortable and beneficial to health. They simplify 
 the dress, as they supersede the necessity of wearing 
 both flannel and linen, or flannel and calico shirts. 
 
 Flannel sometimes produces great irritation of 
 the skin ; to prevent it have a moderately fine 
 flannel, and persevere in its use. The skin in a few 
 days will bear it comfortably. The Angola and 
 woven silk have been recommended as substitutes, 
 but there is nothing equal to the old-fashioned 
 Welsh flannel. On recovering from a severe 
 attack of rheumatic fever, flannel next to the skin 
 ought always to be worn winter and summer — 
 flannel drawers, as well as a flannel vest. For 
 winter the stockings ought to be of lambs wool or 
 worsted ; it is absurd to wear cotton stockings all 
 the year round. Boys and girls cannot be too 
 particular in keeping their feet warm and dry, as 
 cold, wet feet are one of the most frequent causes 
 of bronchitis, sore throats and consumption. 
 
 When should a girl begin to wear corsets? She 
 ought never to wear them. Stays do not strengthen 
 the body ; on the contrary, they weaken it. The 
 pressure upon the muscles causes them to waste, 
 so that in the end, a girl cannot do without them. 
 The stays are then obliged to perform the duty of 
 the wasted muscles. They weaken the lungs by in- 
 terfering with their functions. Every inspiration 
 is accompanied by a movement of the ribs. If 
 this movement is impeded, the functions of the 
 
492 YOUTH. 
 
 lungs are impeded likewise, and, consequently, 
 disease is likely to follow, and either difficulty of 
 breathing, cough or consumption may ensue. 
 They weaken the heart's action, and thus frequently 
 produce palpitation, and eventually organic or in- 
 curable disease of the heart. They weaken the 
 digestion by pushing down the stomach and liver, 
 and by compressing the latter, and thus induce 
 indigestion, flatulence and liver disease. They 
 weaken the bowels by impeding their peristaltic 
 motion, and thus produce either constipation or 
 rupture. Is it not presumptuous to imagine that 
 man can improve upon God's works, and that if 
 more support had been required, the Almighty 
 would not have given it. 
 
 Girls and boys, especially the former, are too 
 much confined within doors. It is imperatively 
 necessary, if you wish them to be strong and 
 healthy, that they should have plenty of fresh air 
 and exercise. Remember, I mean fresh air — 
 country air, not the close air of a town. By exer- 
 cise, I mean the free unrestrained use of the limbs. 
 In this respect girls are unfortunately worse off 
 than boys. Although they have similar muscles 
 to develop, similar lungs that require fresh air, and 
 similar nerves that are to be braced and strength- 
 ened, it is not considered lady-like to be natural. 
 All their movements must be measured by rule 
 and compass. The reason why so many young 
 girls of the present day are so sallow, under-sized 
 and ill-shaped, is for want of air and exercise. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUSCLES. 493 
 
 The best exercise for a youth is walking or run- 
 ning ; providing either of them is not carried to 
 fatigue, — the slightest approach to it should warn 
 a youth to desist from carrying it any further. 
 Walking is not sufficiently insisted upon. A boy 
 or girl, to be in the enjoyment of good health, 
 ought to walk at least ten miles a day. I do not 
 mean ten miles at a stretch, but at different times 
 of the day. Some young ladies think it an exceed- 
 ingly long walk if they manage a couple of miles. 
 With such exercise how can they expect to do 
 well? How can their muscles be developed? 
 How can their nerves be braced? How can their 
 spines be strengthened, and be straight? How 
 can their blood course merrily through their veins ? 
 How can their chests expand and become strong? 
 It is impossible! Ill health must be the penalty of 
 such indolence, for nature will not be trifled with ! 
 Walking is the finest exercise that can be taken. 
 It must be taken, and that without stint, if boys 
 and girls are to be strong and well. Let me en- 
 treat you then to insist upon your girls and boys 
 taking plenty of exercise ; let them almost live in 
 the open air! Do not coddle them ; this is a rough 
 world of ours, and they must rough it ; they must 
 be knocked about a great deal, and the knocks will 
 do them good. Poor youths who are tied, as it 
 were, to their mother's apron strings, are much to 
 be pitied ; they are usually puny and delicate, and 
 effeminate, and utterly deficient in self-reliance. 
 
 Riding on horseback is both an exercise and an 
 
494 YOUTHo 
 
 amusement, and is peculiarly suitable for the fair 
 sex, more especially as their modes of exercise are 
 somewhat limited, ladies being excluded from fol- 
 lowing many games, such as cricket and foot-ball, 
 both of which are practiced with such zest and 
 benefit by boys. 
 
 In summer the best time of day for taking ex- 
 ercise is early in the morning and before break- 
 fast, as cool morning air exhilarates young blood 
 like wine. If a boy cannot take exercise on an 
 empty stomach, let him have a slice of bread and 
 a glass of milk. When he returns he will be 
 able to do justice to his breakfast. In fine weather 
 he cannot take too much exercise, providing it is 
 not carried to fatigue. He ought not to take exer- 
 cise immediately after a hearty meal, say for half 
 an hour after, or it will be likely to interfere with 
 his digestion. 
 
 Amusements. — The amusements most beneficial to 
 health, are manly games — such as rowing, skating, 
 cricket, quoits, foot-ball, rackets, single-stick, 
 bandy, bowls, skittles, and all gymnastic exercises. 
 Such games bring the muscles into proper action, 
 and thus cause them to be fully developed. They 
 expand and strengthen the chest ; they cause a due 
 circulation of the blood, making it bound merrily 
 through the bloodvessels, and thus diffuse health 
 and happiness in its course. If games were more 
 patronized in youth, so many miserable, nervous, 
 useless creatures would not abound. Let a boy or 
 girl have plenty of play ; let half the time be spent 
 jn play. 
 
AMUSEMENTS. 495 
 
 First of all, make your boys and girls strong, 
 by an abundance of exercise and fresh air, and 
 then they will be ready and able to have their 
 minds properly cultivated. Unfortunately, in this 
 enlightened age, we commence at the wrong end 
 — we put the cart before the horse — v/e begin by 
 cultivating the mind, and we leave the body to be 
 taken care of afterward ; the results are, broken 
 health, precocious, stunted, crooked, and deformed 
 youths, and premature decay. 
 
 One great advantage of gymnastic exercise is, 
 it makes the chest expand, it fills the lungs with 
 air, and by doing so strengthens them amazingly, 
 and wards off many diseases. The lungs are not 
 sufficiently exercised and expanded ; boys and 
 girls especially, as a rule, do not half fill their 
 lungs with air; now air is food to the lungs, and 
 portions of the lungs have not half their proper 
 food, in consequence of which they suffer. 
 
 It is very desirable that every boy and girl 
 should go through a regular breathing exercise each 
 day. They should be made to stand upright, 
 throw back the shoulders, and alternately and reg- 
 ularly fully fill and fully empty the lungs of air. 
 If this plan were daily followed, devoting fifteen 
 or twenty minutes to the exercise, the chest and 
 lungs would be wonderfully invigorated, and the 
 whole body benefited. 
 
 Amusements for a girl. — Archery, skipping, 
 lawn-tennis, horseback riding, hand-swing, and 
 skating, are among the best. Archery expands 
 
496 youth. 
 
 the chest, throws back the shoulders, thus im- 
 proving the figure, and developing the muscles. 
 Skipping is exceedingly good exercise for a girl, 
 every part of the body being put into action by it. 
 Horseback riding is splendid for a girl ; it im- 
 proves the figure amazingly — it is most exhila- 
 rating and amusing; it also gives courage and 
 makes her self-reliant. Croquet develops and im- 
 proves the muscles of the arms, beautifies the 
 complexion, strengthens the back, and throws out 
 the chest. Croquet is for girls and women what 
 cricket is for boys and men — a glorious game. 
 Croquet has improved the health and happiness of 
 womankind more than any game ever before in- 
 vented. Skating is excellent exercise, it improves 
 the figure, and makes a girl balance and carry her- 
 self upright and well ; it is a most becoming ex- 
 ercise, in every way to be commended. 
 
 Choice of profession or trade. — If a youth is deli- 
 cate, it is a common practice among parents either 
 to put him to some light indoor trade, or if it can 
 be afforded, to one of the learned professions. 
 Such a practice is absurd and full of danger. 
 The close confinement of an indoor trade is highly 
 prejudicial to health. The hard reading requisite 
 to fit a man to fill, for instance, the sacred office, 
 only increases any delicacy of constitution. The 
 stooping at a desk, in an attorney's office, is most 
 trying to the chest. The harass, anxiety, dis- 
 turbed nights, interrupted meals, and intense 
 study necessary to fit a man for the medical pro- 
 
CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 497 
 
 fession, is still more dangerous to health than 
 either law, divinity, or any indoor trade. If a boy 
 is delicate or of consumptive habit, an outdoor 
 calling should be advised, such as that of a farmer. 
 a tanner, a land surveyor or a butcher. Tanners 
 and butchers are seldom known to die of con- 
 sumption. 
 
 I cannot refrain from reprobating the too com- 
 mon practice among parents of bringing up their 
 boys to the professions. The anxieties and the 
 heartaches which they undergo if they do not suc- 
 ceed (and how can many of them succeed when 
 there is such a superabundance of candidates?) 
 materially injure the health. There is nothing so 
 injurious for a delicate boy, or for any one else, as 
 idleness. Work, in moderation, enlivens the spirits, 
 braces the nerves, gives tone to the muscles, and 
 strengthens the constitution. Of all miserable 
 people, the idle boy, or idle man, is the most mis- 
 erable. If you are poor, of course you will bring 
 your boy up to some calling ; but if rich, and your 
 boy is delicate, if you are wise you will bring him 
 up to some trade or profession. Otherwise, you 
 will be making a rod for your own as well as for 
 your son's back. Oh, what a blessed thing is work! 
 
 Fresh air during sleep is indispensable to health. — 
 If a bedroom is close, the sleep, instead of being 
 calm and refreshing, is broken and disturbed; when 
 the boy awakes in the morning, he feels more 
 fatigued than when he retired to rest. If sleep is 
 to be refreshing, the air must be pure, and free 
 
 3» 
 
4.98 YOUTH. 
 
 from carbonic acid gas, which is constantly being- 
 evolved from the lungs. If the sleep is to be 
 health-giving, the lungs ought to have oxygen — 
 their proper food — -and not to be cheated by giv- 
 ing them instead a poison — carbonic acid gas. 
 
 It would be well for each child to have a 
 separate room himself. If two boys are obliged to 
 sleep in one room, or if two girls are compelled 
 to occupy the same chamber, by all means let each 
 have a separate bed, as it is much more healthy 
 and expedient for both boy and girl to sleep alone. 
 Sleeping rooms are, generally, the smallest in the 
 house, whereas, for health's sake, they ought to be 
 the largest. 
 
 Plants and flowers ought not to be allowed to 
 remain in a chamber at night. Experiments have 
 proved that plants and flowers in the daytime 
 take up carbonic acid gas (the refuse of respira- 
 tion), and give off oxygen (a gas so necessary 
 and beneficial to health), but give out at night a 
 poisonous exhalation. 
 
 Early rising cannot be too strongly insisted 
 upon ; nothing is more conducive to health and 
 thus to long life. A youth is frequently allowed 
 to spend the early part of the morning in bed, 
 breathing the impure atmosphere of a bedroom, 
 when he should be up and inhaling the balmy and 
 health-giving breezes of the morning. If early 
 rising is commenced in childhood it becomes a 
 habit, and will continue through life. A boy 
 ought on no account to be roused from his sleep ; 
 
SLEEP— EARLY RISING. 499 
 
 but, as soon as he is awake in the morning-, he 
 should be encouraged to j;ise. Dozing — that state 
 between sleeping and waking — is injurious; it 
 enervates both body and mind, and is as detri- 
 mental to health as dram drinking. But if he rises 
 early he must go to bed betimes ; it is a bad prac- 
 tice to keep him up until the family retires to rest. 
 He ought to seek his pillow by nine o'clock, and 
 should rise as soon as he awakes in the morning. 
 
 How many hours of sleep ought a boy to have f — 
 This will depend upon the exercise he takes ; but, 
 on an average, he should have at least eight hours 
 every night. It is a mistaken notion that a boy 
 does better with little sleep. Infants, children, and 
 youths require more than those who are further 
 advanced in years. Old people can frequently do 
 with little sleep. This may be accounted for from 
 the quantity of exercise the young take. 
 
 The teeth and gums should be well brushed 
 with warm salt and water, in the proportion of one 
 large teaspoonful of salt to a tumbler of water. 
 The salt and water should be used every night. 
 
 The following is an excellent tooth powder: 
 
 Take of — Finely powdered Peruvian Bark; 
 '■' Prepared Coral; 
 ; ' ' Prepared Chalk; 
 '" ' Myrrh,, oi each half an ounce; 
 
 " Orris root, a quarter of an ounce. 
 Mix well together in a mortar, and preserve the powder in a 
 vide mouthed stoppered bottle. 
 
 The teeth ought to be well brushed with tbe 
 above tooth powder every morning. 
 
500 YOUTH. 
 
 If the teeth are much decayed, and the breath 
 offensive, two ounces of finely powdered charcoal 
 well mixed with the above ingredients will be 
 found a valuable addition. Some persons clean 
 their teeth every morning with soap ; if soap is 
 used it ought to be Castile soap, and if the teeth 
 are not white and clean, Castile soap is an excel- 
 lent cleanser of the teeth, and may be used in 
 place of the tooth powder as above recommended. 
 
 Camphor ought never to be used as an ingre- 
 dient of tooth powder, as it makes the teeth brittle. 
 Camphor certainly has the effect of making the 
 teeth look very white, but it is an evanescent 
 beauty. 
 
 Tartar is apt to accumulate between and around 
 the teeth; it is better in such cases not to remove 
 it by scaling instruments, but brush the teeth well 
 with pure vinegar and water. 
 
 A greater quantity of arterial blood is sent to 
 the brain of those who are prematurely talented, 
 and it thus becomes more than ordinarily de- 
 veloped. Such advantages are not unmixed with 
 danger ; this same arterial blood may excite and 
 feed inflammation, and either convulsions, water 
 on the brain, insanity, or idiocy may follow. How 
 proud a mother is in having a precocious child. 
 How little is she aware that precocity is fre- 
 quently an indication of disease. 
 
 It behooves a parent, if her son is precocious, to 
 restrain him — to send him to a quiet country 
 piace, free from the excitement of the town, and 
 
PRECOCIOUS CHILDREN. $61 
 
 when he is sent to school, to give directions to 
 the teacher that he is not on any account to tax his 
 intellect (for a teacher is apt, if he has a clever 
 boy, to urge him forward), and to keep him from 
 those institutions where a spirit of rivalry is main- 
 tained, and where the brain is thus kept in a state 
 of constant excitement. Medals and prizes are 
 well enough for those who have moderate abili- 
 ties, but dangerous indeed to those who have 
 brilliant ones. 
 
 An overworked precocious brain is apt to 
 cause the death of the owner, and if it does not, 
 it, in too many instances, injures the brain irrep- 
 arably, and the possessor of such an organ, from 
 being one of the most intelligent of children, be- 
 comes one of the most commonplace of men. Let 
 me urge you, if you have a precocious child, to 
 give, and that before it is too late, the subject in 
 question your best consideration. 
 
 Precocious boys in their general health are 
 usually delicate. Nature seems to have given a 
 delicate body to compensate for the advantages 
 of a talented mind. A precocious youth is pre- 
 disposed to consumption, more than to any other 
 disease. The hard study which he frequently 
 undergoes excites the disease into action. It is 
 not desirable, therefore, to have a precocious 
 child. 
 
 Scrofula. — The child who has a moist, cold, 
 fair, delicate and almost transparent skin, large 
 prominent blue eyes, protuberant forehead, light 
 
$02 Youtn. 
 
 brown or auburn hair, rosy cheeks, pouting lips, 
 milk white teeth, long neck, high shoulders, small, 
 flat and contracted chest, tumid bowels, large 
 joints, thin limbs and flabby muscles, is the one 
 most predisposed to scrofula. The disease is not 
 entirely confined to the above, sometimes one who 
 has black hair, dark eyes and complexion, is sub- 
 ject to it, but yet far less frequently than the 
 former. It is a remarkable fact that the most 
 talented are the most prone to scrofula, and being 
 thus clever their intellects are too often cultivated 
 at the expense of their health. In infancy and 
 childhood, either water on the brain or mesenteric 
 disease , in youth, pulmonary consumption is fre- 
 quently their doom ; they are like shining meteors, 
 their life is short, but brilliant. 
 
 Strict attention to the rules of health is the 
 means to prevent scrofula. Books, unless as an 
 amusement, ought to be discarded. The patient 
 must live in the open air, and his residence should 
 be a healthy country place, where the air is dry 
 and bracing ; if it is at a farm house, in a salubrious 
 neighborhood, so much the better. In selecting a 
 house for a patient predisposed to scrofula, good 
 pure water should be an important requisite ; indeed, 
 for every one who values his health. Early rising 
 is most beneficial. Beefsteaks and mutton chops 
 in abundance, and plenty of milk and farinaceous 
 food — such as rice, sago, arrowroot, etc., should be 
 the diet. 
 
 Scrofula, if the above rules are strictly and per- 
 
Scrofula — treatment. 503 
 
 severingly followed, may be warded off, but there 
 must be no half measures, no trying to serve two 
 masters — to cultivate at the same time the health 
 and the intellect. The brain must not be taxed 
 until the body becomes strong. " You may pre- 
 vent scrofula by care, but that some children are 
 originally predisposed to the disease there cannot 
 be the least doubt, and in such cases the education 
 and habits of the youth should be so directed as to 
 ward off a complaint, the effects of which are so 
 frequently fatal." 
 
 Suppose the disease to be already formed, the 
 plan recommended above must still be pursued, 
 not by fits and starts, but steadily and continuously, 
 for it is a complaint that requires a vast amount of 
 patience and great perseverance. Sea bathing in 
 such cases is generally most beneficial. 
 
 Do not allow any plan to be adopted that will 
 weaken the system, which is already too much de- 
 pressed. Rather build up the body by good 
 nourishing diet, and by a dry, bracing atmosphere. 
 Let no active purging, no mercurials, no violent, 
 desperate remedies be allowed. If the patient 
 cannot be cured without them, I am positive that 
 he will not be cured with them. But do not de- 
 spair; many scrofulous patients are cured by time 
 and judicious treatment. But if desperate reme- 
 dies are to be used, the poor patient had better by 
 far be left to nature. 
 
 A girl ought never to be allowed to stoop; stooping 
 spoils the figure, weakens the chest, and interferes 
 

 504 Votjtti. 
 
 with the digestion. If she cannot help stooping, 
 you may depend upon it that she is in bad health, 
 and calisthenic and gymnastic exercises should be 
 resorted to. Horseback riding and swimming are 
 very beneficial. The girl should live well, on good 
 nourishing diet, and not be too closely confined to 
 the house or her lessons. She ought to sleep on a 
 hair mattress, and during the day lie flat on her 
 back on a reclining board for two or three hours. 
 Stooping, if neglected, is very apt to lead to con- 
 sumption. 
 
 If a boy is round shouldered, let him be drilled ; 
 there is nothing more likely to benefit him than 
 drilling. You never see a soldier round shoul- 
 dered or slouchy in his gait. He walks every 
 inch a man. Look at the difference in appearance 
 between a country bumpkin and a soldier. It is 
 the drilling that makes the difference. 
 
 Spitting blood is always to be looked upon with 
 suspicion ; even when a youth appears, in other re- 
 spects, to be in good health, it is frequently the 
 forerunner of consumption. It may be said that, 
 by mentioning the fact, that I am unnecessarily 
 alarming a parent, but it would be a false kindness 
 if I did not do so: 
 
 "I must be cruel, only to be kind." — Shakespeare. 
 
 Let me ask, when is consumption to be cured ? 
 Is it at the onset, or is it when it is confirmed? If 
 a mother had been more generally aware that spit- 
 ting blood was frequently the forerunner of con- 
 
CONSUMPTION— SYMPTOMS. $0$ 
 
 Sumption, she would have taken far greater pre- 
 cautions in the management of her offspring, she 
 would have made everything give way to the pres- 
 ervation of health, and, in many instances, she 
 would have been amply repaid by having the 
 lives of her children spared to her. Consumption 
 more frequently shows itself between the ages of 
 fourteen and twenty-one, after that the liability of 
 the disease gradually diminishes, until at the age 
 of forty-five it becomes comparatively rare. Boys 
 are more prone to this complaint than girls. It 
 may be well for a parent to recognize the symp- 
 toms in order that she may seek aid early. It is 
 perfectly hopeless to expect to cure consumption, 
 unless advice is sought at the onset, as the only 
 effectual good in this disease is to be done at first. 
 
 Consumption creeps on insidiously. One of the 
 earliest symptoms of this dreadful scourge is a 
 slight, dry, short cough, attended with tickling 
 and irritation at the top of the throat. This cough 
 generally occurs through the day. Frequently 
 during the early stage of the disease a slight spit- 
 ting of blood occurs. This is a most dangerous 
 symptom ; indeed, it is almost a sure sign that the 
 patient is in the first stages of consumption. 
 
 There is usually hoarseness, not constant, but 
 coming on if the patient is tired, or toward the 
 evening. There is also a sense of lassitude and 
 depression, shortness of breath, a feeling of weari- 
 ness on the slightest exertion. The hair of a con- 
 sumptive person usually falls off, and what little 
 
£o6 YOlJTli. 
 
 remains is weak and poor; the joints of the finger§ 
 become enlarged, or clubbed as it is sometimes 
 called; the patient loses flesh, and, after some 
 lime, night sweats make their appearance, then we 
 may know that hectic fever has commenced. 
 
 Hectic fever begins with chilliness, which is 
 soon followed by flushings of the (ace and burning 
 of the hands and feet, especially of the palms and 
 soles. This is soon succeeded by perspirations. 
 The patient has generally two decided paroxysms 
 of hectic fever during the day, one at noon which 
 lasts about five hours ; the other in the evening, 
 which is more severe, and ends in violent perspira- 
 tions ; these perspirations continue the whole night 
 through. During the day he may have several 
 attacks of hectic flushes, especially after eating ; at 
 ong. moment he complains of being too hot, and 
 rushes to the cool air ; the next moment he is too 
 cold, and almost scorches himself by sitting too 
 near the fire. Whenever the circumscribed hectic 
 flush is on the cheek, it looks as though the cheek 
 had been painted with vermillion, then is the time 
 when the palms of the hands are burning hot. 
 
 The expectoration at first is merely mucus, but 
 after a time it assumes a characteristic appearance ; 
 it has a roundish, flocculent, woolly form, each por- 
 tion of phlegm keeping, as it were, distinct ; and if 
 the expectoration is stirred in water, it has a milk- 
 like appearance. The patient is commonly harassed 
 by frequent bowel complaints, which rob him of 
 what little strength he has left. The feet and 
 

 CONSUMPTION— CAUSES^— TREATMENT. 50; 
 
 ankres swell. The perspiration comes on in the 
 evening, and continues all night — more especially 
 towarvl morning, and while the patient is asleep. 
 During the time he is awake, even at night, he 
 seldom sweats much. The thrush generally shows 
 itself toward the close of the disease, attacking 
 the tongue, tonsils, and soft palate, and is a sure 
 harbinger of approaching death. E maciation rapidly 
 sets in. 
 
 The predisposing causes of consumption are the 
 tuberculous habit of body, hereditary predispo- 
 sition, narrow or contracted chest, deformed spine, 
 delicacy of constitution, bad and scanty diet, or 
 food containing but little nourishment, impure air, 
 close indoor confinement in schools, shops, and 
 factories, ill-ventilated apartments, dissipation, 
 late hours, overtaxing the growing brain with 
 book-learning, thus producing debility, want of 
 proper outdoor exercises and amusements, tight 
 lacing; indeed, anything and everything that will 
 debilitate the constitution, interfere with, or im- 
 pede, the proper action of the lungs, will be the 
 predisposing causes of this fearful and lamentable 
 disease. 
 
 An ill, poor, and insufficient diet is the mother 
 of many diseases, and especially of consumption : 
 " Whatsoever was the father of a disease, an ill 
 diet was the mother." The most common ex- 
 citing causes of consumption are slighted colds, 
 neglected inflammation of the chest, long contin- 
 uance of influenza, sleeping in damp beds, allowing 
 
§o8 YOUTH. 
 
 wet clothes to dry on the body, unhealthy em- 
 ployments, etc. 
 
 Treatment. — The health should be the first con- 
 sideration ; throw books to the winds ; if he is at 
 school, take him away ; if he is in trade, cancel his 
 indentures ; if he is in town, send him to a sheltered 
 healthy spot in the country. I should be par- 
 ticular in his clothing, taking especial care to keep 
 his chest and feet warm. If he does not already 
 wear flannel, let it be winter or summer, I should 
 recommend him immediately to do so. The feet 
 must be carefully attended to ; they ought to be 
 kept both warm and dry, the slightest dampness 
 of either shoes or stockings should cause them to 
 be immediately changed. If a boy, he ought to 
 wear double-breasted waistcoats ; if a girl, high 
 dresses. 
 
 The diet must be nutritious and generous ; the 
 patient should be encouraged to eat plentifully of 
 beef and mutton. There is nothing better for 
 breakfast, where it agrees, than milk ; indeed, it 
 may be frequently made to agree by previously 
 boiling it. Good home-brewed ale or sound porter 
 ought to be taken in moderation. Wine and spirits 
 must on no account be allowed. I caution parents 
 in this particular, as many have an idea that wine 
 is strengthening, and that rum and milk is a good 
 thing to cure or prevent a cough. 
 
 If it is summer, let him be much in the open 
 air, avoiding the evening and the night air. If it 
 is winter, he should, unless the weather is mild for 
 
SORE THROAT — TREATMENT. 509 
 
 the season, keep within doors. Particular atten- 
 tion ought to be paid to the point the wind is in, 
 as he should not be allowed to go out if it is north, 
 east, or northeast ; the latter is more especially 
 dangerous. 
 
 If a youth is predisposed to a sore throat, he must 
 use every morning thorough ablution of the body, 
 beginning cautiously ; that is, commencing with 
 the neck one morning, then by degrees, morning 
 after morning, sponging a larger surface, until the 
 whole of the body is sponged. The chill at first 
 must be taken off the water; gradually the tem- 
 perature ought to be lowered until the water is 
 quite cold, taking care to rub the body thoroughly 
 dry with a coarse towel — a Turkish rubber being 
 the best for the purpose. 
 
 He ought to bathe his throat externally every 
 night and morning with lukewarm salt and water, 
 the temperature of which must be gradually re- 
 duced, until at length no warm water is added. 
 He should gargle his throat either with barm, 
 vinegar, and sage tea, or with salt water — two 
 teaspoonfuls of table salt dissolved in a tumbler of 
 water. He ought to harden himself by taking 
 plenty of exercise in the open air. He must avoid 
 sitting or standing in a draught ; if in one, he 
 should face it. He ought to keep his feet warm 
 and dry. He should take as little laxative med- 
 icine as possible, avoiding especially both calomel 
 and blue pill. As he grows up to manhood he 
 ought to allow, his beard to grow, as such would 
 

 5IO YOUTH. 
 
 be a natural covering for his throat. I have 
 known great benefit to arise from this simple plan. 
 The finest respirator in the world is the beard.' 
 The beard is not only good for sore throats, but 
 for weak chests. The wearing of the beard is a 
 splendid innovation ; it saves no end of trouble, is 
 very beneficial to health, and is a great improve- 
 ment to the human face divine. 
 
 / consider tobacco smoking one of the most injur- 
 ious and deadly habits a boy or young man can 
 indulge in. It contracts the chest and weaken? 
 the lungs, thus predisposing to consumption. It 
 impairs the stomach, producing indigestion. It 
 debilitates the brain and nervous system, inducing 
 epileptic fits and nervous depression. It stunts 
 the growth, and is one cause of the present race 
 of pigmies. It makes the young lazy and disin- 
 clined to work. It is one of the greatest curses of 
 the present day. 
 
 JVose-bleed. — Unless it is violent, do not interfere 
 with a bleeding from the nose. A bleeding from 
 the nose is frequently an effort of Nature to relieve 
 itself, and unless it is likely to weaken the patient, 
 ought not to be restrained. If it is necessary to 
 restrain the bleeding, press the nose firmly be- 
 tween the finger and thumb for a few minutes, 
 this alone will often stop the bleeding ; if it should 
 not, then try what bathing the nose, forehead and 
 nape of the neck with water quite cold from the 
 well, will do, or try the effect of a solution of 
 alurn. 
 

 FAINTING — TREATMENT. 5 1 1 
 
 Take of — Powdered Alum, one dram. 
 Water, half a pint. 
 To make a lotion. 
 
 A little of the lotion should be put into the 
 palm of the hand and sniffed up the bleeding 
 nostril. If this does not succeed, some of the 
 lotion ought to be syringed up the nose. 
 
 Incase a young lady faints, lay her flat upon her 
 back, taking care that the head is as low, if not 
 lower, than the body ; throw open the windows, 
 do not crowd around her, unloosen her dress as 
 quickly as possible ; ascertain if she has been 
 guilty of tight lacing — for fainting is sometimes 
 produced by that reprehensible practice. Apply 
 smelling salts to her nostrils ; if they are not at 
 hand, burn a piece of cloth under her nose ; dash 
 cold water upon her face ; throw open the window ; 
 fan her ; and do not, as is generally done, crowd 
 around her, and thus prevent a free circulation of 
 air. As soon as she can swallow, give her a draught 
 of cold water or a teaspoonful of sal-volatile in a 
 wine glass of water. 
 
 To prevent fainting. — I would recommend early 
 hours ; country air and exercise ; the stays, if worn 
 at all, to be worn slack ; attention to diet ; avoid- 
 ance of excitement and fashionable entertainments. 
 
 Sometimes the cause of a young lady fainting, 
 is either a disordered stomach or a constipated 
 state of the bowels. If the fainting has been 
 caused by a disordered stomach, it may be neces- 
 sary to stop the supplies, and give the stomach, for 
 
512 YOUTH. 
 
 a day or two, but little to do'; a fast will frequently 
 prevent the necessity of giving medicine. 
 
 A young lady's fainting occasionally arises from 
 debility — from downright weakness of the consti- 
 tution; then the best remedy will be change of 
 air, good nourishing diet, and the following 
 strengthening mixture : 
 
 Take of — Tincture of Perchloride of Iron, two drams; 
 Tincture of Calumbo, six drams; 
 Distilled Water, seven ounces. 
 Two tablespoonfuls of this mixture to be taken three times a day. 
 
 Or, for a change, the following : 
 
 Take of— Wine of Iron, one ounce and a half; 
 Distilled Water, six ounces and a half. 
 To make a mixture. Two tablespoonfuls to be taken three times 
 a day. 
 
 Iron medicines ought always to be taken after 
 instead, of before a meal. The best times of the 
 day for taking either of the above mixtures will 
 be eleven o'clock, four o'clock, and seven o'clock. 
 
 Constipation. — If you find it necessary to give 
 your son or daughter an aperient, the mildest 
 should be selected ; for instance, an agreeable and 
 effectual one, is an electuary composed of figs, 
 raisins and senna, a formula for which may be 
 found on page 113. But after all, the best laxatives 
 are — cold ablutions every morning, of the whole 
 body ; attention to diet ; variety of food ; Graham 
 bread, grapes, figs, fruit both cooked and raw — if 
 it is ripe and sound ; oatmeal porridge ; vegetables 
 of all kinds, especially spinach ; exercise in the 
 open air ; early rising ; daily visiting the water 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 513 
 
 closet at a certain hour — there is nothing keeps 
 the bowels open so regularly and well as estab- 
 lishing the habit of visiting the water closet at a 
 certain hour every morning; and the other rules 
 of health specified in these pages. If more atten- 
 tion were paid to these points, poor school boys 
 and school girls would not be compelled to swallow 
 such nauseous and disgusting messes as they 
 usually do, to their aversion and injury. 
 
 Should these plans not succeed, I would advise 
 an enema once or twice a week, either simply of 
 warm water, or of one made of gruel, table salt 
 and olive oil, in the proportion of two tablespoon- 
 fuls of table salt, two of oil and a pint ol warm 
 gruel, which a boy may administer to himself, or a 
 girl to herself, by means of a fountain syringe. 
 
 Hydropathy is oftentimes very serviceable in 
 preventing and in curing constipation ; and as it will 
 sometimes prevent the necessity of administering 
 medicine, it is both a boon and a blessing. Hydro- 
 pathy also supplies us with various remedies for 
 constipation. From the simple glass of cold water, 
 taken early in the morning, to the various douches 
 and sea baths, a long list of useful appliances 
 might be made out, among which we mention the 
 wet compresses worn for three hours over the 
 abdomen with an oil-cloth covering. For a more 
 complete treatment of this subject, the reader is 
 referred to the chapter on constipation. 
 
 I have here a word or two to say to a mother 
 who is always physicking her family. It is an un- 
 
 33 
 
514 YOUTH. 
 
 natural thing to be constantly dosing either a child 
 or any one else with medicine. One would sup- 
 pose that some people were only sent into the 
 world to be physicked. If more care were paid 
 to the rules of health, very little medicine would 
 be required. This is a bold assertion, but I am 
 confident that it is a true one. It is a strange ad- 
 mission for a doctor to make, but, nevertheless, 
 my convictions compel me to avow it. 
 
 The principal reason why girls suffer more from 
 constipation than boys, is that their habits are 
 more sedentary. The best laxative medicines in 
 the world are an abundance of exercise, muscular 
 exertion and fresh air. Another, and a frequent 
 cause, is the bad habit of disobeying the calls of 
 nature. The moment there is the slightest incli- 
 nation to relieve the bowels, instantly it ought to be 
 attended to, or serious results will follow. Let me 
 urge a mother to instil into her daughter's mind 
 the importance of this advice. 
 
 Young people are subject to pimples on the face. — 
 These hard red pimples are a common and an ob- 
 stinate affection of the skin, affecting the forehead, 
 temples, the nose, chin, and cheeks ; occasionally 
 attacking the neck, shoulders, back, and chest. As 
 they more frequently affect the young, and are 
 disfiguring, they cause much annoyance. I find, 
 in these cases, great benefit from bathing the face, 
 night and morning, with strong salt and water — a 
 tablespoonful of table salt to a teacupful of water ; 
 paying attention to the bowejs ; living on plain, 
 
GUMBOIL — CORNS — TREATMENT. 5 I 5 
 
 wholesome, nourishing food ; and taking a great 
 deal of outdoor exercise. Sea bathing is often 
 very beneficial. Grubs and worms have a mortal 
 antipathy to salt. 
 
 Gumboil. — A decayed root of a tooth causes in- 
 flammation and abscess of the gum, which abscess 
 breaks, and becomes a gumboil. 
 
 Treatment. — Foment the outside of the face 
 with a hot camomile and poppy head fomentation, 
 and apply to the gumboil, between the cheek and 
 the gum, a small white bread and milk poultice, 
 which renew frequently. As soon as the gumboil 
 has become quiet, by all means have the affected 
 tooth extracted, or it may cause disease, and con- 
 sequently serious injury of the jaw. Whenever 
 the patient catches cold there will be a renewal of 
 the inflammation of the abscess, and the gumboil, 
 and, as a matter of course, renewed pain, trouble, 
 and annoyance. Decayed fangs of teeth often 
 cause the breath to be offensive. 
 
 Corns. — The best remedy for a hard corn is to 
 remove it. The usual method of cutting, or of 
 paring a corn away is erroneous. The following 
 is the right way: Cut with a sharp pair of pointed 
 scissors around the circumference of the corn. 
 Work gradually round and round and toward the 
 center. When you have well loosened the edges, 
 you can either with your fingers or with a pair of 
 forceps, generally remove the corn bodily, and 
 that without pain and the loss of any blood. This 
 plan of treating acorn I can recommend to you as 
 being most effectual. 
 
5l6 YOUTH. 
 
 The corns between the toes are called soft corns. 
 A soft corn is quickly removed by the strong acetic 
 acid, which ought to be applied to the corn every 
 night by means of a camel's hair brush. The toes 
 should be kept asunder for a few minutes, in order 
 that the acid may soak in ; then apply between the 
 toes a small piece of cotton. 
 
 In the generality of cases the plans recom- 
 mended above will effect a cure, but if from pres- 
 sure or from any other cause the corn should 
 return, remove it again, and proceed as before 
 directed. If the corn has been caused by tight or 
 ill fitting shoes, the only way to prevent a recur- 
 rence is to have the shoes properly made by a 
 clever shoemaker — by one who thoroughly under- 
 stands his business, and who will have a pair of 
 lasts made purposely for the feet. 
 
 The best remedy for tender, siveaty, or smelling 
 feet, is cold water. Bathe the feet in cold water, 
 beginning with tepid water ; but gradually from 
 day to day reducing the warm until the water is 
 quite cold. A large nursery basin one-third full 
 of water ought to be placed on the floor, and one 
 foot at a time should be put in the water, washing 
 the foot with a sponge and the thumb between 
 each toe. Each foot should remain in the water 
 about half a minute after each washing. The feet 
 ought to be well dried, taking care to dry with the 
 towel between each toe. The above process must 
 be repeated at least once every day — every morn- 
 ing, and if the annoyance is great, every night as 
 
THE CONVALESCENT. 517 
 
 well. A clean pair of stockings ought to be put 
 on daily, as perfect cleanliness is absolutely neces- 
 sary to afford relief, and effect a cure. 
 
 There is something charming and delightful in 
 the feelings of a patient recovering from a severe 
 illness ; it is like a new birth ; it is almost worth 
 the pains and anguish of having been ill to feel 
 quite well again ; everything around and about 
 wears a charming aspect — a roseate hue ; the ap- 
 petite for food returns with pristine vigor ; the 
 viands, be they ever so homely, never tasted 
 before so deliciously sweet; and a draught of 
 water from the spring has the flavor of ambrosial 
 nectar ; the convalescent treads the ground as 
 though he were on the ambient air ; and the earth 
 to him for a while is Paradise ; the very act of liv- 
 ing is a joy and gladness. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Metritis or Chronic Inflammation of the Womb. — 
 Of all uterine diseases in importance and frequence, 
 chronic inflammation ranks first. It is most com- 
 mon between the ages of puberty and the cessation 
 of the menses, but it may occur at any time of life. 
 This inflammation may be simple or complicated, 
 but a vast majority of so-called " female com- 
 plaints" have their origin in acute inflammation of 
 the womb, which soon passes into the chronic form 
 by the persistence of the cause. 
 
 No class or nation is exempt from the baneful 
 influence of this disease — but it is met most fre- 
 quently among women reared in indolence and 
 luxury whose physical conditions are weakened by 
 prevailing fashions and customs. 
 
 Poverty and privation also furnish a long ar- 
 ray of victims — while those who best observe the 
 laws of health are most exempt from the disease. 
 
 There are many varieties of the disease, and 
 each receives its name according to the part 
 affected, thus : Inflammation of the body of the womb ; 
 Inflammation of the lining membrane of the body 
 of the womb ; Inflammation of the membrane lining 
 
 (518) 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB. 5 19 
 
 a?id covering neck of the womb; Inflammation of 
 the tissues of the neck of the womb ; Ulceration of 
 the neck of the womb. 
 
 The womb consists of a body and neck which 
 may be considered as two distinct organs in their 
 anatomical structure, the former being composed 
 of longitudinal fibers, while those of the neck are 
 circular, and each receive their supply of blood- 
 vessels and nerves from different sources. There- 
 fore, a diseased condition of the neck of the womb 
 does not necessarily imply a similar condition in 
 the body, and vice versa. Inflammation of the 
 body of the womb is liable to be very persistent, 
 as usually the adjoining lining membranes are also 
 involved. 
 
 In a work of this kind it is not necessary to 
 enter into a minute detail of all the symptoms of 
 each variety of uterine disease, as any variety in a 
 severe form would require a personal examination 
 by a proficient and experienced physician. The 
 design of this work is, in a general way, to en- 
 lighten mothers and daughters in regard to the 
 symptoms attending uterine disorders, their pre- 
 vention and the remedies to be used for their cure 
 in home practice. The symptoms attending dis- 
 eases of the womb are so similar that accuracy is 
 not necessary for the general reader. 
 
 Symptoms. — All inflammations are accompanied 
 with more or less pain and swelling — the degree of 
 which is materially modified by the location of the 
 disease. 
 
520 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Often an inflammation of the neck of the womb 
 may exist for a period of years, especially in the 
 unmarried, without giving any great discomfort — 
 more than a feeling of lassitude, with an inability 
 to stand erect or walk for any length of time. 
 More or less whites or leucorrhcea will be noticed. 
 Menstrual disorders may follow — the discharge 
 being too profuse or too scanty, and attended with 
 more or less pains. These latter symptoms follow 
 as the disease becomes more chronic. This disease 
 is not apt to exist very long before a general im- 
 pairment of the health will result. The patient 
 becomes restless and wakeful, with loss of appetite 
 and enfeebled digestion, pale and nervous. An 
 inflammation of the body of the womb is attended 
 with a sensation of weight and fullness in the 
 pelvic region — pain in the back and hips. The 
 pain in the back is often attributed to a " kidney 
 trouble." Plasters are applied and potions vainly 
 taken for its relief. If the kidneys are overtaxed 
 and painful, the seat of the pain is in the small of 
 the back or under the waist line, while if the pain 
 is the result of female diseases, it is located fully a 
 hand's breadth below this line. 
 
 As the inflammation progresses the feeling of 
 weight and heaviness increases till the pain ex- 
 tends down the limbs and through the bowels. 
 Physical exertion is painful, and at times almost 
 impossible. 
 
 Leucorrhcea is a frequent symptom of inflamma- 
 tion of the womb, yet unaccompanied by other 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB — SYMPTOMS. 52 1 
 
 symptoms would be of little value in establishing 
 the fact of inflammation of the womb, as the leu- 
 corrhcea may proceed from an irritable condition 
 of the vagina or the external generative organs — 
 or it may be catarrhal from a cold. 
 
 In chronic inflammation of the body as well as 
 of the neck of the womb, the menstrual flow is 
 usually impaired somewhat. 
 
