There can be no doubt that retention and suppression of the menses often occur from precociousness—from precocious education and precocious habits. Parents are, I fear, too often in the habit of wishing that their daughters should become young women early. The daughters are often, no doubt, put forward a great deal too much. I have known numbers of instances where little girls, five, six, or seven years of age, have been sent to dancing schools; and are we to suppose that these early imitations of older persons have no injurious effects? True, children are fond of jumping, skipping, and dancing, in their own way; but this being sent regularly to a dancing master, and being allowed to dance with persons much older than themselves, and of the opposite sex, too, will no doubt have an effect in rendering them precocious. I have known such young girls often become very feeble in general health; and when severe disease attacks them they are found much less able to resist it than those who have not been reared in this doll-baby, fashionable style.
I do not deny that young girls should be allowed to indulge freely in their natural and healthful sports. The restraints of womanhood should not be put too soon or too strongly upon them; nor should their minds be overtaxed during the tender age. This is far too common a practice nowadays everywhere. If people but have the means, they seem to vie with each other in endeavoring to make their children precocious, so far as learning is concerned, while the physical training, which, before ten years of age, is far the most important, is almost wholly neglected. Chlorosis and other forms of amenorrhea are, beyond doubt, caused by these unnatural habits in which children are too often reared at the present day.
A sudden suppression of the menses is often caused by taking cold, as we say. A young woman is in the habit of being much confined within doors, and perhaps in poorly-ventilated and overheated rooms; she dresses too tightly, sleeps perhaps on a feather bed and feather pillow; she drinks freely of tea and coffee, as people generally do; eats superfine bread, gravies, flesh-meat, and other forms of stimulating food, and thus she becomes nervous, irritable, variable in her feelings, and highly susceptible to changes of temperature. Now, a young lady living in this manner is invited to an evening party. We will suppose it is in the fall or winter time. In dressing herself for the entertainment, she puts on her thinnest clothing, and in place of her firmer stockings and thick shoes, she puts on very thin and light ones. The party is continued late in the night, for hours beyond the usual bedtime; the room becomes overheated, and in consequence of the numbers present, the air is rendered very foul. At length refreshments are handed around, such as cakes, tea and coffee, nuts, and the like articles, and of these she partakes freely; and among the other excitements, she perhaps, before going home, engages in the dance; she becomes overheated, overexcited, and perhaps starts for home in a perspiration. She is certainly very liable, under such circumstances, to take a cold, which, in many instances, if it does not result in any thing worse, causes a sudden suppression of the menses.
EFFECTS OF DRUG-TREATMENT.
And now, to follow out our imaginary case, how is this young lady to be treated? Do not people generally set at work in such cases with hot drinks, hot baths, and, in short, the heating means generally? And what is the result of such treatment? If it be at all persevered in, the individual is rendered more weak. Such treatment may occasionally succeed; but any and every means of debilitating the system must necessarily render it more liable to a similar attack. But it is also to be observed that such treatment generally fails of its object, and thus, in the end, the patient is certain of being made worse for it.
How came this delusion? How does it happen that people are so much afraid of the cooling and tonic means? It is from a wrong understanding of the nature of the case. In the first place, a cold was taken. This is literally true; cold made a more powerful impression upon the system than it could bear at the time without harm. As a secondary effect, inflammation is the result. In all cases of acute, but sudden suppression of the menses, I conceive that there is more or less inflammation of the womb; and wherever there is inflammation, which always consists in increased heat, the natural discharge cannot go on. Now here, where there is a cold, as we say, which means heat and inflammation, should we apply hot things? Certainly not; but rather cold. And yet I would not use cold too much; never more than the individual can safely bear.
This, then, is the plain treatment for acute suppression of the menses: do all that may be in fortifying the general health of the individual.
If at any time there is shivering, or rigors, apply the rubbing wet-sheet, rubbing briskly over it, and then let the patient go and exercise in the open air. Let her bathe, at least daily, in water tepid, cool, or cold, accordingly as she can bear. A tepid-bath, that is, water from 70 to 80° Fah., is always cooling in effect, it being much cooler than the blood, which, in its natural state, is 98° Fah. She should also wear the wet girdle constantly, changing it at least four times in the twenty-four hours. She should walk out daily and often, but not too far at a time. She should, in short, pursue just such a course as we would in any similar case of debility; and, if necessary, take a full course of water-treatment, such as is suited to the particular case.
I am sorry that some of my younger friends of your sex are in the habit of checking the menstrual discharge for some particular object; but if they could know the great hazard they run in doing so, they would not, I hope, do it. Let me say a few words to them on this subject.
Frank mentions the case of a young lady who put her feet several times in cold water during the flow of her menses, because she expected her lover, which quickly arrested them. An inflammation of the womb followed, and she was brought dying into the hospital, at Vienna.