CONSTIPATION IN WOMEN
Chief Cause of Constipation in Women--Constipation a Cause of
Domestic Unhappiness--The Requirements of Good Health--The Cost
of Constipation--Constipation and Social Exigencies--One of the
Important Duties of Mothers--Constipation and Diseases of
Women--Constipation is Always Harmful--Constipation and
Pregnancy--Explanation of Incomplete Constipation--Causes of
Constipation--Negligence--Lack of Exercise--Lack of Water--Lack
of Bulk in the Food Taken--Abuse of Cathartic Drugs and
Aperient Waters--Overeating--Treatment of Constipation in
Women.
It has been stated that constipation is almost universal among the women
of America. It is a fact that very few American women enjoy, to a
reasonable degree, a permanently satisfactory bowel condition.
Constipation is an acquired habit and unquestionably negligence is the
primary and the chief cause of it. The negligence, no doubt, begins at a
very early age; it is at least an established habit before any
intelligent, consecutive effort is made to remedy it. Inasmuch as women
are the mothers of the race, and as their part in the scheme of life
_is_ the supreme one; and as constipation has been shown to be a
serious, far-reaching, significant disease, a very sincere and
persistent crusade should be made to educate women as to its importance.
For a less altruistic purpose, tremendous popular movements have been
carried to success. For a less service rendered to the race names have
achieved renown. In addition to the symptoms stated in the preceding
paper, the condition which we now desire to emphasize is the effect of
the constant self-poisoning on the general health and its effect upon a
woman's reproductive efficiency.
The poison being constantly absorbed, means general bad health, bad
health to a degree depending upon the degree of constipation which is
the cause of the poisoning. It may be simply that the woman does not
wholly enjoy good health, or that she is completely incapacitated
because of chronic bad health, or any degree of indifferent health
between these two extremes.
If the degree of poison is sufficient to cause habitual poor health, its
effect upon the blood must be bad, and the effect of the bad blood upon
the nervous system and the other vital organs cannot be good. Now if
this process has been going on for many years, the condition of the
woman, who is its victim, as an efficient machine, compared with the
woman in whom this condition never did exist, must be very different
indeed. This condition of affairs--inasmuch as constipation is so common
in women--must have a tremendous significance when estimating the
vitality and efficiency of the coming generation.
We might go much further and yet be sure of our position, and maintain
that it is this national autotoxemia, this scourge of womanhood, that is
to a great extent responsible for the characteristic American "vice of
neurasthenia," and of the domestic infelicity and unhappiness which are
so common in the large cities of this country. If we add to the
intestinal autotoxemia of constipation, the tendency to, or vice of,
indiscriminate eating and drinking--of which the American people are
particularly guilty--we would be on firmer ground. In fact we would feel
that we had pointed out the one underlying cause of most of the domestic
irritability prevalent to-day, which is of serious importance, and which
is, fortunately, capable of correction. It is a matter of everlasting
and continuous education.
THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD HEALTH.--There are certain fundamental basic
requirements which are essential to good health: fresh air, good water,
a reasonable amount of physical and mental exercise, nutritious food,
freedom from unnecessary and unreasonable worry, frequent bathing, and a
daily movement of the bowels. The reason why constipation is of such
serious importance is because it is the only basic requirement of good
health that afflicts a large majority of the race at the same time. The
health of so many is being undermined by this one affliction, that it
dominates all other factors that have any bearing upon posterity. A
woman may enjoy all the essential conditions necessary to good health,
yet she may be constipated, and the presence of this condition will
undermine, in her constitution, all the benefits she derives from her
advantageous environments. It will do more; it will be responsible for
the disposition,--the temperament,--of that woman. The natural
disposition of that woman may be an amicable one; if it were allowed to
express itself naturally it would be kind, gentle, considerate,
affectionate. No woman, however, the victim of chronic constipation, can
preserve an equable temperament or an amicable disposition. It is
impossible--with her nerves being constantly poisoned--that she can hold
the symptoms of that condition in abeyance. She must be irritable and
nervous and sick of herself and everything and everybody. The home as a
direct result suffers; its atmosphere is not one of contentment and
peace and affection. Constipation, therefore, blights the home and the
influence of one blighted home may have a far-reaching effect on the
story of the human race. It is responsible also for that woman's mental
attitude outside the home. Instead of exerting an optimistic influence,
her whole existence is a message of pessimism and discouragement.