 The periods may occur too often, or be tardy, 
 or painful and too prolonged. Sterility often fol- 
 lows a severe inflammation of either the body or 
 neck of the uterus — and sexual intercourse is at- 
 tended with more or less pain, according to the 
 degree of inflammation. If the disease is of long 
 standing, other organs of the abdomen and pelvis 
 are liable to beeome involved. Chronic inflam- 
 mation of the womb often produces a severe in- 
 flammation of the vagina, which may be recognized 
 by a profuse, milky, leucorrhceal discharge. 
 
 The ovaries are supplied by the same system 
 of bloodvessels, and readily inflame when there is 
 an increased action of the uterus. 
 
 Ovarian tumors are often the result of a pro- 
 longed inflammation of the womb. Catarrhal dis- 
 charges from the bowels, and piles or hemorrhoids 
 may follow inflammation of the womb, especially 
 when there is retroversion or a falling backward 
 of the body of the womb. It is apparent that the 
 cause must be removed before the disease will dis- 
 appear. The restoration to health of each organ 
 involved, will necessarily be slow, and great pa- 
 tience will be required. 
 
522 • DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Distant organs sympathize with a serious dis- 
 ease of the womb. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, 
 vomiting, pain at the base of the brain, pain over 
 the eyes, a feeling that the reason is leaving, and a 
 whole train of nervous disorders manifest them- 
 selves. 
 
 The condition of the stomach may be that of 
 pregnancy. Digestion is much impaired, and in 
 consequence of it an accumulation of gas in the 
 bowels may simulate the movements of a child, 
 misleading the patient to suppose she is pregnant. 
 Time will convince her that she is not. This sub- 
 ject has been fully treated under the head of 
 Flatulence, and a reference to that section will en- 
 able her to determine the true condition. 
 
 Chronic inflammation of the womb, when of 
 long standing, greatly impairs, if not wholly de- 
 stroys the general health. The circulation is slug- 
 gish, the hands and feet are cold, the face wears 
 an anxious expression, the muscles become weak 
 and easily tire with only moderate use. The dis- 
 position becomes irritable and nervous — a slight 
 provocation being sufficient to bring on an attack 
 of hysteria. The whole temperament and dispo- 
 sition seems changed. Friends are regarded with 
 distrust, and therefore avoided. The patient be- 
 comes morbidly sensitive, and always looks upon 
 the dark side of life. She broods over her mala- 
 dies, and is never so much u at home" as when 
 relating her experiences to others. Any apparent 
 lack of sympathy is sure to give offence, and unless 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB — SYMPTOMS. 523 
 
 the disease is cured, the situation becomes ap- 
 palling to the patient and her family. After years 
 of suffering the patient takes her bed because she 
 lacks the strength or courage to longer battle with 
 the disease. Death seldom hastens to her relief 
 unless there are hereditary complications — such as 
 consumption, scrofula or cancer. There is no 
 possible doubt that many cases of insanity among 
 women have their origin in some form of uterine 
 disease. It is common for women to feel solicitous 
 as to the result of the menopause or " change of 
 life," as it is regarded usually as a critical period 
 in a woman's life. It is a natural and orderly step 
 in life, and with a previous due regard to the laws 
 of health, should be as little attended with danger 
 as our birth or the stage of puberty. Women of a 
 hopeful disposition are usually benefited by "the 
 change," especially if they have borne many chil- 
 dren. It is to them a period of rest. It is always 
 advisable to maintain a hopeful disposition. To 
 dwell upon our physical condition only makes the 
 disease more persistent. 
 
 The picture is not a cheerful one that we have 
 submitted for your consideration, but it is one 
 daily met with in a physician's life. Many cases of 
 womb disease are permitted to become chronic, 
 through the ignorance of the patient as to the cause 
 of her ailments or because she feels a delicacy in 
 consulting a physician and obtaining the needed 
 advice or treatment that would have saved her 
 years of suffering. In all cases of female disorders 
 
$24 DISEASES OF WOMEN, 
 
 when the patient is uncertain as to the cause or the 
 remedy, she should not hesitate to place herself in 
 the hands of a skillful physician for a thorough 
 examination as soon as the first symptoms of the 
 disorder appear. " An ounce of prevention is 
 worth a pound of cure " is a wise adage. 
 
 The causes which may lead to the development 
 of uterine disorders are many — such as a sudden 
 checking of the menses from exposure to cold — an 
 injection of cold water when in an over-heated 
 condition — lifting too heavy weights — falls and 
 blows across the abdomen — any of these may be 
 the exciting causes of serious uterine derangement. 
 The predisposing cause may exist in an inherited 
 weakly constitution. 
 
 Another fruitful source of uterine disorder is 
 wearing improper clothing. The fashionably 
 dressed woman of this age can scarcely escape 
 becoming, sooner or later, a victim of disease. A 
 young lady in "full dress" is a sad picture # to a 
 thoughtful mind. The waist is compressed to the 
 smallest possible dimension, pressing every organ 
 out of its proper position. The neck, shoulders 
 and arms subjected to all vicissitudes of weather — 
 the weight of the clothing is borne by the hips and 
 abdomen instead of being borne by the shoulders, 
 as it ought to be. The wonder is that any woman 
 fails to reap the full harvest of her folly. The free 
 circulation of the blood through the body is im- 
 peded by tight lacing, and congestion of the organs 
 of the pelvis follow as a result. Any cause that pro- 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB— CAUSES. 525 
 
 duces stagnation of the blood, developes in time 
 congestion and relaxation. For example — fasten a 
 rubber band around the arm, only moderately tight, 
 and in a short time the hand begins to swell and con- 
 gest by reason of the inability of the veins to return 
 the blood to the arteries — serious results will fol- 
 low if the congestion is prolonged. When the 
 clothing is removed there is a sense of relief, and 
 nature strives to regain her lost ground, but a daily 
 repetition of the abuses soon overcomes all power 
 to react, and hopeless disease is fastened upon the 
 victim. 
 
 Debility. — Any cause which leads to a general 
 weakness of the muscles of the abdomen predis- 
 poses to diseases of the womb, especially to flexions 
 and inflammation. 
 
 If the health is impaired, the muscles and liga- 
 ments supporting the womb and bowels sympa- 
 thize in the general debility. Women of health 
 who lead lives of ease and luxury, eat unwhole- 
 some food at unreasonable hours, and who cultivate 
 the mental rather than the physical, are particu- 
 larly predisposed to female complaints. 
 
 In such instances comparatively trifling causes, 
 such as a day of unusual excitement or exercise — 
 a sudden cold — a slight imprudence during the 
 menstrual period, may be sufficient to plunge the 
 victim into years of suffering. Displacements 
 easily occur in relaxed conditions of the abdominal 
 muscles. Displacements are reasonably sure to be 
 followed by inflammations and congestions. 
 
526 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Exercise. — Regular daily exercise in walking or 
 horseback riding is essential to the proper develop- 
 ment of the abdominal muscles. Those muscles 
 play an important part in the support of the uterus, 
 and any exercise that will develop their strength 
 lessens the liability to uterine disease. The exer- 
 cises recommended in the chapter on constipation 
 will be found equally efficacious in uterine diseases. 
 The wonderful mental activity of women of this 
 age, except in the lower classes, is greatly dispro- 
 portionate to their physical ability. The result is, 
 women are weak and sickly — incapable of becom- 
 ing mothers of healthy, well-developed children. 
 So called female complaints were hardly known to 
 our grandmothers, but now the per cent, of wo- 
 men afflicted with uterine disease, in one form or 
 another, is found to average fully seven out of 
 every ten. 
 
 With this array of facts before us, it behooves 
 mothers and daughters to study well the symp- 
 toms of disease- — the causes that lead to their 
 development, as well as the means of their preven- 
 tion. If one-tenth the effort was put forth to en- 
 lighten women on these vital questions upon which 
 depend the future of our race, that is displayed to 
 teach women that they need the elective franchise, 
 we might then develop a race of women who 
 would be gladly admitted to legislative halls, be- 
 cause their combined physical and intellectual 
 strength would be well adapted to give counsel 
 and aid in the affairs of the nation. Let women 
 
INFLAMMATION — TREATMENT. 527 
 
 first learn the proper care and government of 
 themselves and their children before they clamor 
 to participate in the affairs of state. 
 
 It is an agreeable fact that women are becoming 
 more thoughtful and inquiring upon the subject of 
 health — and anxious to acquaint themselves with 
 the symptoms of diseases and the proper remedies 
 for the same. 
 
 Treatment. — We must first learn the cause ot 
 acute or chronic inflammation of the womb and 
 remove it before we can expect a permanent cure. 
 As has been previously said, one of the principal 
 causes of female diseases is found in the utter dis- 
 regard of the laws of health in matters of dress. 
 I am aware that society demands a certain recog- 
 nition of fashion, and that it is extremely difficult 
 to design a costume that shall be both health! wl 
 and fashionable. A great reform in women s 
 dress is demanded if we would have healthy, 
 vigorous wives and daughters. While delays in 
 adopting a dress reform are to be expected I wouid 
 not, as a woman and physician, feel that I had dis- 
 charged a duty I owe to the future generation if I 
 did not enter an earnest protest against the present 
 long-waisted tight-fitting dress. No woman can 
 adopt it for a series of five years and keep herself 
 free from uterine difficulties in some form. The 
 waist of the dress should be worn loosely, so that 
 the lungs- can expand fully at each inspiration. 
 The weight of the clothing should be borne by the 
 shoulders. No pressure or weight should be 
 
528 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 allowed to rest upon the hips and bowels, as such 
 a course, long continued, will result in misplace- 
 ments and congestions. 
 
 The injurious effect of high-heeled shoes can 
 hardly be overdrawn. The abdominal and pelvic 
 muscles are kept upon a tension which will pro- 
 duce serious inflammation of the pelvic organs. 
 " Common sense shoes " are the only sensible shoes 
 for a woman to wear. 
 
 Ladies who cannot decide to abandon the corset 
 altogether, should select one with spiral springs at 
 the sides, which expand and contract in accord- 
 ance with the motions of the body. This corset 
 should be provided with shoulder straps, by which 
 the weight of the clothing is borne. Buttons 
 should be sewed upon the corset at the waist line, 
 to which the skirts may be attached by means of 
 buttonholes in the bands. 
 
 A very convenient under-waist may be made of 
 silesia or drilling. The front and back are cut 
 like any dress-waist, only very loose fitting — cut 
 out that part of the front covering the bust and 
 replace by a gathered puff about eighteen inches 
 long and the depth of the piece removed. The 
 waist should be finished at the bottom with a band 
 two inches wide and lined with heavy material, so 
 as to be strong enough to bear the weight of the 
 skirts suspended to it by means of buttons. It 
 will be seen that this waist is made to support the 
 weight of clothing from the shoulder without the 
 annoyance of straps or suspenders. The effect of 
 
INFLAMMATION — TREATMENT. 529 
 
 this waist is to give a full, well developed bust. 
 Under vests made of " Jersey cloth " are especially 
 comfortable, as they cling closely to the body and 
 yet do not impair the movements of the body or 
 impede the circulation. 
 
 Pure air. — Too much cannot be said of the ben- 
 efits derived from exercise in open, pure air. As 
 a tonic, it is better than medicine. It gives tone 
 to the appetite, aids digestion, and lends vigor to 
 both mind and body. Invalids who suffer from 
 nervous prostration or from uterine diseases, 
 should live much in the open sunshine. Outdoor 
 life reinforces the strength, increases the appetite, 
 repairs the blood, quiets the nerves and gives new 
 life and health to the body. The greatest physicians 
 are good water, sunlight, and exercise in pure air. 
 Women suffering from womb disease are exceed- 
 ingly nervous, often almost hysterical, and apt to 
 be very irritable. To spend an hour or two in the 
 open air, either in walking, riding or some health- 
 ful amusement, will often wholly relieve the above 
 distressing symptoms. If the patient is too weak 
 to go out or too ill to be carried out of doors, the 
 room should be thoroughly aired as often as ner- 
 vous indications arise. Dr. Byford suggests the 
 following methods : " If it is cold weather we 
 should cover the patient to protect her, and let the 
 frosty air — the colder the better — into the room 
 by opening all the doors and windows, and keep 
 the room clear of visitors. It will astonish any- 
 body who has not observed the effect of a temper- 
 
 34 
 
$30 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 ature near zero, on those swooning hypochondriacs. 
 A change almost instantly occurs for the better. 
 If the air is not cold, it will still do much good to 
 give it perfectly fresh to the patients in abundance. 
 When able, they may be taken out of doors. This 
 treatment introduces the natural stimulants, 
 oxygen and cold, into the lungs, and brings them 
 into contact with the nerves and is more enliven- 
 ing than medicine. How long the room should be 
 kept open and cold, will depend upon the effect ; 
 but we should always, if possible, make these pa- 
 tients sleep in open, cold rooms. This is a very 
 important item, which will often require ingenuity 
 as well as authority to enforce." 
 
 Food. — The tendency of uterine disease is to re- 
 duce the quality of the blood and produce weak- 
 ness and debility. Therefore the food should be 
 generously given and of a very nutritious charac- 
 ter, and not highly seasoned. Milk, cream, soft 
 eggs, rare beef, game, poultry, mutton chops, fish 
 oatmeal and graham bread are most suitable for a 
 diet. If the patient is too weak to eat meats of 
 any kind, the concentrated juices of them in the 
 form of extracts should be given in quantities suf- 
 ficient to build up the system. 
 
 Tonics. — Tonic medicines will not be required 
 very long, if the patient can be induced to try the 
 benefits of outdoor life and moderate exercise. 
 In case of too great prostration of the patient to 
 exercise mildly, some gentle stimulant, as ale or 
 porter may be used sparingly, as an appetizer, but 
 
INFLAMMATION — TREATMENT. 5 3 1 
 
 great caution is necessary in their use, that the pa- 
 tient does not acquire a love for stimulants. Some 
 vegetable tonic may be given instead of ale or 
 porter. The kind of tonic must be determined by 
 the condition of the stomach and the peculiarities 
 of the case. If the patient is pale and bloodless, 
 has cold hands and feet, the following prescription 
 will be beneficial : 
 
 Take of — Sulphate of Quinine, one dram ; 
 
 Tincture of Chloride of Iron, one-half ounce ; 
 Tincture of Bitter Orange Compound, three ounces ; 
 Simple Syrup, three and one-half ounces. 
 Mix. — Aad two grains of Strychnine, dissolved in one dram of 
 Acetic Acid. 
 
 One teaspoonful in a wine glass of water to be 
 taken after each meal. 
 Or, 
 
 Take of — Pyrophosphate of Iron, four drams ; 
 Sulphate of Quinine, two drams ; 
 Compound Tincture of Gentian, five ounces ; 
 Compound Tincture of Dandelion, three ounces. 
 Mix. — One teaspoonful to be taken before each meal. The same 
 amount of Strychnine may be added to this formula as to the formula 
 above, if desired. 
 
 If there is any tendency to indigestion, or a 
 weakened condition of the stomach, the above for- 
 mula, with the strychnine added, will be found a 
 very valuable remedy. The dose of the strychnine 
 is very small and not attended with any danger 
 whatever, in the dose prescribed. Do not use both 
 formulas at the same time, but it might be well to 
 alternately use them. 
 
 In most cases of inflammation of the womb, there 
 
532 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 is a tendency to constipation of the bowels, which 
 must in no wise be permitted to remain, as a per- 
 fect cure of uterine inflammation cannot be accom- 
 plished while constipation exists. Strict attention 
 must be paid to the rules laid down in the chapter 
 treating on that subject. 
 
 Sleep. — Uterine disease is productive of great 
 nervous excitability, often to such an extent that 
 the patient finds it almost impossible to sleep. At- 
 tention to hygienic measures, such as proper ven- 
 tilation of the sleeping room, exercise and a gen- 
 erous out-of-door life, will often be all that the pa- 
 tient needs to secure the most refreshing sleep. If, 
 however, the inability to sleep is persistent after 
 faithfully adopting the above hygienic measures, 
 relaxing medicines must be resorted to. 
 
 The best remedies of this class are preparations 
 of Bromide of Potassium or Sodium with Hy- 
 oscyamus. 
 
 Take of — Elixir of Bromide of Potassium, three and one- 
 half ounces; 
 Fluid Extract of Hyoscyamus, one-half ounce. 
 Mix. — Take one or two teaspoonfuls each night before retiring. 
 
 If necessary, the dose can be repeated in an 
 hour or two. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Take of — Extract of Hyoscyamus, thirty grains ; 
 Extract of Hops, one dram. 
 
 Mix. — Make twenty-four pills. Take one pill one-half hour be- 
 fore retiring, and repeat the dose in an hour if needed. Opium and 
 Hydrate of Chloral' are both valuable remedies to induce sleep, but 
 
 i 
 
INFLAMMATION — TREATMENT. 533 
 
 should never be resorted to, except under the advice of a physician, 
 as both the drugs are attended with danger when improperly used. 
 
 Sexual excitement. — In all cases of acute inflam- 
 mation of the uterus there should be a total absti- 
 nence of marital relations. This is not always 
 easily accomplished, as few husbands understand 
 the necessity for such a course. Anything which 
 tends to attract the blood to the womb, will in- 
 crease the congestion and inflammation ; therefore 
 sexual intercourse, impure thoughts and conversa- 
 tions, everything which tends to arouse the pas- 
 sions, should be carefully avoided. Travel and a 
 change of scenery are often very beneficial, from 
 the fact that the necessary rest can be secured, 
 and the thoughts will be diverted from the disease, 
 which is of incalculable value to the patient. Con- 
 stantly dwelling upon any disease most surely 
 fastens its hold upon the patient. It should, there- 
 fore, be the aim of friends to divert the mind into 
 any healthy channel. Do not refer to her malady 
 as a serious matter. Be cheerful and hopeful in 
 her presence. If the mind is bereft of all hope, 
 recovery is impossible, so great is the influence of 
 the mind over the body. 
 
 In acute stages of inflammation of the womb, 
 perfect rest in bed should be required. The pains 
 should be relieved by warm poultices of flaxseed 
 or yeast, applied over the bowels. If the weight 
 of the poultice is objectionable, a liniment made 
 from the following formula will be exceedingly 
 useful : 
 
534 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Take of — Hydrate of Chloral, two ounces; 
 Gum Camphor, two ounces; 
 Chloroform, two ounces; 
 Tincture of Aconite Root, two ounces. 
 Mix. — Apply over the bowels freely every two or three hours and 
 rub in, after which cover with a warm, dry flannel. 
 
 Five grain doses of Dover's Powders may be 
 given three hours apart to relieve pain and pro- 
 duce sleep. After the inflammation has passed 
 into a chronic state, exercise is advisable. There 
 is a great diversity of opinion in regard to the 
 effect of exercise among the medical profession — • 
 but after years of observation, covering a large 
 practice in female diseases, I am convinced of the 
 utility of exercise, especially in the open air. Light 
 household duties are not objectionable. Exercise 
 will divert the blood from the congested parts and 
 afford relief. Great care should be used that the 
 exercise is not violent nor too long continued. 
 There can be no absolute rule laid down to govern 
 the patient in this matter — but her own observation 
 and experience will help to decide the amount and 
 kind that is most beneficial. In a general way, I 
 would say exercise should be discontinued, for the 
 time, when the patient begins to feel weary. After 
 proper rest, the exercise may be resumed. Carriage 
 riding is less useful than walking, as but few of the 
 muscles are brought into play, while in walking 
 every muscle is exercised ; the breathing becomes 
 more rapid and deeper; the lungs are expanded to 
 receive large supplies of oxygen, which coming in 
 contact with the blood in the lungs, enriches it 
 
INFLAMMATION — LOCAL TREATMENT. 535 
 
 with life-giving properties. The patient* soon 
 realizes the benefit derived from this sort of exer- 
 cise. The cultivation of flowers, and games such as 
 lawn-tennis and croquet are healthful. We quote 
 on this subject from the eminent Dr. Byford : " It 
 is a great evil of the present state of society that a 
 lady cannot find in useful employment that healthy 
 tonic exercise for the body and mind which she 
 needs. She must for muscular exercise, engage 
 in the measured sameness of the quadrille, or the 
 giddy whirl and violence of the waltz, or cramp 
 her limbs to the steady routine of a system of 
 calisthenics. What are all these for variety and 
 adaptedness to their wants compared to the wash- 
 ing, ironing, sweeping, milking, churning, spin- 
 ning, weaving, cooking, walking, running, of 
 household engagements ; the stimulus of needs ; 
 thinking of all these things ; timing them ; pro- 
 portioning them ; calculating, economizing, nurs- 
 ing, doctoring, advising, correcting, teaching and 
 conducting little minds and bodies through the 
 physical, moral and intellectual discipline which 
 capacitates, unfolds and imbues them with what is 
 good and useful? Woman's duties, taking them 
 altogether, when well and appropriately performed, 
 will do more than all the amusements ever invented 
 can do, to keep women well and healthy in every 
 particular." 
 
 If there were less servants in the household, there 
 would be more healthy mothers and daughters. 
 The predisposing cause of disease must be removed 
 
536 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 before a cure can be effected. A weakened condi- 
 tion of the abdominal muscles, as has been previ- 
 ously shown, is the predominant cause of uterine 
 misplacements and congestions. Then, in order to 
 effect a cure of the diseased organs, exercise tend- 
 ing to strengthen these muscles must be resorted 
 to. When any muscle or set of muscles is exer- 
 cised, more blood is carried to the part, from which 
 it receives strength and nourishment. Muscles 
 unused become weak and powerless, and vice versa. 
 When a patient is too weak to exercise his mus- 
 cles, an assistant may do it for him — thus a person 
 confined to his bed for weeks, with typhoid fever, 
 loses all muscular power. By having the muscles 
 rubbed and stretched thoroughly for hours each 
 day, he will regain his strength rapidly. The 
 Swedish movement is founded upon this principle 
 of localized exercise, and has much in it to com- 
 mend itself to the public mind. Dr. C. T. Taylor 
 has written an excellent work upon the subject of 
 localized movements, from which we have selected 
 a few as being of especial value in toning up the 
 uterine ligaments and abdominal muscles, and are 
 easily applied : " The woman lies upon her back, 
 upon a firm bed or couch, her hands tightly clasped 
 over her head, and her feet drawn up to her body, 
 with her knees strongly bent. Then with a moder- 
 ate effort, she slowly raises her hips several inches 
 from the couch, holds them there for about half a 
 minute, and allows them slowly to return to the 
 couch. This movement may be repeated, with 
 short intervals ol rest, five or six times. 
 
INFLAMMATION — LOCAL TREATMENT. 537 
 
 "If the strength of the patient is not sufficient to 
 perform these movements without too much fa- 
 tigue, an assistant may aid her by placing a hand 
 under the back near the hips, sustaining the body, 
 according to the necessity of the patient. This 
 movement will be found very effectual in strength- 
 ening the abdominal muscles and relieving conges- 
 tion and inflammation of the womb." 
 
 Another beneficial exercise is found in the fol- 
 lowing method : The woman lies on a firm couch, 
 face downward, resting the extremities of her body 
 upon her elbows and toes. Then with a strong ef- 
 fort of the will, she raises her hips from the couch, 
 so that her whole weight rests upon her elbows 
 and toes. After maintaining herself in this posi- 
 tion as long as her health readily permits, she will 
 settle her body on the couch. Repeat three or 
 four times. An assistant may aid a feeble patient 
 the same way as in the previous example. These 
 movements will elevate the womb in the pelvic 
 cavity, as well as strengthen the abdominal muscles, 
 increase the circulation, relieve cold hands and 
 feet, and nervous headache. 
 
 Local treatment. — In mild, uncomplicated cases 
 of uterine disease, the general methods of treat- 
 ment, laid down in the foregoing chapters, will 
 be sufficient to effect a cure. If, however, there 
 are complications of a grave character, the advice 
 and aid of a physician should be sought, as the re- 
 covery will be hastened by combining local treat- 
 ment with the general treatment indicated in this 
 
538 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 book. Injections of hot water alone into the vag- 
 ina, perseveringly used, are of great value in re- 
 lieving congestion and inflammation of the womb. 
 Common table salt may be added to the hot water 
 with benefit, in severe inflammation. If there is 
 prolapsus of the womb from weak vaginal walls, 
 copperas can be added in moderate quantities, one 
 dram to each quart of water. In case of both 
 ulceration and inflammation, an excellent remedy 
 is found in the following prescription : 
 
 Take of — Pulverized Borax, two ounces; 
 Pulverized Alum, " " 
 Carbolic Acid, one dram. 
 Mix. — Dissolve one teaspoonful in a quart of hot water, and 
 inject three times a day. 
 
 The benefit derived from vaginal injections, in 
 inflammations of the womb, largely depends upon 
 the perseverance in their use. As a rule, several 
 quarts should be used at one time, and be repeated 
 three or four times a day. A good syringe for 
 this purpose is the Goodyear No. 7. It consists 
 of a rubber bulb with two connecting rubber 
 tubes. A glass syringe ought never to be used. 
 Its use is simply barbarous in severe types of uter- 
 ine disease. Another syringe which is valuable 
 for weak patients is called "The Fountain Syringe." 
 It consists of a large rubber bag capable of hold- 
 ing several quarts of water, to which is attached 
 several feet of rubber tubing, at one end of which 
 is attached a tube. The bag is suspended six or 
 seven feet from the floor, while the patient sits 
 
HOW TO USE INJECTIONS. 539 
 
 over a slop jar, placed upon the floor. The water 
 is poured into the receiving vessel and the force 
 of the stream thrown against the neck of the 
 womb, is regulated by the height at which the bag 
 is placed above the floor. 
 
 Hoiu to use injections. — As before stated, injec- 
 tions must be perseveringly used if beneficial. 
 They should be continued from ten to twenty min- 
 utes, at one time, according to the severity of the 
 inflammation. The temperature of the injections 
 should be regulated by the condition of the patient 
 and its effect upon her. Hot water is usually most 
 desirable in acute inflammation, the symptoms of 
 which are an internal burning sensation, which is 
 greatly aggravated by exertion. Another remedy 
 for acute inflammation of the womb, in praise of 
 which too much cannot be said, is the following: 
 
 Take of — Permanganate of Potash, six grains; 
 Glycerine, two ounces. 
 Mix. — Apply on cotton, and insert into the vagina on retiring. 
 
 The best method of using the cotton, is to cut 
 a four-inch square piece of snow-flake batting, 
 fasten the four corners together with a soft twine; 
 it will make a ball-shaped pledget, over the top of 
 which is poured a little of the mixture. Press the 
 pledget into the vagina as far as possible, while 
 upon the back in bed. The twine remains between 
 the limbs and furnishes a ready means to remove 
 the cotton the next morning. The amount of dis- 
 charge following the removal of the pledget, will 
 be truly surprising. The permanganate of potash 
 
540 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 should be dissolved in a little water before adding 
 the glycerine. 
 
 In Chronic Cases. — Where the vaginal walls are 
 much relaxed, it is wise to begin with tepid injec- 
 tions, and gradually lower the temperature of the 
 water. The injections should never be prolonged 
 where cold water is used more than five or six min- 
 utes at a time. If the patient is shocked by the 
 use of cold water, it should be used warmer. 
 
 Patients who have been unable to sleep from 
 pain in the back, limbs and pelvis, will often rest 
 quietly after a warm hip bath, or a copious vaginal 
 injection of hot water. 
 
 If the inflammation of the womb is attended 
 with a vaginal discharge, any of the following rem- 
 edies will be a valuable addition to the water : To 
 a gallon of water, add any one of the following : 
 Permanganate of potash, twenty grains ; chlorate 
 of potash, two drams ; blue vitriol, one dram ; 
 iodide of potassium, two drams; glycerine, one 
 ounce. If there is much uterine pain, a teaspoon- 
 ful of laudanum may be used in a quart of hot 
 water, or a tea made of hops, camomile, poppies, 
 or slippery elm. 
 
 The directions as given in this chapter, if faith- 
 fully followed, are sufficient to cure almost any in- 
 flammation which has not extended into the body 
 of the womb. In this case direct applications of 
 iodine, tannin, nitrate silver and chromic acid must 
 be made to the womb, through a speculum. The 
 services of a skillful physician are needed. This is 
 
THE UTERUS AND ITS SUPPORTS. 54I 
 
 a matter of vital importance, therefore let no char 
 latan attempt to treat the case. Much suffering 
 has been engendered by the indiscriminate use of 
 these powerful remedies. Rapid recoveries from 
 severe uterine disease are rare, the time required 
 ranging from three to four months, to one or two 
 years. 
 
 If the nervous system has become much in- 
 volved, the recoveries will be very slow. When 
 the health is once established, a relapse is not likely 
 to occur, if the patient strictly adheres to the ad- 
 vice given. Avoid tight clothing, late hours, 
 undue exercise, exposures to sudden changes of 
 temperature, heavy clothing borne by the hips 
 and indigestible food. 
 
 The uterus and its supports. — The uterus is 
 the organ of reproduction or gestation. Its posi- 
 tion in the pelvic cavity is behind the bladder and 
 in front of the rectum, beneath the intestines and 
 above the vagina. It is held loosely in its position 
 by folds of peritoneum, which inclose muscular 
 fibers. There are also six ligaments which con- 
 tribute to its support, three on each side. The 
 broad ligaments extend from the border of the 
 uterus to the sides of the pelvis, leaving the uterus 
 suspended between them. The round ligaments 
 are two in number and pass from the top of the 
 womb to the pelvis; the utero-sacral ligament gives 
 the posterior support. From the above descrip- 
 tion of the uterine supports, it is evident that it 
 may be easily displaced and moved upward or 
 
542 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 downward to a considerable extent. These natural 
 supports are sufficient to maintain it in proper po- 
 sition, in conditions of health. If, however, the 
 bowels have been crowded downward, and held in 
 this position by too heavy and unsupported cloth- 
 ing, or tight lacing, the womb will also become dis- 
 placed and diseased. The displacements may be 
 either forward, backward, or latterly. When the 
 womb is tipped forward it is called anteversion, 
 when turned backward it is named retroversion. 
 Displacements are rare laterally, though very 
 troublesome when they do occur. 
 
 Prolapsus (Plate 28) or falling of the womb, is very 
 common, and the result of complex causes. When 
 the prolapsus is only partial, the uterus descends 
 somewhat into the vagina. When complete, it 
 passes down through the vagina and protrudes 
 through the labia. Causes : There are many 
 causes that lead to prolapsus, among which may be 
 mentioned excessive weight of the womb from 
 tumors; dropsy of the bowels; falling heavily 
 upon the nates ; weakening of the uterine liga- 
 ments, and the relaxing of the vaginal walls. The 
 vaginal walls may become relaxed by too frequent 
 child-bearing, a persistent leucorrhceal discharge, 
 habitual constipation, excessive sexual intercourse 
 and a lacerated perineum. 
 
 There is an inherent tendency in muscular fiber 
 to contract, therefore uterine displacements, in 
 their early stages, will recover readily upon the 
 removal of the cause. It is different, however, 
 
PROLAPSUS— SYMPTOMS. 543 
 
 when by inflammation, congestion, or tumors, the 
 uterus has become badly diseased. It is impossi- 
 ble to remedy these conditions while women per- 
 sist in following blindly the mandates of fashion. 
 Every organ has its own rightful place in the ab- 
 dominal cavity, and if crowded out of its place, it. 
 in turn must occupy the place of another organ, 
 until the topography of the abdominal cavity is 
 lost, and the vagina in a measure loses its con- 
 tractile power. 
 
 Abortions, as well as child-bearing, are calcu- 
 lated to induce falling of the womb. The organ 
 is then iarge and bulky, the vagina weak and dis- 
 tended, and any attempt at such a time to maintain 
 an upright position, would be almost certain to in- 
 duce prolapsus. Sudden violence, as being thrown 
 from a carriage, straining efforts in defecation and 
 excessive strain upon abdominal muscles in lifting 
 weights, will produce prolapsus. 
 
 Symptoms. — When falling of the womb comes 
 on gradually, the symptoms are less acute. The 
 neck of the womb may frequently descend to the 
 vulva without producing serious effects. It fre- 
 quently occurs, after child-birth, that the uterus is 
 very much prolapsed, but if the patient lies in bed 
 a proper length of time, there is rarely any ill 
 effects from it, as the tendency of all disease is to 
 recovery, under proper management. 
 
 When the womb is prolapsed by any sudden 
 violence, it is attended with pain in the back, loins 
 and limbs, a dragging sensation in the pelvis, which 
 
544 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 is greatly aggravated by any exertion, an inability 
 to maintain an erect position for any length of 
 time. The organs in proximity to the uterus are 
 more or less disturbed in the performance of their 
 functions. The bowels become constipated by the 
 undue pressure of the womb upon the rectum. 
 The bladder is frequently dragged down with the 
 uterus, so that it is difficult to urinate. The vagina 
 becomes a dark red or even purple hue, and very 
 sensitive to the touch. 
 
 Treatment. — The treatment should be directed 
 toward removing the cause. The clothing should 
 be light, loose and warm, and the weight of it sup- 
 ported by the shoulders. All tension upon the 
 natural supports of the womb must be removed. 
 If inflammation is present, use injections freely of 
 hot water with salt in the proportion of a table- 
 spoonful to two quarts of water — repeat several 
 times a day. If constipation is present, use mild 
 saline cathartics or injections of tepid water into 
 the rectum. A stringent injection into the vagina 
 for prolapsus of the womb, during the acute inflam- 
 matory stage, is very questionable treatment. After 
 the inflammatory action has been subdued by hot 
 water, use astringents for their tonic effect. The 
 preferable astringents are alum and borax in equal 
 parts — tannin, white oak bark and copperas. Pes- 
 saries in the acute stage should be avoided — and 
 at any time should be applied only as a last resort, 
 as more or less ulceration is liable to occur from 
 their use, unless great care is taken to secure clean- 
 
ANTEVERSION— TREATMENT. 545 
 
 liness of the instrument as well as of the vagina. 
 To aged women a properly adjusted pessary may 
 afford great comfort, but it cannot be regarded as 
 curative. One of the best made is Dr. H. G. 
 Farr's uterine support, as it is combined with a 
 partially elastic bandage, which is worn as an ex- 
 ternal support for the bowels while the pessary is 
 placed in the vagina to support the uterus. The 
 muscles of the abdomen should be strengthened 
 by rubbing, kneading and bathing in tepid or cold 
 salt water with a flesh brush or a coarse towel. 
 The exercise given in the foregoing pages should 
 be rigidly practiced. Cures are only effected by 
 restoring the proper tone to the uterine ligaments 
 and the abdominal muscles. A good fitting band- 
 age, made of drilling, similar to one worn after 
 child-birth, is often very useful in supporting the 
 bowels. 
 
 Anteversion (Plate 25). — The womb in its natural 
 position inclines considerably forward. The incli- 
 nation of the uterus is such that it coincides with 
 the axis of the pelvic cavity. In anteversion the 
 womb falls still farther forward, sometimes to such 
 a degree that it lies almost horizontally across the 
 pelvis. 
 
 Causes. — During the period of development the 
 womb is always ante verted, but after puberty it 
 disappears usually. Fibroid tumors situated on 
 the anterior base of the uterus, will produce ante- 
 versions by dragging the organ forward, preg- 
 nancy in the early stages, too great distension of 
 
546 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 the bladder, wearing stays which press upon the 
 body of the womb, and congestion of the uterus 
 will cause anteversion. 
 
 Symptoms. — The body of the uterus presses 
 upon the bladder and narrows its capacity to re- 
 tain urine, thereby causing a desire to pass water 
 frequently. If there is much inflammation attend- 
 ing the anteversion, there is often great pain in 
 urinating. The water is highly colored and de- 
 posits a thick sediment. The patient finds the 
 most discomfort in the upright position, and is 
 therefore adverse to any activity. 
 
 Treatment. — It there are any complications, as 
 inflammation, congestion or ulceration of the womb 
 they should be removed, as they are frequently 
 the cause, and until they are partially removed, 
 active measures to rectify the anteversion could 
 not be borne. The patient should lie upon the 
 back with the hips elevated. To relieve pain and 
 inflammation apply warm flaxseed poultices over 
 the bowels, or flannels wrung out of a strong de- 
 coction of hops and vinegar. 
 
 Retroversion (Plate 26). — This disease is not fre- 
 quent in women who have not borne children. 
 The body of the womb falls backward upon the 
 rectum, while the neck presses upon the bladder. 
 It is the result often of a tumor, or an engorge- 
 ment of the body of the womb, when sudden mus- 
 cular efforts are sufficient to throw the uterus 
 backward. Retroversion frequently follows labor, 
 by the patient being compelled to lie upon the 
 
RETROVERSION — TREATMENT. 547 
 
 back for days. The uterus is then large and ex- 
 hausted, and readily falls into the hollow of the 
 sacrum, from which position it cannot easily rise. 
 The obstetric bandage is another cause of retro- 
 version. After an exhausting labor the uterus is 
 too weak and too heavy to rise into the pelvic 
 cavity properly — the bandage is applied to save 
 the contour of the figure, at the expense of the 
 uterus, which is now unable to overcome all the 
 forces combined against it. 
 
 Symptoms. — The symptoms of retroversion are 
 almost identical with those of inflammation of the 
 womb — pains low in the back and limbs — inability 
 to walk — extreme nervousness and constipation is 
 persistent from pressure of womb on rectum. 
 
 Treatment. — Remove the cause in the first indi- 
 cation. Subdue the inflammation by poultices and 
 hot applications over the bowels, give cooling 
 aperients ; uterine supports should not be at- 
 tempted while there is acute inflammation. After 
 that has subsided measurably, Dr. Farr's uterine 
 and abdominal support can be used with comfort. 
 Any uterine support that is not worn easily should 
 be removed at once, as they are then productive 
 of harm. 
 
 Flexions of the uterus (Plate 27). — The terms 
 retroflexion and retroversion are used almost syn- 
 onymously, although differing slightly in detail. 
 In retroflexion, the neck of the womb maintains its 
 proper position, while the body falls backward. 
 Vice versa in anteflexion. 
 
548 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Causes. — Diseased conditions of the womb are 
 the provoking causes of flexions. 
 
 Symptoms. — The distinguishing difference be- 
 tween retroflexion and retroversion, is in the 
 greater tendency to painful menstruation in the 
 former, together with sterility. 
 
 Treatment. — The treatment is practically the 
 same as for anteversion and retroversion. So far 
 as possible remove the cause. Often it is of great 
 value for the patient to travel, and form new ac- 
 quaintances, visit new scenes ; anything that will 
 serve to take the patient's mind from a contempla- 
 tion of her condition, will be of incalculable benefit. 
 The mind has more to do with binding our dis- 
 eases to us than we can possibly realize, unless we 
 watch the effect of mind over matter for ourselves. 
 A careful study of this subject will repay the 
 effort. 
 
 How to diagnose uterine disease. — From the fore- 
 going pages it will be observed that the symptoms 
 of any uterine disease, accompanied with inflamma- 
 tion, are very similar. There are, however, a few 
 distinguishing points. If the patient has prolapsus, 
 the neck of the womb will be found low in the 
 vagina. The size varies with the degree of con- 
 gestion. There is an opening in the center, lead- 
 ing to the body of the womb. If the body of the 
 womb is felt pressing against the rectum, retrover- 
 sion may be suspected. If there is a desire to 
 urinate frequently, together with a tumefaction 
 resting upon the bladder, it is evidence of ante- 
 version. 
 
TUMORS OF THE UTERUS. 549 
 
 In all cases where the patient cannot clearly 
 diagnose her own case and intelligently apply the 
 remedies laid down in this work, she should con- 
 sult a skillful physician, as timely aid may save 
 years of suffering. 
 
 Tumors of the uterus. — There are three varie- 
 ties of tumors which are found frequently in the 
 uterus, viz : Fibrous, polypus and cancer. The 
 two former are not usually fatal, while the latter 
 is regarded always with grave apprehensions, from 
 being of malignant character. 
 
 Fibroid tumor. — The similarity of the muscular 
 fibers of the womb with that of fibrous tumors, is 
 fully established. Tumors may develope in any 
 part of the womb, but they are most frequent in 
 the body. They vary much in size and numbers, 
 over thirty having been found in one patient. The 
 majority of these tumors, however, are single, and 
 may attain great size. 
 
 Causes. — Little is absolutely known in regard to 
 the causes leading to their development, but among 
 the predisposing causes are menstrual disorders, 
 sterility, age and race. The colored people are most 
 liable to tumors. Tumors seldom appear after men- 
 struation ceases, nor before puberty. The time of 
 life most liable to their development, is during the 
 period when the generative organs exhibit the 
 greatest activity. 
 
 Symptoms. — The patient often has profuse hem- 
 orrhages, pains in the pelvic cavity, irritation of 
 the bladder and rectum, profuse leucorrhceal dis- 
 
550 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 charge, and frequent watery discharges from the 
 uterus ; this watery discharge may be considered 
 diagnostic of fibroid tumor. As the tumor en- 
 larges, it can be distinctly felt through the abdom- 
 inal walls. 
 
 Treatment. — The action of medicine in promot- 
 ing absorption of fibroid tumors, is far less effect- 
 ive than desirable. Tonics are useful in a general 
 way to build up the health if impaired. Iodide of 
 potassium has been given in ten grain doses, three 
 times a day, with partial results. Equal parts of 
 iodine and glycerine applied freely over the abdo- 
 men, with a camel's hair brush, morning and eve- 
 ning, seems to exert a favorable influence in 
 checking the growth of the tumor. Without doubt 
 the most satisfactory results are obtained from the 
 use of electricity, applied over the bowels. Good 
 results have been observed from its use. In my 
 experience nothing is so helpful. Tumors which 
 have shown great activity previous to the meno- 
 pause or " change of life," usually cease to grow, 
 and often greatly decrease in size. 
 
 Polypus of the womb. — A polypus is a pear 
 shaped tumor attached to the uterus by a small 
 pedicle or stem. It developes in the neck of the 
 womb most frequently, although no part of the 
 uterus is exempt. When it forms in the neck of 
 the womb, it frequently protrudes into the vagina, 
 and may pass out at the vulva. 
 
 Cause. — Inflammatory action of the uterus, or 
 obstructions to the menstrual flow, or anything 
 
POLYPUS OF THE WOMB — TREATMENT. 55 I 
 
 which tends to keep up active congestion, predis- 
 poses to the formation of polypus. 
 
