The constitution undergoes a very considerable change at the critical period when menstruation ceases, and it often happens that chronic, and sometimes fatal complaints arise, if care is not taken when this natural discharge terminates. It seldom stops all at once, but gradually ceases, being irregular both as to quantity and time. Regimen, etc.-When the disappearance is sudden in females of a plethoric habit, malt liquors, wine and animal food ought for a time to be excluded from their diet. They should likewise avoid all liquors of a spirituous nature. Regular exercise should be taken and the body constantly kept open by the tincture of senna, Epsom salts, or any other mild laxative medicine. If giddiness and occasional pain in the head affect the patient, or if there be a visible fulness in the vessels, the application of leeches to the temple will be found very beneficial, and if ulcers should break out in the legs, etc., they ought by no means to be healed up, unless a salutary drain by means of an issue be established in some other part. Dropsy. Dissolve an ounce of acetate of potassa in a pint of cold water; take a wineglassful every morning and evening. For Vomiting during Pregnancy. The morning sickness is one of the most painful feelings attendant on the pregnant state, and it is one of those which medicine commonly fails to relieve. A cup of chamomile or peppermint tea taken when first waking, and suffering the patient to be still for an hour, will sometimes alleviate the distressing sickness, but should it recur during the day these means seldom succeed. Two or three teaspoonfuls of the following mixture should then be taken, either occasionally or when the vomiting and heartburn are more continual immediately after every menl: Take of calcined magnesia 1 drachm; distilled water 6 ounces; aromatic tincture of rhatany 6 drachms; water, pure ammonia, 1 drachm. Mix. Another. Dr. Scellier extols the following mixture as a remedy for nausea and vomiting during the period of pregnancy: Take of lettuce-water 4 ounces; gum arabic 1 scruple; syrup of white poppies, syrup of marsh-meadow root, each 2 ounces; Prussic acid 4 drops. Let an apothecary prepare the mixture. A tablespoonful is to be taken every half hour when the vomiting is present. If the lettuce-water cannot be obtained, 8 grains of the inspissated white juice (lactuarium) dissolved in 4 ounces of water, may be substituted for it. Another. The saline mixture in a state of effervescence, with a pill of one or two grains of lac tuarium, is by some preferred to the above composition. When the matter brought up is acid, a weak solution of the carbonate of soda may be substituted for the saline mixture. To relieve Sickness and Qualms in Pregnancy. Take of infusion of quassia, 1 ounce; cinnamonwater, 4 drachms; aromatic spirit of ammonia, 20 drops; prepared oyster-shells, 2 grains. To be taken at a draught, at twelve and seven o'clock every day. For Heartburn during Pregnancy. Take of solution of ammonia, calcined magnesia, each 1 drachm; cinnamon-water 2 ounces; common water 6 ounces. The dose is a tablespoonful as often as required. Head-ache. When head-ache or drowsiness proves troublesome to a pregnant woman of robust habit, a few ounces of blood should be taken from the arm. If she be of a weak or irritable habit, leeches ought to be applied to the temples. In both cases the bowels should be opened by magnesia, rhubarb, or some other gentle laxative medicine. Hysteria. When hysteria or fainting occurs, the pregnant patient should be placed in a horizontal position in the open air. When she is a little recovered a glass of wine in a little cold water should be administered, or what is perhaps better, a few drops of the spirits of hartshorn in a glass of water. Costiveness and Piles. To prevent these, women in a pregnant state should make frequent use of the following electuary: Mix together in a marble mortar 2 ounces of the electuary of senna, a drachm of powder of jalap; 2 drachms of cream of tartar, and an ounce of syrup of roses. Half a teaspoonful to be taken every night at bed-time, or oftener, as long as the above complaints continue. Pregnant women should be particularly careful not to use aloes as a purgative, this medicine being very apt to increase the piles. The same caution is necessary with respect to Anderson's and Scott's pills, the basis of both of which is aloes. If the piles should prove so very troublesome as to prevent the patient from sitting comfortably, leeches ought to be applied to the part; in all other cases simple ablution with cold water, with the use of purgatives as above directed, will be sufficient. Troublesome Itchings. Cooling laxatives are likewise proper in this place; also frequent ablution with cold or lukewarm water. If the itching does not specaily abate, a lotion is to be applied to the parts twice a day, consisting of a drachm of sugar of lead in a pint of distilled water. Swelling of the Feet and