monthly
periods, must not study, must not ride, etc., etc., that it really is
no wonder that they feel it a very undesirable thing to be a woman. My
observation leads me to believe that if girls from earliest childhood
were dressed loosely, with no clothing suspended on the hips, if their
muscles were well developed through judicious exercise, they would
seldom find it necessary to be semi-invalids at any time. In fact, we
do sometimes find a young woman who has no consciousness of physical
disturbance during menstruation. She can pursue her usual avocations
without hindrance, and finds her physical womanhood no bar to any
enjoyment.

This is as it should be; but as girls have not all been well developed
and properly dressed, we cannot assert that all girls can be
indifferent to physical conditions at this time. If a girl is well,
has no pain or discomfort, then I would say, let her use good common
sense in the ordering of her daily life and give the matter no special
or anxious thought. If she has pain or uneasiness, let her govern her
life accordingly, using care, taking some rest at the time of the
menses; but, above all things, let her arrange her clothing at all
times so as to secure for herself absolute freedom of movement. Then
let her, during the intervals between the menstrual periods, endeavor
by judicious exercise to build up strong muscular structure around the
vital organs, such structure as will support the _viscera_ where they
belong, and in time she will probably find herself growing free from
menstrual pain.

During the painful periods resulting from congestion it is often
advisable to keep the recumbent position, and to use heat both
externally and internally. However, I would advise never using
alcoholic beverages. Their apparent usefulness lies principally in the
hot water with which they are administered, and the danger of forming
the alcohol habit is too great to justify their use.

There are cases of nervous pain at menstruation that are aggravated by
heat and diminished by cold. I knew such a case where a girl at
school, suffering with menstrual pain, alarmed teachers and friends by
wringing towels out of cold water and laying them over her abdomen.
But the alarm subsided when they saw that the pain soon passed away
under the cold application. The girl was one in whom there were no
local congestions, but great nervous exhaustion and heat always
increased her sufferings, while cold allayed.