named has a remedial
effect on an inflamed anus and rectum. It has none whatever; all it
does is to wash away the deposits which might irritate the inflamed
surface. Water at a temperature of 100 deg. to 105 deg. is not an
especially good antiseptic; and its intestinal use should not be
continued longer than to bring away the effete and fetid material which
may be lodged in the colon, sigmoid flexure and rectum. In the majority
of cases its use should be limited to aiding the feces to escape from
their normal receptacle--the sigmoid flexure--whenever proctitis does
not extend beyond the rectum. But many persons are deceived by the
conduct of proctitis and are thus likely to omit the regular irrigation
twice a day. They believe themselves to be in pretty good condition and
do not realize that their old, implacable enemy may be excited into
riot any day; in which case the insurrection may last for months and
then slowly settle down to semi-quiet again, reaching finally the point
of its best behavior for a short period or until again provoked.

_The Use of the Recurrent Douche._

Water at a temperature of 120 deg. to 130 deg. properly applied is a good
therapeutic agent in the treatment of proctitis. At that temperature it
is an excellent antiseptic and astringent. Its continuous use for half
to one hour applied with a recurrent douche brings about a contraction
of the engorged and dilated blood-vessels; and accompanied by local
treatment and by other remedies is the best means known for restoring
the nerves to their normal function of controlling the proper
circulation of blood in the diseased organ. Treatment with the
recurrent douche is of course to follow, not to precede, the evacuation
of the bowels; but at any time when there is a tendency toward
additional evacuation on the admission of the hot water, the new douche
is easily adjustable to the contingency without removal from the anal
canal; it will facilitate the escape of the feces with the return flow
of the water. The new recurrent douche has therefore the great
advantage of promoting simultaneously both the thorough evacuation of
the bowels, and the therapeutic effect of hot water.

_Sitz-Bath._

There are patients who, because of years of neglect of their local
ailments, are taken with severe attacks of inflammation of the anus and
rectum, involving considerable prolapse, much swelling around the anus,
and general local soreness and pain; all of which