DISEASES PECULIAR TO WOMEN 611 



The temperature should be, for the bladder douche, 

 100° at the start, gradually increasing during the appli- 

 cation to 120° F. Apply daily or twice daily, if nec- 

 essarj^ Add to the water at end of the douche, a tea- 

 spoonful of salt and the same amount of borax for 

 each quart of sterilized water. 



Constipation. — Perhaps the majority of women 

 are more or less afflicted with constipation. This may 

 be due to sedentary habits, as well as the use of con- 

 centrated food and irregularity in attention to the calls 

 of nature. Most persons suffering in this way become 

 more or less habituated to the use of laxatives of vari- 

 ous sorts, the tendency of which is to aggravate the 

 disorder, if long continued. 



Constipation is one of the most prolific causes of 

 misplacements, and of congestions and inflammations 

 of the womb and ovaries, and frequently gives rise to 

 very serious local troubles. When present, this con- 

 dition is an adequate cause for anxiety, and should 

 receive prompt attention. By regularity of habits, 

 proper diet, and such other means as have been recom- 

 mended elsewhere in this work, the aifection is wholly 

 curable. 



Chlorosis, or Green Sickness.— The chief char- 

 acteristics of this disorder are the discoloration of the 

 skin and absence of the menses. The condition occurs 

 most frequently about the time of puberty, or just 

 afterward. It is not due, as many suppose, to the 

 suppression of the menses, but to a morbid condition 

 of the system, which is itself the cause of deficient 

 activity of the sexual organs. This disorder is not 

 infrequently the result of self-abuse. The cause must 

 be sought for and removed. When this is accomplished, 

 nature will usually effect a cure within a short time. 



