CHAS. WOOD FASSETT, M. D. PUBLISHING HOUSE, MANAGING EDITOR ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI. CORNER SIXTH AND CHARLES STS. Editorial Telephone 890. Business Telephone 196 Subscription, $1.00 a year in advance. Single Copies, 10 cents. THE HERALD'S circulation being among a class of physicians who PAY THEIR SUBSCRIPTIONS (and consequently READ each issue), this journal naturally offers the best opportunity to those advertisers who desire to reach the thrifty and progressive practitioners of the "Middle West." Rates made known on application Notes on Reliable Remedies "Prejudice is the child of ignorance."-HASLETT. Modern Civilization as a Factor in Causing Diseases of Women. (By N. H Kassabian, A. B., M. D., Coopersville, Mich.)-A woman, physically perfect, is certainly a unique creature in modern times. Our civilization has contributed very extensively to the causation of female maladies which we are so frequently called upon to treat. Our modes of living and dressing exert a very deleterious influence upon the normal functions of the pelvic organs, not to mention the hepatic compressions and subsequent displacements resulting as a natural consequence of tight-lacing practiced by the most humble devotees of the temple of fashion. We are a very progressive race, taking herculean steps towards a higher civilization; but it is a deplorable fact that the more we learn the more we ignore the most fundamental laws of hygiene. The immediate effects of tight-lacing are, that abdominal and spinal muscles are seldom brought into play, so they become atrophied. The viscera are thus compressed and displaced, and the full play of the abdominal wall and the descent of the diaphragm are interfered with and the venous blood is hindered in its return to the heart. This obstruction of the circulation and the constipation from which women habitually suffer lead to a permanent dilatation of the pelvic veins, a very fruitful source of diseases of the genital organs. And again, customs demand the protection by veil and gloves from the rays of the sun, and the woman soon becomes as bleached as a well-cultivated celery stalk. As the blood needs the direct chemical effect of the sun-light on the skin an anemia is established. This state of the blood is a potent factor in the generation of all the diseases depending on impaired nutrition and entails conditions likely to baffle all medical efforts at their removal during the menstrual life of the woman. Before the altar of fashion and so-called society our girls, while entering to puberty, have to comply with the dictates of the times and at the period of life when the young girl's whole nerve force is taxed for the full development of her organs of generation this force is deflected by hard study, and it may be for the acquirement of some accomplishment which, in all probability, will be forgotten or laid aside after marriage. She is subjected to the emotional influences of music and light literature, which are capable of arresting the normal development of the uterus and its accessory organs. During my travels in the Orient I have been very much surprised to see, specially among races who do not comply with the trivial demands of modern civilization as their sisters do in occidental countries, young ladies grown to womanhood and into maturity experiencing no menstrual irregularities whatever, giving birth to children with normal labor, and through all their maternal life they do not seem to have any especial need to consult a physician. I do not dare, still I take liberty to state that modern civilization and society have immensely contributed to the creation of gynecology, and the majority of patients who make a daily pilgrimage to a gynecologist's office are the poor and pitiable victims of a misdirected and misinterpreted civilization. There are very few maladies which we are called upon to prescribe for as much as for menstrual disorders. A thorough examination with a view of ascertaining, if possible, any malposition of the genital organs should be insisted upon. The least abnormality should have proper attention and local as well as constitutional treatment. Anemia and chlorosis should have their attention as they almost invariably play a conspicuous part in causing menstrual irregularities. In the form of ergoapiol (Smith), I believe we possess a remedial agent that combines the most effective ingredients with which we can combat the majority of menstrual irregularities. Clinical observations with this preparation are as follows: Case No. I Miss A. B. Age 16. Parents both living and in excellent health. She has not had any serious sickness, although on account of there being tubercular diathesis in the family the least abnormality in the functions of any organs is looked upon with suspicion and at once the advice of the family physician is sought. So when Mrs. A. B. noticed that her daughter had an irregular menstruation accompanied with dysmenorrhea she consulted me in her daughter's behalf. I prescribed for her ergoapiol (Smith) capsules, directing her to give one three to four times a day with milk for three or four days before the expected menstrual period. They complied with my directions very faithfully, and after a few weeks they reported that her menstrual disorders had been satisfactorily regulated. Case No. II. Mrs. B. Age 38. Has two children. Mother died from the result of an operation for appendicitis. Father living and in good health Patient has been anemic for many years, her hemoglobin test showing only 40 per cent. Has at presence prolapse uteri to a slight degree, some perineal laceration and endometritis. Digestion is at fault part of the time, bowels constipated, ringing and buzzing in the head. Menstruates every three weeks. During the first day of the period it is very painful and she flows very profusely, its duration being from a week to ten days. I prescribed for her ergoapiol (Smith) capsules, one three to four times a day, a day or two before the expected menstrual period, to be continued until menses appear, then to discontinue the capsules for three days, and recontinue, commencing on the third or fourth day. The therapeutic action of the remedy was all that could be expected. The