Multiply these influences and messages to correspond with the prevalence
of the disease and we have a condition that is tremendously significant,
a condition that is really a pressing economic issue. A constipated
woman is an anti-eugenist--a eugenic atrocity.
We have no desire to create a false impression or to build up a foolish
fear. Are we justified in regarding this as one of the most important,
if not the most important, disease condition; the most menacing physical
vice, which the human race has to combat? Let us offer the following
brief facts in witness of our stand:
THE COST OF CONSTIPATION.--It has been estimated that consumption (the
great white plague) kills one-tenth of all the human race. Cancer kills
half as many, or one in every twenty. Constipation, and the diseases
which are caused directly by it, kills one in every three of all the
people on the civilized globe.
Constipation has been responsible for the expenditure of millions of
dollars in advertising in the newspapers alone,--more, probably, than
has been spent in advertising remedies for all other diseases combined.
Do you suppose this money was a donation? Do you suppose these keen,
alert interpreters of the spirit of the times, the up-to-date business
men, were not and are not aware that constipation is the "universal
disease"?
Every drug store, in every civilized spot on earth, has its shelves
loaded down with constipation remedies; dinner pills, liver pills,
cathartic pills, tablets in all possible coatings and combinations,
mineral waters from a multitude of springs, aperient drinks by the
dozen, laxative teas and cordials, cathartic oils and emulsions. If the
demand for these articles should cease most of the drug stores would
close up.
Many millions of dollars have been made and are being made by various
men and concerns, who have devised ingenious mechanical agencies which
are supposed to cure, and in curing renew the lost health caused by
constipation. We have in mind in this connection, a man who conceived
the ingenious plan of putting the opening of an ordinary fountain
syringe in the middle instead of at the end and made a fortune out of
it. In this opening he places an upright nozzle, and instead of hanging
the bag up and allowing the water to run into the bowel, he has the
patient sit on the bag and thereby the water is forced into the bowel.
He has written a two-hundred page book on the advantages of this idea,
and his "literature" contains the names of famous men and women in all
walks of life who use his device. The name of one of the famous judges
of the Supreme Court of the United States was there; another was the
name of a popular operatic beauty who writes for the daily press little
essays on "How to be beautiful!" and "How to keep well!" He deserves his
success. He is an emancipator and has doubtless done a great deal of
good. His success demonstrates, beyond contradiction, the prevalence of
the malady under discussion, and it must be remembered that he is only
one of hundreds who garner from the same ample harvest.
If we could estimate in value the economic loss sustained by the race
because of the inefficiency of the victims of intestinal intoxication,
due to constipation, the sum would be colossal. Even then it would only
represent the direct economic deficiency--it would not express, nor
could any figure adequately represent, the indirect loss sustained by
the race because of the temperamental characteristics, which are the
products of intestinal poisoning, and which produce domestic tragedies
and economic failures.
Has this array of evidence any meaning, or does it just happen to be so?
We leave it to the reader; if it stimulates thought, or pricks a
conscience it will have done its duty.
CONSTIPATION AND SOCIAL EXIGENCIES.--The cause of constipation in women,
whose social station commands every sanitary, hygienic, and dietary
luxury, is their method of living, the food they eat, and the negligence
which is almost obligatory because of social exactions. If constipation
did not so frequently accompany "good" living (which is the modern name
for overeating and drinking) we would have thousands and thousands of
healthy, robust, contented women, fit and willing to assume the onerous
duties concomitant with motherhood. All their enthusiasm, however, is
expended in the effort to keep "in the ring," to overcome the effects of
the poison of constipation, to preserve their youth and freshness, to
undo what neglect has accomplished. It is because of the failure of this
simple function that my lady seeks the masseur, the facial artist, the
society doctor, the beauty expert, and the thousand and one agencies,
which an extravagant and profligate age has made necessary to foster the
efficiency of its votaries.
I am optimistic, however, regarding the future. I believe the human race
is improving, despite the disadvantageous surroundings and conditions
which hamper honest effort and stultify truth. A higher efficiency is
the goal, and the intention is to obtain this desideratum by fair and by
just means. There is an awakening, an unrest, a groping for knowledge in
almost every field of human endeavor, and there is none in which the
yearning for fact, for truth, for instruction, is stronger and keener,
than in the world-wide movement in the interest of a better motherhood,
and in a more serious study of child life. It is an encouraging sign, a
hopeful promise, of what the future has in store.
