606 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



sists in removing as far as possible the causes by which 

 it is induced. In cases of stricture of the womb, a 

 proper surgical operation is often the means of afford- 

 ing relief. We have in several instances effected a cure 

 by the application of a galvanic current in cases of this 

 sort. Improvement of the general health, and cure of 

 a local discharge due to a vaginal catarrh, or catarrh 

 of the womb, is also not infrequently successful in the 

 cure of sterility. 



Nymphomania.— This is a mental and nervous 

 affection in which the patient is affected with uncon- 

 trollable sexual desires, which frequently lead to the 

 grossest breaches of modesty. This humiliating dis- 

 order is most frequently the result of self-abuse, and 

 allowing the mind to dwell without restriction upon 

 lascivious thoughts. It is sometimes the result of ova- 

 rian irritation, and is occasionally observed in various 

 diseases of the brain. 



Treatment.— Isolation and treatment to relieve pel- 

 vic congestion, combined with general tonic baths and 

 proper moral treatment, are the necessary measures. 

 The prolonged cool sitz (75° to 70°, for twenty to thirty 

 minutes), the neutral bath, the cold towel rub, and care- 

 ful attention to the diet and to the bowels, are effective 

 measures. 



Hysterical Breast. —The breast is painful to the 

 touch, and sometimes much swollen. The most fre- 

 quent causes are disease of the womb and ovaries, self- 

 abuse, and disorders of digestion. In one of the worst 

 cases we ever met, in which the breasts were exceed- 

 ingly sensitive and much swollen, the patient was 

 greatly addicted to masturbation. The difficulty disap- 

 peared almost immediately when the habit was dis- 

 continued. 



