The sexual life of woman in its physiological, pathological and hygienic aspectsKisch, E. Heinrich (Enoch Heinrich)
Science
The sexual life of woman in its physiological, pathological and hygienic aspects
Kisch, E. Heinrich (Enoch Heinrich)
Gynecology; Menstruation; Women -- Diseases
It is of great importance that in girls at this time of life
gynecological examination should be undertaken only in cases of the
utmost need, and this restriction should be especially inflexible in the
case of girls with a neuropathic predisposition. Instances have been
observed in which a vaginal examination, the introduction of a vaginal
speculum, or the use of the uterine sound, has determined the onset of a
psychosis. Still more does what has been said hold true of local
treatment in gynecological cases. Repeated passage of the uterine sound,
cauterization of the cervix, and the manipulations of gynecological
massage, make a very deep impression upon the mind of a girl, and give
rise to morbid ideas and erotic storms, so that even in those with a
powerful constitution, various neuroses, neurasthenic states, and even
mental disorders may result. If in such cases, especially in girls of a
neuropathic temperament, gynecological treatment is quite indispensable,
a single, though energetic, operative procedure is to be preferred to a
number of successive, though taken singly less extensive, manipulations
of and in the female genital organs. The importance of this proposition
has been repeatedly established. _Saenger_, for instance, points out as
a fact to be regretted that uterine cauterization with mild caustics is
far too frequently undertaken; and _Odebrecht_ from the same standpoint
proclaims the advantage of a single curetting as compared with milder
intra-uterine impressions repeated during a course of treatment lasting
many months. On the other hand, the physician must bear in mind the
fact, established by the record of a very large number of cases, that in
women predisposed to psychoses severe gynecological operations are apt
to lead to the actual appearance of mental disorders, or to the
exacerbation of mental disorders which have previously been very mild or
have merely threatened to appear. Careful consideration is needed, on
the one hand as regards the severity of the disease of the genital
organs, and on the other as regards the resisting power, temperament,
and constitution of the girl concerned, and in many cases a consultation
between the gynecologist and the neurologist is expedient.
A very powerful influence on the physical and moral well-being of the
girl at puberty is exercised by her domestic upbringing. The general
truth of _Gœthe’s_ saying, that the circumstances into which we are born
exercise a determining influence on the whole life, being admitted, we
have to remember that this applies with especial force in the case of
girls.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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