MEDICAL.
Kathie, Janet, Tulip, G. P., Ella Burns and Four other Correspondents.—Here are nine correspondents asking the oft-asked question—how to cure blushing and nervousness. We gave a very long answer on this same subject a few weeks ago, but to fully discuss this most complicated subject is quite beyond the scope of the "Answers to Correspondents." We will soon publish an article dealing fully with the matter. We will therefore defer answering your questions until you have read that article. Before that paper appears read the advice that we gave before.
Josephine.—Yes, your nose is the seat of your trouble. You have a chronic catarrh of the nose. The slightest aggravation of this brings on acute catarrh or "cold in the head." Wash out your nose with the following wash three times a day:—bicarbonate of soda, twenty grains; glycerine of carbolic acid, five drops, water to the ounce. Use the solution warm and wash out your nose very thoroughly. After you have washed out your nose, spray the nose well out with a solution of menthol in paraleine (1 in 8) with an atomiser.
Dora Russell.—In most cases of the kind bicycling does good rather than harm. It is, however, quite impossible for us to give a definite opinion with nothing but the scanty information contained in your letter to go upon. We think, however, that bicycling would do your daughter good.
R. M.—What do you mean by "X-shaped legs"? Do you mean "knock-knees"? Or do you mean that your legs cross each other? We cannot answer this question without further details. If your "X-legs" are "knock-knees," a half an hour's very gentle gymnastic exercise every day would improve your legs and strengthen your back. Any exercise in which you indulge must be gentle. Violent exercises only do harm.
An Unlucky Girl.—You are indeed an unlucky girl and we deeply sympathise with you in your misfortune. If you can go to a good skin specialist we think that it would be worth your while to do so. The best thing for you to do is to tell your physician that you wish to see a specialist about any possible treatment different from what you have already tried. We suppose that it is hardly necessary to tell you to be sure to go to a respectable qualified specialist. There are some men in England who call themselves "skin specialists" who are unqualified. To fall into the hands of one of these might be your ruin. Of course you know as well as we do that lupus is a very serious disease, and that though in itself it is not very dangerous to life, it is very disfiguring and most refractory to treatment. Personally we are of the same opinion as your family doctor regarding the treatment of lupus by Kock's tuberculin. That you derived no benefit from the X-ray exposure is in no way surprising to us. Of course you are not getting too old to be one of our girls. "Our girls" are of all ages from four to fourscore.
Freckles.—1. Your headaches are almost certainly due to the condition of your eyes. Probably you have got a small error of refraction. The error would not be noticed until the eyes were tired with work. Headache is very often due to untreated errors of the eyes. We advise you to have your eyes seen to at once.—2. We hope to publish an article on blushing shortly. We have already frequently discussed the various causes of blushing and nervousness in this column. It is, however, too complex a subject for us to deal with effectually in the form of an "Answer."
L. and E.—The curious symptom which you two suffer from may be due to anæmia or indigestion. But in all probability it is nervous in origin. It is obviously the reverse of blushing, and blushing is usually due to "nerves." So we suppose that your symptom is likewise due to the same cause.
Eronica.—When you had anæmia, did you suffer from indigestion? The symptoms which you describe are very likely to be due to indigestion. They may, however, be due simply to muscular weakness. You should read the articles on indigestion which we published in last year's volume of The Girl's Own Paper. Gently rubbing your side with camphor liniment will ease the pain.
Zeribos Rapraud.—It is a ridiculous myth that "little moustaches and bad writing" are signs of intelligence. Where did you discover this remark? There are people who say that they can read the character of a person from her handwriting. We do not pretend to possess such a power, nor do we advise you to consult anyone who says that he does possess it.
Lancashire Lass.—It is a very widespread superstition that the seventh son of a seventh son possesses healing powers from his birth. In Lancashire the belief in this superstition is very general. There was a case in the paper the other day about a "doctor" of this kind. We cannot do better than echo the words of the physician who was employed in the case, to examine the "doctor's" mind, that "the superstition is not held by members of our profession."