ONE OF THE IMPORTANT DUTIES OF MOTHERS.--The immediate lesson to be
learnt from the facts just recounted is to instruct mothers in their
duty toward their daughters. If each mother would retain the confidence
of her daughter sufficient to instruct her in the duties which are
important, how much needless suffering would be saved. To know as a
matter of fact whether the daughter's bowels are in good condition will
appeal to all who read this as being of very great importance. It is not
only necessary to know if they have a movement every day, it is
necessary to know the character of the daily movement; whether it is
hard and dry and necessitates straining,--the evil consequences of
which, in young girls, is very serious indeed,--or if it is habitually
loose and suggestive of what has been described as incomplete
constipation.
If the mothers of America would consecrate themselves to this simple
task, who could tell in mere words the effect it would have on the race
yet unborn? There are problems of scientific intent, and of fancy names,
that engage the attention of philanthropically inclined ladies, and
which are emblazoned on the society columns of the daily press, of much
less importance to the human family than the homely duty we ask mothers
to devote themselves to.
CONSTIPATION AND DISEASES OF WOMEN.--Constipation is present in a very
large majority of the cases of diseases of women. It may be caused by
disease of the womb, or it may cause disease of the womb. There is no
question about the bad effect constipation has upon all diseases of this
type. In many cases it is absolutely impossible to effect a cure without
first curing the accompanying constipation.
We seldom appreciate how severe a degree of constipation a growing girl
will submit to without seeking relief. Some of the worst cases of
constipation that have been known, have been in girls between the ages
of sixteen and twenty. The mechanical effects of such a condition can
well be imagined. The constant, severe straining, necessary to evacuate
the bowel, has, in very many instances, produced congestion and
displacement of the womb and ovaries. It is not observed at this time,
or if observed it is not understood, and thus is laid the foundation for
years of neurasthenia, helplessness, and disease.
The more we investigate the ramifications of constipation the more we
learn of its seriousness and of its significance.
CONSTIPATION IS ALWAYS HARMFUL.--There is no period in life when
constipation can be borne with impunity. Youth, with its virility and
vitality, will endure its consequences with an apparent negation, so far
as positive or specific results are concerned, but it is only an
apparent impunity. There is always a certain amount of strength built
up, held in reserve as a heritage of youth, which will withstand a
certain amount of physical license, but if this reserve is assailed by
an unnecessary imposition, and is successfully undermined, there will be
infinitely less reserve to call upon in the legitimate battle of life.
Life is too real, too concentrated, too strenuous, and health is too
precious to be wilfully wasted in any form of self-abuse.
CONSTIPATION AND PREGNANCY.--Mothers will appreciate from the foregoing
explanation why constipation is eugenically a crime during pregnancy.
The evils which result from constipation mechanically, frequently have
serious consequences by interfering with the circulation of the blood to
the womb, by forcing the womb to assume wrong positions, by straining at
stool, and by preventing the kidneys from functionating properly; these
may render the life of the pregnant woman miserable, and may be the
direct cause of a painful, prolonged, difficult labor. The evils which
result from constipation because of the absorption of poisons by the
bowel are of the gravest importance during pregnancy. These poisons
affect the general health; the victim is tired, listless, and apathetic,
and is thereby disinclined to exercise adequately; the appetite is
poor; there are headaches, neuralgias, insomnia, nervousness,
melancholia, and general mental and physical inertness. What hope may a
pregnant woman entertain of having "an easy confinement," or of bringing
a healthy child into the world under these circumstances? Who is to
blame? Sometimes it is necessary to tell the unadorned truth,--the woman
is to blame. No woman has a right to assume the responsibilities of
maternity who has not had enough respect for herself to discontinue
habits which caused this failing, or who has not had strength of will
enough to begin its successful cure. Get busy,--do something,--it is
never "too late," but do it now.
