// // I.;-, SELF-ENERVATION: ITS CONSEQ UENCES AND TREA TMENT. BY C.' S. ELDRIDGE, M.D., BAY CITY, MICHIGAN; WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY PROF. JOSEPH HOOPER, M.D. CHICAGO: C. S. HALSEY, PUBLISHER, 147 CLARK STREET. I869. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year I869, by C. S. HALSEY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Northern District of Illinois. CHURCH, GOODMAN AND DONNELLEY, PRINTERS, CHICAGO. TO MY FATHER, I. N. ELDRIDGE, M.D., WHO for the last quarter of a century has earnestly sought the advancement and elucidation of medical science, and who, through his ministrations at the bedside has oft tempered the dread elements of disease, and mitigated the agonizing struggles of death, THIS VOLUME, In homage of his noble example and invaluable precepts, is most respectfully and AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED, BY HIS SON, TIlE AUTHOR. BAY CITY, MMich., I869. PREFACE. IN preparing this work for the profession, I have been animated by a desire to throw the light of all the information I could obtain, upon a subject hitherto but little dwelt upon by Homceopathic physicians, or rather by authors of our school. In so far as its usefulness may extend, it is presented as a supply for a pressing demand; as a work intended to familiarize the reader with a subject gravely imn"- I_,~1fiut yet imperfectly understood or appreciatS-15yj the medical fraternity at large. It is more especially offered as a guide to those but just entering the great medical arena - those who, without the aid of age or experience, are called upon to encounter a class of diseases and symptoms indeed perplexing in their nature, and concerning the origin of which, they, as beginners, know or suspect little. I have hoped, in this production, to afford a light making clearer some of those obscure and distressing forms of difficulty with which- all physicians are daily brought into contact. After careful study and consideration of this subject, I have been led to believe that a far greater apportionment of organic and functional derangements in our world's wide hospital is attributable to the insidious hands of self-enervation than our literature or collegiate curriculums give us reason or authority to suppose. Vi. PREFACE. There can be little doubt that a work of some kind, embodying clear and concise ideas upon the etiology, symptomatology, and therapeutics of the subject in the following pages considered, has long been ardently hoped for and really needed by the profession. And for this, as a most prominent reason amongst many, I have attempted the task; not, however, without a full consciousness of the fact that I can but inadequately do the subject that justice which its importance merits and demands. But after waiting long and anxiously for some one among the many so much better qualified for the undertaking than myself, without realizing my expectations, I felt it my duty to submit such information as I have been enabled to obtain upon the subject for the consideration and benefit of my professional brethren, as well as for the benefit of suffering humanity. My feelings have been stimulated in the task by an ever-rising desire to obviate among my colleagues such embarrassments and chagrin as it has been my misfortune to experience on several occasions still keenly remembered. I trust, therefore, and sincerely hope, that a careful study and familiarity with this work will help many to interpret, comprehend, and successfully treat such cases as those in which signal failure formerly attended me. To those who may devote a fraction of their time in perusing or criticising this monograph, I have only to express the hope that what little merit it possesses may be appreciated and not overlooked in commenting upon ts errors and imperfections. PREFACE. Vii. Doubtless a review of the following pages may serve to refresh the memory of many practitioners, and call to their minds interesting facts connected with cases coming under their professional observation; facts which in this work we have overlooked or failed to mention; facts, too, which, if given to the profession, would much enhance our knowledge and improve our treatment of Self-Enervation and its sequelve. We should be most happy, therefore, to receive, and will avail ourselves of any information having material bearing upon the subject of our consideration, either in the department of pathology or therapeutics, that our friends in the profession may be kind enough to communicate. Any such favor will be most appreciably accepted by the author, and should a second edition of this work be called for, communications inserted will be frankly accredited to the contributor. C. S. ELDRIDGE. BAY CITY, Mich., April, I869. NOTE.-We have adopted the title " Self-Enervation," thinking it to be less inelegant than the terms usually employed, such as masturbation, onanism, self-pollution, self-abuse, etc. While it as clearly conveys the same meaning, it affords, although new, a mild and precise definition of the subject under consideration. INTRODUCTION. BY PROFESSOR JOSEPH HOOPER, M. D. THE subject of the following essay is one, which all observant physicians must acknowledge is of the gravest importance, and yet, so far as my reading serves me, I do not remember any Homceopathic work, that attempts more than a cursory glance at a difficulty that meets us every day and perplexes us by its numerous masked manifestations: and innumerable as are the writings of the old school on all branches of pathology, I think it will be generally acknowledged that this particular evil has, by no means, received that amount of attention which the subject intrinsically deserves and which the sufferings of tens of thousands (I speak advisedly in using this large number) so loudly demands. Many young practitioners, in consequence of the very imperfect information afforded them by their textbooks and the curriculum through which they pass during their college days, not only fail frequently to perceive, but even to suspect that the long train of ever shifting and mutable nervous symptoms of I* IO INTRODUCTION. wvhich so many of their patients complain, have their origin in the habit of masturbation; and, perhaps, their earliest ideas of the terrible prevalence of the crime and the hydra-headed sequels which follow, are derived from some of the numerous disgusting, unscientific, and totally unreliable pamphlets issuing constantly from the press to advertise those pests of society - the medical quacks. Surely it is time a movement was made to alter this state of things, and the monograph now