Ankles. Pregnant women are usually free from this complaint in the morning, but suffer a good deal from it towards night. Prevention. In the commencement it will bo merely requisite for the patient to use a footstool, when sitting, so that her feet may never be in a hanging position for any length of time. Remedy. If there should be great distension, so as to give the sensation of almost bursting, slight scarification may be made with the edge of a lancet; and flannels, wrung out of a hot fomentation of chamomile, are soon after to be applied. A teaspoonful of cream of tartar mixed in water may be taken once or twice daily, to act on the kidneys. It is almost unnecessary to state that this com plaint invariably disappears at the period of de- | pain and distention of the breasts, shooting fre livery. quently towards the arm-pit. Sometimes the Cramp of the Legs and Thighs. breasts become hard, hot, and inflamed. It geneThis complaint may be speedily relieved by rally continues a day or two, and ends spontarubbing the part affected with the following lini-neously by copious sweats, or a large quantity of ment: Mix together (by shaking in a phial) laud- pale urine. anum, an ounce; tincture of camphor, 1 ounce; and sulphuric ether, an ounce. Cramp in the Stomach. This is to be avoided by proper attention to diet, which should not be of a flatulent nature, or too hard of digestion. Attention is likewise to be paid to the state of the bowels. Distention and Cracking of the Skin. This is very apt to occur in the latter months of gestation, accompanied sometimes with considerable soreness. It is to be relieved by frequent friction with warm oil. Distention of Veins. The veins of the legs, thighs, and belly are apt to become enlarged in the latter stages of pregnancy. Although no bad consequences ever attend this, it will be necessary sometimes to relieve it by moderate bleeding, and by repeated small doses of infusion of senna, mixed with Epsom salts; at the same time using a spare diet. The distended vein may frequently be relieved by the application of a pretty tight bandage. Incontinence of Urine. This very uncomfortable complaint is to be relieved by a frequent horizontal position, but cannot be entirely remedied except by delivery. Strict attention, however, ought to be paid to cleanliness, and much comfort will be felt by the use of a large sponge properly fastened. Restlessness and Want of Sleep. In this case, cooling laxative medicines, as the infusion of senna, with Epsom salts, ought frequently to be used. If relief be not soon obtained, small quantities of blood are to be taken from the patient. Opiates ought seldom to be used, as they tend sometimes to increase the febrile state of the Datient. Convulsions. When a female is disposed to this complaint from a plethoric habit, there will be great fullness and giddiness in the head, in the latter months of gestation; also drowsiness, with a sensation of weight in the forehead when she stoops, or bends forward, accompanied sometimes by imperfect vision, and the appearance of atoms floating before the eyes. In such a case, ten or twelve ounces of blood ought to be taken from the arm, and the bowels are afterwards to be kept open by frequent and small doses of infusion of senna, mixed with cream of tartar, until the above symptoms entirely disappear. Wine, spirituous and malt liquors, and solid or animal food are likewise to be avoided. When convulsions have occurred, and when there is reason to believe that they are owing to irritation, rather than plethora, it will likewise be necessary to bleed the patient in a small degree, both from the arm, and by the application of leeches to the temples. The bowels are also to be kept perfectly open, and a common clyster, containing from half a drachm to a drachm of laudanum, is to be administered. The warm bath is likewise exceedingly useful; at the same time taking care to strengthen the habit as much as possible. The Milk Fever. This fever generally arises about the third or fourth day after delivery. The symptoms are in young women of a plethoric constitution, we Remedies. If it should prove violent, especially should abate the inflammation by bleeding; this, however, is rarely necessary. But, in every constitution, the body must be kept open by gentle cooling laxatives, or clysters. The breasts should be often drawn either by the child, or, if the mother does not design to give suck, by some proper perIf the breasts are hard, very turgid, or inflamed, emollient fomentations ought to be applied to them. The common poultice of bread and milk, with the addition of a little oil, may be used on this occasion; and warm milk, or a decoction of elder flowers, for a fomentation. son. Regimen. The patient should use a simple diet, consisting only of panada, or some other farinaceous substances. Her drink may be barley-water, milk and water, gruel, or the like. Inflamed Breasts. When the breasts tumefy, and begin to be uneasy, a