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The
uterus, often called the womb, is the most delicate organ
of woman. It is liable to disorders of various kinds.
Inflammation of this organ is common occurrence in women.
It may be acute or chronic.
The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped muscular organ,
situated in a bonny frame called the pelvis. It is seven
centimeter long, five cm. in breadth and about 2.5 cm.
thick. Its capacity is roughly three cubic centimeters.
The lower narrow end of the uterus which opens into the
vagina is called the cervix. The upper broad part is
called the body of the uterus or the corpus.
The inflammation which may affect the lining membrane of
the uterus is called endometritis. When it affects the
muscular coat and substance of the uterus, it is termed
metritis. Endometritis may be confined to the lining
membrane of the cervix or neck of the uterus or it may
attack the lining membrane of the entire organ. Commonly
it is called catarrh of uterus.Symptoms
The symptoms
of acute endometriosis are slight fever, headache,
general debility, loss of appetite, pain in the back and
lower part of the abdomen and pelvis, and itching
tendency in the vagina. IN chronic endometriosis,
symptoms are the same, but not so severe as in the acute
form. The only troublesome symptom is the discharge which
may be either clear or opaque and yellow. This disease
may produce sterility.
Chill, fever, rapid pulse and breathing, nausea, local
pain and discharge are the symptoms of acute metritis.
This is a very rare case, but it may occur after
confinement on account of infection. Chronic metritis may
occur for many reasons and is probably the most common
diseases among women. The symptoms are disorders of
menstruation, more or less profuse leucorrhoea,
constipation, lack of vitality, weakness in the back and
the limbs, pain in the lower portion of the back and a
tendency to abortion.
Causes
Inflammation
of the uterus may be caused by sudden chill, or by
exposure to cold during menstruation. The disease
sometimes occurs because of the medicines applied for the
purpose of stimulating the menstrual flow. Other causes
are the use of irritants to produce abortion, the use of
strong purgatives, the insertion of instruments and
preventives, and excessive sexual indulgence. Sometimes
bicycle riding, hose back riding and dancing may also
cause inflammation of the uterus among weak and
underweight women. The displacement of the uterus in any
form may also lead to this condition.
Treatment
If the
inflammation is caused by a chill or exposure to cold
during menstruation, the patient should start the
treatment with a hot leg bath. This may be replaced by
hot hip bath after two or three days. In case of pain,
hot and cold hip baths will be beneficial. The water
should be changed from hot to cold, every two minutes and
this should be repeated thrice.
As this disease produces the tendency towards
constipation, the patient should take an enema once daily
with warm water as can be comfortably borne by the
patient. It is also advisable to apply alternate compress
on the abdomen just before employing enema.
In the chronic form the treatment should aim at
increasing the general vitality. To begin with, the
patient should resort to fasting on orange juice and
water for two or three days. The procedure is to take
every two hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. the juice of an
orange diluted with warm water on 50 : 50 basis. If the
orange juice does not agree, juices of vegetable such as
carrots and cucumber may be taken. A warm water enema may
be taken each day while fasting to cleanse the bowels.
After the short juice fast, the patient may adopt an
all-fruit diet for about two days, taking three meals a
day of fresh juicy fruits such as apples, pears, grapes,
grapefruit, orange, pineapple peaches and melon.
After the juice fast the patient should follow a well-
balanced diet of seeds, nuts, and grains, vegetables and
fruits. This diet should be supplemented with milk,
yogurt, butter-milk, vegetable oil and honey. A further
short juice fast or periods on the all-fruit diet may be
necessary at intervals of a month or two, according to
the needs of the case. If constipation is habitual, all
steps should be taken for its eradication.
The foods which should be avoided are : white flour
products, sugar, confectionery, rich cakes, pastries,
sweets, refined cereals, flesh foods, rich, heavy and
greasy foods, tinned or preserved foods, pickles,
condiments, and sauces.
The patient should also undertake moderate exercise and
walking in fresh air as it will help increase general
health and vitality. Yogic asanas such as sarvangasana,
bhujangasana, uttanasana, and shavasana are also
beneficial in the treatment of inflammation of the
uterus.
No real cure is possible unless the system as a whole is
treated. The blood has to be purified, the nerves
strengthened and the waste deposits accumulated in the
system eliminated before the trouble can be completely
overcome.
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