Nature has constructed the internal female organs so wisely that we seldom need give them much thought. But the external organs do need our attention every day. I told you that the labia secreted a lubricating material which kept the parts moist, but this secretion must not be allowed to accumulate. The scalp secretes an oil that is necessary to the health of the hair but if this and the perspiration are allowed to accumulate the hair has an offensive odor. So it is with the female organs, the parts must be bathed carefully every day. I have been surprised in the past to find how many intelligent women neglect these parts. Women come for an examination, their clothing is scrupulously clean, their bodies show recent care but in the folds of the labia, especially near the clitoris, I find an accumulation of a cheesy-like material which has an odor very offensive to any truly refined woman. Sometimes in public gatherings, I have been seated near a woman with this same offensive odor very noticeable, and I have longed to tell her how to avoid it, for I am sure others must notice the same odor. But even from a physician, in the privacy of the office, women resent any suggestion that they are not thorough in matters of cleanliness. Daily cleansing of these parts is a necessity. At least once a day these parts should be sponged carefully. The labia should be separated and every fold thoroughly cleansed. Occasional vaginal douches also are necessary, for the various secretions often are retained in the folds of the vagina and cause irritation. But in taking a douche one always should remember to have the water warm. Cold water may produce congestion. The virtue of douches (except when taken for medicinal purposes) lies in their cleansing properties and warm water cleanses even better than cold. Many women produce grave disorders by the use of cold douches under the mistaken notion that they are of greater value than hot ones. A douche should be taken at the close of the menstrual period especially. These female organs should not be the source of worry but they do require as much or even more attention to cleanliness than we give to our mouths or other parts of the body. CHAPTER II MENSTRUATION--PUBERTY--MENOPAUSE The subject of menstruation seems to be troubling several of you. I am sorry that you did not all have the advantage of having this explained at an early age. You might have been saved a great deal of suffering and causeless worry. By menstruation, or "the monthlies" as it sometimes is called, is meant the monthly hemorrhage that takes place in the uterus or womb during the child-bearing period of the normal woman except during pregnancy and lactation, when it nearly always is suspended. The child-bearing period commences at the age of puberty and ends with the menopause (change of life).