presented will be found a step taken in the right direction. It is not an exhaustive treatise, but is prepared on the right principle of book making, " mullum in 5arvo." One special feature of this tractate, and to my mind an important one, is that in the therapeutic hints given, the specific indications of the remedies mentioned are very carefully pointed out, so that the practitioner will find but little difficulty in selecting that one most homeopathic to the totality of the symptoms before him in any given case. And again: the hygienic measures dwelt upon are invaluable, as the experience of my own limited practice in treating patients guilty of the habit of self-abuse, will fully corroborate. The pamphlet thus presented to the profession, is the result of studies, to which my partner (Dr. C. S. Eldridge) and myself INTRODUCTION. I I have devoted our spare moments. We have agreed to collect all the valuable information that can be obtained on the diseases of females, with a view some day to present our co-laborers in the profession with the result of our investigations; but as the subject of self-enervation equally affects both sexes, and the paper, when prepared by my friend, seemed to me to contain so much condensed and valuable information which I knew not where else a student could lay his hand upon so readily, I urged the Doctor to print that article in a separate form, and I trust it may aid many a physician in solving mysteries and overcoming obstacles in treating the debilitated, that have often distressed me. JOSEPH HOOPER. BAY CITY, Meich., I869. SELF-ENERVATION. GENERAL REMARKS. SELF-ENERVATION is a vice or superimposed habit of sexual excitation, contrary to, and in direct violation of, a natural or physiological law. It is a sin against mind and body, against humanity and the laws of an all-wise Creator, for which the subject is punishable, according to the enormity of his or her guilt, by a series of tlie most distressing symptoms applicable to body and mind. From the remotest periods of antiquity, this all-consuming medium of self-destruction seems to have kept its pace with our world's progression, visiting alike its calamity upon the rich, the poor, the religious, and the ungodly; every nationality bearing the impress of its accursed seal. No grade or circle of society enjoys an immunity from it, as the rude habitation, beggaring description, and the palace of affluence and luxury become the fostering receptacles of its silent destruction. That it is one of the most prolific causes of insanity known to the human race, is well attested 14 SELF-ENERVATION. by the history of hundreds that are annually admitted and provided for within the walls of our eleemosynary institutions. Out of eight hundred and sixteen cases of insanity in the New York State Lunatic Asylum, there were one hundred and seven masturbators. This ratio seems astonishingly great, but it is nevertheless true, as the fearful records afforded by other institutions, prove the alarming correctness of our statement. A sexual passion is divinely bestowed upon every human being - a necessary endowment for health, as well as for the propagation and perpetuation of our race, but when unnaturally gratified through self-surrendering to solitary lust, it becomes the germinating influence of numerous mental and bodily tortures. An excessive gratification of any bodily function is invariably followed by phenomena as correspondingly depressing to the organism on the one hand, as was the excess gratifying on the other above its normal capacity; and when the exciting factors are unnatural or are wholly at variance with the laws of life, the result becomes infinitely worse. The habit of self-enervation has its conception in the bosom of morbid sensuality, and taking its birthright from moments of the most inordinate SELF-ENERVATION. 15 sexual frenzy, completely engrosses the subject of its charms. An evil like this should receive far graver consideration at the hands of fathers, mothers, and even the medical man, than it hitherto has done. It is the solemn and imperative duty of every physician to warn parents of this danger to their offspring, and, if possible, to erect barriers against the tide of its destruction, and we can not too strenuously impress upon the minds of our colleagues the fact that this is a humane mission for the physician to perform, and one which, if neglected, leaves him in the highest degree culpable. Masturbation, if persisted in, perverts the moral nature, renders its victim indifferent to, and incapable of, intellectual effort; social and moral refinement become offices of aversion, and finally the individual appears an alien to all the finer feelings and nobler instincts of our nature; a fit subject to share the life-long mercies of a prison house or lunatic asylum. The disastrous consequences following this vice are manifold to both sexes. In woman, as well as man, it exhausts the physical and mental powers of the whole system; immoderately diminishes the vigor and procreative power of the genitals; impairs digestion, elimination, circulation, assimila I6 SELF-ENERVATION. tion; in fact, disturbs every faculty and function of the human body. Such subjects become so thoroughly wedded to the momentary pleasures of this unholy pastime, that it is next to impossible for them to forego its blighting embraces. The habit is often contracted by girls and boys at an age so premature, that the fruit of its conception produces the most distressing influence upon the youthful organism, ere the unsuspecting mother or father, in the simplicity of their hearts, solve the mystery of its coming. Therefore, the medical man, as well as parents, can not become'too thoroughly acquainted with the effects and distinguishing features attending such an element of self-destruction. While sojourning at fashionable boarding schools, girls are apt to espouse this practice, as a compliance with established rules at these institutions'renders their habits more or less of a sedentary character; thus affording unlimited opportunity for the gratification of this peculiarly morbid desire. We are compelled to think that these institutions are the very hotbeds of this degenerating and loathsome habit, where many a girl, alienated from maternal guidance, falls a victim to the devastating influence of her suicidal passion. It has been told us by an aged practitioner, that five out of every SELF-ENERVATION. I7 twelve inmates of such establishments, bear away to their homes the impress of this distressing habit to which they are or have been addicted. Some patients in seeking relief, make frank and