A CHAPTER FOIl YOUNG WOMEN 473 



A^Hien constipation results, purgatives in the shape of 

 pills, salts, or '' pleasant purgative pellets," are re- 

 sorted to with the certain effect of producing only tem- 

 porary relief, and permanent damage. 



To escape these evil consequences, (1) establish a 

 regular habit of relieving the bowels daily at a certain 

 hour; (2) discard laxative and cathartic drugs of every 

 kind; (3) to aid in securing a regular movement of the 

 bowels, make a liberal use of oatmeal, wheatmeal, fruit, 

 and vegetables, avoiding fine-flour bread, sweetmeats, 

 and condiments; (4) take daily exercise, as much as 

 possible short of fatigue; if necessarily confined in- 

 doors, counteract the constipating influence of sedentary 

 habits by kneading and jiercussing the bowels with the 

 hands several minutes each day; (5) never resist the 

 calls of nature a single moment, if possible to respond 

 to them. In such cases, as in numerous others, ''delay 

 is dangerous." Ladies who desire a sweet breath— 

 and what lady does not?— should remember that re- 

 tained feces is one of the most frequent causes of foul 

 breath. The foul odors which ought to pass out through 

 the bowels, find their way into the blood, and escape 

 at the lungs. A medical man whose sense of smell is 

 delicate soon learns to know a constipated person by 

 his breath. As one says, ' ' Wliat is more offensive than 

 the breath of a costive child?" 



A Doctor's Advice.— Boerhaave, a famous Dutch 

 physician, left to his heirs an elegantly bound volume 

 in which, he claimed, were written all the secrets of the 

 science of physic. After his death, the wonderful book 

 was opened, when it was found to contain only the fol- 

 lowing sentence: 



"Keep the head cool, the feet warm, and the bowels 

 open. ' ' 



