Woman, her diseases and remedies : a series of letters to his class / by Charles D. Meigs.

  • Meigs, Charles D. (Charles Delucena), 1792-1869.
Date:
1859
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Woman, her diseases and remedies : a series of letters to his class / by Charles D. Meigs. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    of the pelvic contents likely to take place upon the sudden withdrawal of all artificial antagonism—the patient being not only on her feet, but engaged, perhaps, in occupations of a laborious or fatiguing kind. I verily believe, my young friends, that you have now not the in- telligence only, but the means, apparatus, and authority required to enable you to effect a certain and durable cure. If you do not effect that cure, the fault will lay at the door, not of the malady, but at your door, for carelessness, or at the woman's, for obstinacy and folly. The ancients were in the habit of employing for these maladies many medicated prosthetoe which, though really pessaries, were also deemed to be svffita or fumigations. It is probable, that among the host of old methods were some very effective ones, now become wholly obsolete in the elegant practice of the modern physicians. I think I have, in my lecture-room, advised you not to omit in your arma- mentarium, the sachet or little bag, recommended by Levret, and, indeed, by Hippocrates and his descendants down to this very writing. Sachets or Prosthets.—When your patient shall have discarded her pessarium, let her construct half a dozen small cylindrical bags as big as the thumb. They should be made of good linen, and should be packed full, very full of finely-grained, not pulverized, Aleppo galls, to which may be added a few grains of sulphate of quinia and alum. The bag may have a short bit of tape or a little loop of tape secured to its lower end. If soaked, for an hour or more, in some common rough claret or weak port, then pressed and dried in a napkin, and dipped in sweet oil, it can readily be introduced into the vagina as a medicated ely- troid pessary. It does not inconveniently distend the vaginal walls, which it tends to strengthen, enhancing their tonicity by the medicinal articles contained, while it elongates, or produces the vagina, and thus supports the womb in situ. A sachet adjusted in the evening will not escape, if the patient wears her napkin ; and it might very safely be allowed to retain its place for six or eight consecutive hours, more or less, nightly, for an indetermi- nate period. These medicated sachets are of very great value in the treatment, not only of the relaxation and fall of the vagina, but also, as agents for suppressing the too abundant excretions of the follicles and glandules of the mucous membrane. I am surprised that they are not more com- monly resorted to in the United States. In addition to the materials I spoke of, they can be compounded with proper proportions of cubebs, opium, kino, krameria, oak bark, &c. &c. If you will take my advice, you will not reject them from among the resources of your art. Half a dozen of them, prepared by the patient herself, who is sup-