Femina, A Work for Every Woman — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Femina, A Work for Every Woman
John Stuart Mill · en
Leucorrhœa, or what is commonly called _whites_, is the most
distressing symptom of this condition. In the course of months or in
some instances a few years, the inflammation spreads from the vagina
to the mouth and lining membrane of the uterus. Inflammation of the
endometrium or lining of the womb will excite another complication,
the so-called ulceration, but more correctly termed _erosion_. Who
will deny the usefulness of any advice that will teach girls or women
to avoid all these diseases? It is all contained in the simple phrase,
_Keep clean_. Young girls must be taught by their mothers or guardians,
not only the necessity of keeping the external genitals clean by daily
ablutions, but a few days after menstruation, upon the slightest
indication of offensiveness, she must resort to the employment of the
vaginal douche or syringe, so as to wash out the seeds of disease,
that are rapidly multiplying themselves, and if allowed to remain will
entail the consequences to which I have already referred.
As an antiseptic wash, there is nothing so simple, efficacious and
healing, as a solution of borax in previously boiled water, that has
been allowed to cool to the proper temperature, which is between 103
and 106 degrees Fahr., one teaspoonful of the powdered article to the
half gallon of water, to be used as a rinsing for each time.
Directions for administering vaginal douches will be given elsewhere.
The proper time of the day for the employment of the wash is always at
bedtime; and once or twice a week is quite often enough in the majority
of instances.
Married women are more exposed to infectious contamination than single
ones, because they are constantly liable to have infectious microbes
introduced into the vagina during the ordinary course of marital
relations. Men, as a rule, are neither cleanly nor careful in their
habits, and approach their wives without any thought of serious
consequences in their sexual relations. I had a married woman under
treatment for an offensive discharge from her vagina which I traced
to her husband, thence to a suppurating wound on his horse, which the
husband had under his treatment. This can happen, of course, only
through carelessness. By getting some of the matter or pus on the
fingers, which incidentally contaminates his person, or not washing
and brushing the finger nails, the husband may directly convey
the infection to his wife, and thus inaugurate, unconsciously, an
inflammation of the vagina, which becomes complicated, as the primary
disease is neglected, leading to inflammation of the womb and ovaries,
and often to abscesses, that compromise not only the health but the
life of the sufferer.
To preclude the possibility of _innocent_ infection, between husband
and wife, there is only one means of prevention, and that is a careful
_toilet_, which thoroughly cleanses the bodies in general and the
genitals in particular.