Home Medical Library

SEXUAL HYGIENE

BY

KENELM WINSLOW

Health and Purity

Duties of Parents Abuse of the Sexual Function False Teachings Criminal Neglect Secure the Child’s Confidence The Best Corrections Marriage Relations.

Chronic rheumatism is a disease attacking persons of middle age, or after, and is seen more commonly in poor, hard working individuals who have been exposed to cold and damp, as laborers and washerwomen. Several of the larger joints, as the knees, shoulders, and hips, are usually affected, but occasionally only one joint is attacked. There is little swelling and no redness about the joint; the chief symptoms are pain on motion, stiffness, and tenderness on pressure. The pain is increased by cold, damp weather, and improved by warm, dry weather. There is no fever. The general health suffers if the pain is severe and persistent, and patients become pale, dyspeptic, and weak. The disease tends rather to grow worse than recover, and the joints, after a long time, to become immovable and misshapen. Life is not, however, shortened to any considerable degree by chronic rheumatism. Heart disease is not caused by this form of rheumatism, although it may arise from somewhat similar tendencies existing in the same patient. It may be distinguished from other varieties of rheumatism by the fact that the larger joints are those attacked, and also by the age of the patients and general progress of the disease. It very rarely follows acute rheumatism.

This is a common eruption of adults in hot weather, and very frequently attacks children. It consists of fine, pointed, red rash, or minute blisters, and occurs on parts of the body covered by clothing, more often on the chest. The eruption is caused by much sweating, leading to congestion and swelling of the sweat glands. Burning, stinging, and itching accompany the disorder. The condition must be distinguished from the contagious skin eruptions. In the latter there are fever, sore throat, backache, headache, and general sickness, while in prickly heat there is no general disturbance of the system, or fever, unless the eruption comes out in the course of fevers, when it is of no significance except as one of the symptoms of fever.

These are caused by irritation in various parts of the body, which is conveyed through the nervous system to the brain producing headache. Headache from eye strain is one of this class, and probably the most common, and, therefore, most important of all headaches. There is unfortunately no sure sign by which we can tell eye headaches from others, except examination of the eyes. Redness, twitching, and soreness of the eyelids, and watering of the eyes, together with headache, after their excessive use may suggest the cause in some cases. The pain may be occasioned or almost constant, and either about the eyes, forehead, top or back of the head, and often takes the form of “sick headache.” The headache may at times appear to have no connection with use of the eyes. When headache is frequent the eyes should always be examined by a competent oculist (a physician) not by any sort of an optician.

This is an acute inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx. The larynx is that part of the throat, in the region of the Adam’s apple, which incloses the vocal cords and other structures used in speaking. Hoarseness is commonly due to extension of catarrh from the nose in cold in the head and grippe . It also follows overuse of the voice in public speakers and singers, and is seen after exposure to dust, tobacco, or other smoke, and very commonly in those addicted to alcohol.

Foreign bodies are most frequently lodged on the under surface of the upper lid, although the surface of the eyeball and the inner aspect of the lower lid should also be carefully inspected. A drop of a two per cent solution of cocaine will render painless the manipulations. The patient should be directed to continue looking downward, and the lashes and edge of the lid are grasped by the forefinger and thumb of the right hand, while a very small pencil is gently pressed against the upper part of the lid, and the lower part is lifted outward and upward against the pencil so that it is turned inside out. The lid may be kept in this position by a little pressure on the lashes, while the cinder, or whatever foreign body it may be, is removed by gently sweeping it off the mucous membrane with a fold of a soft, clean handkerchief.

I’ve been looking for Christmas MySpace layouts, but so far not found one I like.

If any readers have found some good Christmas MySpace layouts please comment below.

Sarcoma is often seen in the young and well nourished; it grows very rapidly; the skin is usually not adherent to the tumor; there is generally no pain; heredity has no relation to its development; paleness is absent in many cases; the favorite seats are the muscle, bone, glands of neck, brain, and many other localities; it is not nearly so common as cancer.

A slight or moderate earache, which may, however, be very persistent, not sufficient to incapacitate the patient or prevent sleep, is often caused by some obstruction in the Eustachian tube, either by swelling or mucous discharge. This condition gives rise to the train of effects noted in the section on deafness. The air in the middle ear is absorbed to some extent, and therefore the pressure within the ear is less than that outside the drum, so that the latter is pressed inward with the result that pain, and perhaps noises and deafness ensue, and, if the condition is not relieved, inflammation of the middle ear as described above.

DISEASE AND DISORDER OF THE MIND

BY

ALBERT WARREN FERRIS

Insanity

Insanity is the name given to a collection of symptoms of disease of the brain or disorder of brain nutrition or circulation. The principal test of insanity lies in the adjustment of the patient to his surroundings, as evidenced in conduct and speech. Yet one must not include within the field of insanity the improper conduct and speech of the vicious, nor of the mentally defective. Crime is not insanity, though there are undoubtedly some insane people confined in prisons who have been arrested because of the commission of crime.