 Symptoms. — The symptoms of polypus are sim- 
 ilar to those of fibrous tumors, as pain in the back, 
 and hemorrhages ; the latter is a pretty constant 
 symptom, especially if the polypus lies in the neck 
 of the womb or vagina, and is subject to constant 
 irritation. 
 
 Treatment. — The polypus should be expelled 
 from the body of the uterus, if possible, by the con- 
 tinued use of ergot. If attached to the neck, the 
 pedicle should be severed. The operation is 
 attended with little pain or danger. There are 
 frequently a number existing at the same time. 
 At one time I removed from a patient fourteen 
 polypi. Any inflammation following their removal 
 should be relieved by local applications. 
 
 Cancer of the womb. — The breast, stomach and 
 womb are the organs in which malignant tumors 
 most frequently develop. According to statistics 
 cancer of the womb is most common — and the 
 point of attack is usually the neck of the womb. 
 From a hardened and nodulated condition it soon 
 passes into an ulcerative and sloughing state, and 
 continues t<5 destroy the surrounding tissues, till 
 death comes to the relief of the sufferer. The 
 duration of the disease varies from a few months 
 to a few years. It is incurable, and will reappear 
 after surgical removals. 
 
 Cause. — The cause of cancer is supposed to be 
 from some peculiarity ol the blood. It developes 
 
552 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 most frequently in families who have inherited 
 scrofulous tendencies or consumption. Cancer 
 occurs most frequently in middle life. It is an 
 established fact that inflammation of the uterus is 
 not a provoking cause of cancer. 
 
 Symptoms. — This malady frequently makes con- 
 siderable advancement without attracting much 
 attention. When the tumor begins to slough away 
 hemorrhages appear, and offensive discharges 
 which produce abrasions in the vagina — the com- 
 plexion assumes a waxy hue and the general health 
 fails. Sometimes cancer is attended with sharp, 
 lancinating pains. 
 
 Treatment. — But little can be done to arrest the 
 progress of the disease. The indications are to 
 control the hemorrhages, relieve the pain and the 
 offensiveness of the discharges — for the latter pur- 
 pose a solution of permanganate of potash, in the 
 proportion of ten grains to the quart of water or 
 twenty drops of carbolic acid to the same amount 
 of water, will be found useful to inject several times 
 a day. The pain may be controlled by opium or 
 morphine. No other remedy will afford such re- 
 lief. The general health must be supported by a 
 very nutritious diet — as rare beef, cream, soft eggs, 
 pure wine, etc. If the appetite is poor, give tonics. 
 
 Do not submit the case to a charlatan doctor. 
 The patient who can find no relief in the care of a 
 conscientious, painstaking and learned physician, 
 will gain nothing in the hands of a conscienceless 
 quack. 
 
LEUCORRHCEA— CAUSES — TREATMENT. 553 
 
 Be cheerful and chatty in the presence of the 
 patient. Divert her thoughts from her condition 
 as much as possible. Ventilation of the apart- 
 ment is essential. 
 
 Leucorrhcea, or " whites." — The term implies the 
 presence of a non-sanguineous discharge from the 
 female generative passages. It is a very common 
 disorder among women, and no age is exempt 
 from it. It sometimes appears catarrhal in its 
 nature, and is easily arrested by rest and injections 
 of cold or tepid water. The menstrual period is 
 usually preceded by a leucorrhceal discharge, as 
 a result of temporary congestion, and passes away 
 shortly after the menses cease. When leucorrhcea 
 is constant and produces an itching of the external 
 parts, or a burning sensation in the vagina, it is an 
 indication of uterine disorder, and should be ar- 
 rested at once. There are several varieties of 
 discharges from the generative organs which are 
 called leucorrhcea — any of which is caused by an 
 increased secretion of the mucus lining of the 
 affected part. 
 
 Causes. — General weakness and debility may 
 produce leucorrhcea ; this general weakness may 
 be associated with some derangement of the liver, 
 lungs or heart. It may result from a general low- 
 ering of the vitality or nutrition of the body which 
 constitutes the first stages of consumption. Local 
 causes are any foreign growth in the womb ; flex- 
 ions, polypi in the uterus ; congestions, and prolap- 
 sus of the uterus. Leucorrhcea is often produced 
 
554 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 in children by seat worms in the rectum, in which 
 case there is more or less itching in the vagina ; or 
 it may occur from simple debility. 
 
 Treatment. — The first care should be to remove 
 the cause. If leucorrhcea is caused by physical 
 weakness, tonics should be given, and careful hy 
 gienic measures adopted, such as baths, friction of 
 the skin, outdoor life, change of scene, exercise, 
 proper attention to the diet. All habits of a known 
 pernicious tendency must be avoided. Injections 
 are of great value, and ought to be used two or 
 three times a day. In winter the water should be 
 tepid or hot ; in the summer, cold or tepid. In- 
 jections containing alum, sulphate of zinc, borax, 
 oak bark tea, and camomile tea are beneficial. If 
 the leucorrhceal discharge arises from congestion 
 of the body or neck of the womb, injections of 
 iodine are very useful, in the proportion of twenty 
 drops to the pint of water. Local treatment is 
 often the only real curative remedy for leucorrhcea. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DISEASES OF WOMEN — HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT. 
 
 At the urgent request of many friends of Mater- 
 nity, and to meet the growing demand of the 
 multitude of mothers who believe in the milder 
 remedies of homeopathy, especially in treating 
 the diseases of children, the following pages have 
 been added. Space will not permit an exhaustive 
 description and the treatment of all the many dis- 
 eases to which mankind is subject. The object 
 has rather been to select the more common, such 
 as are annoying but not seriously dangerous, and 
 such as may be treated with comparative safety 
 by any intelligent mother. The descriptions are 
 as complete as space will allow ; the treatment, 
 that recommended by the most advanced physi- 
 cians of the homeopathic school, and the remedies 
 advised, those that can be most easily obtained. 
 
 Delayed and Obstructed Menstruation. — (See page 
 37). It is well for the patient, a few days before 
 the period, to take a warm hip or foot bath twice 
 a day, and at night when retiring to apply cloths 
 wet in warm water to the lower part of the ab- 
 domen. 
 
 An excellent prescription, recommended by 
 555 
 
55^ DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Prof. Cooke, of Hahnemann Medical College, 
 Chicago, is as follows: About two weeks before 
 the period, take a dose of Gelseminum every day 
 at night, and a dose of Belladonna in the morning. 
 At the time for the menses, if there is much pain, 
 take these two remedies alternately every two or 
 four hours. 
 
 Pulsatilla — If the patient is melancholy and sad, 
 and inclined to weep ; paleness with flashes of heat ; 
 loss of appetite, with desire for acids ; nausea and 
 vomiting. 
 
 Bryonia — If there is congestion of the head ; 
 flushed face, frequent nose bleeding, constipation ; 
 palpitation of the heart. 
 
 Lycopodium is suitable for similar symptoms. 
 
 Phosphorus — If the patient is predisposed to lung 
 disease, weak chest, cough, pain in chest, spitting 
 of blood. 
 
 Arsenicum — If she has dropsical swellings about 
 the eyes, or of the feet or limbs, pale complexion, 
 chlorotic. 
 
 Sulphur — If the preceding remedies fail. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Give a dose (six 
 globules) every morning of either of the above 
 remedies for a week or ten days. If better, dis- 
 continue four days, and give sulphur every morn- 
 ing for a week. 
 
 Suppression of the Menses. — (See page 39). 
 
 Aconite — When the suppression is caused by 
 fright or cold, with congestion of blood to the 
 head and chest, redness of the face, nausea, faint- 
 
SUPPRESSION OF THE MENSES. 557 
 
 ness, giddiness, this may be given in alternation 
 with Bryonia. If these remedies afford only par- 
 tial relief, give Opium. 
 
 Belladonna — For patients of full and robust habit. 
 Symptoms are beating headache, redness of the 
 face, congestion of the head or chest, great thirst. 
 
 Bryonia — Headache and giddiness, aggravated 
 by stooping and motion ; pain in stomach, sour 
 belchings, constipation, bleeding of the nose. 
 
 Pulsatilla — The most important remedy in this 
 trouble. Called for when the suppression is occa- 
 sioned by getting cold ; severe headache, confined 
 to one side of the head, with shooting pains, ex- 
 tending to face, ears and teeth ; dizziness, with 
 humming in the ears; palpitation of the heart; 
 coldness of the hands and feet ; flushes of heat ; 
 nausea and vomiting ; pressure in the lower part 
 of abdomen ; feeling of suffocation on the least 
 exertion ; frequent desire to urinate ; leucorrhcea ; 
 sadness. 
 
 Sepia — Nervous headache, with alternate shud- 
 dering and heat ; colic, and pains in sides ; bearing 
 down pains, pale complexion, or yellow spots on 
 face ; weeping ; hysterical troubles, especially in- 
 dicated when there is leucorrhcea. 
 
 Veratrum — Nervous headache, nausea and vom- 
 iting; coldness of the hands and feet, weakness 
 and fainting. 
 
 Sulphur — Headache, principally in back of head ; 
 feeling of fullness and weight in head ; throbbing 
 and buzzing; pale face, with red spots on cheeks; 
 
558 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 sour stomach ; pressure in abdomen ; constipation, 
 with ineffectual urging to stool ; or diarrhoea, with 
 mucus, slimy evacuations ; piles, leucorrhcea, with 
 itching of the private parts, pains in the loins ; 
 difficulty of breathing ; irritable temper, and sad- 
 ness. In chronic cases where the patient is very 
 much reduced, give either China, Graphites, Ar- 
 senicum or Natrum Muriaticum. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonfuls of water, and give 
 a teaspoonful every one or two hours, according 
 to the urgency of the symptoms. If the discharge 
 does not return, but the symptoms are removed, 
 stop the medicine and commence again, a few days 
 before the next period. 
 
 Chlorosis or Green Sickness. — (See page 43). 
 
 Pulsatilla — For women of a mild and easy dispo- 
 sition, who are given to sadness and tears, or if 
 cold and exposure were the causes of the disease. 
 The following symptoms particularly indicate this 
 remedy : Sallow complexion, alternating with red- 
 ness and flushes of heat, palpitation of the heart ; 
 cold feet and hands ; difficulty of breathing, with 
 a sense of suffocation after any exertion ; looseness 
 of the bowels, nausea and vomiting; swelling of 
 the feet ; chilliness ; buzzing in the ears, and neu- 
 ralgic pains of the face ; acrid, burning leucorrhcea. 
 
 Bryonia — May be given in alternation (turn 
 about) with Pulsatilla, when there is frequent con- 
 gestion of the chest ; constipation ; bleeding from 
 the nose ; flushes of heat with chilliness ; cough 
 
CHLOROSIS OR GREEN SICKNESS. 559 
 
 with spitting of clots of dark blood ; pain in the 
 small of the back. 
 
 Ferrum — When there is great debility ; want of 
 appetite; nausea and hectic cough; dropsical 
 swellings about the eyes; extreme sallowness of 
 the skin ; the lips are almost bloodless ; difficulty 
 of breathing; want of vital heat. 
 
 Sulphur — For obstinate cases, especially when the 
 above remedies have not afforded relief, although 
 apparently indicated : throbbing pains in the 
 head ; humming in the ears ; constant drowsiness 
 in the daytime; voracious appetite; rising of 
 wind or sour substances from the stomach ; ema- 
 ciation ; constipation of the bowels, with hard 
 stool ; great depression after talking ; difficulty 
 of breathing, with oppression of the chest. 
 
 Calcarea Carb — Suitable after Sulphur, especially 
 when the emaciation is very great, and there is 
 great difficulty oj breathing. 
 
 China and Crabo Veg — A dose, alternately, every 
 evening for five or six weeks, when the disease 
 occurs after severe sickness, or after hemorrhages. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 chosen, give five or six globules, dry, once in four 
 hours. If improvement sets in, lengthen the in- 
 tervals to twelve hours, or two or three days. 
 
 Diet — The diet should be perfectly plain and 
 nutritious. Avoid all stimulants and highly-sea- 
 soned food. Coffee, green tea and liquors should 
 be forbidden. 
 
 Profuse Menstruation. — (See page 46). 
 
$6o DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Ipecac — When the discharge is bright red, and 
 the menses return too early. It may be followed 
 by Sabina. 
 
 Belladonna — When the menses return too soon, 
 and there are bearing - down pains, with severe 
 headache, flushed face and cold extremities. 
 
 Crocus — This is an important remedy, indicated 
 when the discharge consists of dark colored clots. 
 
 Chamomilla — When the discharge is dark colored 
 and accompanied by griping, colicky pains, or 
 labor-like pains; violent thirst, headache, with 
 clouded sight, and humming in the ears. 
 
 Nux Vomica — The flow commences with sudden 
 violent gushes, stops for a short time, and begins 
 again. Spasms in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, 
 fainting. Sensation of heaviness, with pain and 
 soreness as from a bruise. 
 
 Calcarea Carb — Good in obstinate cases, where 
 the discharge has continued for a long time, and 
 has caused general constitutional disturbance. 
 Adapted to weak and relaxed muscles, and scrofu- 
 lous subjects. 
 
 Secale — Great flooding, with violent cramp, ting- 
 ling in the legs, cramps, and coldness of the 
 extremities. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected rem- 
 edy, dissolve twelve globules in twelve teaspoon- 
 fuls of water, and take a spoonful every half hour, 
 or one or two hours, according to the severity of 
 the symptoms. 
 
PAINFUL MENSTRUATION. 561 
 
 Painful Menstruation — Dysmenorrhea — (See 
 page 49). 
 
 Belladonna — When the pains in the abdomen are 
 as if the parts were clutched ; severe pain in the 
 back; bearing down pains, as if the parts would 
 fall out ; the pains come on before the menses ap- 
 pear, accompanied with a strong tendency of blood 
 to the head, with headache ; frightful visions, red 
 and puffed face, and violent thirst. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Spasms in the abdoman, with dis- 
 charge of clots of dark or pale blood ; pressing 
 pain in the abdomen and small of the back and 
 sides; nausea and vomiting; frequent urging to 
 urinate, and evacuate the bowels. 
 
 Coffea — Great nervous excitement, grinding of 
 the teeth, screaming ; distressing colic ; fullness 
 and pressure of the abdomen ; coldness of the body. 
 May be given in alternation with Pulsatilla. 
 
 Chamomilla — Pains resembling labor ; menses too 
 profuse, and too soon, attended with violent ab- 
 dominal cramps. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Cramps of the womb, writhing 
 pains in the abdomen, and pains in the back as if 
 it were broken ; forcing pains, and sickness at the 
 stomach ; urging to urinate. 
 
 Secale Cornutum — Tearing and cutting colic, with 
 profuse and long continued flow ; pale face, cold 
 limbs, and cold sweat. 
 
 Veratrum — Colic, with nausea and vomiting ; 
 nervous headache ; coldness of the feet, nose, and 
 hands ; fainting fits. 
 
562 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Cessation of the Menses — Change of Life. — (See 
 page 51). 
 
 The remedies most called for are Pulsatilla, 
 Lachesis, Bryonia, Cocculus, Ignatia, and Sul- 
 phur. Generally the treatment may be com- 
 menced with Pulsatilla and Lachesis. Give one 
 dose (six globules) of Pulsatilla for four days ; then 
 omit all medicines for four days ; then give 
 Lachesis in the same manner. If the symptoms 
 abate do not give any more medicine, so long as 
 improvement continues. Bryonia is to be given 
 when there is tendency of the blood to the head, 
 dizziness, etc. Ignatia, when the patient is ner- 
 vous and irritable. 
 
 Falling of the Womb. — (See page 542). 
 
 Belladonna — When there is a feeling of pressure 
 in the abdomen as if the contents would fall out ; 
 heaviness in the thighs, with crampy pains in the 
 abdomen, extending even to the end of the spinal 
 column ; great sensibility and irritability ; leucor- 
 rhcea and profuse menstruation. 
 
 Sepia — Menstruation too early, too feeble, or 
 suppressed ; pains in the back and abdomen, which 
 are aggravated by walking ; frequent desire to 
 urinate ; pressing pain in the abdomen, as if every- 
 thing would fall out ; itching, burning leucorrhcea, 
 with a discharge of yellowish, reddish, or fetid 
 fluid. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Pressure downward, especially 
 when walking-, or after walking ; heat and weight 
 in the womb and vagina ; dragging, aching pain 
 
LEUCORRHCEA— WHITES. 563 
 
 in the back, in the abdomen, and down in the 
 thighs. During- the menses, colic, and headache ; 
 menses too early and too profuse ; leucorrhcea 
 with discharge of yellow fetid mucus. 
 
 Calcarea Carb — Excellent for persons of weak 
 muscular system, of scrofulous habit, and especially 
 where the menses are exhausting, too profuse and 
 too frequent. 
 
 Commence the treatment with a dose (six glob- 
 ules) of Nux Vomica every four hours, and con- 
 tinue that for one week ; omit the next week, but 
 the week following take a dose of Sepia, night and 
 morning. If the symptoms indicate Belladonna, 
 give that instead of Nux Vomica. 
 
 Leucorrh&a — Whites. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Where the discharge is thin and 
 acrid, making the parts sore, with swelling of the 
 vulva, or when the discharge is like cream, at- 
 tended with cutting pains in the abdomen. Pulsa- 
 tilla is best adapted to women of a mild dispo- 
 sition, with soft, muscular system, light hair and 
 pale skin. 
 
 Sepia — Best suited to sensitive and delicate 
 females. The discharge is yellowish, or greenish, 
 sometimes mixed with matter, and blood, burning 
 stitches in vagina, and with burning pain and sore- 
 ness of the parts ; falling of the womb. 
 
 Alumina — Leucorrhcea after the menses ; profuse 
 discharge of mucus during the day, stiffening the 
 linen ; burning discharge causing heat, soreness, 
 and itching of the privates. 
 
564 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Calcarea Curb — Leucorrhoea before the menses, 
 with itching, burning discharge at intervals, or 
 when making water. Best suited to females of 
 light complexion, loose muscular tissue, sluggish 
 circulation. 
 
 Nitric Acid — For fetid, brownish, greenish, or 
 flesh-colored leucorrhoea. 
 
 Mercurius — Purulent, burning leucorrhoea. 
 
 Cocculus — Watery, bloody leucorrhoea during 
 pregnancy. Scanty menses, with leucorrhoea be- 
 tween the periods. 
 
 Sulphur — In stubborn cases ; discharge slimy or 
 yellowish, smarting, excoriating leucorrhoea, pre- 
 ceded by colic. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected rem- 
 edy give six pills, morning and evening, for five 
 days. If the case does not improve, give a dose 
 of Sulphur, and omit four days, and then repeat 
 the remedy as before. If this affords no relief, the 
 remedy must be changed. 
 
 Inflammation of the Lungs (Pneumonia?) (See 
 page 408). 
 
 This is an inflammation of the substance of the 
 lungs, and is sometimes called lung fever. It is very 
 apt to be complicated with pleurisy, or bronchitis. 
 Pneumonia may be either single or double, that is, 
 one lung may be affected, or both. It is more 
 common upon the right side, than upon the left. 
 
 Symptoms — Pneumonia generally commences, as 
 all inflammatory diseases do, with a chill or shiv- 
 ering, followed by fever, pain on one side of the 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 565 
 
 chest, difficulty of breathing, cough, frequent 
 pulse, breathing quick, and pain, sometimes sharp 
 like a stitch in the side. The patient cannot lie on 
 the affected side, on account of the pain, and the 
 breathing is more difficult when he lies on the 
 opposite side, hence he lies mostly on the back. A 
 dry, painful cough is present from the beginning, 
 but sometimes it is moist, and the expectoration is 
 white and transparent becoming afterward rust 
 colored, or streaked with blood. The skin is dry, 
 and there is thirst, flushed face, and anxiety. The 
 inflammation generally reaches its height about 
 the fifth or sixth day, and the symptoms remain 
 stationary for one or two days, and then begin to 
 subside, and the patient finally recovers. If pneu- 
 monia ends unfavorably, the patient lingers along 
 for a great while, and the symptoms gradually 
 grow worse until death ends his sufferings. 
 
 Sometimes inflammation of the lungs appears as 
 an epidemic, in which case it is very apt to assume 
 a malignant form, and become typhoid pneumonia. 
 The symptoms are similar to those of simple pneu- 
 monia, with the exception of the low condition of 
 the system, which is present. The inflammation 
 is, however, of a less acute character than pneu- 
 monia. As the disease progresses, the active 
 symptoms of pneumonia disappear, and the patient 
 lies in a drowsy state, or stupor comes on, the skin 
 becomes harsh and dry, and the tip and edges of 
 the tongue present a very red appearance, while 
 the upper surface will be coated with a yellowish 
 
566 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 or brownish fur. The bowels swell and are very 
 tender. 
 
 Causes — Cold is generally the exciting cause ; 
 hence you will find pnenmonia more frequent dur- 
 ing the winter than during the summer months. 
 A severe blow, or fall upon the chest, and the 
 inhalation of irritating vapors may also produce it. 
 
 General Treatment — The patient should be con- 
 fined to a well ventilated room, the temperature of 
 which should be moderate, not too warm, or too 
 cold. Care should be taken that he is not exposed 
 to draughts of air. 
 
 Aconite should be given at the commencement, 
 either alone or in alternation with Bryonia, espe- 
 cially when the fever is high, and the pain in the 
 chest is severe. The pain is rendered worse by 
 movement, or coughing, the expectoration is 
 bloody and of the color of brick dust, tongue 
 coated, great thirst. These remedies should be 
 given in alternation (turn about) every half hour 
 or hour, a teaspoonful, until the patient is better. 
 Belladonna may be given either alone or in alter- 
 nation with Aconite, if the fever still increases, 
 and there is considerable congestion of the head, 
 with violent beating of the arteries of the neck 
 and temples. 
 
 Phosphorus — This is a valuable remedy in severe 
 cases; may precede Bryonia and Belladonna, 
 either alone or in alternation with Aconite, and 
 especially if the following symptoms are present: 
 A short, hacking cough, especially in the evening, 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 567 
 
 with a sense of suffocation, little or no expectora- 
 tion ; severe pain in the chest ; heaviness, fullness 
 and tightness, as though a band were drawn around 
 the chest, great prostration, fullness of the face ; 
 stitches in the side, especially in the left, picking 
 at the bedclothes ; pulse small and quick. Tartar 
 Emetic may be given in alternation (turn about) 
 with Phosphorus, especially when Aconite and 
 Bryonia do not relieve; also when there is great 
 repression of breathing and cough ; the cough is 
 loose with profuse expectoration, hollow and rat- 
 tling ; little or no pain ; nausea and vomiting, 
 especially after coughing. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Difficulty of breathing, especially 
 when lying upon the back. Particularly good for 
 children when there is regular, short coughing, 
 hoarseness and heaviness of the chest. 
 
 Mercurius — When Aconite has diminished the 
 fever, but there is still difficulty of breathing, and 
 the patient is exhausted by night sweats. 
 
 In typhoid pneumonia, China may be used, 
 especially when the patient is reduced by loss of 
 blood, and when the following symptoms are pres- 
 ent: Pressure in the chest, stitches in the breast 
 and sides ; palpitation of the heart when breathing 
 and coughing ; great weakness, pulse thin and 
 quick. If this does not relieve after having used 
 several hours, Rhus Tox may be given in alterna- 
 tion with it. 
 
 Opium — When there is great drowsiness, with 
 snoring breathing, low mutterings, picking at the 
 

 568 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 bedclothes, and discharges passing without the 
 knowledge of the patient. 
 
 Hyoscyamus — When the cough is very irritating 
 and spasmodic, face red and hot ; eyes sparkling ; 
 tongue dry and brownish. 
 
 Veratrum — If the pulse is very small and weak, 
 the Jimbs cold, delirium, vomiting, diarrhoea, and 
 rapid sinking of strength. 
 
 Arnica — May be given for the same symptoms 
 as Opium, but when there is no delirium. Cam- 
 phor and Coffea in alternate doses if the patient is 
 sinking rapidly, with cold limbs, and delirium ; and 
 particularly if he is covered with cold perspiration. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected rem- 
 edy dissolve twelve globules in as many spoonfuls 
 of water, and give a teaspoonful every hour, two, 
 three or four hours, according to the severity of 
 the symptoms. The diet should be plain, consist- 
 ing of easily digested substances, such as gruel, 
 etc. It is welMo use a poultice of hot corn meal, 
 applied to the chest. This must be continued until 
 the patient is decidedly relieved. 
 
 Dyspepsia (Heartburn — Indigestion — Water Brash 
 — Sour Stomachy Pyrosis.) 
 
 Dyspepsia is one of the most common diseases 
 with which the physician meets. It is found in 
 every country, among all classes, and more fre- 
 quently in persons of middle age. Those who are 
 of sedentary habits, who have no opportunity to 
 take exercise ; those addicted to the use of liquors, 
 tobacco, etc., are more subject to it than others. 
 
DYSPEPSIA. 569 
 
 Symptoms — Dyspepsia may be occasional, or 
 habitual. By occasional is meant a slight attack 
 of indigestion, which arises from overeating, or 
 from some indigestible and unwholesome article 
 of food. By habitual dyspepsia is meant those 
 cases which continue for a great length of time — 
 months or even years. In this disease the stomach 
 loses its digestive powers, and the patient is only 
 able to eat by always taking bitters or pills, and 
 drugging himself incessantly. An occasional attack 
 of indigestion is characterized by a distension of 
 the stomach ; belching of wind ; loss of appetite ; 
 loathing of food ; sometimes by nausea and vom- 
 iting In the habitual or chronic form the appetite 
 is changeable, and sometimes entirely lost, or may 
 be voracious If the patient eats a full, hearty 
 meal, he becomes low spirited, with pain or weight 
 in the stomach ; there is sometimes a desire to eat, 
 after having already eaten, and the first mouthful 
 satisfies ; the tongue is pale, flabby or slimy, or 
 becomes dry, clammy or thickly coated, especially 
 on rising in the morning ; there is a constant un- 
 easy feeling of weight in the stomach ; there are 
 also eructations of a sour or disagreeable character, 
 with acidity of the stomach, and wind ; a sensation 
 of sinking or fluttering at the pit of the stomach, 
 tenderness on pressure, sometimes nausea and 
 vomiting ; headache, languor, and great depression 
 of spirits ; fear of death, and impending evil; pal- 
 pitation of the heart, or strong beating in the 
 region of the stomach ; constipation ; disagreeable 
 
570 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 taste in the mouth, especially in the morning on 
 first waking; the memory is impaired ; the dispo- 
 sition is fickle, and the temper is irritable ; there 
 is lowness of spirits ; confusion of thought, or of 
 ideas ; dizziness ; weakness of sight, specks appear 
 before the eyes ; the countenance becomes sallow 
 with an anxious appearance, skin dry and wrinkled; 
 nightmare is of common occurrence ; twitching, or 
 spasmodic action of the muscles ; flushes of heat 
 and cold ; wandering pains in the back and shoul- 
 ders ; frequent sighing ; a sense of great oppression 
 about the region of the heart ; noise, or singing in 
 the ears. 
 
 Causes — One of the most frequent causes of dys- 
 pepsia, is hasty and imperfect mastication of food ; 
 want of exercise ; want of a tranquil state of the 
 mind ; improper food, such as powerful stimulants, 
 alcoholic liquors ; too frequent use of warm fluids ; 
 the use of tobacco ; late hours ; highly seasoned 
 dishes ; profuse evacuation ; sedentary life ; long, 
 intense study ; indolence ; over indulgence in 
 sleep; breathing impure air; venereal excesses; 
 persons who eat rapidly, and at the same time 
 drink large quantities of water, tea or coffee, are 
 more subject to it ; going to meals from severe 
 bodily or mental exercise is very injurious ; or 
 violent exercise after meals ; eating late at night 
 or just before retiring, is another fruitful cause ; 
 anger; jealousy; great joy; night watching, etc., 
 are exciting causes; the abuse of purgative med- 
 icines, inducing a torpid state of the bowels, is 
 extremely hurtful. 
 
DYSPEPSIA. 571 
 
 General Treatment — Good cooking is a very im- 
 portant part of the treatment of dyspepsia ; the 
 food should be well cooked, but not overdone ; 
 rare meats are the best for dyspeptics. Persons 
 subject to dyspepsia should avoid all cured meats, 
 such as ham, tongue, smoked or pickled meats, 
 sausages, etc., also raw vegetables, pickles, salads, 
 etc. The food should be masticated slowly and 
 well before allowing it to enter the stomach, each 
 mouthful should be chewed until it is gone, for 
 food when well chewed will enter the stomach of 
 its own accord ; different kinds of pastry, hot bread, 
 hot biscuit, eggs, soups, highly seasoned dishes, 
 puddings, etc., must be avoided. 
 
 Fish is most digestible when boiled, is less so 
 when broiled, and is least so when fried. Most 
 kinds of wild game may be allowed; mutton, ven- 
 ison, the white flesh of chickens and turkeys, and 
 raw r oysters, roasted, baked or boiled ripe fruits, 
 brown or wheat bread, potatoes may be used. 
 Tea, coffee and all intoxicating drinks should be 
 avoided. The best drink is water, or milk when 
 it can be taken without unpleasant symptoms. 
 Too much liquid should not be taken at a meal, 
 and it is better that the patient should not drink 
 until after the meal. At least six hours should 
 elapse between one meal and another. In healthy 
 stomachs, however, from three to four hours is 
 sufficient. Persons should never travel or enter 
 upon an excursion with an empty stomach, or with 
 an overloaded one. In drinking it is better that it 
 
57^ DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 should be taken by sipping, or drinking by mouth- 
 fuls than by large draughts. After exercise of 
 any kind, such as riding, Avalking, etc., the person 
 should rest at least half an hour before taking a 
 meal, and after taking a meal ; a rest of about the 
 same time should follow before any exercise is 
 taken. Walking, running, jumping, dancing, saw- 
 ing wood, or rowing a boat, should be practiced 
 regularly every day. The following table is, with 
 slight modification, from Dr. Leared : 
 
 Easy of Digestion — Mutton, venison, hare, sweet 
 bread, young pigeons, partridge, pheasants, grouse, 
 beef tea, mutton broth, milk, turbot, haddock, 
 flounders, sole, fresh fish generally, roasted oys- 
 ters, stale bread, rice, tapioca, sago, arrowroot, 
 asparagus, secale, French beans, cauliflower, baked 
 apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, peaches, 
 toast water, black tea, sherry, claret. 
 
 Moderately Digestible — Beef, lamb, rabbit, turkey, 
 duck, wild water fowl, woodcock, snipe, soups, 
 eggs not hard boiled, butter, turtle, cod, pike, trout, 
 raw or stewed oysters, potatoes, turnip, cabbage, 
 spinach, artichoke, lettuce, celery, apples, apricots, 
 currants, raspberries, bread, farinaceous puddings, 
 jelly, marmalade, rhubarb plant, cooked fruits, 
 cocoa, coffee, malt drinks, port wine. 
 
 Hard to Digest — Pork, veal, goose, liver, heart, 
 brain, salt meat, sausage, hashes and stews, mack- 
 erel, eels, salmon, herring, halibut, salt fish, lob- 
 ster, crabs, shrimps, muscles, oil, melted butter, 
 hard boiled eggs, cheese, fresh bread, muffins, 
 
DYSPEPSIA. 573 
 
 buttered toast, pastry, custards, nuts, peas, plums, 
 cherries, dried fruits, cucumbers, onions, carrots, 
 parsnips, beets, beans, mushrooms, pickles, choco- 
 late, champagne, cordials. 
 
 To facilitate the choice of remedies, the disease 
 is here classified, with the remedies attached to 
 each kind. Before selecting a remedy, consult the 
 details below : 
 
 For dyspepsia of adults, Aconite, Antimony, 
 Arnica, Belladonna, Bryonia, Calcarea Carb., 
 Carbo Veg., Chamomilla, China, Hepar Sulphur, 
 Ipecac, Mercurius, Nux Vomica, Pulsatilla, Phos- 
 phorus, Sepia, Sulphur, Veratrum. 
 
 Of children, Aconite, Bryonia, Calcarea Carb., 
 Chamomilla, Ipecac, Pulsatilla, Sulphur. 
 
 When Dyspepsia is caused by prolonged watch- 
 ing, Nux Vomica, Arnica, Pulsatilla, Veratrum, 
 Carbo Veg. 
 
 By excessive stud}', Nux Vomica, Sulphur, 
 Lachesis, Pulsatilla, Calcarea Carb. 
 
 By abuse of ardent spirits, Nux Vomica, Sul- 
 phur, Lachesis, Arsenic, Carbo Veg. 
 
 By the abuse of coffee, Nux Vomica, Ignatia. 
 
 By the abuse of tobacco, Nux Vomica, Hepar 
 Sulphur, Cocculus, Staphysagria. 
 
 If the Dyspepsia is worse after drinking cold 
 water, Arsenic, China, Pulsatilla, Veratrum. 
 
 After drinking beer, Arsenic, Calcarea Carb, 
 Rhus Tox, Sepia, Sulphur. 
 
 After drinking milk, B^onia, Nux Vomica, 
 Calcarea, Sulphur. 
 
574 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 After using acids, Nux Vomica, Sepia, Sulphur, 
 Arsenic, Lachesis. 
 
 After using bread, Nux Vomica, Sulphur, Pul- 
 satilla, Bryonia, Mercury. 
 
 After eating fat substances, Pulsatilla, China, 
 Carbo Veg. 
 
 If Dyspepsia is combined with constipation, Nux 
 Vomica, Sulphur, Bryonia, Lachesis. 
 
 If with diarrhoea, Pulsatilla, China, Phosphoric 
 Acid, Carbo Veg., Mercury, Arsenic, Veratrum. 
 
 If with sour stomach, Pulsatilla, Nux Vomica, 
 Calcarea Carb. 
 
 If with piles, Nux Vomica, Sulphur, Sepia. 
 
 Aconite — When at the commencement of the 
 attack there is considerable fever, with thirst, and 
 nausea ; also when there is redness and soreness 
 of the mouth and throat. 
 
 Arnica — When it is caused by a fall, or a blow 
 upon the stomach, with pain, and sensation as if 
 the small of the back was broken ; tongue covered 
 with a thick yellowish coating ; nausea, with incli- 
 nation to vomit ; frequent eructations with a putrid 
 or bitter taste ; nervous excitement ; heaviness of 
 the limbs. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Suitable in most cases of dyspepsia, 
 at the commencement ; particularly when there is 
 constipation and tendency to piles ; sour, bitter 
 taste in the mouth ; when food, particularly bread, 
 tastes sour, bitter, or insipid ; the patient has not 
 much appetite, but a craving for beer, wine or 
 spirits ; easily satisfied with food ; after eating he 
 
DYSPEPSIA. 575 
 
 is troubled with nausea ; vomiting of food ; dizzi- 
 ness ; heaviness; drowsiness; fullness and disten- 
 sion of the stomach ; tender to the touch ; head 
 confused ; reeling, with dullness in the head : head- 
 ache, increased by mental exertion ; ringing in the 
 ears ; tongue coated white ; metallic, bitter, sour 
 or putrid taste in the mouth in the morning, or 
 after eating ; heartburn ; wind colic ; feeling of 
 tightness of the clothes around the waist; sour 
 stomach ; ineffectual urging to stool ; hard and 
 difficult stool streaked with blood. Sulphur suits 
 well after this. 
 
 Sulphur — Especially good in cases of long stand- 
 ing, or when there is no appetite for meat and 
 bread, but with a craving for wines and acids; 
 difficulty of breathing ; nausea after eating ; belch- 
 ing and vomiting of food; shivering; acidity and 
 waterbrash ; sour stomach ; mental depression, 
 dissatisfied with everything and everybody. Cal- 
 carea Carb. suits well after this. 
 
 Pulsatilla — An important remedy in dyspepsia ; 
 particularly for recent cases caused by overeating; 
 by the use of pork, mutton, butter, or any greajy 
 substance ; taste of the food comes up again in the 
 mouth ; inclination to vomit, especially after eating 
 or drinking ; taste flat, or putrid, resembling bad 
 meat or tallow ; pressure in the pit of the stomach, 
 especially after eating ; the patient feels chilly, is 
 weak, cross and melancholy. 
 
 Antimonium Crudum — Particularly useful when 
 the disorder is caused by overloading the stomach, 
 
57^ DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 and the following- symptoms are present: Taste 
 of the food last partaken of comes up in the mouth, 
 gulping up of particles of undigested food soon 
 after eating ; tongue coated with a white or yel- 
 lowish mucus, stomach feels tender to the touch, 
 and distended. 
 
 Belladonna — When there is painful distension of 
 the abdomen, with griping, as if the bowels were 
 clutched ; hiccough ; nausea, or a loathing of food ; 
 vomiting of water or bile, also when there is dull- 
 ness of the head, or congestion of blood to the 
 head. 
 
 Arsenic — Particularly useful in chronic cases; 
 when the countenance is sunken ; the extremities 
 cold ; dark circles around the eyes ; nose pointed ; 
 tongue white, or brownish ; also when there are 
 cramps in the stomach ; with a sense of coldness 
 or heat ; everything taken into the stomach is 
 vomited ; the skin is hot and dry. If Arsenicum 
 does not produce a beneficial effect, give Lachesis. 
 
 Bryonia — An important remedy for dyspepsia, 
 especially when it occurs in summer ; also when it 
 is accompanied with chilliness, headache and pain 
 in the limbs, and small of the back ; also with the 
 following symptoms: Tongue covered with yel- 
 lowish fur, and dry and hot; loss of appetite ; bitter 
 taste ; great aversion to food ; sometimes has a 
 great craving for food ; a craving for acid drinks ; 
 sensation of fullness and burning in the stomach 
 after meals; much thirst; gulping up particles of 
 food after every meal ; waterbrash ; constipation 
 
DYSPEPSIA. 577 
 
 of the bowels ; nausea in the morning ; burning in 
 the stomach ; temper irritable and obstinate. 
 Should Bryonia produce little or no improvement, 
 give Rhus. 
 
 China — Dyspepsia from loss of blood or other 
 discharges, when caused by an impure atmosphere, 
 and when the following symptoms are present: 
 Pressure in the stomach, as if from a load; indif-* 
 ference to food and drink; craving for wines or 
 acids; flat or bitter taste in the mouth ; desire for 
 a variety of dainties without knowing which ; 
 morbid craving for something strong, sharp or 
 sour ; weakness and tired feeling ; the patient 
 bends and stretches his limbs from a sense of 
 weariness. 
 
 Cepa — No hunger, but considerable thirst; full- 
 ness of the head ; pain in the bowels from wind. 
 
 Carbo Veg — Loss of appetite, bitter taste in the 
 mouth, empty belching of air, taste of the food 
 after it has been taken, nausea in the morning, 
 waterbrash during the night, wind colic, rumbling 
 in the abdomen. 
 
 Calcarea Carb — Particularly for children who 
 have a tendency to scrofula ; acidity of the stom- 
 ach, frequent belching of wind, sensation of fullness 
 in the head, with inclination to sick headache ; 
 fullness and swelling in the region of the stomach, 
 with tenderness to the touch, gnawing or griping 
 pains. 
 
 Chatnomilla — Especially for dyspepsia brought on 
 by a fit of passion, or by standing in a draught 
 37 
 
578 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 when perspiring; gulping up of food, nausea, 
 vomiting of food and green phlegm or bile ; cramps 
 in the stomach, headache, fullness, giddiness, sleep 
 disturbed, and tossing about, face red and hot. 
 
 Hcpar Sulphur — For dyspepsia when caused by 
 taking blue pills, or other preparations of mercury, 
 hungering for stimulating things, wines or acids, 
 tne stomach appears to be very sensitive and easily 
 deranged, though the patient may be healthy ; 
 nausea in the morning, with vomiting of sour, 
 bilious or mucus substances. May be given in 
 alternation with Nux Vomica, if there is hard, 
 light colored stools, or with Mercury if there is a 
 whitish diarrhoea. 
 
 Ipecac — Especially suitable for children when 
 they have vomiting of food, drink, or bile, vomit- 
 ing with coldness of the face and extremities, 
 tongue coated with a white yellowish coating, 
 vomiting with diarrhoea, aversion to food, partic- 
 ularly of fat, rich food, or for dyspepsia caused by 
 eating turkey, pastry, etc. 
 
 Mercurius — Belching of acrid, bitter substances, 
 putrid, sweetish, or bitter taste in the morning, 
 inclination to diarrhoea, with straining or perspi- 
 ration, weak digestion with constant hunger, 
 pressure at the pit of the stomach after eating. 
 Suits well before or after Lachesis. 
 
 Phosphorus — Empty belching, especially after 
 eating, vomiting after eating, burning in the 
 stomach. 
 
 Sepia — For chronic dyspepsia with or without 
 
 L 
 
IRRITATION OF THE SKIN. 579 
 
 sick headache, eructations sour or pucrid, or tast- 
 ing of food ; swelling of the abdomen, with pres- 
 sure as from a stone ; nausea before breakfast, also 
 after eating; nausea of pregnant women., 
 
 Lachesis — Irregular appetite, an aversion to 
 bread, with a craving for wine and milk; frequent 
 nausea, and vomiting of food ; constipation, uneasi- 
 ness, indolence, heaviness. Suits well before or 
 after Mercury. 
 
 Veratrum — When Ipecac has proved insufficient, 
 or where, after the use of Ipecac, there is still 
 diarrhoea with griping pains in the bowels, and 
 great thirst, coldness of the hands, and shuddering 
 all over. 
 
 Other remedies, as Rhus, Phosphoric Acid, Coc- 
 culus, Ignatia, Staphysagria, are sometimes but 
 not often called for. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — In recent cases, and 
 if there be much pain and sickness at the stomach, 
 take of the selected remedy a dose every half hour, 
 hour, two or three hours. As soon as the severity 
 of the symptoms begin to abate, the intervals 
 should be lengthened. In chronic cases the rem- 
 edy should be repeated three times a day. When 
 the globules are used, use ten for an adult. 
 