open confession before the physician as to the nature and exciting cause of their complaint; while others, equally anxious to enjoy a mitigation of their self-made sufferings, perversely refuse the correct answering of such interrogatories, and ingeniously attempt avoidance of such measures as alone may serve to clearly indicate the nature, as well as predicate the medical treatment of their case. This is easily enough accounted for when we reflect upon the gradation of moral characters, ranging as they do from the mildest to the most malignant. SYMPTOMS. The united functions of the human body, when working harmoniously together, with each sustaining its intimate and proper relation to the other, constitute what is termed life and health; but when, through organic lesions, or from known, unknown, or sporadic causes, any one or more of these physiological functions undergoes a change sufficient to subvert or in any way impair their concert of action, it may be denominated disease or 1 8 SELF-ENERVATION. ill health, inasmuch as physiological harmony no longer prevails. Now, from a look merely at the anatomical or geographical location of the genital organs, remote as they are from the brain, the great nervous or ganglionic centre, we should not perhaps anticipate, from improper or excessive excitation of the genitals, the incipient effects of masturbation, first of all attacking the mind or sensorium; but when we consider, as heretofore mentioned, that all functions of the body sustain a legitimate and dependent relation to each other, and that between the nervous elements supplying the reproductive organs and the mental faculties, this relation is found to be most marked and intimate, the effect upon the mind, primarily, becomes easily accounted for. The symptoms of masturbation partake of the same nature in both sexes, to the extent permissible by physical organization, and all the moral and mental phenomena observed in the female are nearly or quite identical in the male. Among the earliest symptoms we observe, is a slight disturbance of the mental equilibrium. The patient will tell you that it is difficult to read understandingly, in consequence of the memory being unretentive; even the reading of books, that hitherto SELF-ENERVATION. 19 were fondly perused, now affords but little interest. While reading one chapter, the purport of a previous one is partially forgotten, and ofttimes a recurrence becomes necessary to lines already having been read. Again: patients will tell you, by way of illustrating the disturbance of their mental faculties, that they often fail, through the treachery of their memory, to convey a message to this or that person, which has been entrusted to them by some friend, and the contemplation of such an unfortunate condition of mind is a source of continued anxiety, as well as of mortification to them. If the habit has been practiced to any considerable extent, there will be exhaustion of the physical powers, and the patient, if a correct account is given, will tell you that much physical exertion is followed by a series of unpleasant phenomena, such as profuse perspiration, weakness, and tremulousness in the arms and legs, with increase of the heart's action, rapid breathing, vertigo, dimness of vision, etc., etc., after which the action of the heart is often diminished, the extremities become cold, the capillary circulation suffering a marked impairment, giving rise to a blueness of the nails and skin, considerable dyspncea and faintness not infrequently obtain. The victims of this habit not unusually experience 20 SELF-ENERVATION. a total aversion to any kind of labor, or even the thought of it, and manifest not the slightest disposition to bestir themselves, or participate in any mental or bodily exercises whatever. Female subjects, it may be here remarked, are perhaps more generally inclined to pass a greater share of their time in solitude than are the opposite sex. They evince no desire to enjoy the benefits of refined society, or if they do, they have not the independence or self-confidence to enter therein. Subjects of masturbation wear a downcast, melancholy look, and an exchange of glances with them is next to impossible. It is true, beyond cavil or doubt, that patients guilty of this practice will not look you squarely in the face; and if, perchance, through accidental occurrence, an unintended look should meet your gaze, an evincing consciousness of guilt becomes apparent through the blush of shame or momentary agitation produced. We consider the foregoing manifestations as the most characteristic and distinguishing objective phenomena observable in these cases. The sleep is generally interrupted and unrefreshing, accompanied many times by the most inordinate dreams of a sexual nature. Patients will disclose the fact that nervousness is prominent among their SELF-ENERVATION. 21 symptoms. Some patients are extremely nervous and hypochondriacal, as is well illustrated in one case which came to our knowledge, where the sufferer was in the habit of waking at night filled with the most fearful forebodings, imagining the most lamentable array of symptoms to be conceived of; in fact, almost driven to the alternative of selfdestruction under the onus of these nocturnal visitations. The patient would often wake but to find himself under feelings of utter disgust, manipulating at the fountain of his curse. Costiveness is generally present, and you will perhaps be consulted with a view to the eradication of this difficulty alone, and physicians doubtless are daily found treating this symptom of self-enervation as an idiopathic difficulty. Upon rising in the morning, the patient experiences pain and uneasiness in the back or lower extremities. The appetite is usually vacillating, and therefore, as a general thing, not very much importance should be attached thereto. The physician may, however, in some anomalous cases, find it necessary to correct a vitiated condition of the digestive organs, characterized either by a voracious appetite, on the one hand, or a complete anorexia on the other. The hands have a peculiar clammy feel, at once 22 SELF-ENERVATION. recognizable by those familiar with this form of difficulty, and the patient, although unconscious of it, usually keeping them in as close proximity to the genital organs as the attitude and sex permit. The body emits an odor of a peculiarly disagreeable smell, which, although indescribable, is nevertheless readily detected by those having been brought into contact with it. In the male subject, there will be experienced a feeling of numbness, as well as coldness, in the penis, scrotum, and perineum, indicating a want of nervous energy as well as arterial activity. Only upon inquiry it will be ascertained that occasionally the patient experiences a sort of creeping or crawling sensation upon the skin, usually over the anterior part of the chest, or upon the outside of the thighs; and after interrogating the patient, it is more than probable you may learn, that repeated examinations have been instituted, with the expectation of finding some vermin or other upon the part, but the result, of course, did not corroborate the validity of their suspicions. Why this very peculiar yet distinguishing phenomenon obtains, science has thus far failed satisfactorily to determine. Emaciation is usually present to a greater or less extent; the friends of the patient will tell you that SELF-ENERVATION. 