few days after delivery, from the milk stagnating, gentle diaphoretics and purgatives are to be used, and camphorated spirits of wine is to be applied, or warm cloths dipped in brandy, are to be put to the arm-pits. Should pain with inflammation come on, apply a poultice of bread, milk and oil, and an emollient fomentation; and in case suppuration cannot be prevented, it must be opened with a lancet. The ulcer is afterwards to be treated according to the common rules for disorders of that kind. If there be only a hardness in the breast, from tations are to be used, likewise fresh linseed oil, coagulated milk, emollient cataplasms and fomenby way of liniment. Sore Nipples. Chapped or sore nipples are very frequent with those who give suck. In this case the olive oil is a very proper application; or fresh cream spread upon fine linen; or a solution of gum arabic in water. Collodion, applied with a camel's hair pencil, is the most effectual remedy. It is almost needless to observe that, whatever applications be made use of to the nipples, they ought to be washed off before the child is permitted to suck. This is not always necessary with collodion. Puerperal Fever. Puerperal fever commonly begins with a rigor, or chilliness, on the first, second, or third day after delivery; followed by a violent pain and soreness over the belly. There is much thirst; pain in the head, chiefly in the forehead and parts about the eyebrows; a flushing in the face; anxiety; a hot, dry skin; quick and weak pulse, though sometimes it will resist the finger pretty strongly; a shortness in breathing: high-colored urine, and a suppression of the natural discharge. Sometimes a vomiting and purging attend from the first, but in general, in the beginning, the belly is costive; however, when the disease proves fatal, a diarrhoea generally supervenes, and the stools at last become involuntary. The cause of this fever has been commonly ascribed either to a suppression of the natural discharge, an inflammation in the womb, or a retention of the milk. Remedies.-If the belly be costive, an emollient opening clyster is to be administered; and, if stools and an abatement of the pain be not procured thereby, immediate recourse is to be had to catbarties, and bleeding from the arm. Those to be recommended are, infusion of senna, or castor oil; either in sufficient quantity. After the intestinal canal is sufficiently cleared, a gentle diaphoresis is to be encouraged by such medicines as at the same time promote the relief f pain. This intention is best answered by small doses of ipecacuanha, tartar emetic, or antimonial wine, combined with opium in pill or laudanum, and given about four times in the course of the twenty-four hours. In the intermediate spaces of time, interpose saline draughts. It is proper to state, that when child-bed fever is epidemic, especially in cities or hospitals, it is more malignant and prostrating, and will not bear reducing treatment. Regimen. The patient's drink should consist of pure water with toast in it; barley-water, either by itself or with the addition of a little nitre; whey made with rennet or vinegar; milk and water; lemonade; a slight infusion of malt; and mint or sage tea. Rendering Children Hardy. Endeavor to harden the body, but without rosorting to any violent means. All attempts to render children hardy, must be made by gradual steps. Nature admits of no sudden transitions. For instance, infants should, by imperceptible degrees, be inured to the cool, and then to the cold bath; at the same time attention must be paid to their previous management. If they have hitherto been accustomed to an effeminating treatment, and should be suddenly subjected to an opposite extreme, such a change would be attended with danger. When children have once been accustomed to a hardy system of education, such a plan must be strictly adhered to. Cleanliness and Bathing. The child's skin is to be kept perfectly clean by washing its limbs morning and evening, and likewise its neck and ears; beginning with warm water, he washed with cool or cold water. till by degrees he will not only bear, but like to fever, or eruption, the bath should be colder and After he is a month old, if he has no cough, colder (if the season be mild), and gradually it may be used as it comes from the fountain. After carefully drying the whole body, head and limbs, another dry soft cloth, a little warmed, should be used gently to take all the damp from the wrinkles or fat parts that fold together. Then rub the limbs; but when the body is rubbed, take special care not to press upon the stomach or belly. On these parts the hand should move in a circle, because the bowels lie in that direction. If the skin is chafed, starch-powder is to be used. The utmost tenderness is necessary in drying the head, and no binding should be made close about it. Squeezing the head, or combing it roughly, may cause dreadful diseases, and even the loss of reason. A small soft