 Irritation of the Skin, {Itching — Prnritis.) 
 This is an eruption of a fine rash under the skin, 
 and colorless. It produces a very disagreeable 
 and distressing itching, which is sometimes almost 
 unbearable. The severer form is accompanied by 
 a sensation of creeping ants, or the stinging of 
 
580 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 insects. It lasts sometimes for months and years, 
 and is generally caused by exposure to extremes 
 of heat and cold, some particular kinds of food, etc. 
 
 General Treatment — Wash well every evening 
 before going to bed, with water and Castile soap, 
 and allow it to dry in. Brandy or alcohol may be 
 used in the same manner. An ounce of lemon 
 juice in a pint of water or vinegar, used in the 
 same proportion, will be found useful ; also water 
 and spirits of camphor. The diet should be care- 
 fully regulated, and all stimulants avoided. 
 
 Pulsatilla — If the itching is worse in bed, or when 
 near a fire, particularly after scratching. A dose 
 (six globules) every night and morning. 
 
 Ledum Palustre — If the itching commences after 
 going to bed, and shifts from one part to another, 
 and the eruption resembles flea bites. Give in the 
 same manner as Pulsatilla. 
 
 Mercurius. — When the itching continues during 
 the whole night, and bleeds easily after scratching. 
 It is well to give this remedy and Causticum on 
 alternate evenings. 
 
 When it occurs in old people, give Opium and 
 Secale, a dose (six globules) on alternate evenings. 
 
 When it is caused by the heat of summer, give 
 Lachesis and Lycopodium on alternate evenings. 
 
 Silicea and Sulphur are good for obstinate cases. 
 Other remedies are Thuja, Graphites, Petrolum, 
 Calcarea Carbonica, Sepia, Conium. 
 
 Hysteria or Hysterics — This is an affection pecu- 
 liar' to women of a nervous or nervous-sanguine 
 
HYSTERIA, OR HYSTERICS. 58 1 
 
 temperament, with cheerful, lively and ardent 
 dispositions and vivid imaginations. It takes its 
 name from the Greek word meaning the womb, 
 and was supposed to be caused by some irritation 
 arising from diseases of the generative system. 
 
 Causes — Delicate, nervous temperament, confine- 
 ment in close and over-heated apartments, the 
 reading of exciting works of fiction, and attending 
 theatrical exhibitions, tight lacing, want of exer- 
 cise, want of sleep, excessive fatigue, luxurious 
 living. The exciting causes may be violent mental 
 emotion, such as anger, rage, grief, fright, disap- 
 pointed love, the sight of disagreeable objects, or 
 the smell of disagreeable odors, indigestion. 
 
 Symptoms — An attack of hysterics is generally 
 preceded by low spirits, and it occurs in paroxysms 
 of greater or less duration. It is found more com- 
 monly among widows and the unmarried than the 
 married, and the paroxysms are more likely to 
 occur about the period of menstruation than at 
 any other time. Generally, preceding or during 
 the attack, there is a sensation as of a ball ascend- 
 ing from the left side of the abdomen to the throat, 
 causing a sensation of strangulation. The patient 
 cries and laughs alternately, or gives vent to sobs 
 and floods of tears, wringing the hands and tear- 
 ing the hair. Sometimes the body and limbs are 
 violently convulsed, and the patient may struggle, 
 so as to require the strength of several persons to 
 hold her. The head is thrown back, and there 
 is delirium and loss of consciousness. These 
 
582 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 are a few of the symptoms which occur in this 
 disease. 
 
 General Treatment — The patient should be placed 
 in a draught of fresh air, and the dress loosened, 
 so as to allow free circulation and breathing. The 
 head and face should be washed freely with cold 
 water, and sometimes a bucket of cold water 
 thrown over the patient, will bring the spasm to 
 an end. 
 
 When the attack arises from costiveness, and is 
 attended with bitter or sour taste in the mouth, 
 fullness and pain in the stomach, nausea, weakness, 
 headache, dizziness, Nux Vomica and Sulphur 
 should be given — Nux Vomica at night, and Sul- 
 phur in the morning. 
 
 Pulsatilla, Sabina, Silicea — If the attack is caused 
 by the derangement of the generative organs. 
 
 Ignatia, Hyoscyamus, Belladonna, Coffea — If the 
 attack has been caused by any violent mental 
 excitement, as anger or fright. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — During the parox- 
 ysms, of the selected remedy, give a solution of 
 twelve globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water. 
 
 Dose, a teaspoonfnl every ten or fifteen minutes. 
 
 In the intervals of the paroxysms, six globules 
 every twelve hours will be sufficient. 
 
 Headache from Congestion of Blood to the Head. 
 
 Symptoms — Throbbing in the head and beating 
 of the arteries of the neck, vomiting as the pain 
 increases, pain also in shaking or moving the head, 
 lying down or stooping. 
 
HEADACHE. 583 
 
 General Treatment — Bathe the head with warm 
 water and vinegar and bathe the feet also with warm 
 water, rubbing- them hard afterward. Bathe the 
 temples and forehead with warm or cold water as 
 the patient may desire. 
 
 Aconite — Violent throbbing, humming sensation 
 over the whole brain, forehead and face red and 
 bloated, eyes red and sensitive to the light, pain 
 worse in morning, on drinking, talking, or rising 
 up, pulse full and quick. 
 
 Belladonna — Violent aching pains as if the head 
 would split or the brain protrude from the fore- 
 head, head hot, feet cold, a feeling as of water in 
 the forehead ; violent beating of the arteries of the 
 neck and temples, delirium, with a red, bloated 
 face, eyes bloodshot, with great sensitiveness to 
 light, noise and touch, and afterward deeply seated 
 pressing pains, with a pale face and drowsiness, 
 feeling worse on moving the eyes or raising or 
 moving the head. This may be given in alterna- 
 tion (turn about) with Aconite, if Aconite does not 
 relieve. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Pain dull and oppressive on one side 
 only, commencing at the back of the head or root 
 of the nose, relieved by compression or lying 
 down, and worse while sitting or walking ; face 
 pale, mind agitated, inclination to weep, dizziness. 
 This is more suitable for females and persons of 
 mild temperament. 
 
 Bryonia — Distending pressure from within, par- 
 ticularly through the forehead in stooping or mov- 
 
584 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 ing, with violent beating- or stitches in the head ; 
 constipation of the bowels, and bleeding at the 
 nose. 
 
 Rhus Tox — Fullness in the head with burning 
 and throbbing pain, weight in the back part of 
 the head, with a sensation as of a fluid rolling 
 inside ; may be given in alternation with Bella- 
 donna or Bryonia. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Pains worse in the morning and in 
 the open air, heaviness of the head, especially on 
 moving the eyes and thinking, sensation as if the 
 skull would split, bruised pain in the brain, worse 
 on stooping or motion ; rush of blood to the head. 
 
 Opium — Constipation, with rush of blood to the 
 head, violent tearing and pressing pains through 
 the whole brain, and heaviness, with beating in 
 the head. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve six glob- 
 ules in three tablespoonsful of water, and take a 
 teaspoonful every half hour, hour, two, three, or 
 four hours, during the attack, according to the 
 severity of the symptoms. If not relieved within 
 a few hours, select a new remedy. 
 
 Sick Headache — This form of headache is gen- 
 erally of a chronic nature, and depends upon some 
 derangement of the stomach or bowels. It re- 
 ceives its name from the constant nausea and 
 vomiting which usually attend it. It usually 
 begins in the morning, or on waking from a deep 
 sleep, or after sleeping in a close room, or when 
 some irregularity in the diet has been committed. 
 
SICK HEADACHE. 585 
 
 At first there is an oppressive feeling in the head, 
 which gradually becomes dull and aching, moving 
 from one point to another. There is a sensation 
 of fullness and tenderness in one eye, extending 
 across the forehead, the tongue is coated with a 
 yellowish white fur, and there is an unpleasant 
 clammy taste in the mouth. The hands and feet 
 are cold and moist, and the pulse feeble. Accom- 
 panying these symptoms, there is a depressing 
 sickness at the stomach, which is increased by sit- 
 ting up and moving about, the pain being generally 
 relieved by vomiting. 
 
 Belladonna — Headache coming on at certain 
 times, pains return in the afternoon and continue 
 until after midnight, being aggravated by the 
 warmth of the bed, or lying down, the headache 
 stupefying, mostly in the forehead, and accom- 
 panied sometimes with loss of consciousness. 
 There is a sensation as if the head would split, the 
 pains being of a violent burning, rending or shoot- 
 ing character, commencing sometimes gently, but 
 afterward increasing to a fearful intensity. This 
 remedy may also be used for headache after taking 
 cold, when there is a jolting sensation in the head 
 and forehead, on stooping or going up stairs, buz- 
 zing in the ears, dimness of sight, pains extend to 
 the eyes and nose, but mostly confined to one side, 
 usually the right, and are aggravated by every 
 motion, by turning the eyes, by bright light, by 
 the slightest noise, by stooping forward, or leaning 
 the head backward, scalp very sore ; there is 
 
586 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 alternate chilliness and heat, tongue being coated, 
 accompanied with nausea, and loathing of food. 
 
 Ipecac — Stitch-like pains and great heaviness, 
 giddiness when walking, pressure in the head, 
 especially in the forehead, the pains affecting the 
 bones of the skull, with coldness of the hands and 
 feet, the tongue coated white or yellow, nausea 
 and vomiting. This is to be given in cases of head- 
 ache which commence with nausea and vomiting, 
 accompanied with a bruised sensation about the 
 head. This may be given in alternation with Nux 
 Vomica, when there are shooting pains in the side 
 of the head, worse in the open air, and vomiting. 
 
 Hyoscyamus — If with the headache there is great 
 sensitiveness to light, and where the pain is worse 
 in the warmth of the bed, on lying down, or in a 
 draught of air. 
 
 Spigelia — Pains worse on the left side, great sen- 
 sitiveness to noise, beating in the temples, which 
 is aggravated by the least motion, even by opening 
 the mouth ; the headache appearing at regular 
 times each morning and increasing in severity as 
 the day wears on. This remedy may be given in 
 alternation with Belladonna. 
 
 Aconite — Cramp-like pain through the forehead 
 or above the root of the nose, headache as though 
 the brain were raised or moved about, especially 
 upon motion ; the least noise or motion is intol- 
 erable, the pain being aggravated by reading or 
 speaking. With this sensation there is buzzing in 
 the ears, and a feeling on the top of the head as 
 though the hair was being pulled. 
 
NERVOUS HEADACHE. 587 
 
 Sangninaria — Chilliness and nausea, great sensi- 
 tiveness to the talking- of others in the same room, 
 accompanied with a fullness of the head as if it 
 would burst, the sensation being worse on the 
 right side, with a feeling as if the eyes were pressed 
 outward. 
 
 Antimonium — Dull, boring pains, especially in 
 the bones of the head, boring in the temples and 
 forehead, from within, outward ; pains worse in 
 the open air, accompanied with rush of blood to 
 the head, nausea and vomiting of bile and mucus. 
 Pulsatilla may be given where Antimonium does 
 not relieve. 
 
 Aloes — If the patient complains of stitches in the 
 left temple, the headache appearing periodically. 
 
 To eradicate the disposition to sick headache, 
 Pulte recommends that Sepia, Silicea and Sulphur 
 should be taken, each remedy for six weeks, com- 
 mencing with Sepia ; for the first three weeks, take 
 each week two doses in the evening on going to 
 bed ; for the last three weeks, one dose every week. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Three or four glob- 
 ules may be given at a dose, or if dissolved, put 
 twelve globules in as many teaspoonsful of water, 
 and take one teaspoonful at a dose. This may be 
 repeated every fifteen minutes, half hour, hour, or 
 two or three hours, according to the severity of 
 the symptoms. 
 
 Nervous Headache — {Neuralgia of the Head). 
 This headache occurs more frequently among 
 women. 
 
588 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Symptoms — Acute, lancinating, excruciating or 
 darting pains, worse in the light, a feeling as if the 
 temples were being pressed together, dizziness, 
 with a feeling of sinking down, great despondency 
 and restlessness, exertion, either physical or mental, 
 impossible ; dark spots floating before the eyes, 
 head generally cool, and face pale. The pain is 
 frequently confined to small spots, and is generally 
 worse in the morning. 
 
 Treatment — Coffea — Pain as if a nail was being 
 driven into the head, or as if the brain were bored 
 and bruised, seeming to be intolerable, and driving 
 the patient almost distracted ; the patient very^ 
 restless, screams, weeps, has an aversion to the 
 open air ; pain excited or aggravated by the slight- 
 est noise, even music being sufficient to produce 
 this effect. This may be followed by Hepar Sul- 
 phur, Nux Vomica or China. 
 
 Aconite — For symptoms calling for the adminis- 
 tration of this remedy, see Sick Headache. 
 
 Belladonna — Especially when the pains come on 
 in the afternoon, and last until the next morning, 
 and also when the pain commences gently and 
 increases to a fearful intensity. 
 
 Ignatia — Aching pains above the nose, relieved 
 by bending the head forward, pressing of the head, 
 from within outward, sensation as if a nail had 
 been driven into the head, with nausea, dimness of 
 sight, pale face, pain momentarily relieved by 
 change of position ; the patient is full of fear, in- 
 clined to start, impatient, and wants to be let alone. 
 
NERVOUS HEAEACHE. 589 
 
 Pulsatilla — Tearing pains, worse toward night, 
 accompanied by dizziness and sickness at the 
 stomach, dimness of sight, ringing in the ears, 
 countenance pale, yellowish, or haggard, no thirst, 
 chilliness, palpitation of the heart, a feeling as if 
 the brain would be torn, or as if the head were in 
 a vise, or as if the skull would fly to pieces, espe- 
 cially when moving the eyes ; headache after lying 
 down in the evening, or early in the morning in 
 bed, increased by quiet, or sitting still, and relieved 
 in the open air, or by the pressure of a tight 
 bandage. 
 
 Bryonia — Fullness or heaviness of the head, with 
 pressing or burning pains in the forehead, sensation 
 as if everything would fall from the forehead when 
 stooping ; tearing pains which extend to the face 
 and temples, heat in the head and face, with red 
 cheeks, and thirst, nausea and vomiting, everything 
 having a bitter taste, headache worse when moving 
 about, or on moving the eyes. 
 
 Platina — Headache gradually increases and de- 
 creases, roaring in the head as of water, with cold- 
 ness in the ears, eyes, and on one side of the face ; 
 twitching of the eyelids, buzzing in the ears, ob- 
 jects appearing smaller than they really are, stupe- 
 fying pressure on the cheek bones. Is useful after 
 Belladonna. 
 
 Mer cur ius — Headache as if the head would fly to 
 pieces, with fullness of the brain, tearing sensation, 
 especially in the left side, a pain shooting down 
 from the teeth, stitching pain in the ears, the pain 
 
590 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 being relieved by pressing the head with the 
 hands. This may follow Belladonna, and where 
 both these remedies fail to give relief, give Hepar 
 Sulphur, especially when there is a boring pain at 
 the root of the nose, or a sensation as if a nail 
 were driven into the head. 
 
 Colocynth — Violent, tearing, excruciating pain on 
 one side of the head, pressing in the forehead, 
 worse on stooping, or lying on the back, headache 
 coming on every afternoon, or toward evening, 
 and is attended with a copious flow of urine, very 
 offensive, together with profuse perspiration smell- 
 ing like urine. 
 
 Arsenicum — Beating pain in the forehead, incli- 
 nation to vomit, buzzing in the ears, weeping and 
 moaning, tenderness of the scalp. Cold applica- 
 tions relieve this pain for awhile. It is worse when 
 within doors, and relieved on going out into the 
 open air. This remedy may follow Pulsatilla. 
 
 Veratrum — Oppressive headache on top or on 
 one side of the head, accompanied by pains in the 
 stomach, and diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, 
 painful sensitiveness of the hair. The pain is 
 sometimes so severe as to deprive the patient of 
 reason, is worse when lying in bed, accompanied 
 with cold perspiration and chills. This remedy 
 suits well after Arsenicum. 
 
 Silicea — Pain ascends from the back of the neck 
 to the top of the head, often caused by getting 
 heated. Tearing pain comes on in the forenoon, 
 stitches in the head, especially in the temples, 
 scalp painful to contact, and the hair falling out. 
 
EARACHE. 591 
 
 Sulphur — Headache with nausea, feeling of full- 
 ness or weight in the head, especially at the top, 
 pain as of a hoop around the head, and throbbing, 
 tearing pains, with heat, after arising in the morn- 
 ing, headache every clay as if the head would split 
 to pieces, humming in the head, hair painful to 
 touch, or falling out. 
 
 China — Suitable for a person sensitive to pain, 
 of a feverish, dissatisfied disposition. This rem- 
 edy will be found advantageous where there is 
 heaviness in the head, pressing from within the 
 head outward, tearing pain in the temples as 
 though the head would burst, sensation as though 
 the brain jolted about, and hit against the skull, 
 the scalp tender to touch, pain aggravated by con- 
 tact, motion, stooping, conversation, or by a 
 draught of air. Water, either hot or cold, as is 
 most agreeable, may be applied to the head. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Give four or six 
 globules at a dose, or dissolve twelve globules in as 
 many teaspoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonfui 
 every half hour, hour, or two hours, according to 
 necessity. 
 
 Earache — This complaint should not be con- 
 founded with inflammation of the ear, as it is quite 
 a different thing, there being no fever present, and 
 the pain is rather of a neuralgic or rheumatic na- 
 ture. The attacks come on suddenly, and are 
 generally of short duration ; the pain shoots over 
 the head. The cause is generaUy, taking cold. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Is the principal remedy in this com- 
 
592 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 plaint; particularly if the pains are darting and 
 tearing, as if something would press out the ears. 
 The ear is red and hot, swollen ; where there are 
 itching and tearing pains through the whole side 
 of the face ; particularly applicable to females and 
 persons who are inclined to be chilly. 
 
 Chamomilla — Particularly where the pains are 
 acute, and short as if from a knife wound, espe- 
 cially after taking cold or after perspiration has 
 been suddenly checked ; tearing, lancinating pains, 
 which extend to the lobes of the ear, the patient 
 very cross and irritable. 
 
 Belladonna — When there is congestion of blood 
 to the head with stitches in and behind the ear, 
 tearing, boring or sporting pains extending to the 
 throat. 
 
 Hepar Sulphur — May be given for the same 
 symptoms as Belladonna, especially when the latter 
 does not relieve ; also when the pain is beating, 
 throbbing and roaring. 
 
 Mercurius — If Pulsatilla or Chamomilla do not 
 relieve ; also where the pain is tearing, extending 
 to the cheeks, pains are worse in a warm room, 
 and there is a sensation in the ear. The patient 
 perspires a great deal without relief. 
 
 Nux Vomica — When the pains are violent, of a 
 tearing, stinging nature and extending to the fore- 
 head and temples, and down to the bones of the 
 face. 
 
 Spigelia — When there is a painful aching as if a 
 nail was sticking in the ear, aching and tearing in 
 the cheek bones. 
 
 
COLD IN THE HEAD. 593 
 
 Rhus — Suitable when the earache is caused by 
 taking cold. 
 
 Arnica — When the pain returns on the slightest 
 occasion with great sensitiveness, and noise, and 
 pressing, and singing in, and behind the ears ; more 
 suitable for sensitive, nervous persons. 
 
 China — Suits frequently after Arnica or Pulsa- 
 tilla, especially if the pains are tearing and are felt 
 more outside the ear, are made worse by touching 
 the ear, singing and ringing noises in the ear. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy se- 
 lected, dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonful every 
 fifteen minutes, half hour, or two hours, according 
 to the urgency of the symptoms. It sometimes 
 happens after the severe pain has been relieved by 
 these remndies, that soreness and grumbling pains 
 remain in the ear; for this, Sulphur or Calcarea 
 Carbonica may be given, one dose night and 
 morning. 
 
 Cold in the Head — Catarrh. 
 
 This is an affection of the mucous membrane of 
 the nose and throat, sometimes extending into the 
 windpipe and lungs. 
 
 Symptoms — The catarrh usually commences with 
 dull pain and sense of weight in the forehead, 
 oppression at the chest, and difficulty in breathing, 
 frequent sneezing, heaviness of the head, and dry- 
 ness and fullness with stuffing in the nose, soreness 
 of the throat, hoarseness, eyes more or less red 
 and watery ; in a short time a thin fluid is dis- 
 ss 
 
594 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 charged from the nose, the cough becomes more 
 moist, and the expectoration becomes yellow and 
 thick, the patient complains of a roughness or 
 soreness of the throat, loss of sense or smell, dull- 
 ness of hearing, hoarseness, tickling cough ; the 
 person affected is generally worse at night, with 
 some fever and severe pains in various parts of the 
 body, thirst, and flashes of heat alternating with 
 chilliness. When the inflammation is confined to 
 the mucous membrane of the nostrils, there is 
 sneezing, a sense of fullness and heat of the parts, 
 with a thin, watery discharge. 
 
 Treatment — Aconite — Is always proper in the be- 
 ginning of a cold, even if there is but slight fever, 
 also when the discharge from the nose is suppressed 
 and is followed by a headache. Camphor is also 
 good for the same symptoms ; if there is nothing 
 but the ordinary Spirits of Camphor convenient, 
 one or two drops should be put on a lump of sugar, 
 and the sugar dissolved in a tumbler half full of 
 water, and give according to the directions. 
 
 Arsenicum — Not much fever, heat or thirst, pa- 
 tient restless, particularly at night, drinks often 
 and but little at a time, discharge acrid and cor- 
 rosive, burning heat of the nose, the discharge 
 produces a swelling of the adjacent parts, redness 
 and watering of the eyes. Ipecac may be given if 
 Arsenic does not relieve. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Should be given when there is 
 obstruction, with little if any running from the 
 nose, but if there is running, it is in the morning, 
 
COLD IN THE HEAD. 595 
 
 with dryness at night, mouth dry and parched 
 without much thirst, constipation, fever and chills 
 alternate in the evening. 
 
 Chamomilla — When the difficult}' is caused by 
 checked perspiration, shivering, with heat and 
 thirst, heaviness of the head, swelling of the face, 
 and redness of the cheek, redness and inflam- 
 mation of the eyes. 
 
 Mercury — Constant sneezing, soreness of the 
 nose, with constant watery discharge, which pro- 
 duces soreness of the part with which it comes in 
 contact, swelling and redness of the nose, tearing 
 headache, pains in the bones of the nose, Catarrh 
 worse in the morning, offensive smell. 
 
 Belladonna — Swelling, redness and burning of 
 the nose, pain in the nose, aggravated by touching, 
 throbbing pain in the head, aggravated by motion. 
 
 Hepar Sulphur — Particularly when but one nos- 
 tril is affected, burning headache, especiallv about 
 the root of the nose, which is made worse by the 
 slightest movement, Catarrh renewed by every 
 breath of wind. Hepar should be given, espe- 
 cially when Mercury affords but little relief. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Thick, green or yellowish discharge 
 through the nose, which is very offensive, heavi- 
 ness and confusion in the head ; frequently toward 
 night and in the warmth of the room, the obstruc- 
 tion of the nose increases, pain in half of the head, 
 frequent sneezing, painful pressure at the root of 
 the nose, flying pains from place to place, roaring 
 in the ears. 
 
596 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Euphrasia — Especially when the eyes are irri- 
 tated and watery. 
 
 Lycopodium — Obstruction of the nose, especially 
 at night, sense of smell very acute, tearing pains in 
 the forehead, dryness of the mouth, without thirst. 
 
 Silicea — Chronic Catarrh, with severe pains in 
 the bones of the nose. Tartar Emetic may be 
 given in some cases, when there is sneezing, chill- 
 iness, loss of taste and smell; sometimes when the 
 secretion becomes suppressed, or before it has 
 commenced, and the nose is hot and dry, a little 
 almond oil, or cold cream may be applied to the 
 inside of the nose with a feather, or a camel's hair 
 pencil, or a vapor of hot water may be allowed to 
 pass up the nostril, which will be found to afford 
 some relief. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Where the direc- 
 tions are not given with the remedy, dissolve 
 twelve globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water, 
 and give a teaspoonful every hour or two or three 
 hours, according to the urgency of the symptoms. 
 The application of water is very beneficial in this 
 disease and may be used at the same time that the 
 remedies are being given ; the patient should be 
 confined to a room which is not too warm, and a 
 wet bandage should be applied around the breast 
 and abdomen, and the patient should remain in 
 bed, well covered, and be allowed to drink plenty 
 of cold water to induce perspiration. After hav- 
 ing perspired some time, take a milk-warm bath. 
 
 Faceache — Neuralgia — Neuralgia, or Tic Dolou- 
 
FACEACHE — NEURALGIA. 597 
 
 reux, is one of the most painful affections to which 
 the human family is subject. In plain language, it 
 means pain in the nerve, as the pain generally fol- 
 lows along the course of a nerve, though at other 
 times, the pain is confined to a particular spot, and 
 may arise from a distant source of irritation, as the 
 brain, stomach or bowels. In most cases, the pain 
 is the only symptom, there being no swelling or 
 other sign of inflammation. Neuralgia may affect 
 different parts of the body, but is more generally 
 confined to the head. Neuralgia of the face is 
 mostly confined to the fifth pair of nerves, which 
 branch out over the face. The branch over the 
 eyebrows is most frequently affected, but some- 
 times all the branches are affected, the pain being 
 very severe. The attack generally comes on sud- 
 denly, with a sensation as of a shock of electricity, 
 subject, however, to intermissions and remissions ; 
 the pain is very sharp, darting and lancinating, 
 shooting along the nerves, the sensation being 
 frequently as if red hot wires were thrust into the 
 part. After the pain has passed away, it is gen- 
 erally succeeded for a considerable time by numb- 
 ness. Sometimes, however, the attack comes on 
 gradually, becoming constantly more severe. 
 During the paroxysm, the features are apt to be 
 distorted, by the spasmodic action of the muscles 
 of the face. 
 
 Causes — A current of air, sudden jar or shock, 
 exposure to damp air, debility, derangement of 
 the digestive organs, etc. 
 
598 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Treatment — Aconite — Throbbing, burning, shoot- 
 ing pains, appearing in paroxysms, and preceded 
 by slight aching or crawling pains, worse at night, 
 swelling of the cheek or jaws, thirst, agitation and 
 tossing about, pain confined to one side of the 
 face, violent beating of the arteries of the neck 
 and head, eyes sparkling, buzzing pain through 
 the ears, temples and sides of the neck, fever. 
 
 Belladonna — Paroxysms commencing gradually, 
 with a creeping or itching in the affected part, 
 cheeks red and swollen, darting, shooting, drawing 
 pains in the cheek bones, nose and jaw, twitching 
 of the eyelids and muscles of the face, throbbing 
 pains in the forehead, roaring in the ears, heat and 
 redness of the face, great sensibility to cold and 
 light, pain violent, especially on one side, generally 
 the right, pains aggravated by the slightest noise 
 or movement, and also by the warmth of the bed. 
 Where Belladonna does not relieve, but seems 
 indicated, give Atropine. 
 
 Bryonia — Especially for persons who are subject 
 to rheumatism ; face red, burning and hot, swell- 
 ing on one side, under the eyes and at the root of 
 the nose, pressing, drawing, burning pains, worse 
 upon pressure, pains in the limbs, chilliness, fol- 
 lowed by fever. 
 
 Chamomilla — Especially for females who are ex- 
 tremely sensitive ; pain tearing and beating, with 
 a sensation of numbness in the affected part, face 
 puffed and swollen, one cheek red and the other 
 pale, shivering, with internal heat. 
 
HEADACHE — NEURALGIA. 599 
 
 Colocynth — Violent rending, darting pains, ex- 
 tending to the ears, nose, temples, teeth and all 
 parts of the head, principally upon the left side, 
 pain aggravated by the slightest touch. 
 
 Arsenicum — Pains return at certain periods, and 
 are of a burning character, worse at night, relieved 
 by the application of heat, great anguish, profuse 
 perspiration, severe pain in and around the eyes 
 and temples. 
 
 China — Especially when the attack appears 
 periodically, great pain, sensibility of the skin, 
 aggravated by the slightest touch, severe pain 
 through the cheek bones. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Tearing, drawing pains, swollen 
 cheeks, pain coming on in the morning after rising, 
 increasing until noon, and then gradually dimin- 
 ishing until night, nausea, vomiting, constipation, 
 pain aggravated by cold air and drinks, and re- 
 lieved by rest and warmth. 
 
 Platinum — Stupefying pressure upon the cheek 
 bones, with a feeling of coldness, pain worse at 
 night, great nervousness and melancholy. 
 
 Spigelia — Jerking, tearing, burning and pressure 
 in the cheek bones, worse on touch or motion, 
 pains coming on at a certain time in the day, worse 
 on stooping. 
 
 Coffea — Great irritability of the mind and body, 
 great sensibility, excessive painfulness in the af- 
 fected part. 
 
 Pulsatilla — For females, especially when con- 
 nected with uterine derangements, painful sensi- 
 tiveness of one side of the face, with shivering. 
 
6(DO DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Mercurius. — Tearing and shooting pains on one 
 side from the temple to the teeth, worse at night, 
 and in the warmth of the bed, nightly perspiration, 
 too much saliva in the mouth, sleeplessness. 
 
 Phosphorus — Tearing pains in the left side, worse 
 on moving the muscles of the face in eating. 
 
 As an external application either cold or warm 
 water, as best suits the patient, will be found ben- 
 eficial. Great relief may sometimes be obtained 
 by bathing the affected part with a mixture of six 
 drops of the Tincture of Aconite, to six table- 
 spoonsful of water. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 chosen, dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water. Of this solution give a tea- 
 spoonful every fifteen minutes, half hour, or two 
 hours, according to the urgency of the case. As 
 the patient grows better, lengthen the intervals to 
 four, six, eight, or ten hours. 
 
 Diet — Coffee and green tea should be avoided 
 by persons subject to Neuralgia, and care should 
 be taken not to eat food which is known to disa- 
 gree, or is proved to be indigestible. 
 
 Offensive Breath — Offensive breath is induced by 
 a variety of causes, among which are defective 
 teeth, perverted secretions of the glands of the 
 mouth, neglecting to clean the teeth, by tartar, or 
 bits of food allowed to remain in the mouth. The 
 most obstinate cases result from imperfect diges- 
 tion, caused by derangement of the liver, or other 
 organs. 
 
BAD TASTE IN THE MOUTH. 6bl 
 
 Mercury — If caused by inflammation of the gums 
 and glands of the neck. 
 
 Arnica, Nux Vomica, Belladonna, Silicca or Sul- 
 phur, if there is no particular cause for it, or if it 
 appears only in the morning. 
 
 Chamomilla, Nux Vomica or Sulphur, if it is 
 noticed after meals. 
 
 Pulsatilla or Sulphur, if in the evening, or at 
 night. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Give a dose of six 
 globules every evening for one or two weeks, 
 before changing to another remedy. If the odor 
 is occasioned by the eating of onions or garlic, it 
 may be destroyed by taking a little wine, eating a 
 pear, or boiled beets. 
 
 Bad Taste in the Mouth — This may be caused by 
 many diseases, but is found most frequently in 
 fevers and disordered stomach. Sometimes, how- 
 ever, it appears as a solitary symptom. 
 
 Treatment — Cuprum, Rhus and Cocculus — If the 
 taste is coppery. • 
 
 Lachesis, Mercury and Nux Vomica — If the taste 
 is metallic. 
 
 Arnica, Bryonia, Sulphur, Rhus, Mercury and Pul- 
 satilla — If the taste is putrid. 
 
 China, Pulsatilla or Mercury — If the taste is 
 earthy. 
 
 Bryo?iia, Pulsatilla, Arnica and Chamomilla — If 
 the taste is bitter. 
 
 Mercury, Pulsatilla and Sulphur — If the taste is 
 sweetish. 
 
602 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Mercury, Nux Vomica, Arsenic, Tartar Emetic and 
 Carbo Vegetabilis — If the taste is saltish. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Take one dose (four 
 globules) of the remedy selected, twice a day. 
 
 Sore Throat— Quinsy — This disease consists in 
 an inflammation and swelling of the back part of 
 the throat, palate and tonsils, which interferes with 
 the breathing to more or less extent, and occasions 
 high fever. It may appear as a slight irritation of 
 the throat, or form abscesses in the tonsils or sides 
 of the throat, and become very painful. 
 
 Symptoms — Quinsy generally begins with rest- 
 lessness, high fever, slight cough, more or less 
 soreness of the throat, especially when swallowing, 
 smooth and shining redness of the tonsils and 
 throat, face flushed with considerable fever, breath 
 quickened, voice thick, speaking sometimes diffi- 
 cult or painful, glands of the neck sometimes en- 
 larged and painful, cheeks swollen, inflammation 
 extensive, ending in the formation of abscesses in 
 the tonsils and adjacent parts, tonsils sometimes 
 so much enlarged as to interfere very much with 
 the breathing, finally gathering and breaking. To 
 examine the throat well, the head should be thrown 
 back, the mouth widely opened, and the root of 
 the tongue depressed by the handle of a spoon. 
 By this means the whole interior of the throat is 
 brought into view. 
 
 Sometimes repeated attacks of Quinsy will leave 
 the tonsils permanently enlarged, in which case, if 
 
SORE THROAT— QUINSY. 603 
 
 remedies do not relieve, they must be cut out by 
 a surgeon. 
 
 Aconite and Belladonna — These are generally the 
 most appropriate remedies with which to com- 
 mence treatment, particularly if the following 
 symptoms are present: Violent fever, pulse full 
 and bounding, great heat, thirst, restlessness, con- 
 stant desire to swallow, the swallowing producing 
 spasms in the throat, which forces liquids out 
 through the nose — burning or pricking sensation 
 and dryness of the throat, pains shooting into the 
 tonsils and ears, swelling on the outside of the 
 throat, profuse salivation, face red and swollen, 
 skin hot and dry, thirst, putrid and bitter taste in 
 the mouth. 
 
 Mercnrius — Putrid and offensive odor from the 
 mouth; mouth dry and filled with tough saliva, 
 palate elongated and red, tonsils red, dark, in- 
 flamed and enlarged, violent throbbing of the 
 throat and ears, extending to the neck, especially 
 during the swallowing, profuse discharge of saliva, 
 chills in the evening and heat followed by perspi- 
 ration, glands of the neck painful on motion of the 
 jaws or on swallowing, loss of appetite and disgust 
 at food, putrid and coppery taste in the mouth. 
 
 Bryonia — Shooting sensations, with dryness of 
 the throat and difficulty of speech, hoarseness, 
 oppressive breathing, breaking and painful sensa- 
 tion of the throat, swallowing painful, some fever 
 either with or without thirst, chilliness, pains in 
 
604 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 the limbs, and back of the head. This may be 
 given in alternation with Rhus. 
 
 Chamomilla — Especially when the disease is 
 caused by taking- cold or exposure to a draught of 
 air while perspiring, swelling of the tonsils, hack- 
 ing cough, flushed cheeks, or one cheek flushed 
 and the other pale, fever in the evening, with 
 flashes of heat, the glands of the neck under the 
 chin, and tonsils being much swollen. 
 
 Lachesis — This has been proved a very useful 
 remedy when Mercury and Belladonna have been 
 used without effect, and especially when the fol- 
 lowing symptoms are present: Swelling and 
 redness with a feeling of rawness of the tonsils 
 and palate, dryness of the throat, constant disposi- 
 tion to swallow, sensation as of a tumor or lump 
 in the throat, worse in the afternoon and morning, 
 after sleeping, or on very slight pressure on the 
 neck, small ulcers on the throat, and on the left 
 tonsil. 
 
 Hepar Sulphur — In cases where the abscesses in 
 the tonsils threaten to break, this remedy will 
 hasten the process ; may be given in the beginning 
 of the disease when there are lancinating pains in 
 the throat, in alternation with Mercurius. 
 
 Nux Vomica — It may be given when Chamomilla 
 does not relieve, and also when there is soreness, 
 with a feeling of rawness, as if the throat had been 
 scraped. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Suits frequently in the case of females 
 or persons of mild character, when the throat feels 
 
STOMACH-ACHE — GRIPING COLIC. 605 
 
 swollen inside, with tonsils and palate of a dark 
 red appearance, shooting pains in the throat toward 
 the ear when swallowing, patient feels chilly toward 
 evening, the chill being followed by heat. 
 
 Nitric Acid— Suitable after Mercury has been 
 given or in alternation with it, when the throat is 
 filled with small ulcerations, with a whitish appear- 
 ance, and of a fetid smell. 
 
 Capsicum — In cases where Nux Vomica seems to 
 be indicated but does not relieve, and when there 
 are burning and roughness in the throat, with a 
 feeling of stiffness and contraction, together with 
 running of the nose and eyes. 
 
 The application of cold water will be found ex- 
 cellent, used in the following manner: In the 
 evening when going to bed, place on the throat a 
 wet bandage, covered with a dry cloth, keeping 
 the bandage on during the day, and changing it 
 frequently. 
 
 In cases of persons subject to Quinsy, sponging 
 the throat and breast with cold water every morn- 
 ing, will prevent or modify the attacks. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected rem- 
 edy dissolve twelve globules in twelve teaspoons- 
 ful of water and give a teaspoonful of the solution 
 every one, two or three hours. If swallowing is 
 difficult and very painful, a dose of three globules 
 may be given dry upon the tongue. 
 
 Stomach-ache — Griping Colic — The term colic is 
 applied to almost any severe pain in the bowels. 
 There is a peculiar twisting or racking sensation 
 
606 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 behind the navel, accompanied with constipation 
 of the bowels, and sometimes nausea and vomiting; 
 the pain is relieved by pressure, with intervals of 
 ease ; the belly is hard, and drawn up in lumps 
 and knots, and distended with wind. It may be 
 known from inflammation of the bowels by the 
 fact of pressure affording relief; the absence of 
 fever, and the occasional absence of pain. It may 
 be divided into three varieties. The common or 
 flatulent colic, bilious colic, painter's colic. 
 
 The symptoms of flatulent colic are frequent 
 belching up of wind without relief, violent pain, 
 with a sense of twisting or griping about the navel ; 
 pain not increased on pressure ; occasionally dis- 
 appearing to be renewed in a short time ; feeling 
 of fullness in the abdomen with constipation ; rum- 
 bling ; nausea ; coldness of the stomach. 
 
 Causes — Indigestible food, wind, over distension 
 of the stomach by articles of diet which give rise 
 to gases, constipation, exposure to cold, etc. 
 
 Bilious colic is sometimes confounded with 
 flatulent colic, but is a more violent and alarming 
 disease. The patient generally before an attack 
 complains of derangement of the stomach and 
 bowels, constipation, loss of appetite, coated 
 tongue, bitter taste in the mouth, nausea, vomiting; 
 as the disease advances, the pain comes on and is 
 of a cutting and screwing character, sometimes 
 commencing in the region of the stomach and ex- 
 tending to the back, or at other times it attacks 
 the bowels, twisting around the navel as in com- 
 
STOMACH-ACHE— GRIPING COLIC. 607 
 
 mon colic. The pain at first is relieved by pressure, 
 and afterward the bowels are tender to the touch ; 
 the extremities cold, with a yellowish hue of the 
 skin, and of the whites of the eyes ; restlessness. 
 
 Causes — Bilious colic may be caused by a neu- 
 ralgic affection of the stomach, exposure to cold, 
 the transferring of rheumatism or neuralgia to the 
 stomach or bowels, constipation, etc. 
 
 Painter's or lead colic, is a disease caused by 
 lead, and is found among those who work in lead, 
 as painters, plumbers, miners, type founders, etc. 
 The colic comes on gradually, being preceded 
 with a feeling of general depression, despondency, 
 wandering pains in the bowels and extremities, 
 heaviness of the limbs, derangement of the stomach 
 and bowels ; chilliness ; depression of spirits ; un- 
 easy sensation at the pit of the stomach ; this 
 sensation gradually increases until it becomes ex- 
 cruciating, and extends down into the bowels, and 
 is very severe and twisting in its character, nausea, 
 vomiting, constipation, headache, great thirst, 
 pains in the wrists and ankles ; the pain is not 
 increased by pressure ; the muscles of the abdomen, 
 however, are tender to the touch, sometimes so 
 much so that the patient cannot bear the weight of 
 bedclothes ; sometimes accompanying or following 
 the attack we have paralysis, particularly of the 
 muscles of the forearm. 
 
 Treatment — The patient should be placed in a 
 warm bath, seated in a tub, and covered with a 
 blanket to confine the hot steam. After being in 
 
608 DISEASES OF WOMEN 
 
 the bath for about ten minutes, he should lie down 
 in the blankets without being wiped, and covered 
 with sufficient clothing ; hot bricks, or bottles of 
 hot water should be placed around the patient, 
 especially on the spots where the pain is most 
 severe. As soon as perspiration occurs, the patient 
 will be relieved. The medicines may be given 
 from the commencement of the attack. The differ- 
 ent forms of colic, w T ith the remedies applicable to 
 each, are here given : 
 
 Bilious colic: Nux Vomica, Colocynth, Chamo- 
 milla, Bryonia. 
 
 Common, or flatulent colic : Pulsatilla, China, 
 Cocculus, Nux Vomica, Colocynth, Sulphur, Carbo 
 Veg. 
 
 Painter's or lead colic : Opium, Platina, Bella- 
 donna. 
 
 Colic from worms : Mercury, China, Sulphur. 
 
 Colic from indigestion : Pulsatilla, China, Bry- 
 onia, Belladonna, Carbo Veg., Nux Vomica. 
 
 Colic from a chill : Aconite, Colocynth, Mercu- 
 rius, Nux Vomica, Chamomilla. 
 
 Colic with obstinate constipation : Nux Vomica, 
 Opium. 
 
 Colic from bathing : Nux Vomica. 
 
 Colic from exposure to cold, damp weather; 
 Pulsatilla, Rhus, Bryonia. 
 
 Colic occurring in children; Chamomilla, 
 Rheum, Coffea, Belladonna and Aconite. 
 
 Colic occurring in pregnant women ; Nux Vom- 
 ica, Bryonia, Pulsatilla, Sepia and Chamomilla, 
 
STOMACH-ACHE— GRIPING COLIC. 609 
 
 Colic in hysterical women ; Ignatia, Nux Vom- 
 ica, Cocculus. 
 