dysmenorrhea, which was always a conspicuous feature, seemed to yield after the administration of the first few capsules. struated quite easily and the duration was very moderate. She men Case No. III. Mrs. Age 39. Two children, youngest 8 years old. A sufferer from digestive disorders, anemia, and of late, while approaching menopause, she has been having considerable difficulty with her menstruations. At times very profuse and exceedingly painful and again very scant and period prolonged. Having tried a number of preparations without any appreciable benefit to her, decided to use ergoapiol (Smith). She was directed to use a capsule three to four times a day. commencing to or three days before the expected menstrual period. After using this preparation for a little while she reported that she "had not suffered any pains or inconvenience since she began taking those capsules" CREIGHTON MEDICAL COLLEGE Corner Fourteenth and Davenport Streets OMAHA, NEB. The fiftenth annual course of study in this institution will begin Tuesday, September 4th, 1906. The course in this college consists of four terms of eight months each. The first two years are devoted to the study of the so-called scientific branches included in a medical course. For this purpose, the new college building is furnished with lecture rooms and laboratories equipped with the latest and best paraphernalia for teaching, demonstrating, and for individual work in these branches. The third and fourth years are given to the study of what might be termed the practical part of the medical course. Here the instruction is carried on by means of clinics and clinical lectures. The student is brought in contact, and becomes familiar with the different phases of all the diseases he reads about. For this purpose the clinical material in St. Joseph's, St. Bernard's, Mercy and the Omaha General hospitals, the four largest hospitals in the West, is reserved for the exclusive benefit of students attending this school. All the buildings, both college and hospital, are new and modern, and the equipment the best that money can buy. In addition to the regular term of eight months, a spring course of two months in first and second years' work will be continued from close of winter term to July 11th. This short course gives students deficient in time or work an opportunity to make up such deficiency, and also allows physicians already in practice to renew their acquaintance with laboratory work and to familiarize themselves with whatever new things there are in Histology, Pathology, Bacteriology, Chemistry, etc. For further information, address D. C. BRYANT, A.M., M. D., Secretary, CREIGHTON MEDICAL COLLEGE, OMAHA, NEBRASKA. 206 McCague Building, Sanmetto in Pregnancy.-For years I have been a warm admirer of sanmetto in all cases of pregnancy. I find that it carries away from the system pretty well all of the albumen and strengthens the abdominal muscles. Try it some of you brethren and report it. I prescribe it in the last month of pregnancy.-Joseph J. Parker, M. D., Warfield, Texas. Physicians who prefer to encourage the process of digestion rather than to resort to artificial aid, claim that seng gives most satisfactory results. Seng acts purely as a secernant to the secretory glands of the alimentary canal, and panax ginseng, the root from which it derives its physiological action has been used for centuries by the Chinese for stomach and other troubles. Of course, many claims made for it by the Chinese are ridiculous, but that it has a specific stimulating action on the secretory glands is generally conceded. Through considerable experience with chionia this remedy has convinced me of its sterling merit in the treatment of biliousness and all other hepatic derangements, functional and organic. I have come to regard it as an ideal hepatic stimulant with perhaps a wider range of therapeutic adaptability than any cholagogue medicine I am acquainted with. Prrhaps the greatest advantage is the fact that its use is not followed by any reacting tending to induce a sluggish condition of the stomach and bowels, such as follows the use of many other remedies, It is a pharmaceutical triumph.-D. S. Maddox, M. D The Proper Strength of Adrenalin Solutions in the Treatment of Hay Fever.In the treatment of hay fever with adrenalin chloride it has been suggested that weak solutions, frequently applied. are apt to yield better results than the occasional application of a strong solution. One of the pathological features of this peculiar malady is a turgescence of the turbinal tissues due to excessive dilatation of the capillaries. That this is the result of a neurosis involving a more or less pronounced local vasomotor paralysis is pretty generally conceded. Overestimation, by reaction, is very sure to result in a complete paralysis of the vasomotor supply in the region affected. On the other hand, gentle stimulation with weak solutions is not so likely to be followed by a reaction. These views are in harmony with the published observations of Dr. Crile, of Cleveland, O., who found that in a decapitated animal the heart's action was better sustained by the continuous administration of a weak solution of adrenalin chloride. Furthermore, this is probably nature's method of supplying this vital principle to the healthy human body through the agency of the suprarenal gland, its constant presence in the blood in minute amount being sufficient to maintain vasomotor equilibrium. Vibration, Its Therapeutic Value.