Chapter XXI. Special Remedies for the Menopause.

FOR the hot flashes at the "change of life" I have found the fourth decimal trituration of sepia the most successful remedy. Dose, three tablets once in three hours. For excessive flooding we should always give Hayden's Viburnum Compound. Dose, half a teaspoonful once in two hours in a little cold sweetened water.

Women at the menopause who, because of grief and worriment, have persistent cold feet and legs, should be given ignatia. Dose, add fifteen drops tincture ignatia to four ounces of water; mix and give the patient a teaspoonful every two hours.

Edema of the Feet and Legs. Women at the climacteric are frequently troubled with edema of the legs and feet. Such patients should be given one-twelfth grain apocynin (three granules) once in three hours.

Prickling of the Hands and Feet. When there is prickling of the hands and feet and they feel as if they were asleep (the warning symptoms of apoplexy) we shall know that they need kali phos. Dose, three tablets of the third decimal trituration once in two hours. When the feet are "figity," cannot keep them still you should prescribe the third decimal trituration of zincum me-talicum. Dose, three tablets once in two hours.

In plethoric, full blooded women who complain of headache with beating and throbbing of the brain and carotids, you will need veratrum viride. Dose, five drops of the first decimal dilution once in three hours. When with the headache the head feels confused and bigger than it ought, belladonna is the needed remedy. Dose, add five drops tincture belladonna to four ounces of water; mix and give a teaspoonful every hour for three hours, afterwards once in three hours.

For the "sinking at the stomach" of which women frequently complain at this period of their lives, you should prescribe cimicifuga. Dose, ten drops of the third decimal dilution, tincture cimicifuga, once in three hours.

Women at the menopause frequently complain of a burning pressure upon the vertex; this is usually a symptom of debility from loss of blood. Give such patients three tablets of the first decimal china, before each meal and three tablets first decimal ferrum after each meal. Giddiness, rush of blood to the head, throbbing, beating, noises in the ear teach us to think of glonoin. Dose, twenty drops, third decimal dilution should be added to' a glass of water and a teaspoonful given of this mixture once in two hours.

Tinnitus Aurum. When tinnitus aurum is a prominent symptom at the menopause, I have prescribed successfully Fl. Ext. Ergot. Dose, ten drops three times a day.

Enlargement of the Uterus. Enlargement of the uterus with heavy pressing down feeling calls for fraxinus americanus. Dose, ten drops tincture fraxinus three times a day. We may sometimes find at the menopause a peculiar bag like swelling in the upper eyelids, an indication of a weak heart. The heart's action is irregular and intermittent. In such cases kali carbonica is the indicated remedy. Dose, three tablets of the third decimal trituration once in two hours.

Some women at the climacteric have a headache and backache; they feel all the time "as if the back and legs must give out," the aching extends into the hips and gluteal muscles, she drops into a chair or throws herself on the bed completely exhausted. Such patients should be given the third decimal trituration of kali carb. three tablets once in two hours.

Study each patient carefully and prescribe the indicated remedy. The menopause is the "crisis" in a woman's life. It is then she needs the most skillful treatment that a physician can give. Many times in my professional life I have had women consult me complaining of different symptoms. They will often say, "My doctor says it is the change of life and I must expect all kinds of queer feelings." I have only this criticism to make, that any physician who cannot carry a woman successfully through the menopause and be able to prescribe intelligently for her various ailments, should step aside and let a better man take his place.

Definite Medication, 1911, was written by Eli G. Jones, M.D.