 Detail of Symptoms — Colocynth — This is the prin- 
 cipal remedy for all kinds of colic. The pains are 
 cutting and pinching, or as if the bowels were cut 
 with knives. Cramps in the limbs, shivering, ab- 
 domen swollen, or else very empty and tender, as 
 if from a bruise. Chamomilla, Mercury and Bel- 
 ladonna, may be given after this. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Constipation, with pressure in the 
 abdomen, the pain is pinching and drawing, pres- 
 sure at the pit of the stomach with swelling and 
 tenderness of the abdomen when touched, griping 
 in the abdomen, with cold hands and feet. 
 
 Belladonna — Pain, as if the bowels were grasped 
 by the finger nails, relieved by pressing upon the 
 bowels, or upon doubling, a feeling of bearing 
 down as if something would fall out, head and face 
 hot and red, severe pain in the head rendered 
 worse by movement, throat dry. May be followed 
 by Mercury or Hyoscyamus. 
 
 China — Excessive swelling of the abdomen with 
 fullness and pressure, as from hard bodies; pain 
 with stoppage of wind, worse at night. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Shooting, biting pains in the pit of 
 the stomach, a feeling of heaviness and fullness 
 in the abdomen with tenderness and pain as 
 from a bruise, colic caused by indigestion, worse 
 when sitting or lying, or in the evening, with shiv- 
 ering, patient feels better out of doors, has diar- 
 rhoea, pale face. May be followed by China, 
 Mercury, Lycopodium. 
 
6lO DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Cocculus — Particularly useful in common or flatu- 
 lent colic, and for colics of women, before and at 
 the time of their menses ; the pains are spasmodic 
 and constrictive, with nausea ; difficulty of breath- 
 ing ; full, distended stomach ; or a feeling of emp- 
 tiness in the abdomen, with squeezing and tearing 
 in the stomach. 
 
 Coffea — Great pain with agitation and grinding 
 of teeth, coldness of the limbs. 
 
 Ignatia — Colic in the night, with shooting in the 
 sides and chest, relieved by discharge of • wind ; 
 suitable for sensitive and delicate women. 
 
 Bryonia — Fullness and pressure in the abdomen 
 after eating ; cutting pain in the bowels, especially 
 after drinking warm milk; colic with diarrhoea, 
 after taking cold ; or in the heat of summer. 
 
 Chamomilla — Tearing pain with great restless- 
 ness ; bitter vomiting ; fullness in the pit of the 
 stomach ; one cheek red, and the other pale ; the 
 Colic appears generally at night, or after a meal. 
 
 Rhus — Pressure in the pit of the stomach ; pain 
 in the abdomen at night ; diarrhoea of slimy and 
 watery substances. 
 
 Carbo Veg. — Swelling and fullness of the abdo- 
 men ; belching up of wind ; colic after riding in a 
 carriage ; colic with rumbling in the bowels ; dis- 
 charge of wind with a putrid smell. 
 
 Arsenic — Great pain with uneasy, burning sen- 
 sation, 01; sensation of cold in the abdomen; pains 
 worse at night, or after eating or drinking; vomiting 
 of watery or bilious matter ; diarrhoea with thirst, 
 shivering, and great weakness. 
 
STOMACH-ACHE — GRIPING COLIC. 6ll 
 
 Veratrum — Pain as if from cutting with knives 
 in the abdomen ; burning in the abdomen ; rum- 
 bling of wind. May be given in alternation with 
 Arsenic, in severe cases. 
 
 Opium — Abdomen hard and swollen; obstinate 
 constipation with vomiting of substance from the 
 bowels. 
 
 LacJicsis — In spasmodic colic, especially when 
 Colocynth, Belladonna, Nux Vomica and Chamo- 
 milla have been given without effect. 
 
 Lycopodium — Swelling and fullness of the stom- 
 ach, with pain; rumbling of wind. Ma) 7 follow 
 Pulsatilla or Lachesis. 
 
 Plaiina — When the colic is in consequence of 
 fear or anger ; or when caused by lead ; the patient 
 is afraid of dying; contracting pains in the abdo- 
 men; pressure in the stomach after eating; the 
 colic disappears when the distress of mind begins, 
 or the distress of mind disappears as the colic 
 begins. 
 
 Aconite — Great tenderness of the abdomen ; rest- 
 lessness and twisting ; bowels seem to retract ; 
 desire to urinate, with unsuccessful attempt. 
 
 Arnica — Bruised pains in the sides of the abdo- 
 men ; fullness in the stomach, as if one had eaten 
 too much ; stitches in the pit of the stomach ; 
 oppression on the chest, worse after eating and 
 drinking, or on touch ; swelling and hardness 
 of the abdomen. 
 
 Cina — Colic from worms, with pain, especially 
 around the navel. 
 
6l2 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Mercury — Shooting, or violent contracting pains 
 in the pit of the stomach, with nausea ; frequent 
 desire to evacuate ; great quantity of saliva in the 
 mouth ; abdomen tender to the touch ; shivering 
 with heat, especially in the face ; pain worse at 
 night. 
 
 Rheum — For colic, particularly in infants, when 
 accompanied by diarrhoea with a sour smell ; or in 
 adults when the pains are cutting, forcing one to 
 bend over frequently, pain worse when standing. 
 
 Sepia — Colic in pregnant women, cutting pains 
 after motion, burning and stitches in the abdomen, 
 which is hard and swollen, sensation of bearing 
 down in the abdomen, with pressure. 
 
 Calcarea Carb — Gnawing or cutting pain in the 
 abdomen, uneasy rumbling in the bowels with 
 a difficult discharge of wind, acidity of the 
 stomach, with vomiting of food, diarrhoea of a 
 light color. 
 
 Admmistration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules of the selected remedy in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonful every 
 ten, fifteen, twenty or thirty minutes, according to 
 the severity of the symptoms. Each remedy 
 should be repeated three or four times before 
 changing to another. The intervals should be 
 lengthened as the patient grows better. 
 
 Persons liable to colic should be careful in re- 
 gard to their diet, avoiding all green vegetables, 
 acid drinks, etc. During an attack only the slight- 
 est nourishment should be given, as toast w T ater, 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 613 
 
 gruels, etc. The feet should be kept warm and 
 dry. 
 
 Inflammatio7i of the Stomach — Gastitris is an in- 
 flammation of the lining membrane of the stomach, 
 and may be either acute or chronic. The acute 
 form, however, is a rare disease, and is generally 
 caused by acid and corrosive substances taken into 
 the stomach ; as arsenic, corrosive sublimate, nitric 
 acid, and the habitual use of liquor. Blows upon 
 the stomach, and sudden checking of perspiration 
 may also excite it. 
 
 Symptoms — In severe cases, there is a burning 
 pain in the stomach, with thirst; restlessness; 
 constant nausea and vomiting; great desire for 
 cold drinks; anxiety; prostration of strength; 
 pain increased by pressure upon, and by substances 
 taken into, the stomach ; the thirst is intense and 
 distressing, for fluids unless given in very small 
 quantities are immediately rejected ; there is some- 
 times a severe cough which is very annoying ; the 
 tongue is either red on the tip and edges, and 
 whitish in the middle, or is red all over ; the 
 bowels are constipated unless the inflammation 
 extends to them, when we have diarrhoea. As 
 the disease increases in violence, we have great 
 difficulty of breathing, and pain, which increases 
 by inspiration ; great loss of strength ; hiccough ; 
 cold, clammy sweats ; skin becomes pale and cool; 
 the tongue becomes smooth, red and dry; vom- 
 iting of dark-colored matter; delirium, stupor, or 
 convulsions and death. 
 
614 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Chronic inflammation of the stomach is quite a 
 common disease, and is frequently mistaken for 
 dyspepsia. It may be caused by the acute form, 
 but it more frequently follows attacks of fever, as 
 scarlet fever, small pox, etc. 
 
 There is pain in the stomach which is increased 
 by the presence of food, or by pressure, the appe- 
 tite is irregular and fastidious ; the food is imper- 
 fectly digested, and gas which is exceedingly 
 offensive, escapes by the mouth ; the appetite will 
 sometimes be very craving, but when the patient 
 takes food, he is easily satisfied, or is made sick. 
 At other times the appetite is entirely lost; tongue 
 is white in the center, and red at the sides and tip ; 
 sometimes smooth and red all over like beef ; if 
 the inflammation extends to the bowels there will 
 be diarrhoea ; in some cases cough is present, and 
 if the disease is allowed to continue, all the symp- 
 toms of consumption appear. The disease, unless 
 well managed, is liable to cause ulceration of the 
 coating of the stomach, and death. 
 
 The principal remedy in this disease is Arsenic, 
 to be given especially when the following symp- 
 toms are present : The countenance sunken and 
 contracted, stomach swollen and hot to the touch, 
 the patient lies upon the back, breath short, rapid 
 and difficult, tongue red and clean, or red on the 
 edges with dirty fur in the center, voice hoarse 
 and suppressed, skin hot and dry, burning or 
 shooting pain in the stomach, griping or burning 
 pain in the throat, great desire for cold drinks, 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 6l$ 
 
 obstinate nausea and vomiting, great tenderness 
 over the region of the stomach on pressure. This 
 may be given in alternation with Veratrum. 
 
 Aconite — Especially when the pains are severe 
 and the heat is great in the stomach, or when the 
 disease is caused by taking cold drinks when over- 
 heated. 
 
 Veratrum — Countenance pale and sunken, nose 
 pointed, lips dry and bluish, tongue red at the tip 
 and edges, with a dark, dry fur running through 
 the center, pulse quick and weak, extremities cold, 
 hiccough, great exhaustion, burning pain in the 
 stomach, short and troublesome cough. 
 
 Ipecac — May be given alter Aconite if the vom- 
 iting is very great, and the disease is caused by 
 indigestion. 
 
 Pulsatilla — May be given after Ipecac when the 
 disease is caused by indigestion, or a chill in the 
 stomach from having taken ice. 
 
 Belladonna and Hyoscyamus — May be given in 
 alternation (turn about) when the patient is ner- 
 vous, and there is drowsiness, delirium and loss of 
 consciousness. 
 
 Nux Vomica and Lachesis — May be given in 
 alternation or alone when the disease is caused by 
 liquors, or by the abuse of coffee, wines, or stim- 
 ulating food. 
 
 Opium and Camphor — May be given in alterna- 
 tion (turn about) if the above remedies do not 
 seem to relieve the case, and there is drowsiness 
 and stupor. 
 

 6l6 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Cantharis — May be given in violent cases, par- 
 ticularly when the burning pain is intolerable. 
 
 For chronic gastritis, the following remedies 
 may be used : 
 
 Bismuth, Bryonia, Cuprum, Metallicum, Digi- 
 talis, Hyoscyamus, Phosphorus, Mercury, Ignatia, 
 Tartar Emetic. The diet should be the same as 
 under allopathic treatment. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water and give 
 a teaspoonful every half hour, hour or two hours, 
 until better. If, however, the symptoms do not 
 improve after a few doses, then at once select 
 another remedy and give in the same manner. 
 For the chronic form, the remedies may be given 
 two or three times a day. 
 
 Inflammation of the Bowels — This is one of the 
 most dangerous and painful of diseases/and should 
 always be placed in the care of a physician. It is 
 an inflammation of the lining membrane of the 
 small intestines. An inflammation of the lining 
 membrane of the large intestines is called dysentery. 
 
 Symptoms — The disease commences with a slight 
 chill accompanied by thirst, with hot skin, and 
 more or less pain of a griping character, in the 
 neighborhood of the bowels, which gradually in- 
 creases until it is of a severe burning character. 
 The pain is increased on pressure, so much so that 
 the patient is unable to bear even the weight of 
 the bedclothes, and lies usually on his back with 
 the knees drawn up. The pain sometimes comes 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 6 1? 
 
 on in paroxysms with intervals of relief ; nausea 
 and vomiting are present, with fever, tongue 
 furred and red ; thirst ; constipation ; difficult and 
 painful urination ; vomiting may be so violent that 
 the contents of the intestines may be thrown up; 
 sometimes, instead of constipation, there will be 
 diarrhoea, the discharges being either watery or 
 mucus tinged with blood, or perhaps bilious. In 
 bad cases as the disease advances, the belly be- 
 comes swollen, the pain increases, the pulse becomes 
 weak and fluttering; hiccough occurs; the limbs 
 grow cold, and the features are pinched and sharp ; 
 the pain ceases, and a discharge of black, fetid fluid 
 occurs, and death soon follows from mortification. 
 
 Inflammation of the bowels may be mistaken for 
 colic, or for inflammation of the peritoneum. It 
 may be distinguished from colic by the fever 
 symptoms which occur in inflammation of the 
 bowels, and the pain on pressure, neither of which 
 are found in colic. It may be distinguished from 
 inflammation of the peritoneum, by the fact that 
 diarrhoea is seldom present in the latter affection, 
 and that swelling of the abdomen with tenderness 
 on pressure are always present in inflammation of 
 the peritoneum. 
 
 Causes — Irritating and indigestible food ; colic ; 
 exposure to cold ; obstinate constipation ; strangu- 
 lated hernia or rupture ; may also be caused by 
 the driving in of eruptions, or the suppression of 
 customary discharges. 
 
 The treatment of this disease is similar to that 
 
6l8 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 for inflammation of the stomach. Aconite should 
 be the first used, and continued as long as the 
 fever is intense, and the skin very hot. After this 
 Arsenicum and Veratrum should be given alter- 
 nately (turn about). If the vomiting is violent and 
 persistent, after having used these remedies for a 
 considerable length of time, give Ipecac. In some 
 cases Belladonna and Mercury may be given in 
 alternation after the Aconite has reduced the fever, 
 but there is still great soreness of the abdomen, 
 with intense thirst. When the vomiting is so 
 severe as to throw up the contents of the bowels, 
 Opium must be given, and if not relieved within 
 eight or ten hours, give Plumbum. At this stage, 
 weak injections of an infusion of tobacco will 
 sometimes be of benefit. A warm bath may also 
 be administered with success. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected rem- 
 edy dissolve twelve globules in twelve teaspoons- 
 ful of water and give a teaspoonful every one, two, 
 three or four hours, according to the severity of 
 the symptoms. If the pellets are used give six at 
 a dose. The diet should be of the mildest descrip- 
 tion, as gruel made of rice or flour; milk and 
 water ; milk toast and gum arabic water. 
 
 Worms — There are three principal varieties of 
 worms to which the human race is subject. The 
 Ascaris or Pin Worm, also called the maw or 
 thread worm ; it is very small, resembling a white 
 thread, from half an inch to an inch in length. 
 The number is sometimes very great, forming rolls 
 
WORMS. 619 
 
 and balls in the intestines. They frequently crawl 
 into the vagina, or urethra, causing a troublesome 
 itching. 
 
 Another variety is the Lumbricus, or Ascaris 
 Lumbricoides, which is a very long, round worm, 
 about an eighth of an inch in thickness, and from 
 three to twelve inches in length ; it very much 
 resembles the common earth worm. They are 
 found generally in the large intestines and some- 
 times in the stomach, and not infrequently make 
 their appearance in the throat. 
 
 The third variety is the Taenia Solium, which 
 is a long, flat tapeworm, varying in length from a 
 few feet to several hundred. It dwells in the 
 small intestines, and feeds on the chyle which is 
 the substance of the food after it has passed 
 through the stomach, and in this way causes great 
 emaciation, exhaustion and loss of flesh. 
 
 Symptoms — The symptoms of the presence of 
 worms are very obscure, and it is sometimes im- 
 possible to check them until they have been dis- 
 charged. 
 
 The presence of the thread worm may be known 
 by the annoying and intolerable itching within the 
 anus or fundament. In children, worms are indi- 
 cated by paleness, itching in the nose, grinding of 
 the teeth ; starting from sleep, irregular appetite, 
 bad breath, swollen belly, upper lip considerably 
 swollen ; one of the cheeks more or less flushed. 
 
 Tapeworm may be known by a gnawing pain 
 in the stomach, irregular appetite, but which is 
 
620 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 generally voracious, the amount eaten does not 
 furnish a corresponding amount of nourishment ; 
 the patient grows thin, and there is frequently a 
 hard cough present ; a sensation as of something 
 suddenly rising from the left side into the throat 
 and falling back; dizziness, particularly in the 
 morning before eating. 
 
 Treatment — Aconite — Given at the commence- 
 ment of the treatment for nervous irritability, 
 which is generally present. A few doses may be 
 given and repeated every two hours. If this is 
 not effectual, give Ignatia in the same manner. 
 
 Cina — This is the principal remedy, especially 
 when the following symptoms are present : Bor- 
 ing with the fingers in the nose ; the child is ner- 
 vous, and cries at night in his sleep ; has severe 
 attacks of colic ; picking the lips ; face sometimes 
 pale and cold, at others red and hot ; capricious 
 appetite ; cross and fretful ; face bloated ; swelling 
 and pain in the abdomen ; constipation or diar- 
 rhoea ; grating of the teeth. 
 
 Nux Vomica — When with the other symptoms 
 there is constipation, severe itching, burning and 
 pricking sensation at the anus. 
 
 Spigelia — In severe cases of worm colic when 
 there is fever and diarrhoea, with craving appetite 
 and chilliness. 
 
 Silicea — Especially for children who are of scrof- 
 ulous habit. 
 
 Belladonna — Colic which is relieved by lying on 
 the bowels, starting in sleep, headache. 
 
WORMS. 621 
 
 Lycopodium — Especially when there is great 
 itching at the fundament or anus. 
 
 Teucrium — Is recommended by Freligh for the 
 irritation and itching caused by worms. 
 
 Santonin — Is an excellent remedy for the dif- 
 ferent varieties of worms. 
 
 For the tapeworm, pumpkin seeds given as 
 fellows, wi-11 be found effectual : 
 
 Take eight ounces of the seeds, and eat at night 
 four ounces on an empty stomach ; then in the 
 morning take the other four ounces, having steeped 
 them in hot water, and drink the infusion. Noth- 
 ing should be eaten until noon. This will gen- 
 erally suffice to expel the worm. If not effectual, 
 repeat the next night. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Give a dose of the 
 selected remedy, three times a day unless the 
 symptoms are urgent, when it should be repeated 
 every two or three hours. 
 
 In chronic cases, the remedy should be repeated 
 once a day and continued for a long time. 
 
 Diet — The patient should avoid all heavy food, 
 such as boiled vegetables, rich pudding and cake ; 
 but he may be allowed meat soups, roasted or 
 boiled meat, and milk. 
 
 For the intense itching which is present in some 
 cases, injections of cold water, or- water to which 
 has been added a little salt or vinegar, will be 
 found beneficial. Sweet oil will sometimes answer 
 the purpose. 
 
622 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Constipation — Costiveness — This is one of the most 
 common disorders to which mankind is subject. 
 For the symptoms, causes and general treatment, 
 see page 80. 
 
 The principal remedy is Nux Vomica, when 
 there is frequent and ineffectual urging to stool, 
 or a feeling as if the anus was closed ; disagreeable 
 taste in the mouth ; loss of appetite ; swelling of 
 the abdomen. If the Nux is insufficient, give an 
 occasional dose of Bryonia, especially if the dis- 
 order occurs in warm weather. 
 
 Opium — May be sometimes given in alternation 
 with Nux Vomica, especially when there is great 
 torpidity of the bowels, and without any desire to 
 stool ; redness of the face ; rush of blood to the 
 head ; headache. 
 
 Platina — When the feces are voided and small, 
 hard lumps, with much difficulty ; shuddering ; 
 sensation of weakness in the abdomen. 
 
 Lycopodium — When there is a painful urging, 
 with a severe bearing down, but inability to pass 
 the feces. 
 
 Antimonium Crudum — In cases where consti- 
 pation and diarrhoea alternate. 
 
 Sulphur — For long continued constipation, par- 
 ticularly where the patient is troubled with piles. 
 Also when there is frequent desire to stool, but 
 without any result. 
 
 Plumbum — For obstinate constipation, the stools 
 are hard and difficult, and the feces come away in 
 hard lumps or balls. 
 
DIARRHCEA. 623 
 
 For constipation of pregnant women, give Nux 
 Vomica, Opium, Sepia. For lying-in women, 
 Bryonia, Nux Vomica. For nursing infants, Bry- 
 onia, Nux Vomica, Opium, Sulphur. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Give of the selected 
 remedy a dose once in two, three or four hours. 
 When the remedy is given dry, from three to six 
 pills at a dose. When given in water, dissolve six- 
 globules in six teaspoonsful of water, and give one 
 teaspoonful for a dose. Injections of, and bathing 
 in, cold water, will be found very beneficial. 
 
 DiarrJicea — This disease is of frequent occur- 
 rence, especially during the warm months of the 
 year. 
 
 The symptoms are, frequent discharges from the 
 bowels of a more or less fluid character, each dis- 
 charge being preceded by a rumbling noise in the 
 bowels, together with a sense of heaviness or 
 weight ; there is generally more or less griping, 
 and sometimes nausea and vomiting ; when the 
 discharges are frequent or in large quantities, the 
 strength of the patient is rapidly reduced. 
 
 Causes — Exposure to extreme heat and cold ; 
 the use of acids ; indigestible or other irritating 
 food ; overloading the stomach with food ; violent 
 mental emotions, such as fear, anger, etc. It may 
 also be caused by too close confinement in ill 
 ventilated habitations, and also by teething, in 
 infants. 
 
 General Treatment — The use of all food that is 
 not perfectly easy of digestion should be forbidden. 
 
624 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 as well as acids, coffee, and all highly seasoned 
 vegetables, fruits, fresh meats, and soups of all 
 kinds. The patient may be allowed toast, rice, 
 boiled milk, oatmeal, hominy, arrowroot, barley 
 water, sago, tapioca and gum arabic water ; boiled 
 rice flavored with cinnamon may also be allowed. 
 
 Dulcamara — For diarrhoea which is caused by 
 cold ; when the evacuations are watery, greenish, 
 or yellowish ; worse at night with slight pain. It 
 may be followed by Bryonia. 
 
 Aloes — Violent stools ; the whole body becoming 
 hot during evacuation, with a feeling of sickness 
 at the stomach, or in the region of the liver ; the 
 evacuations have a very putrid smell, and are not 
 very profuse or watery. 
 
 Ipecac — Evacuations of thin mucus, or frothy, 
 fermented or yellow stools, with considerable pain 
 in the rectum ; stools with a white substance scat- 
 tered through ; paleness of the face ; great pros- 
 tration. 
 
 Chamomilla — Bilious, watery or slimy diarrhoea, 
 the evacuations resembling chopped straw, and 
 smell like rotten eggs ; coated tongue ; swelling 
 of the bowels ; bitter taste in the mouth. Partic- 
 ularly useful when diarrhoea is caused by cold, 
 fear or anger, and for diarrhoea of infants, when 
 the child tosses up its legs, frets, worries and 
 tosses about, and wants to be carried. 
 
 Rheum — Sour smelling evacuations, with con- 
 tractive colic in the bowels ; shuddering when 
 evacuating ; diarrhoea from acidity of the stomach ; 
 
DIARRHCEA. 625 
 
 sour smell proceeding from the child which is not 
 removed by washing. Especially useful in diar- 
 rhoea of infants and diarrhoea of lying-in women. 
 If Rheum does not relieve, give Chamomilla. 
 
 Mercurius — Suitable for almost any diarrhoea ; 
 especially when accompanied with griping in the 
 bowels before, and burning in the anus after stool ; 
 great prostration and , trembling ; evacuations 
 bilious, slimy or frothy or mixed with blood ; vio- 
 lent colic ; bad breath. Nux Vomica will some- 
 times relieve when Mercury seems indicated, but 
 does not have the desired effect. 
 
 Colocynth — Bilious or watery diarrhoea, with 
 severe cramp-like pains. 
 
 PodopJiyllin — Diarrhoea with cramp-like pains in 
 the bowels; light colored and offensive stools; 
 evacuations frothy and slimy. 
 
 Pulsatilla — Diarrhoea from indigestion, with 
 watery, offensive evacuations, particularly at night, 
 bitter taste in the mouth ; foul tongue. 
 
 Bryonia — Diarrhoea from heat of summer. 
 
 Arsenic — Evacuations burning, with severe colic 
 pains. May be given in alternation with Vera- 
 trum, or in alternation with Carbo Veg. when the 
 diarrhoea is putrid, and consists of undigested 
 matter ; or watery, slimy, burning evacuations. 
 
 Magnesia — Diarrhoea with evacuations resem- 
 bling the scum of a frog pond, green and frothy. 
 
 Nux Vomica — When there are frequent and 
 scanty evacuations of watery and greenish sub- 
 stances, accompanied with much straining and 
 
 40 
 

 626 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 pressing down pain. May be given sometimes in 
 alternation with Mercury. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 selected, dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonful every 
 half hour, hour, two or three hours, according to 
 the severity of the pain, and the frequency of the 
 evacuations. If the pills are used, give three or 
 four at a dose. In chronic cases give a dose every 
 morning and evening. 
 
 Dysentery — Bloody Flux—T\\\% is an inflammation 
 of the mucous membrane lining the large bowels. 
 
 Symptoms — The disease commences generally 
 with a loss of appetite ; constipation ; shivering ; 
 heat of skin ; excessive thirst, etc. It sometimes 
 begins with diarrhoea ; the passages are small and 
 frequent, and are composed of mucus streaked 
 with blood ; there is constant straining, and desire 
 for stool, with severe pain, before and after each 
 evaluation ; there is painful griping of the anus 
 called tenesmus. 
 
 Causes — Sudden change in the temperature from 
 hot to cold ; unripe or sour fruits ; stale vegetables, 
 or meat ; drinking cold water when heated. 
 
 General Treatment — The patient should not be 
 allowed to sit up, but be kept very quiet. For 
 food, use flour porridge well boiled, rice water, 
 arrowroot, sago. When recovering, a little mut- 
 ton broth may be allowed. 
 
 Aconite — Pain in the bowels; bilious, or thin, 
 watery evacuations, mixed with mucus and some- 
 
DYSENTERY — BLOODY FLUX. 627 
 
 times streaked with blood ; pains in the head, neck 
 and shoulders ; pulse strong and fast. 
 
 Arsenicum — Suitable for cases where the stools 
 pass involuntarily, and have a putrid smell; the 
 patient is very weak ; burning pain in the bowels ; 
 breath cold. May be given either alone, or in 
 alternation with Carbo Veg. 
 
 Belladonna — When Aconite fails to relieve, and 
 when there is dryness in the mouth and throat ; 
 tenderness of the bowels; tongue coated and red 
 at the tip. 
 
 Mercury — This is the most important remedy in 
 dysentery, and is useful in all stages, particularly 
 when there is violent straining before and after 
 evacuations, as if the bowels would force them- 
 selves out; a discharge of light blood sometimes 
 streaked with mucus, or greenish matter, after 
 much straining, sometimes the evacuations resem- 
 ble scrambled eggs ; violent colic ; nausea ; shiv- 
 ering ; exhaustion ; trembling ; cold perspiration 
 of the face ; aggravation of pain at night. May 
 be given in alternation with Colocynth, when there 
 are severe griping colic pains, or in alternation 
 with Aconite or Belladonna if there is fever. 
 
 Chamomilla — Sometimes useful after Aconite, 
 when there is still fever with headache, coated 
 tongue, nausea and thirst. Especially useful when 
 the attack is caused by suddenly checked per- 
 spiration. 
 
 Colocynth — When there is severe pain in the 
 bowels and the discharges are mixed with green 
 
628 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 matter, or else are slimy and mixed with mucus 
 and blood. May be given in alternation with 
 Mercury. 
 
 Podophyllin — Cramp-like pains in the bowels; 
 stools light colored and very offensive, or frothy 
 and mucus. 
 
 Ipecac — Especially of benefit when the disease 
 occurs in the fall, or when the mucus or slimy 
 passages are afterward streaked with blood. May 
 be given with advantage in alternation with Pe- 
 troleum. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Small and frequent discharges of 
 bloody slime ; intense heat ; great thirst ; burning, 
 cutting pain about the navel. May be given in 
 alternation with Opium. 
 
 Sulphur — Useful in obstinate cases ; an occa- 
 sional dose. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water and give 
 a teaspoonful every half hour, hour, or two hours, 
 according to the urgency of the symptoms. As 
 the patient grows better, increase the intervals 
 between the doses. 
 
 For chronic dysentery, a dose of the remedy 
 three times a day is sufficient. 
 
 Cholera Morbus — This is a disease common to 
 warm climates, and is characterized by vomiting, 
 purging, violent gripings, coldness and cramps of 
 the extremities. 
 
 Symptoms — The attack generally comes on sud- 
 denly with vomiting and purging, accompanied 
 
CHOLERA MORBUS. 629 
 
 by severe griping pains in the bowels and stomach, 
 followed by great anxiety. The discharges from 
 the bowels consist of feces, afterward of watery, 
 bilious matter ; each evacuation is preceded and 
 accompanied with violent griping and cutting 
 colicky pains, especially about the navel ; during 
 the intervals between the evacuations, there is 
 nausea and uneasiness at the stomach ; generally 
 there is great thirst, and fluid is vomited as soon 
 as swallowed ; if the disease is allowed to pro- 
 gress, the spasms extend to the arms and hands, 
 the extremities become cold, the pulse sinks, 
 countenance is pale, eyes sunken, cold, clammy 
 sweat breaks out, and death occurs. 
 
 Causes — Heat of summer, especially when the 
 days are hot and evenings cool, sudden changes 
 in the atmosphere, improper substances taken into 
 the stomach, as unripe fruits, acids, lobsters, 
 melons, cucumbers ; fits of anger. 
 
 Ipecac — Especially when the vomiting is violent. 
 May be given at the commencement of an attack 
 in alternation with Veratrum. If there is severe 
 pain in the bowels, frequent and small evacuations, 
 with severe pressing down pain, give Nux Vomica 
 in alternation with Ipecac. 
 
 Arsenicum — Violent diarrhoea of watery, bilious, 
 slimy, greenish or blackish substance; great pros- 
 tration; cold extremities; violent thirst; tongue 
 and lips dry and cracked, and bluish ; burning 
 sensation at the pit of the stomach. May be given 
 in alternation with Veratrum. 
 
630 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 
 
 Veratrum — For the same symptoms as Arsenic, 
 together with cramps in the calves of the legs ; 
 pale countenance, very great prostration, shriveled 
 appearance of the skin. 
 
 Colocynth — Violent colic, as if the bowels were 
 jammed between two stones ; vomiting of green 
 substance ; cramp-like pain ; constrictions in the 
 bowels with cutting pains as from a knife. 
 
 Cuprum — When there are severe spasms of the 
 limbs ; cramps in the fingers and toes. 
 
 China — When the attack is caused by indiges- 
 tion ; also for the debility after a severe attack. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected rem- 
 edy dissolve twelve globules in twelve teaspoons- 
 ful of water, and give a teaspoonful every ten, 
 fifteen or thirty minutes, according to the severity 
 of the attack. After having given several doses, 
 and there is no relief, select another remedy. The 
 intervals between the doses should be lengthened 
 as the patient grows easier. The diet may consist 
 of such things as oatmeal gruel. Cold water 
 should be used as a drink. The patient should be 
 careful to avoid ail vegetables and other articles 
 which will disagree with his stomach. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 diseases of pregnancy. (Seepage 118.) 
 
 Morning Sickness — This is a most troublesome 
 disorder, and one difficult to control. It sets in 
 generally early in the beginning of pregnancy, and 
 continues until after the third month. The attacks 
 usually come on early in the morning, and last but 
 a short time. 
 
 General Treatment — It may sometimes be avoided 
 by the patient taking a cup of coffee and a little 
 toast, in bed, before she arises for the day. Lem- 
 onade, sardines, or smoked herring, will sometimes 
 alleviate. 
 
 Ipecac — Bilious vomiting ; nausea and vomiting, 
 with uneasiness in the stomach ; vomiting of undi- 
 gested food ; bowels loose. 
 
 Tabacum — This is a very important remedy, 
 where there is nausea, with faintness, and deathly 
 paleness of the face, relieved by being in the open 
 air ; vomiting of water, and acid liquid and mucus. 
 
 Arsenicum — Excessive vomiting after eating and 
 drinking, with fainting and great weakness. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Nausea and vomiting in the morn- 
 
 6 3 i • 
 
632 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 ing ; acid and bitter substances arise in the throat ; 
 heartburn ; constipation. 
 
 Sepia — If the nausea has lasted for a long time, 
 and appears generally in the morning; in the even- 
 ing there is a painful sensation of uneasiness in the 
 stomach, with burning and stinging in the pit of 
 the stomach. 
 
 Camphor — When there is a cold perspiration with 
 hot head and cold feet. 
 
 Pulsatilla — When Ipecac and Nux Vomica have 
 proved insufficient, and especially if the vomiting 
 comes on in the evening, or at night ; depraved, 
 appetite ; longing for beer, acid, wine, etc.; diar- 
 rhoea alternating with constipation. 
 
 Pruritis — Itching of the Private Parts. (See 
 page 128.) 
 
 This is a very annoying and troublesome dis- 
 order. It is so severe in some cases, as to take 
 away all rest and sleep, and is absolutely unbear- 
 able. It is doubtful as to what is the cause of it. 
 It may be occasioned by an unhealthy discharge 
 from the vagina, or it may depend upon an erup- 
 tion like thrush in infants, when it is accompanied 
 by burning, heat, redness, dryness and swelling. 
 The parts must be kept perfectly clean, and warm 
 water will generally be found the best to use. 
 
 Treatment — The best remedy in this trouble is 
 Conium, of which take six globules three times a 
 day. If this dose does not effect a cure, give one 
 of the following remedies, dose the same : Arsen- 
 icum, Bryonia, Rhus, Silicea, Pulsatilla, Sulphur, 
 
PILES, OR HEMORRHOIDS. 633 
 
 Lycopodium or Graphites. As an application, use 
 an ounce of borax, dissolved in a pint of rose 
 water or rain water. If the itching extends into 
 the vagina, throw in some of the solution with a 
 syringe. A weak infusion of green tea, or a weak 
 solution of alum, will sometimes be found beneficial. 
 
 Piles, or Hemorrhoids. (See page 1 10.) 
 This is an affection to which pregnant women 
 are very liable. They are generally caused by 
 constipation. It is very important that a pregnant 
 woman should pay strict attention to her bowels, 
 not allowing either constipation or diarrhoea, and 
 by attending early to these derangements much 
 trouble may be avoided. 
 
 General Treatment— When the piles appear, or 
 there seems to be a disposition for them to do so, 
 the free use of cold water will be found very ben- 
 eficial. It may be used in a sitting bath, cold 
 compresses, or injections. Warm water may be 
 used when they bleed or have ceased to bleed, and 
 are very painful. The diet must be carefully reg- 
 ulated. Meat should be used as little as possible. 
 Some advise a diet of bread and water alone, for 
 a few days. If after each evacuation the bowel, 
 or a small tumor protrudes, causing pain, it may be 
 returned by pressing it back with the ball of the 
 finger. It is not advisable to take much medicine. 
 Try to be * regular, and to take regular exercise. 
 The bowels may be kept regular by eating rye 
 bread, rye meal and molasses, potatoes, ripe fruit, 
 stewed peaches, prunes, etc. 
 
634 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 Nux Vomica and Sulphur are the principal rem- 
 edies, Nux Vomica especially, when there is a 
 burning, pricking pain in the tumors ; also when 
 there is a discharge of light blood after each evac- 
 uation, and a constant desire to evacuate. Give 
 the Nux at night (one dose) and the Sulphur in 
 the morning (one dose). If these do not relieve in 
 a few days, Ignatia may be given, especially if 
 there are violent, stitch-like pains, or when after 
 each evacuation there is a painful contraction and 
 soreness. If the constipation is very violent, give 
 Ignatia and Opium, every two or three hours 
 alternately. Other remedies are Arsenicum, Bel- 
 ladonna, Carbo Veg., Hepar Sulphur, Hamamelis 
 Virginica. 
 
 Constipation during Pregnancy. (See page 80.) 
 A sluggish condition of the bowels is one of the 
 annoying troubles of Pregnancy. There are mam^ 
 circumstances to induce it, and it must be carefully 
 guarded against. A change should generally be 
 made in the diet ; eat plenty of ripe sweet fruits, 
 such as apples, prunes, peaches, etc.; take plenty 
 of exercise in the open air, and indulge in the mod- 
 erate use of cold water. Avoid coffee and all 
 stimulating liquids. It is best not to use violent 
 purgatives, as they are liable to produce miscar- 
 riage. 
 
 Take a dose of Nux Vomica, every night and 
 morning. This remedy may be given in alterna- 
 tion with Opium, if Nux does not have the desired 
 effect. When both these fail, and the constipation 
 
DIARRHOEA DURING PREGNANCY. 635 
 
 has continued for a long time, Lycopodium or Sul- 
 phur may be taken. If the bowels feel painful, 
 Bryonia and Ignatia will often prove beneficial. 
 
 Diarrhoea during Pregnancy. (See page 105.) 
 
 This disease does not occur so often during 
 pregnancy as constipation, but is much more inju- 
 rious, as it rapidly weakens the patient if not 
 checked. Sometimes there is simply looseness of 
 the bowels, where the movments are more frequent 
 than usual ; but the appetite remains good, and 
 the general health is not affected. Such cases 
 may be controlled by simply regulating the diet. 
 The diarrhoea, however, which is to be feared, is 
 when the discharges are dark-colored, liquid, and 
 very offensive ; the breath is bad, and there is a 
 disagreeable taste in the mouth ; little or no 
 appetite. 
 
 General Treatment — The diet should be carefully 
 regulated. It may consist of barley water, Gum 
 Arabic water, Arrowroot, Sago, Tapioca, Iceland 
 or Irish moss, toast water, boiled rice, flavored 
 with powdered cinnamon. 
 
 Chamomilla — For violent colic, yellow, greenish 
 stool, or resembling stirred eggs ; rumbling in the 
 bowels. 
 
 Pulsatilla — When the stools are watery or green- 
 ish, preceded by colic, with slimy, bitter taste in 
 the mouth ; nausea or vomiting. 
 
 Dulcamara — When the diarrhoea is caused by 
 taking cold ; worse at night. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Evacuations frequent but scanty, 
 
636 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 accompanied with great straining and pressing- 
 down pain in the rectum. 
 
 Dyspepsia, Heartburn, Sour Stomach. (See page 
 108.) 
 
 This is a frequent and annoying symptom, for 
 which the patient may take Magnesia, Chalk, or 
 Peach kernels. 
 
 Nux Vomica and Pulsatilla are the principal 
 remedies. They may be taken either alone or in 
 alternation (turn about). Sometimes a slice of 
 lemon sugared, and kept in the mouth, will relieve ; 
 or one drop of Sulphuric Acid in a tumbler of 
 water. 
 
 Hysteric Fits — During the early months of preg- 
 nancy, are frequent. 
 
 Treatment — The patient should be placed in the 
 cold air, and cold water dashed over the face, and 
 Ammonia held to the nostrils. When the parox- 
 ysm is over, give a dose of Coffea or Chamomilla. 
 
 When the attack is caused by disordered diges- 
 tion, give Nux Vomica or Pulsatilla. 
 
 When it is caused by anger, Chamomilla. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Give six globules at 
 a dose, and repeat every two, three or four hours. 
 
 Palpitation of the Heart — This may prove very 
 distressing, especially to delicate women. 
 
 When caused by anger, Chamomilla ; by fear, 
 Veratrum ; by joy, Coffea ; by sudden fright, 
 Opium. 
 
HEADACHE. 637 
 
 For nervous persons, Ignatia, Coffea, Cham- 
 omilla. 
 
 Other remedies are, Belladonna, Nux Moschata, 
 Pulsatilla. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 selected, dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and take one teaspoonful 
 every hour or oftener, if the severity of the case 
 demands it. 
 
 Headache — This is a very common complaint 
 among pregnant women, and there is generally 
 considerable nervous irritability. 
 
 Treatment — The remedies are Aconite, Bella- 
 donna, Nux Vomica, Opium, Pulsatilla, Platina. 
 
 When there is sleeplessness, Coffea, Ignatia, Nux 
 Vomica, Hyoscyamus, Opium. 
 
 When there is sleepiness, Opium, Pulsatilla, Nux 
 Vomica, Crocus. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected rem- 
 edy, dissolve twelve globules in twelve teaspoons- 
 ful of water, and take a teaspoonful every half 
 hour, hour, two, or three hours, according to the 
 severity of the symptoms. 
 
 Cramps — Cramps frequently occur in the calves 
 of the legs, hips, back or abdomen, and are very 
 annoying. 
 
 For cramps in the limbs, Veratrum, Nux Vom- 
 ica, Colocynth, Chamomilla. 
 
 Por cramps in the abdomen or stomach, Nux 
 Vomica, Colocynth, Pulsatilla, Belladonna. 
 

 638 DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. 
 
 For cramps in the back, Ignatia, Rhus. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the selected 
 remedy, dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonful at a 
 dose ; or give six globules. 
 
 Incontinence of Urine— Enuresis — This is a partial 
 or total inability to retain the urine, and is a very 
 annoying complaint. 
 
 The principal remedies are Pulsatilla, Sepia, 
 Belladonna, Hyoscyamus, Causticum. Of the 
 remedy chosen, take six pills once in three or four 
 hours. 
 
 Difficult Urination— Stranguria — This is an ex- 
 ceedingly troublesome complaint, caused by pres- 
 sure of the enlarged uterus upon the bladder. 
 
 Pulsatilla is the principal remedy. If Pulsatilla 
 does not relieve, give Nux Vomica. 
 
 Other remedies are Belladonna, Cantharides, 
 Cocculus, Phosphoric Acid. 
 
 Of the remedy chosen, take six globules every 
 two hours. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 Convulsions — Spasms — Fits — Convulsions is a dis- 
 ease which is probably more dreaded by mothers 
 and nurses than any other, on account of the terri- 
 ble appearance generally presented by the sufferer, 
 and the suddenness of the attack of the spasms. 
 By the word convulsion we mean, a violent and 
 involuntary contraction of the muscles of the 
 whole or part of the body, and consists in some 
 affection of the spinal system of nerves. Not all 
 convulsions are dangerous, although some are very 
 dangerous, and some even fatal. The ones to be 
 feared the most are those which occur after dropsy 
 of the brain has set in, after severe falls or bruises, 
 or after any acute attack of brain or bowel dis- 
 eases. They are more likely to occur before the 
 age of seven, especially during the first three 
 years. The brain of an infant is very tender, and 
 consequently is liable to sudden congestions, 
 which it cannot resist so well as the brain of an 
 adult. 
 
