a greater or
lesser degree. In some cases it is only an annoyance, necessitating
the frequent changing of napkins, but in others it causes a great deal
of weakness, backache, erosions, itching and burning. It is very
resistant to treatment, particularly in girls. The reason it is so
resistant to treatment is because the discharge, while coming from
the vagina, _does not usually originate_ in the vagina; it originates
in the neck of the womb, and the hundreds and hundreds of injections
that women take for their leucorrhea only reach the vagina; they
cannot penetrate into the womb. And it is only by treating the cavity
of the cervix, which can only be done by a physician, through a
speculum, that the root of the trouble can be reached. And, if any
erosion or ulcer is noticed, it can be directly touched up with the
necessary application. And it is for this reason that in girls
leucorrhea is so much more difficult to treat. For fear of having the
hymen ruptured the girl objects to a thorough examination and to local
treatment, and the leucorrhea is permitted to proceed until perhaps a
chronic inflammation of the womb and the Fallopian tubes is
established. There is no doubt that many cases of sterility or
childlessness in women are due to long-neglected leucorrhea in
girlhood.

=What Is the Cause of Leucorrhea?= We can answer simply: the cause of
leucorrhea is catarrh in any part of the female genital tract. But
this is no real answer. What are the causes of the catarrh? The causes
of catarrh are many: the most common cause is a cold. Wetting the feet
and getting chilled, particularly during the menses, may set up a
catarrh in the cervix. Long standing on one's feet, lifting and
carrying heavy bundles, dancing in overheated rooms and then going out
scantily clad in the chill night air, prolonged ungratified sexual
excitement, lack of cleanliness in the external genitals--all these
are factors in setting up a catarrh of the cervix with a resultant
leucorrhea. A general rundown condition, worry, overwork, too hard
study, lack of fresh air, and a general scrofulous condition also
favor the development of catarrh of the womb and leucorrhea. It will
therefore be seen that the treatment of leucorrhea to be successful
must be general and local.

=General Treatment.= The general treatment consists in general
hygienic measures and in common sense. The patient should not be on
her feet more than she can help, and she should not w