23 they are unable to account for the decline, when so many of the bodily functions remain comparatively undisturbed, and the appetite has undergone no serious change. In the case of males, where the practice of self-enervation has been excessive, long-continued nocturnal emissions almost invariably supervene, thus palpably showing the vitiated and very sensitive condition of that part of the nervous system supplying the genital organs. The prevalence of these emissions varies according to the temperament and sexual susceptibility of the patient, as well as the extent of exciting causes: thus a person affording typical representation of the nervous temperament, would be far more likely to exhibit the deleterious effects of masturbation early in the practice, than would the subject of a clear, lymphatic temperament. At first, emissions may occur only once in three or four weeks, but as the habit of pollution is persisted in, as the patient consecutively yields up self-honor, together with purity of thought and action, for the embrace of this evanescent and unholy lust, the vitality becomes correspondingly less, and the emissions more numerous, occurring sometimes as often as two, three, and even four times a night. These nocturnal emissions, although 24 SELF-ENERVATION. often occurring in connection with, or immediately subsequent to amorous dreams, are not always attributable to this cause, as some of the most unpromising cases with which we have ever met, were entirely without such an attending feature. Indeed, our experience has been, that a majority of the most hopeless and incorrigible cases seem absolutely void of such a phenomenon throughout their entire history; at all events, if such dreams do occur, it is beyond the scope of the patient's consciousness or knowledge. This, perhaps, may afford an interesting problem in physiology, embodying the idea as to whether, in such cases, dreams occur at all or not? They perhaps may not, and yet it is not impossible that they do occur; but that part of the brain receiving or retaining impressions, may have undergone such functional impairment as to materially affect its specific and legitimate action. Exhaustion of the physical powers follows these emissions, and most patients relapse into a sort of listless stupefaction during the day; also exhibit a considerable degree of obtuseness about their every day affairs; jactitation of the muscles may frequently be observed, manifested by the twitching of an arm, leg, or, nrriore generally, the involuntary SELF-ENERVATION. 25 moving of an eyelid, thus simulating St. Vitus' dance. In this situation, the idea of a wretched and loathsome condition takes supreme possession of the patient's mind, and a consciousness is entertained that every body interprets the origin and nature of his lamentable complaint, looking upon him with derision and contempt. Indeed, he feels as though excommunicated and ostracised by a living world, shrinks under the weight of his manifold and heinous sins, and lastly, contemplates that still greater sin, self-destruction. As the end approaches, the patient becomes pale, cadaverous; has cough; numerous transient pains, together with impairment of vision, confusion of the head, ringing in the ears, and lastly, the scene closes with complete mental, moral, and physical prostration. Before closing this chapter, it may be as well to remark, that ovaritis and nymphomania are not infrequently observed as sequelae of masturbation in the female; also, far more frequently, catalepsy and epilepsy, to which, of course, males are equally liable. These forms of difficulty, after a cessation of the habit, may be successfully treated by reference to appropriate chapters in good works of our literature on " Theory and Practice," where will 2 26 SELF-ENERVATION. be found the proper therapeutic application of suitable remedies. It will, of course, not be expected of us. in a work of this kind, to dilate largely upon diseases or symptoms that would require elaborate chapters properly to set forth their pathology and treatment. The reader will, however, find under the proper heading, the consideration of these difficulties during masturbation, together with therapeutic hints for their relief. PATHOLOGY. PATHIOLOGICAL conditions accompanying this form of difficulty requiring our consideration, either visible or ascertainable through physical manipulation, constitute changes in the secretion of the testicles, vesiculae seminales, and prostate gland, together with structural changes in the organs producing these secretions, which, when mingled together, make up the reproductive or spermatic fluid. By subjecting the product of an emission to microscopical examination, we shall discern some of the spermatozoa to be amorphous or imper — fectly developed, and others, though exhibiting the general contour of natural development, will be found to possess but a limited amount of vitality in striking contrast with what is so commonly noticed in the full and perfectly developed spermatic animalcule. Now it is fair to suppose from the condition in which these bodies are found, that their fertilizing capacity is either vastly diminished or entirely destroyed. The peculiar manner in which these spermatozoa undergo the change, or meta 28 SELF-ENERVATION. morphosis thus observed, is yet a mooted question, not having been satisfactorily determined by the profession. The spermatic fluid will be found to have lost its natural consistency, some portion of its elements becoming disintegrated, causing an unpleasant odor to arise. This is possibly due to the destruction of spermatozoa, as heretofore noticed. An excess of either alkaline or acid property in the respective secretions alluded to, is liable to occur; and when found to exist above a normal amount in either direction, serious impairment of the reproductive function at once takes place. The verumontanum, pocular sinus and ejaculatory ducts, are usually in more or less of an irritated state; corresponding, probably, in extent to the prevalence or limitation of genital excitation; and it is a morbid or pathological condition of these organs with, perhaps thep arts contiguous thereto, that produces involuntary emissions, or that disease which our nomenclature denominates spermatorrhcea, and the only method of determining the extent and location of the lesion is necessarily the employment of instrumental measures, such as the use of catheter, bougie, and, perhaps, also, the endoscope. In some extreme cases, where SELF-ENERVATION. 