brush, lightly applied, is safer than a comb. Clean clothes every morning and evening will tend greatly to a child's health and comfort. Dress. With regard to the child's dress in the day, let it be a shirt, a petticoat of fine flannel, reaching two or three inches below the child's feet, with a dimity top (commonly called a bodice-coat), to tie behind. Over this put a robe or frock or whatever may be convenient, provided it is fastened behind, and not reaching much below the child's feet, that his motions may be strictly observed. Caps are, as a general rule, undesirable. The head should be kept cool. The dress for the night may be a shirt, a blanket to tie on, and a thin gown to tie over the blanket. The Act of Dressing. Some people in dressing an infant seem in such haste as to toss him in a way that must fatigue and harass him. The most tender deliberation should be observed. In addition to this hurried dressing, his clothes are often so tight that he frets and roars. Pins should never be used in an infant's clothes; and every string should be so loosely tied that one might get two fingers between it and the part where it is fixed. Bandages round the head should be strictly forbidden. Many instances of idiocy, fits, and deformity, are owing to tight bandages. Sleep. Infants cannot sleep too long; and it is a favorable symptom, when they enjoy a calm and longcontinued rest, of which they should by no means be deprived, as this is the greatest support granted to them by nature. A child lives comparatively much faster than an adult; its blood flows more rapidly; and every stimulus operates more power fully. Sleep promotes a more calm and uniform circulation of the blood, and it facilitates assimilation of the nutriment received. The horizontal posture, likewise, is the most favorable to the growth and bodily development of the infant. Duration of, and time for Sleep. every respect to be uniform. A great differetice usually prevails in the education of the sexes during infancy. Parents being too anxious for the accomplishment of girls, imagine that they must be kept under a certain restraint. Boys, in general, are not laced, but girls are compressed tight enough to suffocate them; because it is erroSleep ought to be in proportion to the age of the neously supposed, that this injudicious practice infant. After an uninterrupted rest of nine months contributes to an elegant shape, though, ultimatein the womb, this salutary refreshment shouldly, the contrary effect is obvious; as it is the surest continue to fill up the greater part of a child's existence. A continued wakefulness of twenty-four hours would prove destructive. After the age of six months, the periods of sleep, as well as all cther animal functions, may in some degree be regulated; yet, even then, a child should be suffered to sleep the whole night, and several hours both in the morning and afternoon. Mothers and nurses should endeavor to accustom infants from the time of their birth, to sleep in the night preferably to the day, and for this purpose they ought to remove all external impressions which may disturb their rest, such as noise, light, etc., but especially they should not obey every call for taking them up and giving food at improper times. After the second year of their age, they will not instinctively require to sleep in the forenoon, though after dinner it may be continued till the third and fourth year, if the child shows a particular inclination to repose; because till that age, the full half of its time may safely be allotted to sleep. From that period, however, it ought to be shortened for the space of one hour with every succeeding year; so that a child seven years old may sleep about eight, and not exceeding nine hours; this proportion may be continued to the age of adolescence, and even manhood. Awaking Suddenly. To awaken children from their sleep with a noise, or in an impetuous manner, is extremely injudicious and hurtful, nor is it proper to carry them from a dark room immediately into a glaring light, against a dazzling wall; for the sudden impression of light debilitates the organs of vision, and lays the foundation of weak eyes, from early infancy. In fact it is a sound precept, never to waken a young child from sleep at all. Restlessness at night. An infant is sometimes very restless at night, and it is generally owing either to cramming him with a heavy supper, tight night-clothes, or over-heating by too many blankets. It may als proceed from putting him to sleep too early. Undressing and bathing will weary and dispose him for sleep, and the universal stillness will promote it. This habit and all others depend on attention at first. Accustom him to regular hours, and if he has a good sleep in the forenoon and afternoon, it will be easy to keep him brisk all the evening. It is right to offer him drink when a young infant; and more solid, though simple food, when he is going to bed, after he is two or three months old, but