By menorrhagia is meant, as the composition of the term implies, an excessive flow of blood at the regular monthly period; by metrorrhagia, a flow of blood from the womb at any time irrespective of the regular menstrual periods. Neither of these forms can be called a disease, as they are solely the symptoms of several kinds of uterine affections. In the course of our investigations, we will find that one of the most prominent and common symptoms of different womb diseases is hemorrhage of the womb.
If the hemorrhage is the result of general debility from protracted nursing, the child must be weaned, and recipe No. I, with a nourishing diet, will effect a cure.
Hemorrhage may be due to the presence of a fungoid inflammation, tumors, or affections of the mouth or neck of the womb, or congestion of the ovaries.
It is very often due to a “bad getting up” from confinement, where the womb has never returned to its original size. Sometimes it is due to a portion of the afterbirth that was retained in the cavity of the womb. It is also a symptom of cancer. As I have already said, it may be the symptom of so many different diseases that the proper course to pursue is to find an honest and competent physician to make a thorough examination, for the purpose of deciphering the real cause, and when that is discovered, it is as a rule, an easy matter to remove it and thus afford the patient permanent relief.
There is no remedy which on the whole is so effectual in controlling hemorrhage, no matter from what cause, as:
NO. IV.
| Take: | Fluid ex. of ergot | 1 ounce |
Dose: a teaspoonful in a little water every four hours until the flow ceases, or until a physician is consulted to diagnose the case. In pregnancy, the administration of ergot is not admissible; cold water compresses are also useful in checking uterine hemorrhage, and the utmost quietude should be observed.
Nervous exhaustion from protracted confinement, or mental worry from the loss of a child or the death of a friend, may also cause uterine hemorrhage. The ergot is useful in these cases, with a change of air and scenery.