Before we take up the treatment of constipation in women, it is
necessary to explain more fully the type of constipation which we
referred to as "incomplete" constipation. There is a condition of the
bowel, in which we find its wall coated with hard fecal matter. The size
of the bowel may be dilated as a consequence. This condition may occupy
part, or most, of the entire length of the large intestine. In the
middle of this hard mass there is a small channel through which
semi-liquid matter passes. When the bowel moves, it is this semi-liquid
matter that passes out, and this constitutes the daily movement. We have
consequently a condition in which we have a daily movement but not a
complete emptying of the bowel. The character of the stools from such a
bowel must necessarily be more or less of a semi-liquid consistency,
because the intestine, being coated with a hard dried out layer of old
fecal substance, is prevented from absorbing the liquid part of the
fresh fecal mass passing through it. This condition may exist for a
considerable time, but it will slowly undermine the health and vitality
of any person in whom it exists. The symptoms which a patient in this
condition complains of are,--a feeling of being tired and languid, no
energy or vim, headache, loss of appetite, loss of flesh, neuralgic
pains, nausea, vertigo (dizziness), insomnia, frequent colds, cold hands
and feet, biliousness, sallow skin and muddy complexion, liver spots,
coated tongue and a "bad breath," nervousness, melancholia, various
abnormal conditions and diseases of the skin, pimples, blackheads,
eruptions, eczema, piles, appendicitis, diseases of the intestinal wall
as a result of the constipation, Bright's disease of the kidney, and
many other morbid conditions. Any physician could name many symptoms,
which were never properly understood but which are now known to be
caused by the absorption of poisons resulting from inactivity of the
bowels. Patients may not necessarily have all of the above symptoms;
they may have a number of them, or they may have all of them, and they
may have others not mentioned at all.
TREATMENT OF CONSTIPATION IN WOMEN.--To effect a movement of the bowels
in a patient who is a victim of constipation is not a cure. We can
indefinitely cause bowel action by drugs, etc., but the condition will
remain the same or worse. When habitual constipation exists there is an
underlying condition affecting the entire system which indicates that
something is radically wrong. It may be necessary to change the whole
routine of the patient's life. It will certainly be necessary at the
very beginning to inquire into the daily diet, exercise, and
surroundings.
During the past ten years there has been born every few days a new
medical "ism," a new religious cult. Why? Because human nature is an
unstable equation. We are never satisfied with the old order of things
and there will always be a following wherever there is a leader. These
"isms" and cults do not survive. Some seem to thrive, others die a
natural death. There is a law, as old as the hills, that you cannot get
something for nothing in this world. We learn its bitter truth as the
years pass, and when we get over the day dreams and the sentiment of
youth we settle down to real work. If we desire to retain good health,
or regain lost health, we must do something. No one can hand it to us on
a silver plate, nor can anyone work a miracle in our behalf. We cannot
buy health, we must deserve it.
This is the secret of the success of all schemes to cure disease. The
human family will not knuckle down and swallow the truth. The man or
woman in poor health is looking for Aladdin's lamp everywhere and
always. A new bait, dressed up in lubricated, oily words, promising
impossible results, will be accepted as the simple unadorned truth, and
will be bought and paid for, in the end forgotten. The royal road, the
easy road, which they are looking for is impossible. There is no way by
which any one of us may continue to break the laws of nature and retain
or regain our lost health. Miracles are impossible. Prayers without
deeds are empty mouthings and a waste of time. Let us see how this works
out in the treatment of constipation. We must find the cause of the
constipation. I will name the causes in their order of frequency.
NEGLIGENCE.--This is unquestionably the primary cause of almost all
cases of bowel inactivity. As has been already noted, the exigencies of
modern life are of such a strenuous nature that we do not find the time
to devote to this function the degree of systematic attention which it
demands in order to preserve a healthy condition of intestinal
regularity. The bowel is simply a complex muscle controlled by an
elaborate system of nerves of an involuntary type. In order to preserve
the highest degree of efficiency of this complicated mechanism, it must
be permitted to obey the laws nature endowed it with and which it must
obey. When the fecal mass reaches the rectum the nerve centers, acting
through the spinal cord, send a message to the rectum something like
this: "Empty yourself of your contents, we have made all preparations
and everything is ready." The rectum obeys to the extent of notifying
you that it wants to be relieved; you feel the desire to evacuate the
bowels. If you obey, all is well, nature is appeased, you encourage the
systematic regularity necessary to good health. If you do not obey, you
upset the delicate mechanism, and frequent negligence of this character
will result in the complete disarrangement of this complex machinery so
that it will fail to warn you that a bowel movement is necessary and
constipation is established. We must therefore retrace our steps and
re-educate the bowel systematically to empty itself at a certain time
every day. This can be done in nearly every case without artificial
assistance. It may take time but it is worth a little methodical
persistence. The point is, you must do it; no "ism" or esoteric agency
can do it for you.
Mothers will recognize from this explanation the necessity of
establishing the habit in children at the earliest possible moment.
