alk until
exhausted or fatigued. It is better to take several short walks than
one long one. The corset she wears, if she wears any at all, should be
of the modern kind: not one that presses the womb and the other
abdominal organs down, but one that supports the abdominal walls, and
rather raises the abdominal organs up. The lacing or buttoning must be
from below up, and not from above down. That it should not in any way
interfere with the freedom of respiration goes without saying.
Constipation if any, to be treated, must be treated intelligently, by
mild measures (see Constipation, in the chapter on pregnancy), and
care must be taken that the bowels move at regular hours. Where the
leucorrhea is due to or is aggravated by anemia and general weakness,
a good iron preparation, such as one Blaud's five-grain pill three
times a day, or a tonic of iron, quinine and strychnine, will do good.
A daily cold bath or cold sponge, followed by a brisk dry rubbing with
a rough towel, is also useful.

=Local Treatment.= Local measures consist of painting or swabbing the
vagina and cervix with various solutions, of tampons, suppositories
and douches. Local application to the vagina and uterus can be done
satisfactorily by the physician or nurse only. The insertion of a
suppository or douching can be easily done by the patient herself.

While it is always best and safest to consult a physician, and, while
self-medication is generally inadvisable, there are occasions when a
physician is not available; in some small places a woman may, _for
various reasons_, have a strong objection to gynecological examination
and treatment; and some women may be too poor to pay the doctor. In
such circumstances self-treatment is justified and there can be no
objection to it if the remedies are harmless and are sure to do some
good; that is, to improve the condition where they do not effect a
complete cure.

One of the simplest things is an alum tampon. You take a piece of
absorbent cotton, about the size of a fist, spread it out, put about a
tablespoonful of powdered alum on it, fold it up, tie a string around
the center, insert it in the vagina as far as it will go, and leave it
in for twenty-four hours. Then pull it gently by the string and
syringe yourself with a quart or two quarts of warm water. Such a
tampon may be inserted every other day or every third day, and I have
known many cases where this simple treatment alone produced a cure. In
so