 Causes — Children of a susceptible, irritable and 
 nervous temperament or disposition, are more 
 
 639 
 
640 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 liable to them than others. The most common 
 causes are, irritation of the bowels from indigest- 
 ible food, difficult teething, and worms, excessive 
 crying and pains, anger and joy. A dangerous 
 form results from overloading the stomach with 
 indigestible food, as nuts, apples, etc. Eruptive 
 fevers, as scarlet fever, small pox, and measles, are 
 frequently ushered in by convulsions, but they 
 quickly disappear, on the appearance of the erup- 
 tion, and are not considered dangerous; if, how- 
 ever, they make their appearance during the 
 course of the disease, they are greatly to be 
 dreaded. Spasms have been produced by the 
 milk of the mother becoming poisoned by some 
 great mental emotion, as anger, also by her nurs- 
 ing the child when overheated. 
 
 Symptoms — "The attack generally commences 
 in the eyes, which are at first fixed in one position, 
 staring; but as the case advances, they become 
 agitated, and are turned up beneath the upper eye- 
 lid, leaving only the whites visible ; the eyelids 
 are sometimes open, sometimes shut ; the eyes are 
 frequently crossed ; the pupils may be either con- 
 tracted or dilated. The muscles of the face next 
 become affected, and the contractions produce at 
 times most horrid contortions; the mouth is dis- 
 torted into various shapes. Sometimes the jaws 
 are firmly set, again they are in violent motion. 
 At times, but rarely, there is foaming at the mouth. 
 In severe cases, when the spasm becomes general, 
 tne whole body is violently convulsed; the head is 
 
CONVULSIONS — SPASMS— FITS. 64 1 
 
 drawn backward, or to either side; the body may 
 become stiff and rigid, or variously contorted ; the 
 fingers are drawn into the palms of the hands ; the 
 arms are thrown backward or forward, or jerked 
 and drawn into all conceivable positions. The 
 lower extremities are likewise affected, but not 
 generally in so violent a manner." A fit may last 
 but for a few moments, or it may continue for sev- 
 eral hours. A child will sometimes have several 
 fits during the day, but there will always be a 
 longer or shorter interval between each spasm. 
 
 General Treatment — The first thing to be done, 
 is to prepare a warm bath and put the child in as 
 soon as possible. Where the convulsion is slight, 
 a foot bath with a little mustard in the water is 
 sufficient, but in other cases the bath must be a 
 general one. Pour cold water in a steady stream 
 on the head of the child while in the bath, and 
 continue it so long as the head is at all hot, or until 
 the fit passes off. When taken from the bath, he 
 may be wrapped in a warm flannel, or woolen 
 blanket; do not even stop to wipe him off. He 
 must be kept in the water from ten to twenty min- 
 utes, or until the convulsion ceases. If the patient 
 does not improve under this means, give an injec- 
 tion of tepid water, with which may be mixed a 
 tablespoonful of sweet oil, and a little Castile soap- 
 suds ; repeat this as often as may be necessary to 
 produce an evacuation of the bowels. 
 
 Convulsions — Place the child in a warm bath. If 
 # the convulsion has been caused by overloading 
 
642 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 the stomach, give an emetic of tepid water at once; 
 its operation may be hastened by tickling the 
 throat with the feathered end of a quill. The rem- 
 edies to be given are as follows : 
 
 Nux Vomica — If there has been constipation, 
 colic ; spasms are violent, and attended with 
 shrieks ; jerking backward of the head ; the eyes 
 are set. Pulsatilla may be given in alternation. 
 
 Veratrum—li the child is pale and cold; sweat 
 on the forehead. 
 
 Ipecac — If there are attempts at vomiting. 
 
 If the spasms are caused by teething, and the 
 gums are red and swollen, cut them with a sharp 
 penknife. Belladonna and Coffea may be given in 
 alternation, every ten or fifteen minutes. If there 
 is much fever, give Aconite, especially if there is 
 great restlessness, crying and starting. Give 
 Chamomilla, if the muscles of the eyes and face 
 twitch convulsively; rolling of the head from side 
 to side ; one cheek red and the other pale. Bella- 
 donna may be given in alternation, when Chamo- 
 milla alone fails. 
 
 Cina — If convulsions are caused by worms, and 
 there are spasms of the chest, with stiffness of the 
 entire body. May follow Mercurius, or be given 
 in alternation with it. 
 
 Ignatia — When the patient starts suddenly from 
 sleep, with violent crying and shrieks. 
 
 Hyoscyamus — For sudden attacks after eating; 
 the child gives a shriek, and becomes insensible ; 
 twitching of the muscles of the face ; foaming at 
 the mouth, and great wildness. 
 
CONVULSIONS— FITS— SPASMS. 643 
 
 If convulsions appear in the beginning of erup- 
 tive fevers as measles, scarlet fever, or small pox, 
 give Coffea and Aconite. After these Bryonia and 
 Belladonna, which will generally bring out the 
 eruption. 
 
 If the convulsion appears during the course of a 
 fever, give Belladonna if in scarlet fever; Bryonia 
 if in measles. If these do not relieve, give Cup- 
 rum in alternation with Belladonna. If not better 
 in two hours, give Stramonium and Cuprum. 
 Convulsions from fright require Opium, especially 
 if there is trembling over the whole body ; the 
 child lies as if stunned ; breathes heavily like snor- 
 ing; face almost blue. If the Opium fails, give 
 Stramonium or Ignatia. Hyoscyamus, if there is 
 foaming at the mouth and twitching of the muscles 
 ol the face. When convulsions occur from blows, 
 or falls upon the head, give Arnica. 
 
 Sometimes convulsions occur from a cold on the 
 lungs being transferred to the head. In such a 
 case, put the child in a warm bath, and apply cold 
 water to the head. Persevere in its tcse, until the 
 trouble returns to the lungs, which may be known 
 by the difficult breathing, rattling, etc.- Internally 
 give Belladonna and Cuprum in alternation, after- 
 ward Opium and Camphor. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy se- 
 lected dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonful every 
 ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes, according to the 
 urgency of the symptoms. Lengthen the intervals 
 as the child improves. 
 
644 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 Teething — Dentition — The period of teething is 
 one fraught with considerable danger to the infant. 
 Teeth-cutting generally begins between the ages 
 of five and seven months. It is indicated by red- 
 ness, heat, and tenderness of the gums, and saliva- 
 tion, commonly called " drooling." • Sometimes 
 there is watering of the eyes, fever, fretfulness, 
 disturbed sleep. More frequent discharges from 
 the bowels. 
 
 General Treatment — When the gums are hot and 
 swollen, and especially if there is a determina- 
 tion of blood to the head, with twitching of the 
 muscles, the gum should be lanced immediately 
 over the tooth; this will generally relieve the 
 symptoms. The child may be allowed to bite 
 upon some hard substance, as an ivory ring. 
 
 Aconite — May be given when there is much 
 fever, with restlessness and pain ; the child cries 
 and starts. 
 
 Belladonna — Especially when the child is nerv- 
 ous, head is hot, face flushed, gums swollen and 
 red, also when convulsions are threatened, the 
 child starts from sleep and stares, the pupils of the 
 eyes are dilated, the body becomes stiff. 
 
 Chamomilla — Especially good when the child is 
 uneasy and restless at night, starts at the least 
 noise, twitches and jerks in sleep, redness of one 
 cheek, moaning and groaning, uneasiness, diar- 
 rhoea of watery and greenish substances. Cham- 
 omilla may be given in alternation with Bella- 
 donna. 
 
SNUFFLES. 645 
 
 Coffca — When the child is restless, and can not 
 sleep, has some fever. May be given in alterna- 
 tion with Belladonna. 
 
 Ignatia — If there are flashes of heat with sudden 
 starting from sleep, and piercing cries. If the 
 diarrhoea is yellowish, becoming soon afterward 
 of a whitish color, slimy and curdled, give Coffea, 
 Ipecac or Calcarea Carb. If it is greenish, give 
 Mercurius, Magnesia, Chamomilla, Sulphur. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy se- 
 lected, dissolve six globules in six teaspoonsful of 
 water, and give one teaspoonful of the solution 
 for a dose, every one, two, three or four hours, 
 according to the urgency of the case. When the 
 globules are given, three or four will be a dose. 
 
 Snuffles — Cold in the Head — This is a common 
 complaint among children, caused by slight inflam- 
 mation of the membrane lining the nose, produced 
 by cold. 
 
 Camphor — Is the best remedy for the first symp- 
 toms. If there is nothing convenient but the ordi- 
 nary spirits of Camphor, put one or two drops 
 upon a lump of sugar and dissolve the sugar in a 
 tumbler half full of water, and give a teaspoonful 
 every two hours. 
 
 Arsenicum — If Camphor does not relieve, and 
 especially if the following symptoms are present: 
 Obstruction of the nose, with a discharge of watery 
 acrid mucus ; the discharge from the nose produces 
 redness and swelling of the parts. Ipecac may be 
 given, if this does not relieve. 
 
646 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 Nux Vomica- — Especially when there is but little 
 running from the nose; also with heat in the face; 
 constipation. 
 
 Chamomilla — When the difficulty is caused by 
 checked perspiration; redness and inflammation of 
 the eyes; swelling of the faoe; child cross and 
 fretful. 
 
 If the disease proves obstinate, one of the fol- 
 lowing may be given: Belladonna, Mercurius, 
 Hepar Sulphur, Pulsatilla, Euphrasia, Silicea. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 chosen, dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give one teaspoonful of 
 the solution every hour, two, three, or four hours, 
 according to the severity of the symptoms. 
 
 Thrush or Apthce — This is a disease to which 
 infants are particularly liable within the first and 
 second months, or the first year after birth. It is 
 an ulcerative sore mouth, and first makes its ap- 
 pearance with a redness of the surface of the 
 tongue, and around the gums, and great dryness 
 of the mouth. Soon whitish spots appear, which 
 may increase until they cover the entire surface 
 of the mouth. If this state continues for any 
 length of time, the general health becomes affected, 
 and we have the disease extending to the stomach 
 and bowels, producing diarrhoea, with feverish- 
 ness and emaciation. 
 
 Causes — Want of cleanliness is generally the 
 cause of this disease. The mouth of the child 
 should be washed out with a wet rag, after every 
 
THRUSH OR APTHiE. 647 
 
 meal, especially if nursing from a bottle. Feeding 
 the unfortunate infant with sugar and molasses, or 
 allowing it to suck little bags of sugar and bread, 
 are other causes. 
 
 General Treatment — The most important thing is 
 to keep the mouth of the child clean. A few grains 
 of Borax dissolved in a teacup of water, and used 
 as a wash, will generally be effective. Avery nice 
 application is to dissolve half a drachm of Borax 
 with one drachm of Glycerine, and one ounce of 
 water. These may be used in a mild attack. 
 
 Borax is the best remedy given in the form of 
 pills, twelve of which may be dissolved in twelve 
 teaspoonsful of water, and a teaspoonful given 
 every three hours. A solution of Borax — a few 
 grains to the cupful of water — may be used as a 
 gargle, in which case it is not necessary to give it 
 in any other form. 
 
 Mercurius — When there is salivation, and a tend- 
 ency to ulceration. This may be followed by Sul- 
 phur, if it does not cure. 
 
 Arsenicum — When the mouth and throat become 
 ulcerated, the ulcers have a livid hue, and there is 
 diarrhoea with great weakness. Give Nitric Acid 
 if Arsenicum does not relieve. 
 
 Coffea and Chamomilla, either in alternation or 
 alone, when the mouth is dry, hot, and very 
 red. 
 
 If constipation follows give Nux Vomica, three 
 times a day. The other remedies to be given the 
 same as the Borax. 
 
648 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 Milk Crust (See page 464) — When the disease 
 first appears, and the itching is severe, particularly 
 at night, give Aconite, either alone or in alterna- 
 tion (turn about) with Chamomilla, a dose every 
 two hours. 
 
 Calcarea Carb. may be given when the eruption 
 is dry. 
 
 If the eruption is moist, the discharge profuse, 
 and smells badly, give Lycopodium. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water, and 
 when the disease first appears, give a teaspoonful 
 every three hours. As the child improves, give it 
 two or three times a day, unless other directions 
 are given with the remedy. If preferred, give 
 three globules dry upon the tongue. 
 
 Remittent Fever of Infants — At the commence- 
 ment there is generally languor for several days, 
 with irritability, nausea; lips dry and parched; he 
 starts in his sleep, and there is drowsiness and stu- 
 pidity. These symptoms increase ; there is fever, 
 pulse rapid, tongue coated, dry, and red on the 
 margins; extremities cold; moans, and grinds his 
 teeth; picks at his nose, mouth or eyes; belly 
 swells, and there is constipation, or diarrhoea of 
 mucus, fetid substances; urine looks as if mixed 
 with milk. 
 
 General Treatment — The application of water 
 will be found useful in this disease. During the 
 fever, pack the patient in a wet towel or napkin, 
 well covered, until he perspires ; he is then to be 
 
CHOLERA INFANTUM. 649 
 
 taken out and washed with tepid water. If the 
 head is hot, put cloths, wet in cold water, and well 
 wrung out, on the head, changing them frequently. 
 
 Ipecac may be given at first, one globule every 
 three or four hours for a day ; then Bryonia and 
 Rhus, alternately every three hours for two days; 
 then stop the medicine for a day ; if the patient 
 is better, give Sulphur. Where there are head 
 symptoms, give Belladonna or Opium, one glob- 
 ule every three or four hours. Where there is 
 considerable fever, skin hot and dry, yellow, slimy 
 or green diarrhoea, pain in the stomach or bowels 
 on pressure, give Chamomilla or Ipecac; when 
 there is obstinate constipation, burning heat of 
 the whole body, occasional spasms, evidences of 
 trouble of the liver or stomach, give Nux Vomica. 
 If there are evidences of trouble in the lungs, such 
 as dry, hacking cough, painful, anxious, hurried 
 respiration, hot skin, thirst, stitches in the side, 
 nightly delirium, give Bryonia. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water, and give 
 a teaspoonful every two to four hours, according 
 to urgency of symptoms 
 
 Cholera Infantum (See page 333) — This is one of 
 the most dangerous diseases of infancy, and gen- 
 erally occurs during the first and second summers. 
 The period of teething is more liable to it, on 
 account of the system, at that time, being in an 
 unusually excitable condition. Very slight causes, 
 which at other times would produce no effect — as 
 
650 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 errors in diet, exposure to night air, fatigue — at 
 this time produce serious results. The principal 
 cause, however, is error in diet. It is highly dan- 
 gerous to change the food at the period of teeth- 
 ing, to wean them from the breast, and place them 
 upon artificial diet. This should be done only 
 when absolutely necessary. 
 
 Symptoms — The disease may be either sudden 
 or gradual in its approach. The child may be 
 attacked suddenly with violent vomiting and 
 purging, or may have had, for several days, a 
 slight diarrhoea. The stomach becomes so irri- 
 table as to throw off everything taken into it. 
 The substance vomited consists of the contents of 
 the stomach, undigested food, mixed with mucus, 
 and bilious matter. When everything has been 
 thrown off, there will be severe retchings and 
 efforts to vomit, without any result. It may occur 
 whenever food is taken in, or only two or three 
 times a day. The diarrhoea is one of the most 
 important symptoms. The stools, which at first 
 consist of undigested food, come to be streaked 
 with green. In time, they look like chopped-up 
 greens. They may be yellowish, very watery, and 
 the odor is decidedly fetid and bad. There may 
 be also, severe pain, as in dysentery, and the dis- 
 charges may contain blood and mucus. There is 
 considerable fever, quick pulse, mouth hot and 
 dry, great thirst; tongue coated dirty white or 
 yellowish white, except at the edges, which are 
 red ; extremities cold ; head hot ; eyes sunken ; 
 
CHOLERA INFANTUM. 65 1 
 
 nose pointed ; features look withered and dried 
 up, like those of an old person ; belly swollen, and 
 sometimes tender to the touch ; fever generally 
 worse during afternoon and evening. 
 
 As this disease generally occurs during teething, 
 the gums should always be looked at the first 
 thing. If they are swollen, hot, hard and red, they 
 should be lanced. A sharp penknife will do as 
 well as a lancet. As very much depends upon the 
 diet in the treatment of this disease, this must be 
 carefully regulated. If possible, the child should 
 not be weaned until after the second summer. 
 When, however, this is done, the diet must be reg- 
 ulated according to the peculiarities of the child. 
 As there is generally great thirst, the infant may 
 have as much water as it desires. Fresh cow's 
 milk is undoubtedly the best thing which can be 
 given. The following preparation will be found 
 excellent: Dissolve a tablespoonful of sugar of 
 milk in three cups of water, boil down to two 
 cups, and add one cup of fresh milk ; let the child 
 eat it while warm. If sugar of milk cannot be 
 procured, use loaf sugar; but the first is by far the 
 best. Rice flour gruel sometimes makes a good 
 diet. Prepare as follows : "Take one tablespoon- 
 ful of rice flour, and one tablespoonful of milk; 
 stir them together, and add a little salt, and nearly 
 a pint of warm water; stir well and boil for fifteen 
 minutes; when cold, this is about the thickness of 
 starch; add a little white sugar to sweeten." 
 When the stomach is very weak, take one part 
 
652 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 cream, to five of water, and to this add a little 
 arrowroot, sago or tapioca. Another matter of 
 importance is that the child should have plenty of 
 fresh air. If possible, take it into the country. 
 When this cannot be done, let it be carried in the 
 yard, in the park, or in the street. If the child is 
 too sick, carry it on a pillow in a large room which 
 is well ventilated. A tepid bath, occasionally, will 
 also be found beneficial. 
 
 Ifecac — This is generally the most important 
 remedy. To be given when there is nausea and 
 vomiting, with watery diarrhoea, green or fer- 
 mented stools, with white flocks ; tongue coated ; 
 great thirst. 
 
 Veratrum — Where the attack has been violent, 
 and there is great exhaustion from vomiting, or 
 when the vomiting comes on in paroxysms, or 
 from the slightest movement ; brownish or watery 
 evacuations, and coldness of the extremities ; face 
 pale, eyes sunken, great thirst. 
 
 Chamomilla — Mucous or sour vomiting; pas- 
 sages look like stirred eggs, or green or slimy, 
 with pains like colic ; fever worse at night. Bet- 
 ter adapted to children when they are cross and 
 fretful from teething. 
 
 Mercurius — Stools attended with colic and 
 straining; passages greenish and sour, sometimes 
 mixed with blood ; the child smells sour. Rheum 
 is also good for the same symptoms. 
 
 Podophyllin — Cramp-like pains ; stools frothy, 
 slimy, and very offensive ; child moans in its sleep, 
 and rolls his head. 
 
CROUP. 653 
 
 Car bo Vegetabilis — Stools smell putrid, are very 
 thin, and attended with burning pain. 
 
 Arsenicum — For great prostration and weakness; 
 nausea; vomiting of everything; stools brown, 
 green or yellowish, and very offensive ; skin dry, 
 or cold and clammy ; lips and tongue black and 
 cracked ; moans in his sleep ; abdomen hard and 
 swollen. 
 
 Calcarea — For cases of long standing, where 
 there is great emaciation and weakness ; abdomen 
 hard and swollen ; stools mushy and clay -colored ; 
 skin withered and dry. 
 
 Sulphur — This remedy is indicated in about the 
 same cases as Calcarea. When the disease appears 
 to be affecting the head, Aconite, Hellebore, Bel- 
 ladonna or Bryonia. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Where the attack is 
 sudden, dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonful every 
 fifteen minutes or half hour, until the child is bet- 
 ter. Where the case has continued for a long 
 time, give a dose every two or four hours. 
 
 Croup. (See page 401.) 
 
 Croup is divided into two forms: Spasmodic 
 and Membranous. The former is sometimes called 
 false croup, and the latter the true. Children 
 under five years of age are more liable to it than 
 others, although older persons have been attacked, 
 even up to seventy years. It is very alarming, 
 from the suddenness of its attack, and the quick- 
 ness with which it produces fatal results. 
 
654 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 Causes — It is most frequent in cold, damp cli- 
 mates, and generally produced by sudden and 
 frequent changes in the weather. It is supposed 
 by some to be hereditary, and would certainly ap- 
 pear to be, from the fact that the children of some 
 families are always liable to it on the least 
 exposure. 
 
 Symptoms — Croup generally commences with 
 symptoms of catarrh, or cold in the head ; a dry 
 cough, hot skin, quick pulse, and thirst ; and rat- 
 tling in the throat, and great restlessness at night. 
 The most certain symptom is the hoarseness, the 
 patient almost losing his voice. The cough is dry 
 and short. These symptoms may continue for a 
 day or two, when about midnight the child will 
 be awakened by a violent paroxysm of coughing ; 
 the cough is hoarse and ringing, and once heard 
 will never be forgotten ; the breathing is hurried 
 and hissing ; the face is flushed, skin hot, and a 
 profuse perspiration breaks out ; he tosses wildly 
 about from one side to the other, with clenched 
 hands and protruding eyeballs. As morning ap- 
 proaches the symptoms decline, and the child may 
 fall to sleep. During the day he may appear well, 
 except a slight hoarseness, and perhaps some fever. 
 Toward evening, however, the hoarseness increases, 
 and he will be awakened from sleep, as on the 
 night before, by a more violent paroxysm than the 
 first. The cough becomes more^ strangulating and 
 difficult ; the obstruction to the passage of air is 
 increased ; the face assumes a dark, leaden, dusky 
 
CROUP. 655 
 
 hue ; the pulse is feeble ; the voice broken and 
 suppressed ; the head is thrown back to enable the 
 sufferer to breathe, and the face is puffed ; the 
 muscles of the neck, chest and abdomen, are 
 brought into powerful action, and the breathing 
 is loud and hissing ; the child throws himself about 
 the bed, seeking in vain for relief, and his whole 
 appearance is one of intense agony and suffering ; 
 he grasps at his throat as if to tear away the ob- 
 struction ; drowsiness slowly comes on, the breath- 
 ing is interrupted; he gasps convulsively, and death 
 closes the horrible scene. Croup* may, however, 
 come on very suddenly, the child going to bed in 
 perfect health, and be attacked in the night. This 
 form is not so dangerous, unless allowed to run on 
 without efforts being made to stop it. Again, the 
 child may have a hoarse, croupy cough for sev- 
 eral days, and at the time when the parents are 
 least expecting it, he will be seized with a violent 
 paroxysm, which may terminate fatally. An at- 
 tack of croup may last from twenty-four hours to 
 fifteen days. When complicated with bronchitis, 
 pneumonia or after scarlet fever, measles or quinsy, 
 it is much more dangerous. 
 
 When the first symptoms of croup make their 
 appearance, such as hoarse cough, with fever, give 
 Aconite and Spongia in alternation, every hour. 
 If, however, the child is awakened from sleep, 
 with the peculiar crowing, barking cough of croup, 
 give Tartar Emetic and Spongia in alternation, 
 everv ten or fifteen minutes. A warm bath is 
 

 656 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 beneficial when the symptoms are severe. It 
 should be about 96 degrees at first, and gradually 
 made warm by the addition of hot water. When 
 taken from the bath, he should be wiped dry, 
 quickly, and well wrapped up. Cloths wet in cold 
 water applied to the throat, and covered with flan- 
 nel, will be found of great service. For the ring- 
 ing, moist and loose cough, which remains after 
 the violence of the paroxysm has subsided, give 
 Spongia and Hepar in alternation, every hour. 
 
 When the cough is loose, and there is rattling 
 of mucus in the throat and chest, and spitting of 
 thick phlegm, give Tartar Emetic in alternation 
 with Hepar Sulphur, half an hour, or an hour 
 apart. For the hoarseness remaining after an 
 attack, and to prevent a return the following 
 night, give Phosphorus or Hepar Sulphur^ a dose 
 every two or four hours. When the attack has 
 become very violent, and there is evidence of the 
 formation of a false membrane, and the child is 
 threatened with suffocation, give Kali Bichroma- 
 cum. A small powder should be given every 
 three or five minutes. If this does not relieve, 
 give Arsenicum, and use hot applicaiions to the 
 throat. When the breathing is very labored, 
 wheezing, rough cough, gasping for air, great 
 danger of suffocation, give Bromine. Phosphorus 
 alone, or in alternation with Lachesis, is also valu- 
 able in these severe forms. 
 
 A dministration of Remedies — If the remedy is in 
 globules, dissolve twelve, in twelve teaspoonsful 
 
WHOOPING COUGH. 657 
 
 of water. If in powder, give a portion the size of 
 a small pea. 
 
 Diet — This should be oatmeal gruel, barley 
 water, toast water or milk. 
 
 Whooping Cough — This is a contagious disease, 
 occurring generally but once in the same person. 
 The complaint commences with hoarseness, sneez- 
 ing and other symptoms of a cold. It is character- 
 ized by a convulsive paroxysm of cough, which is 
 attended with hissing breathing, and rattling in 
 the windpipe, the convulsive breathing attended 
 by a whooping sound, until a quantity of thick, 
 ropy mucus is thrown up, when the breathing is 
 again free. During the paroxysms of coughing 
 the child's face is red, and there is sweating about 
 the head, and agitation of the whole body ; blood 
 sometimes starts from the nostrils, and he involun- 
 tarily passes water, or evacuates the bowels. 
 
 A very valuable remedy is Mephitis Putorius. 
 $ dose may be given every four hours. Drosera 
 is another valuable remedy, especially when the 
 following symptoms are present : Dry, spasmodic 
 cough, worse at night; when coughing, the child 
 presses its hand upon the pit of the stomach ; 
 severe fits of coughing following each other in 
 quick succession, with hemorrhage from the mouth 
 and nose ; cough excited by talking, or laughing ; 
 expectoration of thick, tough phlegm. 
 
 Corallia. — May be given in some cases with 
 great benefit. 
 
 Aconite. — May be given when there is much 
 
658 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 fever, with short, dry cough, and pain in the chest. 
 This remedy may be given in alternation with 
 Bryonia or Phosphorus, especially when there is 
 threatened inflammation of the lungs. 
 
 Tartar Emetic — When at the commencement, 
 there is hard, suffocating cough, and when there 
 is rattling of mucus in the chest, paroxysms of 
 cough, with immediate danger of suffocation, 
 cough caused by tickling in the throat, short fits 
 of coughing following in quick succession. Ipecac 
 will be beneficial where the same symptoms are 
 present. 
 
 Chamomilla — Wheezing and rattling at each in- 
 spiration, cough excited by an irritation of the 
 windpipe, the child is cross and fretful. 
 
 Cuprum— Frequent fits of coughing with stiff- 
 ness of the whole body, and rattling of mucus in 
 the windpipe, prostration after a fit of coughing. 
 
 Other remedies are Carbo Veg., Dulcamara, 
 Cina, Belladonna, Mercury, Opium, Hellebore. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 chosen, dissolve twelve pills in twelve teaspoons- 
 ful of water, and give a teaspoonful every two ? 
 three, or six hours. 
 
 Colic — This is a very frequent and troublesome 
 disorder of infants. It is frequently caused by 
 cold, or by some mental emotion of the mother, 
 affecting the milk. The child screams, kicks and 
 draws up its legs. Frequently there is stoppage 
 of the urine. 
 
 Chamomilla — May be given, especially if there 
 
DIPHTHERIA. 659 
 
 is swelling of the abdomen, the child cries, twists 
 the body and draws up its knees, coldness of the 
 extremities. If in addition to these symptoms 
 there is nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, rumbling 
 of wind and shivering, give Pulsatilla. 
 
 If the bowels are constipated, give Nux Vomica. 
 If the discharges are fermented, and have a putrid 
 odor, give Ipecac. If the evacuations are of a 
 sour smell, give Rheum. When it is caused by 
 worms, give Cina, Sulphur, Mercurius. If there 
 is restlessness, sleeplessness and feverish heat, and 
 crying, give Coffea and Belladonna, in alternation 
 (turn about). A tepid bath will frequently relieve 
 the sufferings of the infant. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Put twO or three 
 globules dry upon the tongue, or dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water, and give 
 a teaspoonful at a dose, repeating every fifteen 
 minutes, half hour or hour. 
 
 Diphtheria. (See page 416.) 
 
 This disease is a comparatively new one, with 
 the character of which we have been but little ac- 
 quainted until within the last few years. It is 
 extremely dangerous, and is contagious, and infec- 
 tious. It attacks all ages, but principally the 
 young, and among these, especially the full- 
 blooded, fleshy children. Adults are seldom af- 
 fected with it unless it be by re-infection from 
 others. 
 
 Causes — These are seldom fully understood. By 
 some it is considered a malignant form of croup 
 
66o DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 (but it differs very much from that), while by 
 others it is looked upon as a species of Scarlet 
 Fever. It is, however, a disease affecting the 
 whole constitution, but making itself manifest par- 
 ticularly in the throat. 
 
 General Treatment — The patient should be placed 
 in a dry, well-ventilated room, in a clean bed, the 
 room being kept moderately warm. No one 
 should be allowed in the room except the attend- 
 ants. To counteract the odor, it is well to place in 
 the room, dishes of chloride of lime and vinegar. 
 
 Aconite, Belladonna, Kali Chloricum, Kali Bi-Chro- 
 micum, Proto-Iodide, or Bin-Iodide of Mercury — Are 
 the principal remedies in this disease. 
 
 Aconite and Belladonna — In alternation, if the dis- 
 ease commences with a fever, every hour a tea- 
 spoonful, until the fever subsides. If, however, 
 the symptoms grow worse, other remedies should 
 be resorted to. Belladonna, Kali Chloricum, Kali 
 Bi-Chromicum and Bin-Iodide of Mercury, constitute 
 the remaining remedies. Of the first three, give 
 five drops of Belladonna, twenty drops of Kali 
 Chloricum, and half a grain of the powder of Kali 
 Bi-Chromicum, each in a tumbler half full of water, 
 one or two teaspoonsful at a dose. Of the Mer- 
 cury, which is also in powder, give a dose about 
 the size of a small pea. In the beginning give Bel- 
 ladonna, the next hour Kali Chloricum, the third 
 hour Kali Bi-Chromicum, the fourth hour Bin- 
 Iodide of Mercury, and the fifth hour Belladonna 
 again, and so on. If the patient is better, or but 
 
CHICKEN POX. 66l 
 
 little worse, the next day the intervals between 
 the remedies may be lengthened to two hours, and 
 afterward to three hours. When the throat symp- 
 toms have all disappeard, the last remedies may 
 be omitted, and the three first given until all trace 
 of the disease has vanished. 
 
 The Bi-Chromate of Potassa is, by some, recom- 
 mended to be given in this disease, and is best 
 administered by placing in a small tin teapot two 
 or three grains of the powder, pouring in a half 
 cup of hot water, the patient inhaling the vapor as 
 it passes through the spout. 
 
 The diet should be carefully regulated, and the 
 patient should be closely watched ; as soon as the 
 pulse begins to flag, and the skin to get cool, and 
 symptoms of prostration to show themselves, stim- 
 ulants should be resorted to. For children, the 
 best stimulant is whey, or beef tea. The soft part 
 of oysters raw or stewed, make a good substitute 
 when the patient is tired of beef tea. As a drink, 
 the patient may be given barle3 r water, toast water, 
 made sour with a little lemon juice, or cold water, 
 to which has been added a little raspberry or straw- 
 berry syrup. Ice and icecream should be allowed, 
 especially during convalescence. As a gargle, 
 salt and water is much used, and bandages dipped 
 in a solution of salt and water should be applied 
 to the throat, or slices of fat bacon may sometimes 
 be used in the same way, with benefit. 
 
 Chicken Pox. (See page 440.) 
 
662 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 For the fever and headache, give Aconite and 
 Belladonna, alternately (turn about). 
 
 If there is aching of the bones, and bilious symp- 
 toms, give Bryonia and Rhus, alternately. 
 
 For restlessness and nervous excitement, dis- 
 turbed sleep, etc., give Coffea. If there is a painful 
 discharge of urine give Cantharides or Conium, or 
 both alternately. 
 
 If the eruption is very severe, give Tartar 
 Emetic. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water, and give 
 a teaspoonful every three or four hours. If there 
 be fever, headache, restlessness, etc., a dose may 
 be given every hour. 
 
 Canker of the Mouth — This form of sore mouth 
 is generally found in children, of from five to ten 
 years of age, and by some it is considered conta- 
 gious. It is an inflammation of the mucous mem- 
 brane of the mouth, on which there is poured out 
 a yellowish fluid, which assumes a very destructive 
 character if allowed to go on, causing deep, dark 
 sores. 
 
 Symptoms — First, pain and uneasy sensation in 
 the gums, which soon become hot, dry, and very 
 sensitive, attended with languor, indisposition to 
 play or move about, loss of appetite, thirst, gums 
 becoming swollen, spongy, and bleeding when 
 touched, the internal surface of the cheeks and 
 gums are spotted with patches of false membrane, 
 under which appears ulcers. In some cases, the 
 
CANKER OF THE MOUTH. 663 
 
 false membrane is wanting, the ulcers presenting 
 a greyish or livid appearance. If the disease is 
 severe, the glands situated beneath the jaw become 
 swollen, hard and painful, the breath becoming 
 very offensive, and the secretion of the saliva being 
 very much increased. Sometimes the teeth may 
 be loosened and fall out. There may be a copious 
 discharge of offensive, bloody matter from the 
 mouth, and the breath may become very fetid, 
 almost gangrenous. The movements of the jaw 
 are stiff, and swallowing is interfered with, accom- 
 panied with soreness of the neck and throat. The 
 patient loses strength rapidly, and becomes very 
 much prostrated. 
 
 Mercury — This remedy is indicated in almost 
 every case, and may always be given at the com- 
 mencement of the disease, except when it is caused 
 by Mercury, in which case, give Carbo Vegetabilis, 
 Hepar Sulphur, or Nitric Acid. 
 
 Nux Vomica — Ulcers putrid and painful, swelling 
 of the gums, there being fetid ulcers all over the 
 surface of the mouth, accompanied by constipation. 
 
 Arsenicum — Ulceration of the margins of the 
 tongue, with violent, burning pains, gums swollen 
 and easily bleeding, great restlessness, and a desire 
 to drink frequently. 
 
 Capsicum — Especially for persons of full habit, 
 in quiet life, and where there are blisters or vesicles 
 on the tongue, together with swelling of the gums. 
 
 Nitric Acid — If Mercury does not relieve, or if 
 the gums are swollen, looking whitish and bleeding 
 
664 
 
 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 easily, accompanied with looseness of the teeth, 
 salivation, and putrid odor from the mouth. 
 
 Car bo Vegetabilis — Ulceration of the gums and 
 tongue, with profuse bleeding, accompanied by a 
 burning sensation, and excessive fetidness of the 
 ulcers. 
 
 Sulphur — To be given at the end of the cure, 
 when there is swelling of the gums, together with 
 beating pain, blisters which burn when eating, 
 offensive or sour smell from the mouth, constipa- 
 tion, or green, slimy diarrhoea. 
 
 As a wash use cold water, or sometimes lemon 
 juice or sage tea ; a weak solution of brandy and 
 water, will also prove beneficial. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 chosen dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give a teaspoonful every 
 two, three, or four hours, according to the vio- 
 lence of the symptoms. 
 
 Measles. (See page 424.) 
 
 This is a disease occurring generally in child- 
 hood, although it sometimes attacks grown persons, 
 who are liable to have it more severely than chil- 
 dren. One attack will generally secure the person 
 against another. It is a contagious disease, and 
 requires from seven to twenty days after exposure 
 for its appearance. 
 
 Note. — If the Measles is malignant, showing symptoms of putrid 
 fever, such as a dark livid rash, mixed with dark red spots, great 
 debility, the eruption coming and going, a competent physician should 
 be called. 
 
SCARLET RASH. 665 
 
 When the attack is mild, Aconite and Pulsatilla 
 given in alternation (dose, four globules) every 
 two or three hours, will generally be all that will 
 be required. If there is trouble with the stomach 
 give an occasional dose of Ipecac or Belladonna. 
 When the throat is sore, dry, and painful during 
 swallowing ; thirst and spasmodic cough ; also 
 when there is congestion of the head with high 
 fever, restlessness and delirium. 
 
 Aconite and Bryonia should be given in alter- 
 nation (twelve globules dissolved in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and a teaspoonful at a dose) 
 every two or three hours, when there is violent, 
 dry cough, with shooting pains in the chest, indi- 
 cating bronchitis or pneumonia. 
 
 Ipecac and Bryonia in alternation every half 
 hour or hour, if the eruption does not come out 
 well, or strikes in suddenly, with paleness and sick- 
 ness at the stomach. Euphrasia — when the eyes 
 are inflamed and watery. 
 
 During an epidemic of Measles, it is recom- 
 mended to give a dose (four globules) of Pulsatilla 
 every night, which will either prevent an attack 
 or make it much milder. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — When the dose is 
 not mentioned with the remedy, dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water, and give 
 a teaspoonful every two or three hours. 
 
 Scarlet Rash — This is a different disease from 
 scarlet fever, although sometimes mistaken for it, 
 and also for measles. The eruption of scarlet rash 
 
666 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 consists ot minute grain-like elevations, which can 
 be easily felt by passing the hand over the surface, 
 while the eruption of scarlet fever is perfectly 
 smooth. 
 
 Causes — Children of any age are liable to it, 
 although it is found oftener in infants. It may be 
 caused by irritation of the stomach and bowels, by 
 sudden changes in the w r eather, by the sudden 
 suppression of perspiration, by the use of cold 
 drinks when the body is heated, and by violent 
 exercise. It is not contagious. 
 
 Symptoms — The eruption is generally preceded 
 by chilliness, alternating w r ith heat, weakness, 
 heaviness and fullness of the head, restlessness, 
 heat and dryness of the skin, loss of appetite, etc. 
 These symptoms disappear as soon as the eruption 
 shows itself, which will generally be about the 
 third or fourth day. Scarlet rash may be distin- 
 guished from scarlet fever by the facts, that in 
 scarlet fever the eruption is of a bright red or 
 scarlet, and is spread uniformly over the surface; 
 in scarlet rash the eruption is much darker, being 
 sometimes almost purple, is spread over the body 
 in irregular circular patches, and on being pressed 
 with the finger, leaves no white imprint. In scar- 
 let fever we have a sore throat, and in scarlet rash 
 none. Scarlet rash may be distinguished from 
 measles by the fact that in the latter we have 
 symptoms of catarrh, such as running at the nose, 
 eyes, etc. 
 
 Treatment — In ordinary cases the only remedy 
 
SCARLET FEVER. 667 
 
 necessary is Aconite, which may be given in alter- 
 nation (turn about) with Coffea, when there are 
 irritability and restlessness. 
 
 If there are nausea and vomiting, give Ipecac or 
 Pulsatilla. 
 
 In case the rash suddenly disappears give Ipecac 
 and Bryonia in alternation (turn about) every half 
 hour, or hour, a dose, at the same time covering 
 the patient well. 
 
 If there appears to be congestion of the head 
 with drowsiness, give Opium. If there be sudden 
 startings, bloodshot eyes, and fullness of the head, 
 give Belladonna. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Dissolve twelve 
 globules in twelve teaspoonsful of water, and give 
 a teaspoonful every one, two, or three hours, ac- 
 cording to the severity of the symptoms. 
 
 Scarlet Fever (see page 426) — In the treatment of 
 this disease the remedy of the greatest importance 
 is Belladonna. It is to be given in all forms and 
 stages of the disease, and in the simple form will 
 generally be the only one required. The symp- 
 toms calling for it are as follows: Dry, burning 
 fever; quick pulse, great thirst, dry, red, or whit- 
 ish-coated tongue ; throat and tonsils dry, inflamed 
 and swollen; difficulty of swallowing; beating of 
 the arteries of the neck ; face hot, red, and bloated ; 
 dizziness, fullness, and pressure in the head, with 
 shooting pains, which are aggravated by motion; 
 loss of appetite, and nausea and vomiting; violent 
 cough ; dry, burning heat of skin ; starting from 
 
668 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 sleep ; great agitation, and tossing about ; scarlet 
 eruption on the face, and over the whole body. 
 In severe cases the Belladonna may be given as 
 often as once an hour, until the symptoms are bet- 
 ter. In mild cases, a dose may be given every two 
 or three hours. 
 
 If the fever is high, pulse rapid and full, dry 
 heat, head hot, great agitation, give Aconite in 
 alternation (turn about) with Belladonna every 
 hour. When the patient is better under this treat- 
 ment during the day, but the symptoms increase 
 at night with restlessness and sleeplessness, give 
 Coffea and Belladonna, every hour alternately 
 (turn about) until the patient is composed. 
 
 When there is great drowsiness and tossing 
 about, tongue very dry, swelling of the glands of 
 the neck, skin shining on the face, head thrown 
 back, and almost constant delirium, give Rhus 
 Tox. and Belladonna every hour alternately. 
 
 Mercurius may be given in alternation every 
 hour, with Belladonna, when there are ulceration 
 of the tonsils, swelling of the glands of the 
 neck, great quantity of saliva running from the 
 mouth, and offensive breath. If no improvement 
 takes place in twelve hours, give Nitric Acid the 
 same as Mercury. If, however, the symptoms 
 continue to grow worse, after having given the 
 Nitric Acid six or eight hours, and the discharge 
 from the mouth is very offensive, give Arsenic and 
 Lachesis alternately every hour, a dose until the 
 patient is better. Opium may be given when the 
 
SCARLET FEVER. 
 
 breathing resembles snoring; starting or constant 
 delirium; face puffed and red; burning heat of 
 skin, with or without perspiration. 
 
 When the eruption strikes in, or the skin 
 assumes a livid, bluish hue, give Bryonia and 
 Belladonna in alternation (turn about) every half 
 hour. If these afford no relief, give Ipecac or 
 Camphor. 
 
 Sulphur is a valuable remedy, and should be 
 given (an occasional dose) when the skin begins to 
 peel off. When the symptoms calling for Bella- 
 donna do not yield promptly to that remedy, give 
 an occasional dose of Sulphur. 
 