LACK OF EXERCISE.--What does the word exercise imply? It implies
movement, better circulation of the blood, better health and tone to
every part of the body, more oxygen, and a richer, better quality of
blood, and because of a better quality of blood, which is the fuel of
the body machine, we have a better, smoother working machine. Every
human being requires a certain amount of exercise; otherwise the machine
will not run smoothly. If this exercise is not obtained, things begin to
go wrong. One of the very first signs to indicate that the machine is
not running as it ought to run, is a sluggish condition of the whole
digestive apparatus and a certain degree of bowel inactivity
(constipation) follows. There is no substitute for this need. Drugs will
not help you, mechanical devices will not do the work for you, though
they may aid you. You must do the work yourself. If you fail or hesitate
to recognize the truth, if you temporize or procrastinate, you are only
deferring the issue. The argument that you have not the time, that your
work will not permit you, is no argument at all. You must do it or reap
the consequences; you certainly cannot escape them. The wise woman
accepts the situation, the fool goes to an early grave.
LACK OF WATER.--Constipation may be due to a deficiency of water in the
system. Women who suffer from this type do not drink enough water. The
bowel may be willing and able to do its duty, but is handicapped because
a certain amount of liquid is essential to proper digestion and natural
bowel activity. At least six glasses of water should be taken by every
healthy adult human being in each twenty-four hours. The best time to
take this water is as follows: one glass on arising, two between
breakfast and lunch, two between lunch and dinner, and one on retiring.
Between meals means one hour after a meal and at least one-half hour
before the following meal. No liquid should be taken during a meal, or
immediately after, or before a meal. All water taken may be hot or cold,
according to the fancy of the taker. It is of advantage to squeeze the
juice of half a lemon into the water taken on arising if there is any
tendency to constipation or if the liver is lazy or torpid. It is also
good for the complexion.
LACK OF BULK IN THE FOOD TAKEN.--Sometimes the character of the food
taken is such that there is no body to it. The process of digestion so
completely liquefies it that the bowel has no solid matter to
manipulate. To excite the peculiar movements of the intestinal wall
there must be substance in the contents. The variety of the daily food
must be so arranged as to provide this. A list of these foods is
provided elsewhere in this book. Certain other foods stimulate
intestinal activity, not because of their bulk, but because of the
chemical elements they contain. All forms of sugar, the sugars of
fruits, the acids of fruits and vegetables, are excellent natural
laxatives. Sour milk and buttermilk, oils and fats, are also of distinct
value in this respect.
On the other hand, soups, gruels, porridges, and purees are constipating
because the digestive process reduces them to liquids and leaves no bulk
for the bowel to act upon. New bread, hot biscuits, "noodles," and
doughy foods are also objectionable, especially to children. Hot baths,
hot drinks, hot enemas, and sweating are also constipating because they
extract so much liquid from the bowel leaving the contents excessively
dry.
ABUSE OF CATHARTIC DRUGS AND APERIENT WATERS.--This is a widespread
evil; it may justly be regarded as a national curse. The victims of this
custom do not realize that they are addicted to a habit which must be
rightly regarded as equally as bad as the drink habit, so far as its
ultimate effect on the general health and the prospect of longevity is
concerned. Its popularity is a product of our national vice of
indiscriminate eating and drinking. It is more common among the class
who live in restaurants, hotels, and boarding houses, who keep late
hours, eat late suppers and who do not exercise enough. These
individuals eat too much and live too high. After a time the liver
becomes sluggish, the stomach fails to digest properly, the bowels lose
their tone, and flatulent indigestion or some other more or less serious
condition follows; to maintain the pace, to feel and keep fit, they
discover that a glass of some advertised aperient or laxative water
before breakfast works wonders, tides them over for the time being and
keeps them "in the ring." They compliment themselves and push the
specter of age aside.
The thought that they were not "as young as they once were," or that
they must go slow, was not a very pleasing suggestion, so having found a
"cure" by adding another bad habit on top of an existence which is
composed of nothing but bad habits, they start all over again. The
suggestion that their trouble is a warning that "things are going wrong"
and that the whole plan of living must be radically and promptly changed
does not meet with their approval, and so the Department of Health
statistics heap up the records of deaths due to heart disease, hardening
of the arteries, Bright's disease of the kidneys and apoplexy. It is not
a happy tale, but the truth is often tragic.
