may be averted by submitting to treatment at the hands of a competent physician during the early stages of inflammatory disease of the sexual organs. In young children, whites is often due to worms, and should receive local treatment by a medical man. Leucorrhoea is a common disorder of old age, owing to natural changes in the womb, and the discharge is apt to be profuse, watery, and very irritating. In cancer of the womb, on the other hand, the discharge is dirty-colored, has a bad odor, is copious, and often accompanied by flowing. As the result of a continuous discharge pouring out on the skin about the entrance to the front passage or vagina, there are produced much irritation and itching, and often chafing and rawness of these parts.

There is then a simple white or watery discharge from the front passage with no other unhealthy local or general disturbance, in which case it is safe for the patient to try the simple and harmless measures recommended below. There are also the other conditions in which there are symptoms of local inflammation in some part of the sexual apparatus, as pain, disturbances of urination, flowing, and thick discharge like pus which demand immediate attention of a physician; and finally there is a third class of cases where the discharge is caused by some disorder of the general health, for which the patient should also consult a doctor. While the discharge itself causes a drain on the system and weakness, it is more often the case that the

discharge is caused by a general condition of weakness (or local inflammation) than that the general weakness is the result of the discharge.

Treatment. The treatment which we here advise is suitable when the discharge is not associated with other symptoms suggestive of disorder of the sexual organs, as pain, disturbance of urination, flowing, etc., nor with general ill health. The patient should wear a pad of absorbent cotton over the entrance to the front passage, which is held in place by a napkin worn in the ordinary manner. Many women have a prejudice against wearing cloths for a discharge of "whites," apparently convinced that covering increases the discharge; this is not so, and cleanliness is an important agency in cure. The pad should be changed as often as it becomes soiled.

An injection into the front passage of boiled water as hot as the elbow can bear should be made with a fountain syringe, night and morning. The patient should lie on her back with the hips raised upon a pan or receptacle to catch the outflow. It is useless to take douches while sitting up. About six quarts of the plain water should be first injected, and then from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful of alum should be added to a quart of warm water, and this injected last.

Itching of the external parts is relieved by the injections which remove the cause, the irritating discharge, but if this is not sufficient, a teaspoonful of pure carbolic acid and two ounces of glycerin may be

thoroughly mixed with a pint of hot water, and employed to bathe the itching parts. Sometimes powdering them with starch or using zinc ointment will prove more serviceable.

A discharge from the front passage, beginning suddenly and accompanied by frequent and painful urination and swelling, and soreness of the external parts, is usually extremely suggestive of gonorrhea, a very grave contagious disorder communicated from man through sexual intercourse. It is sometimes seen in little girls who acquire the disease from towels or other objects contaminated with the discharge. Patients with this trouble should stay in bed, use only hot water to bathe the external parts, and take half a teaspoonful of sweet spirit of niter with ten drops of tincture of belladonna three times daily in water for relief of the painful urination. "Whites" is not capable of being communicated from woman to man, except in the case of the discharge due to this disease (gonorrhea). Gonorrhea is the more frequent cause of that inflammation of the womb and tubes, which, if neglected, ultimately requires the removal of these organs by surgical operation. It demands early treatment, therefore, by a skillful physician, as well as the other disorders of the sexual organs or conditions of general ill health which cause "whites." The treatment which we have described then, is only useful in "whites" which are due to slight disorders, or until proper medical aid can be procured.

CHAPTER III

Pregnancy

Advice as to Food and Clothing-Sleep and Air-The Mental State -Care in Childbirth-The Young Mother-The Baby's Needs.

HYGIENE OF PREGNANCY.-The symptoms and signs of pregnancy are discussed in another section (p. 365). The duration of pregnancy usually extends for 280 days from the end of the last menstruation. It is well to acquaint the family doctor with the fact of pregnancy as soon as it is probable, as frequent examinations of the urine are necessary, and also an examination of the parturient or maternal canal in a mother pregnant for the first time, to ascertain whether the child may be born without hindrance, and to determine the position of the child.

Exercise is essential to strengthen the muscles on which an easy labor largely depends, but stretching, lifting, jarring, jumping, the use of sewing machine, bicycling, riding, and dancing are to be avoided. Daily walks and light household work are very desirable.

A large amount of food is requisite, but the separate meals should not be large, especially as pregnancy advances. To avoid this there should be light lunches taken between the regular meals and at bedtime. One

of the dangers of pregnancy consists in the large amount of waste matter resulting from the activity of the vital processes going on in the body, and this is best combated by the use of daily baths in tepid water, and the drinking of six or eight glasses of cool (not iced) water during the day, preferably half an hour before and between meals, and at bedtime. Milk or other fluids, as cocoa, etc., may be substituted to some extent for the water. Alcohol in any form is usually harmful, and there should be great moderation in tea and coffee drinking. Fried food, pastries, and sweets must be avoided, and meat should be eaten but once a day.

Since the clothing should be loose, corsets are usually inadvisable, and a linen waist, sold for this condition, may be worn, to which the lower garments and garters are fastened. Circular garters do harm by causing enlarged veins. The teeth are prone to decay during pregnancy and require in consequence especial care. They should be brushed carefully after each meal, and be examined at frequent intervals by the dentist. It is important to avoid constipation, and if food of the proper character will not prevent it medicines may be employed (see Constipation, p. 505). Pregnant women require eight hours sleep daily and an abundance of fresh air. As much as three pints of urine should be passed daily, and if this does not occur, when the quantity of liquid advised is taken, a physician should be consulted. Sexual intercourse is not allow