The treatment of amenorrhœa is, indeed, in the great majority of
cases, the treatment of chlorosis, and that should be conducted on
common-sense principles. If the child has vicious practices, they must
be corrected, and everything else that has been mentioned as a cause
must be abandoned. Children who were once robust and strong require
electrical treatment, while those who were naturally weak require
nourishing food and tonics. If there is in the entire pharmacopœa a
remedy that deserves the name of a specific, it is to that one which I
suggest in amenorrhœa due to chlorosis or anæmia. Iron preparations are
very numerous; every physician has his favorite prescription; some are
to be praised more for their elegance and flavor than for any virtue
that they possess. If in these cases any positive and decided result is
to follow the administration of iron, it must be given in such a mild
form that it can be taken in great quantities without irritating the
stomach or interfering with digestion. If the contents of the whole
alimentary canal are saturated or impregnated with the ferruginous
medicine, there will be astonishing curative effects.
I have often observed chlorotic cases who have made the rounds of the
different iron springs, and who have taken the numerous and various
fancy elixirs, without the slightest perceptible effect, bloom up,
after being fed, so to speak, on some harmless iron preparation, which
was astonishing to themselves and surprising to their friends. The
following is my favorite prescription for chlorosis or anæmia:
NO. I.
Take: Powd. Carb. of iron, sacch. (Germ.) 1 ounce
Powd. Aloes. 20 grains
Powd. Tragacanth. 20 grains
Mix with sufficient water to make into a hard mass and divide into one
hundred and fifty pills, and roll in powdered cinnamon.
Take three pills three times a day and after three days increase to
four pills at one dose three times a day, then after another three days
increase to five pills as many times a day as before; if these doses
are not at first borne, begin with less, and if there is no costiveness
or tendency thereto, omit the aloes.
If there is reason to believe that the impoverishment of the blood is
partly or wholly due to scorfulous taints, then it is advisable to take
fresh, pure cod liver oil in conjunction with the iron pills; three
boxes of pills are, as a rule, necessary to effect a cure.
It happens quite often in chlorosis or anæmia that there is a
distressing dyspepsia or indigestion with loss of appetite. In these
cases I would first advise to put the stomach in order; this is done
by first avoiding all indigestible food, such as cakes, pies, and
puddings, and taking the following medicine:
NO. II.