29 sexual tantilization has been excessively carried on, the urethral tract will have become so exquisitely sensitive as to produce, upon introduction of an instrument, most excruciating pain; the patients in some instances even passing into a state of syncope, through the shock sustained. Every now and then cases will be met with where'an introduction of the catheter into the urinary passage will occasion a spasmodic stricture, subjecting the physician often to no little perplexity, and requiring on his part, considerable patience, tact, and perseverance to overcome the difficulty. Enlargement and soreness of the prostate gland may be enumerated among the pathological fruits of masturbation, and for its detection an examination per rectum, as well as a very careful and thorough examination of the perineum becomes necessary. Such physical explorations very materially facilitate our proper understanding of these cases, and establish a ground-work upon which a rational treatment may be based. Of course the practitioner finding an hypertrophy of this organ to exist, should at once seek its removal, as, if neglected, serious encroachment upon surrounding structures might ensue, e.g., the perineum, bladder, vesiculae semi 30 SELF-ENERVATION. nales, etc., etc. Inattention to, or neglect of this duty, might lead to most baneful results, such as supervention of abscessal formations, and the like. The testicles, upon inspection, will sometimes be found more or less atrophied and sensitive to the touch, owing, probably, to some derangement of the vas deferens or tubuli seminiferi. The penis is usually found relaxed, and sometimes, though not often the case, in an irritated condition. Occasionally the tissue will be found sore posterior to the corona, resulting, probably, from deposition of the seminal product, which, through want of cleanliness, becomes effete. Although a little out of place, we may here note, while speaking of the subject, that this soreness may be speedily relieved by the application of a little soap and tepid water, thoroughly cleansing the part, and after drying, sprinkling lightly a little Sac. lac. EXAMINATION OF THE PATIENT. WHENEVER a patient consults us, presenting any considerable number of the symptoms to which allusion has hitherto been made, we should, of course., take into account the probable cause of the difficulty, and make a thorough examinationverify or disprove the validity of our suspicions. At this juncture begins that part of our task requiring very judicious and careful management; not having received information sufficient to establish our diagnosis beyond peradventure, we may, in the furtherance of our examination, experience no little trouble in the analysis of our case; especially will this prove true in the examination of extremely delicate and punctilious females. Questions will have to be propounded in the most adroit manner possible, and always accompanied by a spirit of kindness and gentlemanly bearing, as the only way possible to arrive at the desired information rests in the physician's power to secure the confidence and esteem of his patients. This attained, you have their mutual and hearty co-opera 32 SELF-ENERVATION. tion. Abrupt interrogatories will in turn receive abrupt and evasive answers. From the nature of your questions and the manner of your conversation, let the patient become assured, and feel that you are not at all in doubt as to the nature of the case. Let it be known that your earnest endeavors will be directed towards the establishment of a perfect cure, not forgetting to mention that frankness and unfeigned sincerity become as essential on the patient's part, as does the physician's professional integrity and skill in conducting the medical treatment become a solemn duty on his. Such a course will, in a majority of cases, secure the happiest results, the most morbid and sensitively constituted subjects of either sex often yielding a detailed and truthful account of their case. Of course, the physician should keep such matters inviolate, and set the patient's mind at rest upon the subject by a statement that such secrets are never divulged by the truly conscientious medical adviser. When any acute disease lays hold upon a subject addicted to the habit of self-enervation, its supervention upon the already enervated organism is characterized almost invariably by phenomena of a perverse and stubborn nature, and the treatment of SELF-ENERVATION. 33 such cases is often very unsatisfactory to the medical tyro. It therefore requires great sagacity and the keenest observation to diagnosticate such cases. We remember one such case in particular that came under our professional care, where the patient barely survived a course of typhoid fever. The symptoms usually accompanying this disease were present in their most aggravated forms: the body emitted a peculiar odor, to which we have before alluded; delirium and corpologia occurred early in the case, and the patient unconsciously carried on self-pollution, unnoticed for a time by the attendants, which, when discovered, was only prevented by properly securing the hands. Every feature and symptom of the case suggested the compound nature of the difficulty, and its favorable termination after a long course of very careful treatment, though highly gratifying to us, was scarcely expected. Catalepsy and epilepsy both spring from this habit, and are diseases which more commonly originate from this source than from any other; therefore the physician will do well to make a thorough retrospect of each case, with a view of determining, if possible, the original exciting cause of the difficulty. 