When a woman finds that her physical efficiency depends upon the
habitual use of cathartic drugs or laxative waters, she must regard the
knowledge with respect, she must give it serious consideration, and she
must adopt means to so change her method of living, that nature will be
given a chance to work in her interest--not against her. Better to find
out exactly where the trouble _is_ now, and go after it than to travel
too far along the wrong road. Many die from the "disease" of
procrastination.
OVEREATING.--Overeating may be included in this classification because
it so overworks the digestive apparatus that it is impossible for it
satisfactorily to complete its function. Any reader desirous of
understanding the full significance of overeating in this connection
should carefully read the article on this subject on pages 289 and 290.
There are, of course, a great many other causes for constipation but
these are the important ones. When we find the cause of any particular
case it will suggest the remedy and we must employ it faithfully if we
hope to effect a cure. If it is negligence, we must correct that fault
and compel our daily routine to accommodate itself to a regular
observance of this function. If it is lack of exercise, we must get more
exercise, or if it is lack of bulk in our food, we must change our
method of living and select with more care the foods we eat. If it is
lack of water, we can correct the constipation by adding the proper
amount of water at the proper time.
A patient who has been a victim of chronic constipation for some time
must live a life somewhat after the following general plan:
She should increase the vegetables, fruits, and fats in her diet and she
should drink enough water. It is a good plan to sip slowly one-half pint
of hot or cold water morning and evening. Daily exercise in the open air
is advisable; exercise of some kind, even if taken indoors, is
imperative. Walking, riding, bicycling, tennis, golf, swimming, are the
best forms of exercise for women. Indoor gymnastics can be made a
satisfactory substitute. After the exercise a hot shower bath and a cold
sponge bath or cold plunge or a swim should follow.
Women in very moderate circumstances may walk briskly a distance of
three or four miles, and on returning can take a warm bath followed by a
brisk rub-off with a coarse towel wrung out of cold water, or they can
use a hose with a spray nozzle and allow the cold water to run over them
for a few seconds after the warm dip in the bath tub. After the adoption
of these measures the bowels may tend to regulate themselves. If so,
this is the proper time to cultivate the habit of regularity, by
selecting a certain time each morning or before retiring for this
function. The patient should go to the toilet at the regular time even
if the desire is not present. By straining slightly, and by encouraging
the voluntary desire, the bowel may receive the necessary stimulation
and an evacuation may result. If there should seem to be no disposition
on the part of the bowel to become accustomed to this procedure, we must
aid it for the time being. A glycerine or soap suppository, a glass of
aperient water, Pluto, Hunyadi, Apenta, or the imported Carlsbad salt in
warm water, or the effervescent Citrate of Magnesium, will result in a
prompt emptying of the bowel. There are a great many other cathartic
drugs and many well-known laxative pills, etc., but these are not
necessary if a systematic effort is being made to cure the constipation,
because success will come within a reasonable time if the patient will
not become unduly discouraged. Many victims are deficient in fat; the
bowel needs lubrication; we therefore recommend a good quality of olive
oil, one tablespoonful after each meal. Frequently it is of advantage to
inject, high up in the bowel, two or three ounces of sweet oil at night,
as is done in children, and which is fully described in the previous
chapter.
If the constipation is due to deranged nerves, in which the reflexes of
the intestinal wall seem to share, we advise massage of the abdomen, and
an occasional hot or cold rectal injection. The proper quantity to use
for this purpose is from two to three quarts. The solution to use is the
normal salt solution. See page 627.
In that form of incomplete constipation in which we stated that there
was a layer of hard, impacted feces covering the bowel wall, a special
method of treatment is necessary. In these cases nothing will succeed as
satisfactorily as very hot, high rectal injections. The object of course
is to rid the bowel of the old, hard, dry mass, which has collected
there, before we can hope to get the bowel into condition to perform its
own work. It is almost incredible that the human bowel can hold so much
old dried-out, nasty stuff as is stored up in these constipated bowels.
Hot salt water, as hot as can be tolerated, two or three quarts at a
time, is the correct way to dislodge this mass. It will not be done at
once; it frequently takes two or three weeks before the bowel is fairly
clean. The irrigations should be given every second night until the
bowel is clean. The method of giving these washings is fully described
on page 312. While these irrigations are being given the patient should
take olive oil by the mouth, one tablespoonful after each meal. The
proper food, open-air exercise, sanitary living, plenty of water, and
regular attention to the bowel movements will in the end cure the
affliction.