 If symptoms of croup appear, give Aconite and 
 Hepar Sulphur, a dose every hour, alternately. 
 
 For Earache, after Scarlet Fever, give Pulsatilla, 
 a dose every one or two hours, according to the 
 severity of the symptoms. If this affords no relief, 
 give Belladonna and Hepar Sulphur in alternation. 
 
 For running from the ears, give Pulsatilla, a dose 
 every six hours, for three -or four days; when, if 
 not better, give Calcarea or Silicea, in the same 
 manner. If after the disease the child shows symp- 
 toms of dropsy of the brain (head hot, extremities 
 cold, sleeps with eyes half open, vomits on mov- 
 ing), give Bryonia and Hellebore alternately (turn 
 about) every two hours, until the symptoms are 
 better. 
 
 When the whole body swells give Belladonna 
 and Hellebore, alternately every two hours, and 
 afterward Bryonia, Rhus, or Apis Mellifica. 
 

 670 DISEASES OF INFANTS. 
 
 When, before the eruption comes out, there are 
 convulsions, give Belladonna and Cuprum in alter- 
 nation, a dose every fifteen or twenty minutes. 
 
 Administration of Remedies — Of the remedy 
 chosen dissolve twelve globules in twelve tea- 
 spoonsful of water, and give one teaspoonful at a 
 dose, every half hour, hour, or two hours, accord- 
 ing to the severity of the symptoms. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 Nursing the Sick — The sick room should be 
 large, lofty, and if possible, fronting the north ; 
 the windows should be capable of being opened 
 by drawing down from the top. It is well to have 
 a fireplace in the room, as it induces free circula- 
 tion. All unnecessary furniture should be re- 
 moved, and when possible two chambers should 
 join with a bed in each, so that the patient can be 
 moved from one bed to the other every morning 
 and evening. The bedclothes of the bed from 
 which the patient is removed, should be immedi- 
 ately turned down and exposed to the air. The 
 mattress should also be freely aired. It is impor- 
 tant to regulate the temperature, which should 
 never be above sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit, or 
 below sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. The patient 
 should never be allowed to become chilly. Order 
 and cleanliness should be strictly observed in the 
 sick room. T^re are many little things which at 
 other times would pass unnoticed, but will annoy 
 a sick person extremely. The passages of the 
 patient should be removed immediately after evac- 
 
 671 
 
6j2 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 uation, and the bed linen and bed clothing- should 
 be changed every two or three days. The clean 
 clothes should be well aired and thoroughly dried 
 before using - . In diseases of long standing, and 
 in contagious diseases, the whole bed and bedding 
 should be changed once or twice during sickness. 
 
 Cooking in the apartments of the sick is very im- 
 proper, and no food of any kind whatever should 
 be kept in a sick room or in its vicinity. Unless 
 disagreeable to the patient, light should be freely 
 admitted. The bed of the patient should be a 
 mattress or a tick stuffed with straw ; but on no 
 account should a feather bed be used. 
 
 Fumigations and disinfectants should be for- 
 bidden in a sick room. As a general thing, what- 
 ever has a tendency to poison the atmosphere, such 
 as discharges of the patient, should be immedi- 
 ately taken out, and there will be no necessity for 
 fumigations. 
 
 It is very important that quiet should be main- 
 tained. A sick person will stand the noise in the 
 street, and noise about the house ; but even whis- 
 pering in his own room will disturb him, perhaps 
 seriously. The nurse should not wear creaking 
 shoes, nor the children be allowed to come into 
 the room, or near it. All gossiping or any conver- 
 sation which would excite the apprehension or 
 expectation of the patient, is very injurious. Never 
 allow a patient to be aroused from sleep. 
 
 The nurse should always be calm, cool and col- 
 ected, and be able to subdue all unpleasant feel- 
 
PREPARATION OF FOOD. 673 
 
 ings ; manifesting only a spirit of kindness toward 
 the patient. When dangerous symptoms arise, 
 self-control is of the highest importance. It is 
 necessary that the nurse should have strength 
 sufficient to enable her to lift the patient in and 
 out of bed, and to move him around, as necessary. 
 She should also be healthy, and not liable to sud- 
 den attacks of sickness. It is important also that 
 she should be kind, sympathizing, and good- 
 natured. 
 
 Much can be done by a nurse with these qualifi- 
 cations in hastening the recovery of the patient. 
 Above all, she should follow strictly the direction 
 of the physician, and not take it upon herself to 
 prescribe other remedies, or give other directions, 
 unless in her judgment it is absolutely necessary. 
 Changes in treatment are sometimes called for 
 during the absence of the physician ; but the 
 change should be made with care. She should not 
 conceal from the physician any changes which 
 have been made in the management of the patient 
 during his absence. 
 
 Preparation of Food for Sickness and Convalescence 
 — It is extremely difficult to know exactly what 
 diet to give to sick persons ; very often a slight 
 error in diet will bring on a fatal result. The 
 patient frequently desires that which would be 
 extremely injurious. When there is a great 
 amount of fever or inflammation, the less food 
 taken the better ; but after the fever has been sub- 
 dued, light diet is then allowable. 
 43 
 
674 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 When any article of food causes increased action 
 of the heart, quickness of the pulse, headache, or 
 pains in the stomach or bowels, it is then an indi- 
 cation that such food is injurious. The patient 
 should never be urged to eat ; he is better able to 
 tell what he wishes than any one else. If he craves 
 for any particular thing, as a general thing it will 
 do him good. 
 
 When the patient is recovering from disease, 
 but is still weak, though gradually regaining 
 strength, strict attention should be given to the 
 diet. In regard to the kinds of food which may 
 be allowed, it should be remembered that first of 
 all, it must oe light and nutritious. Milk is prob- 
 ably as easy of digestion as any other substance ; 
 it may be given at all times during the sickness 
 and convalescence without injury ; it should, how- 
 ever, not be used except when drawn immediately 
 from the cow. After the cream has formed, it is 
 indigestible. Eggs broken in hot water and 
 slightly cooked, may also be allowed. Boiled rice 
 is easy of digestion, and beef tea, mutton broth 
 and chicken are useful in convalescence. Fruits 
 are sometimes very beneficial, and at other times 
 very hurtful. In fever, the juice of ripe oranges 
 will be extremely grateful; the pulpy part should 
 always be rejected. Grapes may also be allowed, 
 being careful not to swallow the seeds or skin. 
 Lemon juice, lemonade, strawberries which have 
 their juice bruised out and strained, may also be 
 allowed. Hot water poured upon bruised tama- 
 
USEFUL RECIPES. 675 
 
 rinds, peaches, etc., and allowed to stand until cold, 
 will be beneficial. Tea, coffee, cocoa and choco- 
 late, should not be allowed, to either sick or con- 
 valescent. Toast water may be used as a drink. 
 Cold water may be taken at all times with benefit, 
 if it causes no distressing symptoms. Rice water, 
 barley water and apple water, are all good drinks. 
 Boiled fish is generally easy of digestion, as well 
 as oyster broth. As a general rule, all shell fish 
 should be forbidden. Vegetables, such as boiled 
 potatoes, boiled beets, and boiled onions, may be 
 eaten without harm; they should, however, be 
 boiled in two waters until quite soft. 
 
 USEFUL RECIPES. 
 
 To Make Gruel — The following is an excellent 
 recipe : 
 
 Pour a quart of hot water into a clean earthen 
 or tin vessel over a brisk fire; when it boils, add 
 two large tablespoonsful of corn or oatmeal ; mix 
 it smooth in just water enough to thicken it; put 
 a small lump of butter into the water, and when 
 melted, add the meal and stir for about half an 
 hour ; then add a teacupful of sweet milk, and 
 when it boils again, throw in the upper crust of 
 hard baked bread cut into small pieces ; let it boil 
 some time, and add a little black pepper, a little 
 salt, a pinch of grated nutmeg, a little more butter 
 and a teaspoonful of French brandy. The butter, 
 spices and brandy should be omitted when the 
 case is a serious one. 
 

 676 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 Beef Tea — Take a pound of lean beef, cut it fine, 
 put it in a bottle corked tightly, and put the bottle 
 into a kettle of warm water; the water should be 
 allowed to boil for a considerable time ; the bottle 
 should then be removed, and the contents poured 
 out. The tea may be salted a little, and a tea- 
 spoonful given each time. 
 
 Another way of preparing it is as follows : 
 
 Take a thick steak, broil slightly on a gridiron 
 until the juices have started, and then squeeze 
 thoroughly with a lemon squeezer. The juice 
 thus extracted will be highly nutritious. 
 
 Toast Water — Toast slightly a piece of bread, 
 and add to it boiling water ; if preferred, sweeten. 
 It may be flavored with lemon or orange peel. 
 
 Flaxseed Tea — Take an ounce of flaxseed and a 
 little pounded licorice root, and pour on a pint 
 of boiling water; place the vessel near a fire for 
 four hours ; strain through a linen or cotton cloth. 
 
 Barley Coffee — Roast barley until well brown, 
 and boil a tablespoonful of it in a pint of water for 
 five minutes ; strain and add a little sugar, if de- 
 sired. A nourishing drink toward the close of 
 fever, and during convalescence. 
 
 Oatmeal Coffee — Mix common oatmeal and water 
 to form cake; bake and brown it, powder it, and 
 boil in water five minutes. Good for checking 
 obstinate vomiting, especially in cholera morbus. 
 
 Cracked or Rolled Wheat — In two quarts of boil- 
 ing water, stir one pint cracked wheat. Half tea- 
 spoon salt. Use a farina boiler or double kettle, 
 
USEFUL RECIPES. 677 
 
 and cook three hours without stirring. When 
 done, mould in dishes. Eat hot or cold with fruit 
 sauce, or cream and sugar. Excellent in constipa- 
 tion or biliousness. The rolled wheat is prefer- 
 able. Not being able to procure it ready prepared, 
 one can crack wheat in an ordinary coffee mill. 
 
 Oatmeal Mush — Coarse oatmeal should also be 
 cooked like rolled wheat. If desired warm for 
 breakfast, can be left in a granite or porcelain 
 farina boiler over night, and heated in a few min- 
 utes. Do not soak oatmeal over night, nor try to 
 cook it sufficiently in the morning. It must never 
 be stirred while cooking. Fine oatmeal can be 
 made in a mush, like Indian meal, and be ready 
 for the table in twenty minutes. 
 
 Indian Meal Mush — Take fine meal of Northern 
 corn, a little salt ; stir slowly in boiling water 
 until it is as thick as can be stirred easily. Stand 
 it on back of the stove and cook slowly one hour. 
 Is better cooked in a milk boiler. 
 
 Graham Mush — Stir graham flour in boiling 
 water slowly until it makes a thick batter. Set 
 on the back part of the stove ten minutes, then 
 beat two minutes and turn into the dish. To be 
 eaten with fruit juice or cream and sugar 
 
 Sage Tea — Dry leaves of sage, half an ounce ; 
 boiling water, one quart ; infuse for half an hour, 
 strain and add sugar and lemon juice as required 
 by the patient. Balm and other teas are made in 
 the same manner. 
 
 Rice Water — Rice two ounces ; water, two 
 
678 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 quarts ; boil an hour or so, and add sugar and 
 nutmeg. 
 
 A Refreshing Drink in Fevers — Put a little sage, 
 two sprigs of balm and a little sorrel into a stone 
 jug; peel a small lemon, slice it, and put in to- 
 gether with a small piece of the rind ; then pour 
 in three pints of boiling water, sweeten, and cover 
 it close. 
 
 Another — Take half an ounce of prunes or dried 
 plums, an ounce of cranberries, half an ounce of 
 stoned raisins, and a quart of water ; boil down to 
 one pint, strain, and flavor with lemon peel or 
 essence of lemon. Keep it closely covered. 
 
 Another — Take one ounce each of currants, 
 raisins and tamarinds or prunes, and boil in one 
 quart of water down to one pint. Flavor with 
 lemon peel, or essence of lemon. 
 
 Currant Jelly — Currants, cranberries and prunes 
 make refreshing drinks, when added to water, and 
 sweetened to suit the patient's taste. 
 
 Water Gruel — Corn or oatmeal two tablespoons- 
 ful ; water, one quart ; boil for ten or fifteen min- 
 utes, and add sugar or salt, if desired by the 
 patient. 
 
 Rice Gruel — Ground rice, one heaping tablespoon- 
 ful; ground cinnamon, half a teaspoonful ; water, 
 one quart ; boil slowly for fifteen or twenty min- 
 utes, add the cinnamon near the conclusion of the 
 boiling, strain and sweeten. 
 
 Cooling Drinks for Fevers — Take vinegar, one 
 teacupf ul ; water, six teacupsful ; and honey, two 
 
USEFUL RECIPES. 679 
 
 teacupsful. Mix together. If honey does not 
 agree with the person, use molasses or syrup. 
 
 Gum Arabic Mixture — Dissolve four ounces of 
 gum Arabic in three teacupsful of boiling water ; 
 sweeten and flavor as desired. Useful in cases of 
 inflammation of the stomach and bowels. 
 
 Panada — White bread, one ounce ; water, one 
 pint ; ground cinnamon, one teaspoonful ; boil 
 until well mixed, and add a little sugar and nutmeg. 
 
 Sago Gruel — Sago, two tablespoonsful ; water, 
 one pint ; boil until it thickens, frequently stirring. 
 Sugar and nutmeg may be used, if desirable. 
 
 Mucilage oj Elm Bark — Place a small quantity 
 of elm bark in cold water. May be drank after an 
 hour or two. If agreeable it may be flavored with 
 lemon juice or essence of lemon, or other essence. 
 It may be drank freely in cases of inflammation of 
 the bladder, stomach, etc. 
 
 Tapioca Jelly — Tapioca, two tablespoonsful; 
 water, one pint ; boil slowly for an hour, until it 
 becomes of a jelly-like appearance; add sugar, 
 wine and nutmeg, to suit the taste of the patient. 
 Lemon juice may also be added. 
 
 Irish Moss Jelly — Irish moss, half an ounce ; fresh 
 milk, one and a half pints ; boil down to a pint, 
 strain, and add a sufficient amount of sugar and 
 lemon juice, or peach water, to give it an agreeable 
 flavor. 
 
 Arrow Root Gruel — Add a tablespoonful of arrow 
 root to half a pint of boiling water ; mix well, add 
 
680 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 half a pint of milk, and boil together for two or 
 three minutds; sweeten to the taste. 
 
 Milk Porridge — Add two tablespoonsful of corn 
 meal, to a pint each of milk and water ; mix the 
 meal with a small quantity of cold water, so as to 
 form a thin paste ; pour the milk and water to- 
 gether and as soon as they commence boiling, add 
 the paste, and stir. It may be flavored with cin- 
 namon, nutmeg, or sugar. 
 
 Isinglass Jelly — Isinglass, one roll, boiled in one 
 pint of water until dissolved, then strain and add 
 one pint of sweet milk. Put it again over the fire, 
 and let it just boil up. Sweeten with loaf sugar 
 and grate nutmeg upon it. If properly made, it 
 resembles custard. 
 
 Apple Water — Cut two large apples into slices 
 and pour on them a quart of boiling water; after 
 standing two or three hours, sweeten slightly. 
 
 Boiled Flour — Tie one pound of flour in a linen 
 bag ; dip this a number of times into cold water, 
 and then sprinkle flour upon the outside to form a 
 crust, which will prevent the water from entering 
 inside while boiling ; place the bag thus prepared 
 in some water, and boil until it becomes a hard, 
 dry mass. A little of this may be grated, and pre- 
 pared in the same manner as arrowroot gruel. 
 
 Vegetable Soup — Take one turnip, one potato, 
 one onion, and slice and boil them in one quart of 
 water for an hour, add salt as agreeable, and pour 
 the whole upon a piece of dry toast. 
 
 Mutton Tea — Take one pound of mutton, remove 
 
USEFUL RECIPES. 68 1 
 
 the fat, and cut the meat in small pieces ; pour 
 half a pint of boiling water over it and let it stand 
 near a fire for half an hour, and then boil for one 
 hour ; strain through a sieve or cloth ; add salt to 
 suit taste. A very nourishing diet. 
 
 Mutton Broth — Take one pound of good mutton, 
 remove the fat, and put in a vessel with three pints 
 of boiling water ; simmer for two hours ; then cut 
 up into slices three carrots, three turnips and three 
 onions ; boil them in a quart of water for half an 
 hour, strain, and add the vegetables to the mutton 
 liquor, season with salt, and simmer slowly for 
 four hours. 
 
 Chicken BrotJi — Take half a chicken, remove all 
 the fat, cut the meat up into small pieces, and 
 break the bones ; put into a vessel with three pints 
 of boiling water ; boil for one hour, season with 
 salt, and strain. Very nourishing. 
 
 Rennet Whey — New milk, one quart ; rennet, a 
 large spoonful ; heat the milk and then add the 
 rennet ; boil until the curd separates, which is to 
 be taken off. 
 
 Vinegar Whey — Milk, one pint ; vinegar, one 
 tablespoonful ; boil for a few minutes and separate 
 the curd. 
 
 Alum Whey — To a pint of milk, add a teaspoonful 
 of powdered alum, boil and strain ; useful in diar- 
 rhoea, dysentery and inflammation of the stomach. 
 The curd forms an excellent poultice for inflam- 
 mation of the eye. 
 
 Mustard Whey — Mustard seed, one tablespoonful; 
 
682 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 milk, one pint ; boil together for a few minutes 
 and separate the curd. A useful drink in dropsy. 
 
 Calves Feet Jelly — Take two calves' feet, and 
 add to them one gallon of water; boil down to one 
 quart ; strain, and when cold skim off the fat ; add 
 to this the whites of six or eight eggs well beaten, 
 a half pound of loaf sugar and the juice of four 
 lemons. Mix well. Boil them a few minutes, stir- 
 ring constantly, and strain through flannel. 
 
 Orange Whey — Milk, one pint; the juice of one 
 orange with a portion of the peel ; boil the milk, 
 then put the orange to it and let it stand until 
 coagulation takes place, and strain. 
 
 Sweet Whey — Skimmed milk, two quarts, and a 
 piece of calves' rennet. Mix, and put in a warm 
 place until it coagulates, and then strain. 
 
 Sippets — On an extremely hot plate put two or 
 three slices of bread, and pour over them some of 
 the juice of boiled beef, mutton or veal, and 
 sprinkle over them a little salt. 
 
 Chicken Panada — Take the white meat oi a 
 chicken, having removed the skin and fat, and boil 
 in a small quantity of water until the flesh is soft ; 
 pound the flesh in a mortar until pulpy, and then 
 add an equal weight of stale wheat bread, grad- 
 ually adding some of the water in which the 
 chicken was boiled, until the whole forms a thin 
 fluid paste ; boil this paste for ten minutes, fre- 
 quently stirring, and season to suit the taste. 
 
 French Milk Porridge — Stir together some oat- 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 683 
 
 meal and water, and let the mixture stand until 
 clear, and pour off the water ; then put some more 
 water to the meal, stir it well, and let it stand until 
 the next day ; strain through a fine sieve, and boil 
 the water, adding the milk while doing so. The 
 proportion of water must be small. 
 
 HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 
 
 Water when used in connection with other 
 treatment is extremely valuable, but the applica- 
 tion of it requires a knowledge of its effects, by 
 the person employing it, and care to avoid serious 
 consequences. 
 
 The Towel or Sponge Bath — Persons who are 
 reduced, physically, may bathe part of the body 
 first; as the head, face, arms, and chest, drying 
 and rubbing with a dry towel, or the dry hand, 
 before bathing the rest of the body. This form of 
 sponging the patient's body in fevers, or other 
 acute diseases, is frequently better than exposing 
 the whole body. The temperature of the water 
 must be governed by the feelings of the patient. 
 It may be commenced with tepid water, grad- 
 ually reducing it to cool, or cold water, as the 
 patient is able to bear it. In acute diseases when 
 the object is to reduce fever, water at a tempera- 
 ture of seventy-five or eighty-five degrees is better 
 than colder water. The best time for taking a 
 sponge bath is the morning, immediately after 
 rising from bed ; sometimes a second bath may be 
 
684 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 taken before going to bed. Exercise in the open 
 air should follow the bath. The baths may be 
 continued for a quarter of an hour or longer, if it 
 is desired to act as a stimulant, or to cool off the 
 body. When a shorter time is used, it has a 
 strengthening and exhilarating effect, and also 
 equalizes the circulation of the blood. 
 
 Shower Baths — These baths are taken in a box, 
 or a machine constructed for the purpose ; the 
 water is brought into contact with different parts 
 of the body, at the same time, in little streams. 
 Weak or nervous people should begin with tepid 
 water, gradually making it colder. 
 
 This bath may be taken by a person standing in 
 an empty bathing tub, or other vessel, and an 
 assistant standing on a chair, and pouring water 
 over him from a common watering pot. These 
 baths stimulate the nervous system and the skin ; 
 they are recommended particularly in diseases 
 which require repeated sweatings for their cure, 
 or for patients, who in consequence of disease of 
 the chest, cannot bear the full baths, after sweat- 
 ing. 
 
 Washtub Bath — This is a convenient and valua- 
 ble resort in fevers. Fill a tub one-third, or one- 
 half full of water, either cold or warm, in which 
 place the patient, having his feet in a smaller tub 
 or vessel. If the patient be weak he should have 
 an attendant. The body and limbs should be thor- 
 oughly washed, occasionally pouring water of the 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 685 
 
 same temperature over the shoulders and body. 
 As a general rule, tepid water is the best, being 
 less liable to produce a return of the fever. The 
 bath may be continued for from two to five, ten or 
 fifteen minutes, according to the height of the 
 fever, and the strength of the patient. It should 
 not be prolonged so far as to produce chilliness, 
 or pallor of the skin, or blueness of the nails. Dry 
 with towels, or a dry rubbing sheet. If the fever 
 returns, the bath should be again resorted to, until 
 it is reduced. It is very useful in eruptive fevers, 
 in bilious remittents, typhoid, and the hot stage of 
 intermittent. 
 
 Rubbing or Dripping Bath — This is a valuable 
 remedy, and may be used in various diseases, and 
 states of the system : 
 
 Take a coarse linen or cotton sheet, and wring 
 it well if you wish it lor a rubbing sheet, and 
 wring it lightly for a dripping sheet. Throw it 
 quickly about the patient's body from behind, and 
 let him and the attendant both rub briskly over 
 the sheet for two, three, four or more minutes, 
 until the surface of the body becomes thoroughly 
 warmed ; follow it with a dry sheet and towel and 
 hand rubbing. When used as cool as it can be 
 borne, it acts as a tonic and stimulant. It removes 
 feverish thirst, takes off languor, gives new vigor 
 to mind and limb, and produces a pleasant glow 
 over the body. If the patient is feeble, the sheet 
 should be of a mild temperature, from eighty to 
 ninety degrees, gradually reducing it. When 
 
686 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 used for stimulating and invigorating the nerves 
 or the brain, or for reducing pain, it should be 
 cool or cold, and the sheet be re-wet, and re- 
 applied several times in quick succession. 
 
 For feverish pulse, and heat in chronic diseases, 
 it may be used at bedtime, and should be of a mild 
 temperature. It has a tendency to allay nervous 
 excitability, and induce sleep. It is valuable in 
 fevers of all kinds ; also in diarrhoea, dysentery, 
 colic, etc. The patient before taking the bath, 
 should wash his hands and face in cold water. 
 
 Pail Douche — This is more stimulating than the 
 preceding, and excites greater nervous action. 
 The patient should stand in an empty bathing tub, 
 and the attendant having prepared two pails of 
 water, one warmer than the other, should dash the 
 warmer pailful half upon his chest and half upon 
 his back, following with the second pailful in the 
 same manner; then dry and use friction. It is not 
 advisable to use this in great nervousness; nor 
 should it be used when there is serious disease of 
 the heart or lungs. It is generally used when the 
 temperament is sluggish, or the disease is of a 
 general nature. 
 
 The Wet Sheet Packing — This is a valuable proc- 
 ess to reduce the heat of the body in fevers, and to 
 remove unhealthy secretions. The sheet for pack- 
 ing should be of cotton or coarse linen, sufficiently 
 long to reach from the patient's head to his feet, 
 and about two yards in width. In feeble, chronic 
 cases, it is better not to have it come quite to the 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 687 
 
 ankles. The bed should be stripped of its cover- 
 ing, one or two pillows being left for the patient's 
 head. One or two comfortables should be spread 
 conveniently upon the bed and two woolen blan- 
 kets upon these. If the patient complains of chilly 
 sensations about and down the spine and over the 
 body, place a folded towel, or a strip of flannel of 
 four fingers, or three or four inches wide, next to 
 the spine, as the patient lies upon the sheet ; this 
 prevents the shock to the spinal nervous system. 
 If the patient is subject to coldness of the feet, he 
 should have a jug or can of hot water, or hot bricks 
 placed to the feet, having one or two thicknesses 
 of the blanket between, to protect the feet from 
 too great heat. The patient lying flat on his back 
 should raise his arms while the assistant wraps one 
 side of the sheet over the body and lower limbs, 
 and tucks it closely to the body. The arms are 
 then dropped to the side, and the other side of the 
 sheet quickly wrapped and tucked ; the blankets 
 and comfortables are brought over and tucked in 
 the same manner, care being taken not to draw 
 them too tightly over the chest. It should, how- 
 ever, be snugly tucked around under the shoulders, 
 so that the heat may be retained. 
 
 If the patient is subject to headache, or determi- 
 nation of blood to the head, a towel folded and 
 wet in cold water should be laid upon the fore- 
 head, and renewed as often as it becomes hot. 
 
 The person should remain in this packing from 
 thirty minutes to an hour and a half. If he gets 
 
688 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 comfortably warm in fifteen or twenty minutes, 
 thirty or forty minutes will be a sufficient length 
 of time to remain in the pack, but if he warms 
 more slowly, an hour or an hour and a quarter 
 is sufficient. If sweating is desired, the patient 
 should remain until perspiration appears on the 
 forehead, generally from an hour to two or three 
 hours. If the patient remains long enough to pro- 
 duce perspiration, just before it appears, he will 
 have a chilly sensation, which will be succeeded 
 by copious perspiration. 
 
 For very delicate persons, the sheet should be 
 first wrung out of tepid or warm water. On com- 
 ing out of the pack, the plunge, rubbing, wet sheet 
 or towel bath may be used. 
 
 In acute diseases, when there is high fever, this 
 form of bath will be found extremely useful. In 
 this case the sheet should be wrung out of fresh 
 water every half hour, or oftener if the fever is 
 high, until it is reduced. 
 
 It may be used in the fever stages of remittent 
 and intermittent fevers, and in some chronic diffi- 
 culties. When the patient is very feeble, the half 
 pack, or towel pack should be used. In the com- 
 mencement of the treatment, one towel should be 
 wet and laid across the chest and bowels, and the 
 rest of the body enveloped in dry blankets. In a 
 few days a second towel may be placed along the 
 spine, and this gradually increased until he will be 
 able to bear a full pack. Headache, muscular 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 689 
 
 debility, and giddiness, indicate that the pack is 
 continued too long. 
 
 The Sweating Pack — The bed should be prepared 
 as for the wet sheet pack, omitting the sheet, and 
 having two blankets next to the patient. He 
 should then lie down, and the assistant bring over 
 the blankets and comfortables, tucking him closely; 
 other blankets, or a small feather bed should then 
 be placed over all, and closely tucked, especially 
 around the shoulders and feet, so that the hot air 
 cannot escape. A jug of hot water may be placed 
 to the feet with advantage. If the head gets hot, 
 a wet towel may be applied to the forehead, and 
 the patient be given plenty of water to drink. The 
 windows of the room should be opened, so as to 
 keep a good supply of fresh air. It will generally 
 require from two to three hours to produce perspi- 
 ration. This pack should be followed by the rub- 
 bing sheet, or half bath, or pail douche. It is used 
 in skin diseases, torpidity of the liver, indigestion, 
 and also in chronic rheumatism and gout. 
 
 The Vapor Bath — The patient should be un- 
 dressed and seated in a chair, with a couple of 
 blankets pinned around his neck. A small tub or 
 tin pan filled with hot water should be placed 
 under the chair, and red hot bricks or stone should 
 occasionally be put into the vessel, so as to keep 
 the vapor constantly rising. The time required 
 to produce perspiration will vary from ten to 
 twenty minutes. If the head is affected unpleas- 
 antly, producing faintings, sickness, or fullness of 
 44 
 
69O THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 blood in the head, it should be stopped. The pa- 
 tient may be allowed to drink cold water or bathe 
 the face with cold water, or a wet towel may be 
 placed upon the head at the commencement. 
 After using this bath, a full bath should be taken 
 to cleanse the skin. 
 
 It is useful in diseases of the skin, colds and 
 fever ; sometimes in suspended lochia. It should 
 not be administered tc those who have weakness 
 of the lungs. 
 
 The Hip, or Sitzbath — A common wash tub will 
 answer for this bath. The tub should be large 
 enough to admit of the motion of the arms in rub- 
 bing, and deep enough to allow the legs to bend 
 over each other without producing pressure, or 
 checking the circulation. The patient may either 
 undress completely, or remove the clothes from 
 the. parts of the body to be immersed in the- water. 
 When the bath is used as a tonic, the water should 
 be cold and the patient remain in from five to ten 
 or fifteen minutes. Persons who are feeble should 
 use warm water, and remain in from one to live 
 minutes, gradually reducing the temperature until 
 they can take a cold bath. The water should cover 
 the hips and lower part of the abdomen. In the 
 cold stage of intermittent fever the warm sitz-bath 
 will very much mitigate the severity of the chill; 
 and when followed by the cold rubbing wet sheet, 
 when the hot stage comes on, will often break up 
 the attack. 
 
 In acute inflammation of the liver, stomach, 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 69 1 
 
 bowels, spleen and kidneys, the sitz-baths should 
 be used very frequently. At the same time, use 
 injections of cold or warm water. 
 
 The tonic sitz-bath requires frequent repetition ; 
 from three to six times a day. It may be used in 
 cases of excessive menstruation, leucorrhcea and 
 prolapsus uteri. The sitz-bath is used more fre- 
 quently as a derivative in obstruction of the liver 
 and kidneys, dyspepsia, determination of blood to 
 the head, constipation of the bowels, etc. When 
 used for this purpose, the temperature should be 
 from sixty to eighty-five degrees; the patient 
 should remain about fifteen minutes in the bath. 
 When used for piles, or chronic affections of the 
 genital organs, it should last from twenty to forty- 
 five minutes. The sitting bath should not be taken 
 immediately before eating, nor within two hours 
 and a half after a meal. Moderate exercise should 
 be taken after each bath, if the patient is suffi- 
 ciently strong; if not, active friction should be 
 used, to secure reaction. 
 
 The Shallow Bath — A shallow bath tub may be 
 used, or a common wash tub. The water should 
 be from four to six inches deep. During the bath, 
 the abdomen and lower part of the body should be 
 well rubbed by the patient, or by an attendant, and 
 the head should also be sprinkled, and the back 
 and chest rubbed. When there is no chilliness, a 
 pail of cold water should be poured on the chest 
 and shoulders. This bath may be employed from 
 one to fifteen minutes by those who are very feeble 
 
692 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 and sensitive to cold, and from fifteen to thirty 
 minutes by others. It may be followed by the dry 
 rubbing sheet, or by hand rubbing. It will be 
 found useful in the treatment of skin diseases, sick 
 headache, rush of blood to the head, apoplexy, 
 paralysis, sunstroke, etc. 
 
 The Plunge Bath — The plunge bath should be 
 taken in a large reservoir or trough, filled with 
 water. It is generally taken after the sweating 
 process, and sometimes after the wet sheet, by 
 those who are able to bear the exercise. The pa- 
 tient should wear the sheet and blanket to the bath, 
 and should first wet the head and chest, before 
 plunging into the water. 
 
 It may be used with advantage in all chronic 
 diseases, which are not attended with determina- 
 tion of blood to the head, or difficulty of breath- 
 ing, or disturbance of the circulation. The tem- 
 perature of the bath should be from fifty-five to 
 sixty-five degrees, and the person should remain 
 in from a few seconds to two or three minutes in 
 chronic diseases. In high fever the patient may 
 remain in from ten to fifteen minutes. 
 
 The Foot Bath — This is an excellent means, espe- 
 cially in disease of the head and chest, and may be 
 used also to prevent cold feet. 
 
 If the object is to determine blood from the head 
 and chest, the vessel should not be too large, and 
 the bath be continued from twenty minutes to an 
 hour. If the congestion increases during the bath, 
 cold applications should be made to the parts 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 693 
 
 affected. The feet should be rubbed during and 
 after the bath. 
 
 The warm foot bath is valuable to relieve 
 attacks of headache, and to quiet the nervous 
 system. 
 
 The Head Bath — The common method of bath- 
 ing the head is by wetting cloths in water and 
 applying, or pouring a stream of water over the 
 head. In chronic affections, however, a deriva- 
 tive or sedative effect is desired ; for this purpose 
 the patient should be on a rug or mattress, the 
 back of the head resting in a shallow basin or pail 
 holding from two to three inches of water. It 
 may be changed every fifteen or twenty minutes. 
 
 When the water is poured on the head, the 
 patient should lie face downward, and a tub be 
 placed under the head to catch the water; the 
 stream should be poured steadily for several min- 
 utes until the head is well cooled. 
 
 The Eye and Ear Bath — Forcing a small stream 
 of water through a syringe or hose, is useful in 
 some diseases of the eye and ear. 
 . The Nose Bath — In catarrh, colds in the head, 
 nose bleed, etc., this is beneficial. Water should 
 be snuffed through the nostril, and drawn back if 
 possible, so as to be ejected by the mouth. This 
 should be repeated several times a day. It is used 
 as a tonic. 
 
 Leg and Arm Bath — The leg bath is useful in 
 cases of ulcerations, eruptions, gout, rheumatism, 
 sprains, etc. The temperature should be mild ; 
 

 694 THE SICK ROOM. 
 
 varying from sixty to eighty degrees. It may be 
 continued from fifteen minutes to half an hour. 
 The water should not only cover the affected part, 
 but also the adjacent parts. The arm bath may 
 be used with advantage in felons, lessening the 
 inflammation. 
 
 Wet Bandages — When intended to be cooling, the 
 cloths must be of a size suited to the part inflamed; 
 they should then be folded six or eight times, 
 dipped in very cold water and squeezed, and re- 
 newed every five or ten minutes, according to the 
 degree of inflammation. If the water cannot be 
 obtained cold, add ice to it. The bandages must 
 be continued without intermission day and night 
 until danger is averted. Neglect of changing the 
 cloths will produce bad results. 
 
 When the object is to raise the temperature of 
 the part, the bandages may consist of linen folded 
 two or three times and dipped into cold water ; 
 they should then be well wrung out, and not 
 changed until dry. The action may be aided by 
 covering the bandages with a dry towel. 
 
 These applications are useful in derangements 
 of the digestive organs, liver, affections of the 
 bowels, etc. 
 
 The application of hot bandages to the body 
 when there is congestion of the lungs, congestion 
 of the brain, congestion of the womb, etc., is of 
 great value. In bilious and painter's colic, con- 
 gestion of the liver or spleen, and in congestive 
 fevers, hot bandages, applied as hot as can be 
 
HYDROPATHIC TREATMENT. 695 
 
 borne, and continued until the parts are relieved, 
 will be found of great value. 
 
 Injections — Warm water injected into the bowels 
 will be found very valuable in constipation, diar- 
 rhoea, and other complaints of the bowels. 
 
 General Rules — All full bathing should be taken 
 when the body is warm. In chronic cases the 
 bath should be followed by walking, or other 
 active exercise, if the patient's strength will admit. 
 
 No meal should be taken within an hour after 
 bathing, nor should a bath be taken within two 
 hours after eating. 
 
 The best times for bathing are on rising in the 
 morning, at ten A. M., at three P. M., and at bedtime. 
 
 All patients who are able should use moderate 
 exercise previous to bathing. 
 
 Every full bath should be taken quickly, the 
 patient, if able, rubbing himself vigorously, then 
 dressing and exercising. In acute diseases, how- 
 ever, exercise should not be taken. 
 
 No strong shock should ever be produced upon 
 the head. 
 
 Each patient should use the water at a temper- 
 ature best suited to his situation. 
 
 Wetting the head and the chest before taking a 
 full bath is a useful precaution, and especially for 
 persons liable to head affections. 
 
 The fact of a person being in a full perspiration 
 is no objection to taking a bath, provided the body 
 is not in a state of exhaustion, nor the breathing 
 disturbed. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 
 
 In cases of poisoning, the first thing to be done 
 is to excite vomiting, so as to eject the poison as 
 soon as possible from the stomach, or to neutralize 
 its action, by the use of antidotes. 
 
 To produce vomiting, the following means may 
 be resorted to : 
 
 Twenty grains of Sulphate of Zinc, or ten grains 
 of Sulphate of Copper, dissolved in warm water. 
 
 Tepid water drank in large quantities, and often 
 repeated. 
 
 Snuff or mustard mixed with salt, or mustard 
 mixed in warm water and drank freely. 
 
 Tickling the throat with a feather or straw. 
 
 Injections of tobacco into the anus through a 
 pipe stem. 
 
 Poisoning by acids, such as Sulphuric, Nitric, 
 Muriatic and Phosphoric Acid; use Spirits of 
 Hartshorn, Soapsuds, Magnesia, Lime, Chalk 
 powder, mixed with water; Wood ashes mixed 
 with water. 
 
 Poisoning by Oxalic Acid is best overcome by 
 Chalk, Lime, or plaster from the ceiling, mixed 
 with water and drank freely. 
 
 696 
 
POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 697 
 
 When Sulphuric Acid has been taken, the use 
 of much water will be injurious. 
 
 In poisoning by Alkaline substances, such as pot 
 and pearl ashes, soda, and oil of tartar ; use as anti- 
 dotes, vinegar, lemon juice, castor oil, flaxseed tea, 
 alum and olive oil. They should be given in large 
 quantities. 
 
 When Arsenic has been taken, give buttermilk, 
 sweet oil, or other oil, or magnesia, in large quan- 
 tities ; equal parts of oil and lime water, may 
 also be given. The most certain antidote is the 
 hydrated protoxide of iron, which should be taken 
 in doses of a teaspoonful mixed with water and 
 repeated every five or ten minutes. A stomach 
 pump should also be used. 
 
 When Corrosive Sublimate, Copper or Verdi- 
 gris has been taken, the best remedy is the white 
 of eggs ; mix up the white of twelve eggs with a 
 quart of water or milk, and give a glassful every 
 two or three minutes ; chalk water, milk, starch 
 from wheat flour, may also be used. 
 
 In poisoning by lead, or any salt of lead, give 
 large doses of Epsom Salts, or Glauber's Salts, or 
 Plaster of Paris mixed with water. 
 
 Nitrate of Silver may be neutralized by drinking 
 freely of common salt dissolved in water. 
 
 In poisoning by tin, or any salt of tin, use sugar, 
 white of eggs, milk and flour. 
 
 In poisoning by Tartar Emetic and Antimonial 
 Wine, use a solution of Tannic Acid, Oak Bark, 
 Peruvian Bark, or very strong green tea. 
 

 698 POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 
 
 Iodine or Iodide of Potassium may be neutral- 
 ized by starch or wheat flour ; or arrowroot well 
 mixed with water, taken in large quantities. This 
 may be followed by a mixture of vinegar and 
 water. 
 
 In poisoning by Opium, Belladonna, Stramo- 
 nium, Nux Vomica, Morphine, Hellebore, etc., 
 give an emetic followed by cold water dashed over 
 the person, and strong coffee, or vinegar diluted 
 with water. The person should be made to walk 
 rapidly between two persons. The stomach pump 
 should also be used. 
 
 In poisoning by Saffron and Camphor, the pa- 
 tient should drink freely of black coffee. 
 
 In poisoning by Cantharides, or Spanish fly, 
 give Camphor internally, or by smelling; also 
 white of eggs and gruels. 
 
 Poisoning by clams, lobsters, mussels, etc., give * 
 an emetic, followed by a dose of salts. The pa- 
 tient may drink freely of strong coffee, sugar and 
 water, or a solution of camphor. 
 
 In poisoning by the poison vine or sumach, the 
 parts may be bathed with a solution of Borax or 
 Copperas, or a wash may be made by boiling elder 
 bark in butter or milk. The fluid extract of Ser- 
 pentaria applied to the eruption, is highly recom- 
 mended. 
 
 When a person has been rendered insensible by 
 poisonous gases, as Carbonic Acid, or sulphureted 
 Hydrogen, he should be immediately stripped, 
 and cold water dashed over the body. The lungs 
 
POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 699 
 
 should be filled with fresh air. The patient should 
 be made to swallow dilute ammonia, or wine and 
 brandy, or other stimulants. 
 
 In poisoning by Strychnine, emetics, such as 
 mustard, or Sulphate of Zinc, should be used, as 
 well as a stomach pump. 
 
 If vomiting cannot be produced or proves use- 
 less, Chloroform by inhalation should be adminis- 
 tered. 
 
 In poisoning by Arnica, give vinegar. 
 
 In poisoning by Aconite, use stimulants, exter- 
 nally and internally. 
 
 THE END. 
 

PAGE. 
 
