The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in HygieneGalbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Science
The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in Hygiene
Galbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Women -- Health and hygiene
As to the use of alcohol to blunt the nervous sensibility due to
mental suffering, it is the testimony of the entire medical profession
that this is the greatest cause of inebriety or drunkenness among
women of all classes of society.
Sleeplessness generally arises from some well-defined physical cause--
very frequently from inaction of the liver-- and the proper remedial
agents should be used to remove the cause.
While at first the use of alcoholic beverages increases the appetite,
as the amount taken is increased, distaste for food is created, the
system languishes under an insufficient food-supply, and the original
aim of increasing the appetite is defeated.
As to taking stimulants to do more work than one could otherwise
accomplish, it is by means of stimulants that woman can accomplish her
physiological ruin more quickly than is possible in any other way. And
the early symptoms of chronic alcoholism show themselves in the form
of neuralgia, insomnia, palpitation of the heart, and muscular
tremors.
The Kidneys.-- On account of the prevalence of some form of Bright's
disease after forty years of life, the kidneys should be carefully
watched at this time. And in order to keep them in good condition they
must be well flushed with water every day. Three pints of urine should
be excreted daily, and three pints of water as such must be taken into
the system daily. The urine should be examined by the physician every
six months. In this way kidney disease is often discovered in its
incipiency, which otherwise might run into a serious form of Bright's
disease.
The Skin.-- It must be remembered that the skin is one of the
excretory organs of the body, and the pores should be kept well open
by the various forms of baths.
The Turkish bath or some modification of it will often be found to be
particularly useful. Massage with alcohol after the bath lessens the
tendency to take cold. For a woman who is anemic or run down, it is
well to follow the Turkish with the Roman bath, which is an inunction
with almond oil or cocoa-butter. A much more thorough massage is given
with the Roman bath than with the "alcohol rub." It is often necessary
to modify the Turkish bath by omitting the steam-room and shortening
the time spent in the hot dry air. In ordinary cases the time spent in
the hot dry-room should be only that necessary for producing a free
perspiration. This time varies in different individuals from ten to
twenty minutes. No woman should go to a Turkish bath without first
consulting her physician, since if the woman has a weak heart, the
bath may be the source of positive danger. Comparatively few women are
strong enough to take the cold plunge.
Massage.-- Massage, well given by a skilful masseuse twice a week,
will greatly tone up the nervous and circulatory systems. Women who
are very stout and who have sluggish livers with obstinate
constipation will find massage particularly beneficial.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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