[2]. We could record a number of instances where the menses were continued much beyond their ordinary period, and where, after ceasing some time, they were resumed with their accustomed regularity; but we shall limit our observations to one case, and that because it is recent and well authenticated. This case is recorded in the Ann. Univ. de Med. A female aged ninety-four continued to menstruate from the fifty-third to the ninety-fourth year. Her relatives were remarkable for their longevity; she is at present in perfect health.—American Journal of the Medical Sciences for Feb. 1831.
[3]. Diaphoretic Powder.
| Take of | Gum Opium, | half a drachm |
| Camphor, | two drachms | |
| Pulverized Ipecacuanha, | one drachm | |
| Cream of Tartar, or super-carbonate of soda, | one ounce |
Pulverize all separately, then mix. It is best to use pulverized opium.
Dose—Ten grains, or half a teaspoonful, as often as may be necessary.
Use—This forms a valuable anodyne, diaphoretic and sudorific. It is beneficially administered in fever, St. Anthony’s fire, diarrhœa, dysentery, and cholera morbus, and in all cases where an anodyne, combined with a sudorific, is required. In these diseases it should be administered in small doses. It is also applicable to many other diseases, such as rheumatism, gout, &c. It promotes perspiration without increasing the heat of the body. It produces a constant moisture of the skin for a great length of time, while it allays irritation.
[4]. The most successful specific, and one almost invariably certain in removing a stoppage, irregularity, or suppression of the menses (monthly turn), is a compound invented by M. M. Desomeaux, of Lisbon, Portugal, called the Portuguese Female Pills. It would appear that they are infallible, and would, undoubtedly, even produce miscarriage, if exhibited during pregnancy. And what is equally important, they are always mild, healthy, and safe in their effects.
In the female hospitals in Vienna and Paris, their exhibition has entirely superseded the use of the ordinary remedies; because, where a cure is attainable by medicinal remedies, they are certain of success. Their astonishing efficacy would be almost incredible, if not vouched for by indubitable testimony, in numerous instances producing returns of the monthly periods after all hope had been abandoned. A remarkable case is related by Dr. A. M. Mauriceau, during his residence in Paris.
“While residing in Paris, I had frequent opportunities of witnessing the astonishing efficacy of the Portuguese Female Pills in obstinate cases of the suppression of the menses. Their effect, in one instance in particular, seemed almost miraculous. A young lady, about twenty years of age, of wealthy and respectable parentage, had not menstruated for nearly two years before her application to me. On inquiry, I ascertained that her health was not seriously affected (except at intervals of about four weeks, occasioned, doubtless, by the efforts of nature to perform her functions), until within the preceding four months, when her symptoms began to assume an alarming appearance. Her medical attendants here prescribed the usual remedies without success.
“I must confess, I thought her case desperate, and had but little hope that Desomeaux’s celebrated Portuguese Pills, which I determined to put to the test, would here avail, as I had never known them to be administered under circumstances quite so apparently hopeless for a cure. But I resolved upon a trial. Accordingly I recommended their use, watching their effects upon the patient. At first their virtue, so to speak, seemed to be only negative—that is, the young woman got no worse. This, however, under the circumstances, I considered a point gained. In the course of three weeks favorable indications began to present themselves. The appetite was better; the deathly-sallow complexion giving place to a healthy hue; the eyes, also, becoming clearer, but still no menstrual discharge. The improvement, however, meanwhile, became more and more apparent, till, at the end of the ninth week after commencing their use, a slight, somewhat reddish discharge took place. Here was a beginning; the patient still improving, taking moderate exercise, with light but nourishing diet. Their exhibition was then dispensed with until within five or six days just previous to the expected return of the menses, when they were again used, and their use continued during the seven days; on the eighth the menses again appeared—on this occasion somewhat freer, but still not in sufficient quantity. Their exhibition ceased with the cessation of the menses, which lasted irregularly about four days. This treatment continued to the end of the fourth month, when the monthly returns were perfectly established. At each successive appearance they assumed a healthier color, freer in quantity, and less obstructed by coagula. The patient entirely recovered, and became possessed of sound health.”