 A New Theory 202 
 
 Abdomen, Stretching of 115 
 
 Abdominal Belt 116 
 
 Abortion and Miscarriage 143 
 
 Abortion, criminal 148 
 
 " dangers of .... 150 
 
 Abrasions of the skin 487 
 
 Accidents 469 
 
 Accidental Poisoning 471, 478 
 
 Advice to a Father 391 
 
 After-birth, treatment of 234 
 
 Ailments while Nursing 260 
 
 Air and Exercise 69 
 
 " in Youth 492 
 
 " while Nursing 258 
 
 Aloe Paste in Weaning 271 
 
 Alum Whey , 681 
 
 Amenorrhcea 37 
 
 " Treatment of 38 
 
 Amusements 381, 494, 495 
 
 Analysis of Milk 296 
 
 Animation, how to restore 232 
 
 Antecedent preparation 163 
 
 Anteversion 542, 545 
 
 ' Causes of 545 
 
 " Treatment of ' 543 
 
 " Symptoms of c . 543 
 
 Antipathies of Children 367 
 
 Aperients 362, 453 
 
 Appetite, Loss of 64 
 
 Apple Water 680 
 
 701 
 

 702 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Areola, the , 18 
 
 Arteries of the Womb. , 21 
 
 Art, the noblest use of 185 
 
 Artificial Human Milk 295 
 
 Arm Bath 693 
 
 Arrow Root Gruel 679 
 
 Aspirations, influence of 193 
 
 Attendants, hints to 230 
 
 Barley Coffee 676 
 
 Bandages 694 
 
 Bandage after Labor 236 
 
 Bathing and Exercise 210 
 
 " During Pregnancy. 68 
 
 " in Youth 487 
 
 Bath, the Warm 489 
 
 Beef Tea. 676 
 
 Bites of Cat or Dog 477 
 
 Black Eye, A .' „ . 470 
 
 Bladder, the 122 
 
 " Diseases of 123 
 
 ' ' Irritability of 62 
 
 Blows and Bruises 470 
 
 Bloody Flux 626 
 
 Boiled Flour 680 
 
 Boil, The treatment of a , 449 
 
 Bowels, neglect of the 82-85 
 
 " Large 452 
 
 " Protrusion of the - 456 
 
 " Treatment of, in lab©r 239 
 
 1 ' Inflammation of 616 
 
 Boy or Girl 138 
 
 Bran Poultice 468 
 
 Bread Poultice, how to make * 469 
 
 Breasts, the 17 
 
 " Gathered 265 
 
 " Swollen and Painful 122 
 
 " The, in nursing 250 
 
 Treatment of during weaning 271 
 
INDEX. 703 
 
 TAGE. 
 
 Breathing, exercises in 211, 495 
 
 Bronchitis 412 
 
 Burns, Scalds, etc 473 
 
 Calves Feet Jelly 682 
 
 Cancer of the Womb ? ' 1 
 
 Cathartic Drugs S4 
 
 Catarrh 596 
 
 Canker of the Mouth 662 
 
 Cause and Effect 1 ~>) 
 
 Causes of Anteversion 544 
 
 " of Mortality in Hand-fed Children 295 
 
 Chafing in Infancy 324 
 
 Change of Life 51, 562 
 
 " " " Symptoms of 53 
 
 " " " Treatment of 54 
 
 Chapped Hands 460 
 
 Lips 46 1 
 
 Cheerfulness Strongly Recommended 16 
 
 Chicken-Pox 440, 661 
 
 Chicken Broth 681 
 
 Chicken Panada 6S2 
 
 Child-birth 214 
 
 " a Natural Process 219 
 
 Child Crowing 405 
 
 Childhood's Ideal Home 371 
 
 Children, the rights of 165 
 
 Children's Hour. ... 375 
 
 Children and their Diseases 351 
 
 Chills 447 
 
 Chloroform, the value'of , 229 
 
 Chlorosis 443, 55S 
 
 Causes of 43 
 
 ' ' Symptoms of 43 
 
 Treatment of . . . , 45 
 
 Choking 476 
 
 Cholera Infantum 333, 649 
 
 Morbus 628 
 
 Cleansings after Labor 241 
 
704 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Cleanliness of Infants 279 
 
 Clothing in Pregnancy 65 
 
 " Childhood „ 352 
 
 " " Infancy 285 
 
 " " while Nursing 256 
 
 " "Youth 490 
 
 Colic 605 
 
 Cold in the Head. . 645 
 
 Common Sense Shoes 528 
 
 Compress, the wet 455 
 
 Conception , 24 
 
 Conclusion . 554 
 
 Confinement, duration of 221 
 
 Constipation. ... 80, 622, 634 
 
 " Causes of 82 
 
 " Enema for 94 
 
 Constipation, Evil Effects of 81 
 
 ' ' Exercises for , 95 
 
 " Food an important item 93 
 
 " Fruit diet for 92 
 
 " In infancy 326 
 
 " in childhood 361, 453 
 
 " in youth. 512 
 
 " Massage treatment for , . . « 97 
 
 * ' A simple remedy for 94 
 
 ' ' Special exercises for 99 
 
 " Treatment of , 89 
 
 Constipating Foods 88 
 
 Consumption 505 
 
 Contentment the Best Medicine 16 
 
 Convalescent, The 577 
 
 Convulsions 325, 639 
 
 Cooling Drinks 678 
 
 Corns 515 
 
 Corsets, when to wear 491 
 
 Cracked Wheat > 676 
 
 Cramps 637 
 
 Cramps in Child-birth , . . , 218 
 
INDEX. 705 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Cramps of the legs 126 
 
 Criminal abortion 148 
 
 Croup 401, 653 
 
 Cry, the language of 246 
 
 Culture before Birth ] 60 
 
 Currant Jelly 678 
 
 Debility from Inflammation 525 
 
 Delivery, rest after 234 
 
 Dentition. 307, 644 
 
 ' ' Disorders of 309 
 
 " Painful 313 
 
 Second 396 
 
 Dews of Evening, Dangerous 14 
 
 Diagnosis of Uterine Diseases 548 
 
 Diarrhoea 105, 335, 623-635 
 
 Diet while Nursing 256 
 
 in Infancy 290 
 
 ' ' in Childhood ' , 356 
 
 ' ' after Labor 244 
 
 Difficult Urination 638 
 
 Diphtheria 416, 659 
 
 Diseases of Pregnancy 102 
 
 ' * of Women 518 
 
 Disorders of Menstruation 37 
 
 Douche Bath 210, 686 
 
 Drainage .... 369 
 
 Drain Poison, Deadly Effect of 75 
 
 Dress Reform 527 
 
 Drinks in Fever 678 
 
 Dripping Bath 685 
 
 Dysenteric Diarrhoea 335 
 
 Dysentery 336, 626 
 
 Dysmenorrhcea 49 
 
 Dyspepsia 568, 636 
 
 Ear and Eye Bath . . 693 
 
 Earache 450, 591 
 
 Ear, How to Remove Substances from 479 
 
 Early Rising 498 
 
 45 
 
yo6 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Earth Closets, How Made 86 
 
 Education of Children 389 
 
 Elastic Silk Stockings 114 
 
 Electrotyping Process 155 
 
 Electuary of Figs, Raisins, etc 1 14 
 
 Emaciation a Sign of Pregnancy 62 
 
 Embryo, Growth of the 26 
 
 " Nourishment of 25 
 
 Embryonic Moulding, The Law of 155 
 
 Employment, Nature's Physician 247 
 
 Enema, The Use of 241, 526 
 
 Excitability of Mind in Pregnancy 65 
 
 Exercise for Womb Troubles 526 
 
 " to Promote Health 13, 535 
 
 " during Childhood 381 
 
 " during Infancy 313 
 
 Experience of Elizabeth C. Stanton 199 
 
 Expulsive Pains 222 
 
 External .Applications of Heat 469 
 
 " Parts, Irritability of 128 
 
 Fainting ...I34> 5" 
 
 Falling of the Womb 542-562 
 
 False Labor Pains 129 
 
 Fallopian Tubes, The 23 
 
 Farinaceous Foods in Infancy f 300 
 
 Fashionable Dress, Evil Effects of 89 
 
 Fathers, The Duty of 191 
 
 ' ' Advice to 391 
 
 Fever, Remittant 648 
 
 Fibroid Tumors » . . 549 
 
 Fidgets 107 
 
 Fits 639 
 
 Fimbriae, The 23 
 
 Fire, Precautions Against 473 
 
 Flatulence 60, no, 522 
 
 *' in Infancy 330 
 
 Flax Seed Tea 676 
 
 Flexions of the Uterus 547 
 
INDEX. 707 
 
 l'AGE 
 
 Foetal Circulation 29 
 
 Food, How to Prepare 673 
 
 " Digestible. 572 
 
 " Moderately Digestible 572 
 
 ' ' Indigestible.. 572 
 
 4 ' for Infants 299 
 
 1 ' for Inflammation 5 30 
 
 Flux, Bloody 626 
 
 Foot Bath 692 
 
 Frightening of Children 373 
 
 Fruit an Aperient 92, 454 
 
 1 ' Diet in Pregnancy 204 
 
 Fumigations Important 73 
 
 Gathered Breast 265 
 
 Gardening 211 
 
 Generation, Organs of 17 
 
 Gertrude Baby Suit, The 287 
 
 Gestation, Period of 1 29 
 
 Graafian Follicles 22 
 
 Graham Mush 677 
 
 Grinding Pains v 215 
 
 Griping Colic 605 
 
 i: in Infancy 332 
 
 Gum Arabic Mixture 679 
 
 Gum Boil... 515 
 
 Gums, How to Lance 30S 
 
 Gymnastic Exercises 495 
 
 Hair, Management of the 490 
 
 Hand Fed Children, Mortality of 295 
 
 Head, Affections of the •. 483 
 
 Headache 582 
 
 " Nervous 587, 637 
 
 " Sick. 584 
 
 Head Bath 693 
 
 Heartburn 62, 108, 568, 636 
 
 Heart, Palpitation of the 125, 636 
 
 Hectic Fever 506 
 
 Hemorrhage of the Lungs 504 
 
708 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Hemorrhoids 633 
 
 Hiccough - , 333 
 
 Hives 340 
 
 Home, The Kingdom of Woman 16 
 
 " Treatment of Children 37g 
 
 Hope for all 175 
 
 Horseback Riding 496 
 
 Hot Water Bottle 106, 468 
 
 Human Instincts, Description of , 176 
 
 Hygienic Waists 68, 528 
 
 Hydropathy 513 
 
 Hysteria 580, 636 
 
 Idiosyncrasies in Childhood 367 
 
 Ignorance of Disease among Mothers 398 
 
 Indian Meal Mush 677 
 
 Indigestion 568 
 
 Inflammation of the Bowels , 616 
 
 Inflammation of the Stomach , I... 613 
 
 Infants, Bathing of 277 
 
 " Cleanliness an Incentive to Health , 279 
 
 " Clothing o^ 285 
 
 Diet for 290 
 
 " Exercise 313 
 
 ' ' Food for 299 
 
 " How to Care for 275 
 
 " Manner of Feeding , 305 
 
 Sleep of . 319 
 
 " Suffocation of 321 
 
 Injections, How to Use 539, 695 
 
 Insects, To Remove from the Ear 479 
 
 Inflammation of the Lungs 408, 564 
 
 of the Womb 518 
 
 Chronic, How to Determine 521, 540 
 
 Causes of 524 
 
 Debility in , 525 
 
 Exercise During 526 
 
 Food During 530 
 
 Local Treatment 537 
 
INDEX. 709 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Inflammatiou, Pure Air Treatment of . . 529 
 
 Symptoms of 519 
 
 Tonics , . 530 
 
 Treatment of 527 
 
 Important Advice 472 
 
 Intellect, the March of 389 
 
 Irregularities of Menstruation 37 
 
 Irritability of the Bladder 62 
 
 Skin 579 
 
 Irish Moss Jelly 679 
 
 Isinglass Jelly 680 
 
 Kindergarten Schools 389 
 
 Kindness, A Long Remembered 277 
 
 Labor, Attendants During 225 
 
 Bandage After 236 
 
 " Beverage for 227 
 
 " Brandy, Use in 227 
 
 " Chloroform in 227 
 
 " Cleanliness after 242 
 
 " Dietary 244 
 
 " Dress for 225 
 
 " Natural Process 227 
 
 " Pains 223 
 
 " Pains, False 129 
 
 " Preparations for. 224 
 
 V Stages of 221 
 
 4 ' Symptoms of 215 
 
 " The Bed in 225 
 
 " Treatment After 237 
 
 " Treatment of Bowels During 239 
 
 Lacing in Pregnancy 66 
 
 " Evil Effects of 14 
 
 Lancinating Pains ... 216 
 
 Language of a Cry, The 346 
 
 Laxative Medicines 84 
 
 Laxative Foods 92 
 
 Leg Bath 693 
 
 Leucorrhcea. 520, 535, 563 
 
7IO INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Ligaments of the Womb 20 
 
 Likes and Dislikes in Eating 65 
 
 Like Begets Like 171 
 
 Liver Colored Patches 65 
 
 Local Treatment in Inflammation 537 
 
 Longings of a Pregnant Woman, The 64 
 
 Matches „ 473 
 
 Measles 424, 664 
 
 Meddlesome Midwifery 219 
 
 Medicine in Administering to Children 457 
 
 Menopause or Change of Life 523 
 
 Menorrhagia 46 
 
 Mental Occupation, Effects of 83 
 
 Mental Disorders 102 
 
 Menstruation 31 
 
 Causes of 32 
 
 " Commencement of 34 
 
 Duration of 35 
 
 " Irregularities of 37, 555 
 
 in Pregnancy 32 
 
 " Profuse 46, 559 
 
 Painful 49, 561 
 
 Regularity of 33 
 
 Milk, Artificial Human 295 
 
 ' ' Crust 464 
 
 " Fever 253 
 
 " the best Food for Children 358 
 
 " Porridge 682 
 
 Miscarriage and Abortion 243 
 
 " Causes of 144 
 
 Symptoms of 144 
 
 " Stages of 145 
 
 " Treatment of 146 
 
 Mistaken Notion, A 201 
 
 Mother, The Sacred Rights of 169 
 
 " Should Know Themselves 181 
 
 Mortality among Hand-Fed Children 295 
 
 Morning Treatment of Children 395 
 
INDEX. 711 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Morning Sickness 56, 118, 631 
 
 Mucilage of Elm Bark 679 
 
 Mumps, The , 448 
 
 Muscular Pains of the Abdomen 104 
 
 Mutton Broth 68: 
 
 " Tea 680 
 
 Mustard Whey 681 
 
 Napoleon, Anecdote of 276 
 
 Nature not to be Trifled With T4, 15 
 
 " A Law of , 151 
 
 Navel String, Rupture of the 283 
 
 Care of the 282 
 
 Navel, Protrusion of in Pregnancy 61 
 
 Nettle Rash 340 
 
 Neuralgia 596 
 
 Nervous Headache 587 
 
 Night Terrors 374 
 
 Nipples, The 18 
 
 " Cracked and Fissured 264 
 
 ' ' Means to Harden 121 
 
 " Retracted 261 
 
 " Sore 261 
 
 Nose Bath 693 
 
 Nose-Bleed < . . 510 
 
 44 Stuffings of the, in Infancy 342 
 
 Nurse, How to Select 139 
 
 Nursing , .< 249 
 
 ' ' the sick 671 
 
 44 Air and Exercise While 258 
 
 4 4 Ailments of 260 
 
 44 Aperients During 268 
 
 44 Clothing and Diet Whila 256 
 
 4 ' Depression of Spirits * 258 
 
 44 During the Night 255 
 
 44 Hints on 291 
 
 44 Occupation While. 259 
 
 44 Stated Times for 254 
 
 44 The Breasts During 250 
 
712 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Nursery, The * 367 
 
 Oatmeal Coffee 676 
 
 ' ' Mush 677 
 
 Objectionable Food for Children 363 
 
 Observation, A Teacher's 157 
 
 Occupation while Nursing 259 
 
 Offensive Breath . . , 600 
 
 Orange Whey 682 
 
 Organs of Generation 17 
 
 Ovarian Tumors 521 
 
 Ovaries, The 21 
 
 Overfeeding in Childhood 365 
 
 Overworked Children 390 
 
 Ovulation 23 
 
 Pain in Children a Morbid Symptom . 197 
 
 Painful Menstruation 49 
 
 " Causes of 49 
 
 Symptor °of 49 
 
 Treatment of 49 
 
 Palpitation of the Heart 636 
 
 Panada 679 
 
 Painter's Colic 607 
 
 Paper Hangings, Poisonous 370 
 
 Parturition without Pain 195 
 
 Pendulous Abdomen 116 
 
 Period of Gestation 129 
 
 Peristaltic Action of the Bowels . ( 81 
 
 Pertinent Suggestions 167 
 
 Piles 1 10 
 
 Pimples on Face 514 
 
 Placenta, The 25 
 
 Plants in Sleeping Room 498 
 
 Play Necessary to a Child's Existence , 388 
 
 Pleasures Necessary to Health 15 
 
 " of Childhood 379 
 
 Pledget, How to Make 539 
 
 Plunge Bath , 692 
 
 Piles 633 
 
INDEX. 713 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Poisoning, Accidental. 471, 478, 696 
 
 Polypus of the Womb 550 
 
 Precocious Children . 501 
 
 Pregnancy 56 
 
 " Signs of 56 
 
 " Diseases of 102 
 
 " Dress During 65 
 
 " Mental Disorders During 102 
 
 ' ' Table, A 132 
 
 Premature Labor 143 
 
 Pre-Natal Culture . 153 
 
 First Stages 182 
 
 ' ' Progressive Stages 187 
 
 Profession or Trade, Choice of 496 
 
 Profuse Menstruation 46 
 
 ' ' Causes of 46 
 
 ' ' Symptoms of 47 
 
 Treatment of ; 47 
 
 Prolapsus Uteri 542 
 
 ' ' Symptoms of 543 
 
 ' ' Treatment of ... . 544 
 
 Pruritis 632 
 
 Pulse, The, in Health and Disease . 486 
 
 Punishment of Children 374 
 
 Pure Air for Inflammation 529 
 
 Quinsy 602 
 
 Quickening 559 
 
 Quick Lime 473 
 
 Quinine Mixture , , 124 
 
 Recipes. . . : 675 
 
 Recapitulation ♦. 161 
 
 Red Gum 341 
 
 Reproduction, The Law of 31 
 
 Rest after Delivery 234, 243 
 
 " Necessity of 76 
 
 Remittent Fever 648 
 
 Rennet Whey. . , 681 
 
 Retroversion of the Womb 542, 546 
 
7 14 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Retroversion, Symptoms of 547 
 
 Treatment of 547 
 
 Rhubarb and Magnesia 105 
 
 Rice Gruel 678 
 
 " Water 677 
 
 Round Shoulders 501 
 
 Rupture of the Navel 283 
 
 Sage Tea. . . . 677 
 
 Sago Gruel 679 
 
 Saliva, Increased Flow of 64 
 
 Scalds and Burns 473 
 
 Scarlet Fever 426, 665-667 
 
 Scrofula , 501 
 
 Second Dentition 396 
 
 Sedentary Habits 82 
 
 Sexual Excitement 533 
 
 Shallow Bath 691 
 
 Sick Headache 584 
 
 Sickness During Labor 216 
 
 Sick Nurse, On Selecting 484 
 
 Sick Room, Management of a ...,..« 481 
 
 Sitz Bath 68,457, 690 
 
 Sippets 682 
 
 Shower Bath 688 
 
 Skating 496 
 
 Skirt Supporters. 68 
 
 Sleep 77, 53 2 
 
 " During Childhood 391 
 
 " Infancy 319 
 
 Sleepiness ... 63 
 
 Sleeplessness .* 106 
 
 Soap Plaster in Weaning 271 
 
 Soothing Syrup, How to Make 313 
 
 Sore Throat 5°9> ° 02 
 
 Sour Stomach 568, 636 
 
 Stomach Ache 605 
 
 " Inflammation of , . 613 
 
 Spasms 639 
 
INDEX. 715 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Special Tendencies, How Imparted 192 
 
 Specific Directions 173 
 
 Snuffles 645 
 
 Spitting Blood 504 
 
 Stimulating Liniment; How to Make 79 
 
 Stings of Bees, Wasps, etc 477 
 
 Stocking Supporters , 355 
 
 Stooping in Childhood 503 
 
 Stomach, pain in the ; 468 
 
 Stye, treatment of a 452 
 
 Suffocation in Infancy 32 1 
 
 Supports of the Uterus 541 
 
 Suppository, The, in Constipation 454 
 
 Suppression of the Menses 39 
 
 " Symptoms of ^ 39 
 
 " " Treatment of 40 
 
 Swallowing, Accidentally, Coins, Glass, etc 480 
 
 Sweating, Pack Bath 689 
 
 Sweet Whey 682 
 
 Sweetmeats, Poisonous 363 
 
 Swimming, a Glorious Exercise 488 
 
 Swollen Limbs in Pregnancy 114 
 
 Syringe, the Fountain 53S 
 
 Syringe, Goodyear, No. 7 538 
 
 Tapioca Jelly , 679 
 
 Teething . 644 
 
 Teeth and Gums, care of 499 
 
 Tender Feet , 516 
 
 Theory, A reasonable 116 
 
 " Anew ,!. 202 
 
 Thermometer, importance of 482 
 
 Things to be Avoided « 189 
 
 Thrush, the 344-646 
 
 Times and Seasons 193 
 
 Toast Water 676 
 
 Tobacco, on use of 510 
 
 Toothache 116 
 
 ' ' sign of pregnancy 64 
 
y\6 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Tooth Rash 341 
 
 Tonics for Inflammation. 530 
 
 Tub Bath 684 
 
 Tumors of Uterus 549 
 
 " Fibroid 549 
 
 " Ovarian 521 
 
 Twins, how produced 25 
 
 Umbilical Cord, the 26 
 
 Under Waist, a convenient , 528 
 
 Urine, Incontinence of 638 
 
 Urination, Difficult 638 
 
 Uterus, the 19 
 
 " Flexions of , 547 
 
 ' ' Supports for 541 
 
 ** Tumors of 549 
 
 Uterine Diseases, how to Diagnose 548 
 
 Vagina, The 18 
 
 Vaginal Douche 210 
 
 Varicose Veins 114 
 
 Vapor Bath 689 
 
 Vegetable Soup 680 
 
 Ventilation 72 
 
 " in nursery 368 
 
 Vinegar Whey 681 
 
 Walking a Glorious Exercise 13 
 
 Warm Baths, value of , 467 
 
 Water Brash 109 
 
 " a valuable Aperient • 247 
 
 " on the Brain 399 
 
 " Gruel ..., 678 
 
 Weaning 269 
 
 ' ' Symptoms Denoting the Necessity of 272 
 
 Time for 269 
 
 " Manner of 270 
 
 " Warning Symptoms . 273 
 
 Well born, the right to be 164 
 
 Wet Compress, the 455 
 
 Wet Nurse, how to select 293 
 
INDEX. 
 
 717 
 
 Wet Nurse, qualities required 294 
 
 Wetting the Bed 458 
 
 Whites, the 126 
 
 Whooping Cough 442 
 
 Wine of Ipecac Mixture 403 
 
 Woman more Patient than Man 219 
 
 Womb, Physiology of the 19 
 
 " cancer on 551 
 
 ' ' inflammation of 518 
 
 11 polypus of 550 
 
 " structure of 519 
 
 " subsidence of the 215 
 
 Worms 461 
 
CfTJDSBJL'Rrsr. 
 
 Accoucher % — Surgeon in child-birth. 
 
 Allantoisc. — Membrane connecting the foetus and chorion. 
 
 Amenorrhea. — Suppression of the menses. 
 
 Anteversion. — Tipped forward. 
 
 Anteflexion. — Bent backward. 
 
 A ntiphlogistic. — Opposing inflammation. 
 
 Aperient. — Mildly cathartic. 
 
 Astringent. — Bindi ng. 
 
 Cathartic. — Laxative. 
 
 Chorion. — The external foetal membrane. 
 
 Colon. — The large intestine. 
 
 Congestion. — Overcrowded bloodvessels. 
 
 Cutaneous. — Pertaining to the skin. 
 
 Diaphragm. — Parietal muscle between the chest and abdomen. 
 
 Diagnosis. — Determination of disease. 
 
 Diphtheria. — Malignant disease of the throat. 
 
 Dysmenorrhcea. — Painful menstruation . 
 
 Emaciation. — State of being reduced to leanne^^. 
 
 Embryo. — Egg. 
 
 Enciente. — Pregnant. 
 
 Enema. — Injection. 
 
 Fallopian Tubes. — Oviducts. 
 
 Fehifuge. — Medicine to remove or mitigate fever. 
 
 Flatulence* — Wind in stomach or intestines. 
 
 Faces. — Discharge from the bowels. 
 
 Foetus. — Child in the womb. 
 
 Foetal. — Pertaining to the foetus. 
 
 Fomentation. — Hot applications'to the body. 
 
 Fimbriated* — Finger-like. 
 
 Genitalia, — Birthplace of the egg. 
 
 Gestation. — Period of growth of child in the womb. 
 
 Graafian Follicle. — Ovarian cavity containing egg. 
 
 Hemorrhoids. — Piles — Tumors in and about the anus. 
 
 Hygiene. — The art of preserving health. 
 
 Intra- Ute?ine. — Within the womb. 
 
 Labia. — Lips of the vagina. 
 
 Laxative. — Cathartic. 
 
 (7i8) 
 
GLOSSARY. 719 
 
 Malaise. — Sickness. Discomfort. 
 Mammary. — Pertaining to the breasts. 
 Massage. — Rubbing and kneading the body. 
 Meno-Pause. — Change of life. 
 Menstruation. — Monthly flow from the womb. 
 Menorrhagia. — Profuse menstruation. 
 Nates.— The buttocks. 
 Obstetrics. — Midwifery. 
 Os Uteri. — Mouth of the womb. 
 Osseous. — Bony. 
 Ova. — Eggs. Plural of egg. 
 
 Ovary. — Generative organ in which the ova are developed. 
 Oviducts. — Fallopian tubes. 
 Ovulation. — Laying of the egg. 
 Ovum. — An egg. 
 Patieties. — Walls of a cavity. 
 Parturition. — Child-birth. 
 Pelvis. — Lower part of the abdomen. 
 
 Peritoneum. — The membrane lining the walls and covering the or- 
 gans in the abdomen. 
 Peristaltic. — Worm-like movements of the bowels. 
 Placenta. — After-birth. 
 Pre-natal. — Before birth. 
 Prolapsus Uteri. — Falling of the womb. 
 Pulmonary. — Pertaining to the lungs. 
 Rectum. — Lower portion of the bowels. 
 Renal. — Pertaining to the kidneys. 
 Retroversion. — Falling backward. 
 Retro/lection. — Bending backward. 
 Saline. — Having the qualities of salt. 
 Salivation. — Unnatural flow of saliva. 
 Sanguineous. — Bloody. 
 Umbilicus. — Navel. 
 Urinary. — Pertaining to the urine. 
 Uterus. — The womb. 
 Vagina. — Passage leading to the womb. 
 Varicose veins. — Veins permanently dilated with blood. 
 Vesicle. — Small cavity or sac in the human body. 
 Vulva. — Outer lips of the vagina. 
 
M aternity 
 
 A BOOK FOR EVERY 
 
 WIFE ANB M0THER 
 
 A Plain, Practical and Popular Treatise on the Subjects of Menstruation, 
 
 Pregnancy, Child-birth, Nursing, Diseases of Women, and 
 
 the Oare of Infants and Children. 
 
 [REVISED AND ENLAKGED. 
 
 By MRS. P. B. SAUR, M. D. 
 
 Woman's College, formerly Resident 
 Street Hospital, Philadelphia; Member Ohio State Medical Society, Etc., Etc. 
 
 Graduate of Philadelphia Woman's College, formerly Resident Physician_ in the Alaska 
 
 abe 
 
 Twenty-eight Plates, illustrating the reproductive organs of woman, with text explaining 
 same, and showing how 
 
 PARTURITION MAY BE MADE PAINLESS! 
 
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 proof of its popularity and worth. We are in receipt of many letters like the following, 
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 " I appreciate my book very highly, and can say that I never read anything that gave 
 such instructions as Matebnity. It is a book WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD to any 
 woman. I feel that I cannot do without it in the family. For twenty years I have suffered 
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 my health has daily improved, and I feel that 1 shall soon be completely cured. The beautv 
 of the treatment is that it is so simple and inexpensive that none need suffer for want of 
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 302 CHESTNUT STREET, 161 LA SALLE STREET, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. ° R CHICAGO. ILL. 
 
 LRBS 
 
PLHTES 
 
 ILLUSTRATING 
 
 MATERNITY; 
 
 A BOOK FOR EVERY 
 
 WIFE AND MOTHER. 
 
 CHICAGO AND PHILADELPHIA 
 
 L. P. MILLER & COMPANY 
 
 1888. 
 
 " 
 

 Plate 1. The Pelvis. So called from its resem- 
 blance to a basin. It is a bony ring interposed 
 between the lower end of the spine, which it sup- 
 ports, and the lower extremities upon which it rests. 
 It is composed of four bones, — the two ossa innomi- 
 nata, which bound it on either side and in front, and 
 the sacrum and coccyx, which complete it behind. 
 The pelvis is divided, for convenience of explana- 
 tion, into the false and true pelvis. 
 
 Plate 2. The False Pelvis. The lines ab, c d, 
 and ef show the relative diameters of the false 
 or upper pelvis. This broad shallow cavity is fitted 
 to support the intestines and to transmit a part of 
 their weight to the anterior wall of the abdomen, 
 
Plate 3. The True Pelvis. The lines a and b 
 show the diameters of the true pelvis, which is all 
 that part situated beneath the lines in plate 2. It is 
 smaller than the false pelvis, but its walls are more 
 perfect. The pelvis is replete with interest, since 
 through it must pass the foetus or unborn child. 
 
 Plate 4. A Flattened or Deformed Pelvis. From 
 a casual glance at plates 1, 2, 3 and 4, it will be 
 seen that the size and shape of the pelvis may have 
 much to do with the ease or pains of labor. 
 
Plate 5. Mammary Gland; a, nipple, the cen- 
 tral portion of which is retracted ; b, areola ; c, c, c, 
 c, c, lobules of the gland; 1, sinus or milk duct; 2, 
 extremities of the milk duct. 
 
 Plate 6. Shotting the appearance of the Areola. 
 The surface of the nipple is dark colored, and sur- 
 rounded by an areola, having a colored tint. In the 
 virgin the areola is of a delicate rosy hue; about 
 the second month of impregnation, it enlarges and 
 acquires a darker tinge, which increases as preg- 
 nancy advances, becoming in some cases, a dark 
 brown or even black color. These changes in the 
 areola are of extreme importance in forming a conclu- 
 sion in a case of suspected pregnancy. 
 
Plate 7. Section of the female Pelvis showing 
 viscera. 
 
 Plate 8. The Uterus. This is the organ of 
 gestation, receiving the fecundated ovum in the cav- 
 ity, retaining and supporting it during the develop- 
 ment of the foetus, and becoming the principal agent 
 in its expulsion at the term of parturition. In the 
 virgin state, it is pear-shaped, flattened from before 
 backward, and situated in the cavity of the pelvis 
 between the bladder and rectum ; it is retained in 
 its position by the round and broad ligaments on 
 either side and projects into the upper end of the 
 vagina below. The uterus measures from two to 
 two and a luif inches in length, one and a half 
 inches in tieadth, at the upper part, and three- 
 fourths of an inch in thickness. Its weight is from 
 one to one and a half ounces. The cavity of the 
 uterus is small in comparison to the size of the 
 
Plate 9. Uferine and ufero-ovarian veins. 1. 
 Uterus seen from the front, its right half is covered 
 by the peritoneum; 7, utero-ovarian vessels; 8, 8, 8, 
 veins from the Fallopian tube; 10, uterine vein; 11, 
 uterine artery. 
 
 organ. The cut shows the uterus and its append- 
 ages ; ovaries in the broad ligaments ; oviducts and 
 fimbriated extremities; round ligaments; vagina 
 laid open, showing the mouth of the womb and the 
 folds in the mucuous membrane. The vagina is a 
 membranous canal, extending from the vulva to the 
 uterus. It is cylindrical in shape, flattened from 
 before backwards, and its walls are usually in con- 
 tact. Its length is about four inches along its 
 anterior wall, and between five and six along the 
 posterior wall. It surrounds the vaginal portion of 
 the cervex-uteri, a short distance from the os (or 
 mouth of the womb) and its attachment extends 
 higher up on the posterior than on the anterior wall 
 of the uterus 
 
Plate 10. Nerves of ihe Uterus, 1, sacrum ; 2, 
 rectum; 3, bladder; 4, uterus; 5, ovary; G, extrem- 
 ity of fallopiau tube. (See Plate 12.) 
 
 The Fallopian tubes, or oviaducts, convey the 
 ova or egg from the ovaries to the cavity of the 
 uterus. They are two in number, one on each side 
 extending from each superior angle of the uterus 
 to the sides of the pelvis. Each tube is about four 
 inches in length; its canal is exceedingly minute, 
 and commences at the superior angle of the uterus 
 by a minute orifice which will barely admit a 
 fine bristle; it continues narrow along the inner half 
 of the tube, then widens into a trumpet shaped ex- 
 tremity, the margins of which are surrounded by a 
 series of fringe-like processes, termed fimbriae- 
 One of these processes is connected with the outer 
 end of the ovary. The Ovaries are analogous to the 
 testes in the male. They are oval shaped bodies, 
 of an elongated form, flattened from above down- 
 wards, situated one on each side of the uterus and 
 below the Fallopian tubes. Imbedded in the meshes 
 of the ovaries are numerous small, round, transpar- 
 ent vesicles, in various stages of development. 
 These are called Graafian follicles, and are the 
 ovisacs containing the ova. These follicles are, 
 
Plate 11. Arterial vessels in a uterus ten days 
 after delivery. 1. The uterus or womb; 2, mouth 
 of the uterus; 3, 3, round ligaments; 4, 4, Fallopian 
 tubes; 5, right ovary; 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, arteries 
 branching to the uterus. 
 
 Plate 12. Ovary aad Fallopian tube. Od, Fal- 
 lopian tube ; O, ovary ; Oa, fimbriated extremity of 
 the tube; Ut, section of the uterus or womb. 
 
 during their early development, small and deeply 
 seated in the substance of the ovaries. At puberty, 
 the ovaries enlarge, are more vascular, the graafian 
 follicles are developed in greater abundance and 
 their ova now becomes capable of fecundation. 
 After gradually approaching the surface of the ovary, 
 tho follicle bursts, the ovum and fluid contained 
 therein is liberated and passing into the Fallopian 
 tube is carried to the uterus. The maturation and 
 discharge of the ova occur at regular periods and is 
 indicated by menstruation. Should the union of the 
 sexes take place at or about this time, the ovum may 
 be fecundated. 
 
Plate 13. Graafian Follicle. 1, ovum; 2, 3, 
 membranes of the follicle; 4, its vessels; 6, cavity 
 containing fluid in which is suspended the ovum; 7, 
 external covering of the ovary. 
 
 Plate 14. Ovum and Embryo. The term embryo 
 is applied to the product of conception up to the 
 third month, after which time the term foetus should 
 be subsituted. 
 
 Plate 15. Human Embryo at the third week 
 showing villi covering the entire chorion. 
 
 Nourishment and development of the embryo and 
 fcetus. The ovum in passing through the Fallopian 
 tube increases in size from one one-hundred and 
 twenty-fifth of an inch to one-fiftieth or one twenty- 
 fifth of an inch by absorption or yolk nutrition. 
 (See plate 14). As the egg is small it can furnish 
 nutriment for but a short time. About six days after 
 conception takes place, a membrane forms around 
 the ovum called the chorion. This serves to anchor 
 the ovum to the walls of the uterus. From the 
 chorion minute hollow tubes ramify in all directions, 
 (See plate 15), and coming in contact with the 
 walls of the uterus draw nourishment from the mu- 
 cous membranes which line that organ. This nour- 
 ishment is transmitted to the embryo by means of 
 an organ connecting it with the chorion, and called 
 the allantois. The allantois in time develops into 
 the umbilical cord, the villi of the chorion diminish 
 
17 
 
Plate 16. Foetus and surroundings at seventh 
 month. 
 
 Plate 17. Foetus and membranes at fifth month. 
 
 and finally are obliterated, save at the junction of 
 the allantois with the cnorion, where they rapidly 
 enlarge, and this portion at the end of the second 
 month develops into the placenta, from which nutri- 
 ment is furnished to the foetus. (See explanation 
 to plates 24 and 25.) "The growth of thz embryo 
 after fecundation is very rapid. On the tenth day 
 it has the appearance of a semi-transparent, greyish 
 flake. On the twelfth day it is nearly the size of a 
 pea, filled with fluid, in the middle of which is an 
 opaque spot, presenting the first appearance of an 
 embryo, which may be clearly seen as an oblong 
 or curved body and is plainly visible to the naked 
 eye on the fourteenth day. The twenty -first day the 
 embryo resembles an ant or a lettuce seed ; its length 
 is from four to five lines and its weight from three 
 to four grains. Many of its parts now begin to show 
 themselves, especially the cartilaginous beginnings 
 of the spinal column, the heart, etc. 
 
 The thirtieth day the embryo is as large as a horse 
 fly, and resembles a worm bent together. There are 
 yet no limbs, and the head is larger than the body. 
 When stretched out it is nearly half an inch long. 
 Toward the fifth week the head increases greatly in 
 
Plate 18. First breech presentation. 
 Plate 19. First head presentation. 
 
 proportion to the remainder of the body, and the 
 rudimentary eyes are indicated by two black spots 
 turned toward the sides, and the heart exhibits its 
 external form, bearing a close resemblance to that 
 in the adult. 
 
 In the seventh week bone begins to form in the 
 lower jaw and clavicle. Narrow streaks on each 
 side of the vertebral column show the beginning of 
 the ribs. The heart is perfecting its form, the 
 brain enlarged and the eyes and ears growing more 
 perfect and the limbs sprouting from the body. The 
 lungs are mere sacs, about one line in length and 
 the trachea is a delicate thread, but the liver is very 
 large. The arms are still imperforate. In the 
 seventh week are formed the renal capsules and 
 kidneys. At two months the forearm and hand can 
 be distinguished, but not the arm; the hand is 
 larger than the forearm, but it is not supplied with 
 fingers. The distinction of sex is yet difficult. The 
 eyes are prominent, but the lids do not cover the 
 eyeballs. The nose forms an obtuse eminence. 
 The nostrils are rounded and separated. The mouth 
 is gaping and the epidermis can be distinguished 
 from the true skin. The embryo is from one and a 
 half to two inches long and weighs from three to 
 five drachms, the head forming more than one third 
 of the whole- 
 
Plate 20. The foetus, inclosed in its membranes, 
 with expanding os uteri, in first stage of labor. 
 
 At the end of three months the eyelids are dis- 
 tinct but shut; the lips are drawn together; the 
 forehead and nose are clearly traceable, and the 
 organs of generation prominent. The heart beats 
 with force, and larger vessels carry red blood; the 
 fingers and toes are well defined, and muscles begin 
 to be developed. 
 
 At the fourth month the embryo takes the name 
 of foetus. The body is six to eight inches in length 
 and weighs from seven to eight ounces. The skin 
 has a rosy color, and the muscles now produce a 
 sensible motion. A fetus born at this time might 
 live several hours. 
 
 At five months the length of the body is from 
 eight to ten inches, and its weight from eight to 
 eleven ounces. 
 
 At six months the length is twelve and a half 
 inches; weight one pound. The hair appears upon 
 the head, the eyes closed, the eyelids somewhat 
 thicker, and their margins as well as the eyebrows 
 are studded with very delicate hairs. 
 
 At seven months, every part has increased in vol- 
 ume and perfection ; the bony system is nearly com- 
 plete; length twelve to fourteen inches, weight two 
 and a half to three pounds. If born at this period 
 the foetus is able to breathe, cry and nurse, and may 
 live if properly cared for. 
 
Plate 21. Twins in Utero, head and breech pre. 
 senting. 
 
 At eigM months, the foetus seems to grow rather 
 in thickness than in length; it is only sixteen to 
 eighteen inches long and yet weighs from four to 
 five pounds. The skin is very red, and covered 
 with down and a considerable quantity of sebaceous 
 matter. The lower jaw, which at first was very 
 short, is now as long as the upper one. 
 
 Finally, at term the foetus is about nineteen to 
 twenty-three inches long, and weighs from six to 
 nine pounds. The red blood circulates, in the 
 capillaries and the skin performs the functions of 
 perspiration; the nails are fully developed." 
 
Plate 22 Uterine Surface of the Placenta. 
 Plate 23. Fodal Surface of the Placenta. 
 
 The placenta is a soft spongy mass, nearly cir- 
 cular in form, measuring about seven and one-half 
 in3hes in diameter and one inch in thickness at the 
 insertion of the umbilical cord. Its weight is about 
 one pound. The foetal surface is smooth, while the 
 uterine surface has a roughened, spongy feel. The 
 uterine surface of the placenta coheres with the uterus 
 and is connected by the umbilical cord with the 
 foetus. During intra-uterine life the placenta per- 
 forms offices similar to those of the lungs and intes- 
 tines after birth. It absorbs nourishment, renovates 
 the blood, and discharges by exhalation the excremen- 
 titious matters originating in the process of foetal 
 nutrition. The umbilical cord consists of a sheath 
 inclosing a gelatinous mass surrounding two umbil- 
 ical arteries and one vein. Through the agencies of 
 the umbilical cord as before stated the foetus is 
 nurished and the excesses discharged. 
 
IhlmalltlaffjSt 
 
.Plate 24. The plan of foetal circulation. As 
 the lungs of the foetus are dormant the foetal circula- 
 tion is a very interesting phenomenon. The blood, 
 passing from the right ventricle into the pulmonary 
 artery, instead of entering the lungs, passes, almost 
 entirely, through the ductus arteriosus into the de- 
 cending aorta. From here the larger part is conveyed 
 through the umbilical arteries to the placenta, where 
 the interchanges with the maternal blood take place. 
 After being thus renovated and recharged with oxy- 
 gen, it collects within the umbilical vein and passes 
 back to the foetal liver. Here a part of it circulates 
 through this organ, while the rest passes direct 
 through the ductus venosus, into the inferior vena 
 cava, where it again meets the blood brought from 
 the liver by the hepatic vein, and the two mixing 
 with that returning from the lower extremities and 
 viscera of the abdomen enter the right auricle, and 
 by the Eustachian valve pass into the left auricle 
 where it becomes mixed with a small quantity of blood 
 returning from the lungs by the pulmonary veins. 
 From the left auricle it passes into the left ventricle, 
 from here into the aorta, from whence it is dis- 
 tributed almost entirely to the upper extremities. 
 Decending by the superior vena cava it enters the 
 right auricle and from here into the right ventricle, 
 and thus completes the circuit. 
 
Plate 26. Retroversion of tho womb. 
 
Plate 28, Frolavsus uteri, or falling of the 
 womb. 
 
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