2* MODES OF TREATMENT TO PREVENT THE ACT OF MASTURBATION. WHEN a satisfactory examination of the case has been arrived at, the practitioner, if well up in this department, of course knows whether the primary cause of the trouble still remains or not; if found to exist, a cure without its total abolishment would be as irmnossible as a stoppage of the migrhty cataract of Niagara. It becomes necessary, therefore, to impress upon the patient's mind the fact, that upon a faithful abstinence from former sinful indulgences depends the strongest hope of salvation; and that through this, together with appropriate medical aid, a cure may reasonably be expected. The first and most i5aramount desideratum to be attained in the treatment of the ills engendered by the habit of masturbation, consists in some device that will arrest entirely mechanical or digital excitation of the penis in the male, and the clitoris in the female; for some patients, though striving to SELF-ENERVATION. resist the promptings of this peculiarly insane desire, even while under medical treatment, find their powers of resistance inadequate to the task, and solemn pledges to desist are often made and as often broken. Let us, then, at this juncture, enjoin upon the physician the propriety and absolute necessity, in such cases, of exercising a spirit of the most gentle demeanor and unlimited forbearance towards his patient, for the sin is not committed through wickedness or malevolence,. but is attributable to the mutability of a shattered mind. Again and again will it become necessary to kindly remonstrate against frequent relapses into the channel of former sinful indulgences. In reviewing the various modes adopted to restrain the act, now and hitherto employed, we notice some which are perhaps humane and feasible, and others that bid us return to the spirit of a degenerate and barbarous age for the history of their conception and first fruits. The first of which we shall speak consists of a cauterization of the prepuce in the male, and of the clitoris in the female. This method has been adopted both in private and hospital practice, having had its admirers. The operation consists in the application of caustic directly to the part, sufficiently strong to produce an SELF-ENERVATION. escharotic sore, the presence of which serves to prevent further evil manipulation on the part of patients. The pain created by this means during inflammatory action is too severe to admit of such manipulation. A reasonable objection to this procedure would seem to consist in this: that the benefit derived therefrom would only be of an ephemeral nature. So soon as the sore had sufficiently healed, old vices would again be renewed, and it would hardly be advisable to long continue such treatment, inasmuch as repeated caustic applications would eventually lead to partial or complete destruction of the organ involved, thus creating a condition quite as deplorable as the original difficulty, or even more so. This treatment may, however, be of service in some cases; it perhaps might be followed by salutary results if employed in the case of children just contracting the habit, where perhaps but one lesson would be required to effect the object aimed at. Another method consists in painting the parts with iodine; but this process, we believe, has fallen into desuetude, as serious consequences have sometimes followed its application, due probably to direct absorption of this drug into the system. Circumcision, a time-honored and religious rite SELF-ENERVATION. 3'i among the Jews, has been resorted to by the physicians of our country for the eradication of this vice. The operation is performed by removing the prepuce with a pair of scissors or an ordinary bistoury, and it is said to have stayed the tide of self-enervation among the Jewish nationality more effectually than any other instrumentality known to that race; yet the experience of numerous physicians in the United States does not comport agreeably with this statement. We have, on several occasions, been consulted, ourself, by persons of Jewish birthright, who, although having " enjoyed" the operation of circumcision, were still the subjects of a long train of evils propagated by this act. It does not follow, therefore, that circumcision necessarily implies future immunity from masturbation and its attendant evils, for Jews as well as Gentiles are found secretly polluting themselves. The main objection, then, to this course of treatment, rests in the fact that no reliable and uniform result may be expected from it, although in some cases it has been attended with benefit. Several cases are reported where these unfortunate victims have submitted as a " dernier ressort" to the operation of emasculation, and Professor Hooper of this city informs me of one case that SELF-ENERVATION. came under his immediate observation, where the patient, a married man, underwent the operation of castration as the only alternative of a cure held out to him. In this case the result was any thing but satisfactory, as the patient, the last time the Professor saw him, was suffering from a host of nervous difficulties, together with involuntary emissions of prostatic fluid; clearly showing that this harsh and disgusting operation failed in effecting a satisfactory result. Although we can conceive of conditions in which the operation of emasculation might possibly be deemed justifiable, we could only acquiesce in, or recommend its adoption, after every other mode, manner, or conceivable method of appliance within the scope of our humane art had in vain been resorted to. In some instances the hands have been securely fastened to the body, at some point remote from the genitals, and in this way the act prevented; but this mode of procedure, as must appear obvious, has many objectionable features connected with it, militating strongly against its practical utility. The physician would, indeed, find it no pleasing duty to recommend the subjection of his unfortunate patient to the same treatment furnished the culprit just prior to his execution upon the gallows. SELF-ENERVATION. 