360 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 



material along the canal. Not only should there be a 

 daily unloading of the colon, but the feces should corre- 

 spond with the intake of the previous day rather than 

 of some day farther back. There is probably a great 

 difference between the maximum and the minimum rate 

 of travel along the individual intestines of a group of 

 people who all consider themselves free from constipa- 

 tion. The slower the rate of advance the larger the 

 amount of matter present at a given time to give rise 

 to poisons. 



It may even happen that a state of constipation shall 

 have symptoms of diarrhea. There may be heavy ac- 

 cumulations in the colon which its contractions are too 

 weak to displace and a catarrhal discharge from the irri- 

 tated regions may create an entirely false impression. 

 The advice of a good physician may be needed to de- 

 termine what course shall be pursued. 



The old-time doctor gave a powerful cathartic on 

 almost every occasion. Many of the slight, nameless 

 illnesses we suffer, especially in childhood, yield imme- 

 diately to this measure. The quick return of normal 

 feeling seems to favor the view that the trouble was 

 an auto-intoxication and that the toxic matter has 

 been adequately removed, but it is the part of wisdom 

 to limit the number of occasions for resorting to 

 such means of relief. Most people can avoid recur- 

 rences by taking reasonable exercise, drinking a good 

 deal of water, and eating fruit and coarse vegetables. 



Washing out the colon now and then is a procedure 

 which has its devotees. It has a real value in special 

 cases, but is to be avoided unless prescribed by the 

 physician. A dependence upon the enema may be 

 established which is in the highest degree irksome and 

 little better in principle than a cathartic habit. It may 

 be said incidentally that one marked difference between 

 the reaction to a purgative and an enema lies in the 

 fact that the drug usually contracts the output of the 

 kidneys by diverting water to the intestine, while the 