-We have just received a little bookiet on vibratory treatments, and do not believe that we have ever read a more succinct or logical explanation of the value of vibration and are taking the liberty of quoting from it: " Pathological action is essentially either interrupted or exaggerated physiologic action: All vital processes are known to be actuated by vibratory motion of one or another velocity. In a state of health vital vibrations are rhythmic and therefore harmonious. In disease these vibrations are thrown into discord. Mechanical vibratory impulses may be made to accelerate vibrations that have been jarred out of rhythm. What could be more natural than to invoke artificial or mechanical impulses to aid or correct lagging or lacking vital impulses. This indicates the logical and physiological basis of mechanical vibration. It relieves congestion; it equalizes the circulation; it discusses and disperses exudates, tumors and morbid growths. It soothes perturbed nerves; it allays pain; it rouses dormant nerve centers; it retards and regulates contracted and restores atrophied muscles; it is a sovereign and physiologically legitimate remedy in myalgia, lumbago and the various forms of neuralgia. It is the best known stimulant of absorption and assimilation. It promptly rouses sluggish lymphatics and keeps them in vigorous activity. In a word it stimulates in a legitimate and healthful manner the general metabolism of the body; diffusing a glow over the entire system, and imparting a sense of comfort and well being to which the patient has long been a stranger. Specifically it is applicable to scores of conditions which the foregoing principles will suggest to every thinking physician, and which, therefore need not be mentioned." The publishers are The Sam J. Gorman & Co., 153-159 South Jefferson street, Chicago, and copies will be sent free on request to them. The School-room as a Factor in Diseases of Young Girls.-There is no disguising the fact that our system of imparting knowledge by imposing excessive intellectual labor and stimulating competitive zeal in the school-room is very largely responsible for most of the nervous disorders of the young women of to-day. That sustained mental exertion is a menace to the health of girls at the age of puberty,there can be no denying. Yet that is precisely the system in vogue at our institutions of learning at the present time. While it is true that modern architecture has greatly improved the hygienic condition of the study-rooms, it is highly probable that the present rush and hurry methods of instruction are even more injurious to the physical state of our young women than was the faulty system of ventilation, until recently endured. The worry and excitement attendant upon present-day school life is, undoubtedly, the prime cause of a governing percentage of the neurotic disturbances which are so prevalent among the women of America. In fact, it is quite within the bounds of truth to assert that many of the diseases which present themselves to the gynecologist have for their origin a nervous system rendered bankrupt by strife in our temples of education. Mental over-strain, when enforced day after day, soon renders the nerve structure incapable of absorbing adequate nourishment from the blood stream. Ultimately, nervous vitality is almost completely exhausted and depression, gloom, languor and mental impotence ensue. As the taxation is extended, the condition grows worse until anemia, anorexia, insomnia, melancholia, and perhaps, hysteria develop. Inasmuch as it is not within the power of the physician to remedy this evil system of handling our young women, it remains for him to evolve means of attenuating, as far as possible, the injury done, and preventing the development of lasting diseases which have their origin in the shattered nervous system. This is best accomplished by the upbuilding of the psychical and physical resources of the individual. Not by the employment of stimulants which act, ephemerally upon the organism, but by encouraging functional activity to its maximum degree consistent of course with normality. Obviously, this must be done by maintaining the entire digestive system at its proper standard, for it is through these channels that vital force is obtained and the well being of the economy is preserved. It is not consistent with logic to achieve this end by resort to the employment of those agents which relieve the digestive secretions of their special provinces. On the contrary, it is the very extreme of indiscretion to encourage dependency of the gastric or intestinal fluids, or to aid them in the performance of their duties beyond very circumscribed limits. Quite the most rational course to pursue is that of extending to Nature gentle, but ample, encouragement through the administration of an agent which is capable of bringing functional activity to its highest point without entailing the necessity of prolonged drugging. It is supremely important that the drug be one that can be withdrawn without leaving the economy disqualified to maintain a normal fund of force. It is here that iron is of the greatest therapeutic use. Not only does it impart to the blood stream a full measure of nutrition-conveyors in the form of hemoglobin, but it substantially increases the capacity of the tissues to absorb and utilize the nourishment placed at their disposal by the circulatory system. ther, iron, when administered in the proper form, augments functional activity throughout the entire digestive apparatus, and, thuswise, enables the economy to secure the full benefit of the food supply. To this action of the drug is due the greatest profit to the individual resulting from its use. The objections applicable to some forms of iron gain added importance in this particular class of cases, for the reason that the peculiarities of the disorders under consideration are such as to be greatly aggravated by an improper form of iron. Chief among these peculiarities is constipation, which is invariably a disturbing factor. The existing constipation is easily made worse by both the carbonate and acid solutions of iron; and, in fact these forms of the drug are notably stool-discouraging. Digestive processes are also depressed by these forms of iron, and headache frequently follows their use. Partly because of these objections, but mainly an account of its manifold advantages, pepto-mangan (Gude) is given the preference over all other forms of iron, and a mass of clinical data has been brought forth to sustain this opinion. Pepto-Mangan (Gude) is of the greatest aid in the treatment of all the ill-defined disorders commonly encountered among school-girls who exhibit a tendency to anemia, nervous debility, anorexia,moroseness and mental depression. Obviously. this general emphatic endorsement of pepto-mangan (Gude) by the most exacting members of the profession is based upon a critical analysis of its therapeutic advantages over the ancient forms of iron. Fur |