39 During a visit recently paid to the Reform School at Lansing, we were informed by the intelligent and obliging Superintendent of that establishment, that this crime is fearfully prevalent amongst the juvenile offenders who are introduced to his charge, requiring stringent and most energetic measures for its suppression. The most effectual means he has found hitherto to break up the habit, is to retract the prepuce, and cover the glans penis with common mustard. Of all the methods now, or in time past, adopted and most approved by the profession at large to prevent the onanistic act, not one, so far as our knowledge extends, has been sufficiently meritorious in effecting uniform results, to have become known as equal to every emergency, or to have been advised under any and all contingencies; nor do we presume to offer the introduction of any suggestion whereby this result can be attained; for a contemplation of the wide differences in patients, disparity of temperaments, sex, and the like, would most emphatically interdict or preclude any such attempt. We are inclined to the opinion, however, that our efforts would be crowned with far greater success, and that more permanent benefit would accrue to 40 SELF-ENERVATION. our patients, were we to direct our attention more closely to the mental or moral status of each case. In fact, we believe that an appeal to the moral nature-gentle and oft-repeated admonition-kind and earnest protestations, blended with a stern prediction of what may prove life and health on the one hand, or disease and death on the other, will serve -in the greater number of cases more effectually to stay the mad hand of pollution, than all other instrumentalities combined. The physician should strive, in every case, to so work on the better judgment of his patients-to so, inculcate and impress the mind through reasonable argumentation, frequently and kindly administered, that a persistent and self-willed determination on their part to resist the habit, and a summoning of every power and attribute of their mental and moral being against these inclinations, will, in all probability, overcome and totally abolish it. Such measures will always assist and help to sustain patients in cherishing a hopeful termination of their difficulties. Marriage, as a remedial agency or barrier of protection against the act of onanism, has perhaps been considered with more general unanimity by the profession to be the most natural as well SELF-ENERVATION. 41 as effectual method yet recommended, and has, in all probability, been oftener suggested by physicians with more sanguine expectations of its effecting desirable results, than any agency yet devised for this purpose. But the physician, in deliberating upon the propriety of this recommendation, should remember that, in some cases, very serious obstacles stand in the way; that patients sometimes possess insurmountable impediments, totally incapacitating them from the performance of those hymeneal rites which marriage involves. Some patients also feel debarred from acquiescing in such a suggestion, in consequence of circumstances of financial embarrassment. Others aver that they dare not enter the marriage state, entertaining a conviction that impotence exists to an extent, which renders the act of sexual congress fruitless or impossible. The physician will, of course, not rely upon this as necessarily a correct statement, since such patients, more frequently than not, imagine themselves impotent when no such condition really exists; hence the physician, it will be seen, should not, without a careful analysis and perfect understanding of each case in all its relations and bearings, recommend the propriety of wedlock; but where he becomes well satisfied that the patient 42 SELF-ENERVATION. is adequately clothed with virile power, and where the difficulties arising out of monetary or family considerations are not insuperable, he may conscientiously recommend such a course, and expect from it highly salutary results. Fornication is, doubtless, in secret, daily recommended as a prophylactic measure against the vice under consideration; and the symptoms of the disease produced thereby,'are possibly in this manner beneficially controlled. But, looking at the matter from a moral or social standpoint, we must recoil from the thought, much more from the recommendation, of this breach of the Divine law. HYGIENIC MEASURES. IN order successfully to treat the varied symptoms and numerous manifestations arising out of the sinful practice under consideration, we shall find it necessary to call into requisition every facility and measure within our grasp or knowledge. We must not limit ourselves to the employment of drugs, for their use alone, will, in many cases, leave us in the lurch. We must avail ourselves of any and all hygienic agencies, calculated in these cases, either directly or indirectly, to benefit our patients. A drug, however well selected, through its specific adaptability, or affinity for the entire range of symptoms presented in any given case, will, it must be admitted, exercise a far less curative action upon the diseased organism, where extraneous influences of an untoward nature are permitted to remain, than would be the case under opposite circumstances. It, therefore, becomes necessary to bring into requisition such collateral aid as will afford our remedial agencies the most natural and unlimited action. 44 SELF-ENERVATION. For these reasons we deem it expedient to present a few suggestions upon hygiene and sanitary measures, which we trust and believe will, if properly adopted, very materially facilitate the medical treatment of such conditions as are the result of self-enervation. Our experience in these difficulties has taught us that very much good may be expected from a rational application of such auxiliaries when used in conjunction with proper Hommeopathic medication. First of all, we come to notice the benefits to be derived from the use of water as a local agent. It will be found serviceable in any and every stage of the difficulty, especially when characterized by a sort of relaxed or semi-tonic condition of the genitals, where there is partial or complete impotence, the patient complaining of a sort of numb or unnatural feeling in the penis or perineum. It may be applied in the form of a spongeshower- or sitz-bath, as seems most appropriate to individual cases. We have secured the most marked benefit from a douche of cold water applied to the genital organs just previous to retiring at night, and immediately subsequent to rising in the morning. These ablutions should invariably be SELF-ENERVATION. 