do not force him to receive it; and never let anything but the prescription of a physician in sickness, tempt the nurses to give him wine, spirits, or any drug to make him sleep. Milk and water, whey, or thin gruel, is the only fit liquor for little ones, even when they can run about. The more simple and light their diet and drink, the more they will thrive. In the night a drink of water will often do better than the breast. Such food will keep their bowels regular, and they cannot be long well if that essential point be neglected. way of making children round shouldered and deformed. Girls are, from their cradles, compelled to a more sedentary life; and with this intention, dolls, and other playthings, are early procured; yet boys are permitted to take more frequent exercise. Thus, girls are confined in their apartments, while boys amuse themselves in the open air. Such absurd constraints impede the free and progressive evolution of the different faculties and powers. The Yellow Gum. The yellow gum is known by a yellow tinge of the skin, with languor and a tendency to sleep. It is to be relieved by giving a teaspoonful or more of castor oil, to clear the intestines. When the disease does not give way to this treatment, give half a grain of calomel, or 4 grains of rhubarb. Vomiting. When the food is vomited in an unaltered state, it is generally a sign of over-feeding; but when the vomiting is bilious, or when the food is partly digested, the diet ought to be changed, and the bowels opened by 1 grain of calomel, given in sugar. This is to be followed by a teaspoonful of castor oil on the following morning. If the vomiting should still continue, give lime-water or the calomel powder (containing 1 or 2 grains, according to the age) a second time. If there be much irritation, apply a spice-plaster to the stomach, and, if possible, give a teaspoonful of the saline medicine, in a state of effervescence, and containing 1 or 2 drops of laudanum. Hiccups. These generally arise from acidity in the stomach, and may be remedied by the administration of 6 grains of prepared chalk with 2 grains of powdered rhubarb, given in a little syrup or gruel. If very severe, the stomach is to be rubbed with a little soap liniment, or opodeldoc, to which a little laudanum has been added. Griping and Flatulency. These are known by continual crying, restlessness, and drawing up of the legs. When attended by diarrhoea and green stools, it is to be relieved, in general, by the administration of a few grains of rhubarb and magnesia. If sour belchings, etc. still continue, it will be proper to give a teaspoonful every quarter of an hour, of equal parts of camphor-water and cinnamon-water. After this, particularly if there be any purging, it will be proper to give a little rhubarb and magnesia again, and now and then a little chalk mixture. Absorbent Mixture. child scream violently, two teaspoonsful of the If the pains are very great so as to make the following mixture, with 1 or 2 drops of laudanum, chalk, 1 scruple; tincture of caraway seeds, 3 may be given directly: Mix together, prepared drachms; compound spirits of lavender, 1 drachm, and of peppermint-water, 2 ounces. tive should be given, particularly if the bowels As soon as there is diminution of pain, a purga happen to be in a costive state. The best will be castor oil. The above mixture may afterwards be The bodily education of boys and girls ought in occasionally continued, but without the laudanum. Amusements, etc. Diarrhea. This may, in general, if the stools are green, be relieved by a brisk purgative, of from 1 to 2 grains of calomel, with 4 or 5 grains of rhubarb, according to the age of the child. The absorbent mixture is then to be given as before directed. Further Remedies. When the stools are very frequent, and are either slimy or tinged with blood, it will be proper to give 5 grains of rhubarb every six hours, the food being beef tea, sago, isinglass in milk or calfsfoot jelly, the body being wrapped in warm flannel. A spice plaster may likewise be applied to the belly, and a dessertspoonful of the following tonic and astringent mixture is to be given every six hours. Mix together chalk mixture, 2 ounces; laudanum, 12 drops; and cinnamon water, 1 ounce. Opiate Clyster. If the fluid stools are ejected with great force a clyster should be given composed of half a teacupful of boiled starch, and 2 to 5 drops of laudanum. This may be repeated at intervals of eight hours, if the symptoms do not abate. Excoriations of the Skin. Children are apt to be chafed between the thighs, behind the ears, and in the wrinkles of the neck, from want of proper attention to cleanliness. In such cases it will be necessary to bathe the parts twice a day (or every time that the child's things are changed) with a little warm milk and water, and to apply a puff with a little powder of pure starch, arrow-root, or ryemeal, immediately afterwards, so as to keep the parts dry. When discharges take place behind the ears they must not be dried up too suddenly, as such a circumstance might produce a diversion to the brain. In such cases it will be always best to give frequent doses of castor oil, or calomel, every other night, in the proportion of 1 grain to 3 grains of rhubarb. Cutaneous Eruptions. A teaspoonful of this may be given to children in the thrush. Falling Down of the Fundament. This happens frequently to children who cry much, or who have had a diarrhoea, or from straining on going to stool. If it proceed from costiveness, give lenitive clysters. In case the gut be swelled or inflamed, foment with warm milk, or decoction of oak bark, or wash frequently The protruded parts are now to be replaced by the finger, and supported by a truss or bandage. The internal use of tonics will be proper. A child subject to this should not be al with cold water. lowed to sit on a low vessel or chair when the bowels are moved. Dentition. When children are about cutting their teeth they slaver much, are feverish, hot, and uneasy; their gums swell, and are very painful; they are sometimes loose in the bowels, and at other times costive; now and then convulsions come on. Leeches are often of use applied behind the ears; also blisters. Scarifying the Gums. Instead of giving narcotics to children cutting their teeth, it is strenuously recommended to have the tumid gums divided by a lancet down to the tooth; an operation at once safe and unattended with pain. If done in time, from removing the disappear of themselves. Instead of giving prepcause of the complaint, all the symptoms will arations of opium, it will be found, in the majority of cases far better to administer calomel, in minute doses, as this medicine is well known to posthese parts. The bowels, if costive, should be kept sess peculiar efficacy in promoting absorption in regularly open, and if there should be looseness of the bowels, it should by no means be discouraged. Instead of coral or any other hard body, let the child nibble at a ring of gum-elastic. Convulsions. Children are particularly liable to convulsions at the period of teething, small pox, measles, and ternal causes, such as tight clothes, bandages, other eruptive diseases; sometimes, also, from exetc. When they proceed from any of these, bath No real danger attends these eruptions, which are generally known by the names of red-gum, nettle-rash, etc. All that is required to be done is to keep the bowels open by such means as are prescribed in the foregoing article, and to guarding the feet, or the whole body, in warm water, against cold, which might drive the eruption inwardly, and so produce internal inflammations of a critical nature. If the milk or food be considered the cause, the nurse or diet ought to be changed; and if sickness and vomiting should prevail, it will be proper to give the absorbent mixture mentioned under the head of Griping and Flatulency. The Thrush. This disease makes its appearance with little ulcerations in the mouth, tongue, etc., of a white color, and sometimes of a yellow appearance. They are generally owing to acidities in the stomach, etc. In this disorder nothing avails more than an emetic at first, and then a little magnesia and rhubarb (if there be diarrhoea), with thin chickenwater as drink. Chlorate of potassa, or the abBorbent mixture (see Griping and Flatulency), will also be proper. If there is no looseness, it will be proper to give a grain or two of calomel, with 3 or 4 grains of rhubarb. The mouth and throat should at the same time be cleansed by gargles. Syrup of Black Currants. Take of the juice of black currants, strained, 1 pint; double refined sugar, 24 ounces. Dissolve the sugar, and boil to make a syrup. of 92° or 94°, and administering a mild clyster, will almost immediately relieve them. To shorten the duration of the fit, cold water should be poured over the face and neck, while the rest of the body is in the bath. Afterwards a mustard plaster, weakened with flour, may be applied for a short time to the back. The return of convulsions is to be prevented only by the removal of the cause of the existing irritation; but, in general, when the body is kept carefully open, there will be little cause to fear a return. Inward Fits. In these fits the infant appears as if asleep; the eyelids, however, are not quite closed, but frequently twinkle, and show the whites turned up wards. The muscles of the face are sometimes slightly distorted, the mouth having the appearance of a laugh or smile. The breath is sometimes very quick, and at others stops for a time; while the eyelids and lips are pale and dark alternately. The infant startles on the least noise, and sighs deeply or breaks wind. This relieves him for a little, but he soon relapses into a doze. Whenever the above-mentioned symptoms are observed, it will be right to awaken the infant, by stirring or otherwise, and to rub its back and belly well before the fire, until wind escapes. At the |