45 followed by a vigorous friction with a crash towel, and afterwards with the naked hand. We can not too strongly recommend this course of treatment as an invaluable tonic both to the nervous and arterial systems. In some cases it will be well to bathe the hypogastric region, the small of the back, and the thighs, in order that a fresh impetus may be given to the capillary ramifications here located, as well as to the terminal nervous filaments here presiding. Where there is an atony or general nervous prostration, the shower bath, moderately administered, has, in our hands, been followed by highly beneficial results, and serves wonderfully to recuperate the whole system. We shall next notice the benefits of exercise used in conjunction with properly selected remedies. Benefit will accrue to patients of sedentary habits, from reasonably vigorous exercise in the open air. Let them rise early in the morning to indulge in a little physical activity, such, perhaps, as calisthenics or the performance of light gymnastics afford. This will tend to animate the whole system, as well as to equalize the venous and arterial circulation. Of course this exercise should not be carried on to'an extent that would be followed by excessive 46 SELF-ENERVATION. fatigue. Horseback riding has generally been interdicted, and we think properly so, as it has a tendency to excite the generative organs. We remember to have seen a recommendation that those addicted to the habit in question, should be put to exhaustive labor, as it was supposed the fatigue experienced would prevent any attempt at the enervating manipulations so destructive to them. Our own experience and observation, however, would not lead us to advise this course; for, whatever tends to prostrate the physical organization, in the same ratio depresses the nervous system, thus creating a condition which our best efforts should be directed to remove. Application of the patient's mind to reading and study of suitable literature should be encouraged, where the mental powers are sufficiently strong to warrant it. We recommend this upon the following hypothesis: The mind and sensorium in study constitute a sort of receptacle through which passes, and thereby becomes exhausted, a certain per centage of phosphorus, an element well known as a constituent of the human body, and having upon the sexual instincts a most marked and powerful influence. Now, if our assertion be true regarding this matter, reading and SELF-ENERVATION. 47 study are truly remedial agencies, inasmuch as the brain, under these circumstances, affords a less per centage of phosphorus to culminate upon that part of the nervous system presiding over the sexual instincts. Books calculated to suggest amorous thoughts, or engender lustful desires, we need scarcely say, are exceedingly pernicious. No less objectionable are the many obscene pictures and drawings upon pocket cutlery, tobacco boxes, and in the private albums of young men. Social intercourse with refined and intellectual persons, whether of the same or opposite sex, is conducive of good results. As subjects of masturbation, under compunction of soul, shrink from society through their consciousness of self-abasement, it becomes a pressing duty on the part of doctor as well as friends to exercise every effort, and afford every encouraging inducement for the accomplishment of this benevolent purpose. The physician should not hesitate, therefore, to converse freely with parents and relatives about this matter, urging them to exert an earnest, as well as combined influence for the patient's benefit. Such kind offices by relatives and friends will indirectly afford patients an opportunity of recuperating 48 SELF-ENERVATION. and heightening the status of their moral natures, and enable them to enjoy the advantages of culture and social refinement. Moreover, it will lessen the circuit of vitiated panderings to morbid and unholy desires. In reference to food, a diet, nutritious and easy of digestion should alone be indulged in, as all articles of an exciting nature, such as diffusive stimuli, coffee, and the numerous condiments so strongly coveted by the epicure, are exceedingly pernicious in their results, and the physician should give them therefore an unqualified proscription. TREATMENT. WE shall not present our readers, in treating of the application of drugs to conditions engendered by the habit of self-enervation, with a multifarious array of medicinal agencies, as in traversing the list from Alpha to Omega, we have been enabled to find but comparatively few drugs clothed with that pathogenetic panoply corresponding to those difficulties arising out of this cause. Here, and always, we are to be guided in the selection of our drug by the light of that immutable law embodied in the maxim, "Similiac similibus curantur." Anomalous cases will sometimes present themselves, however, as where a patient is found laboring under difficulties not at all referable to this habit, which, when combining or inosculating with such difficulties as do arise from this cause, serve to render the case perplexingly ambiguous. Under such a contingency, inasmuch as these cases can not well be described here, the only alternative left the practitioner will consist in a reference to his Materia Medica, where perhaps a correct personification of the difficulty may be found. 3 50 SELF-ENERVATION. WVhen a drug has been selected for administration, the physician often can not, with satisfaction to himself, determine whether a high or low dilution should be exhibited. He cherishes a profound disgust for the least aggravational phenomenon; and as well would he reproach himself for a failure of his judgment through an incautious ascension of the scale, thereby leaving the elements of diseased action to their natural results. To such, let us direct, from close observation and careful study, a consideration and careful application of the following rule concerning the law of the dose: The sum of the dose we believe to be inversely, as the susceptibility, and the susceptibility to be in direct ratio with the similarity; or, perhaps, to elucidate more clearly, the more nearly the drug symptoms correspond to the symptoms of the patient, the smaller the dose: on the contrary, upon the fact that the characteristic peculiarity of the drug and the disease do not strikingly correspond, is predicated the augmentation of the dose. It can not, of course, be expected, through the instrumentality of the foregoing rule, that the practitioner will be enabled, numerically, to designate the required attenuation for each case, but we are firmly of the belief that it will enable him more nearly to SELF-ENERVATION. 51 approximate the same, than any other method yet disclosed to the profession. CALADIUM.-The patient forgets every thing; is demure and gloomy; the sexual organs are relaxed, bloated, and sweaty; the penis at times becomes painfully erected, with strong sexual dreams, and then again the organ is relaxed even under sexual excitement. Premature ejaculation of semen. The genitals are covered with a cold perspiration. Attempts to prosecute mental labor followed by fainting fits. The latter symptom is now and then observed in females. CALCAREA CARBONICA. —Patients are much exercised over their condition; fear future results; fear of being crazy; can not think accurately. Emissions are frequent and involuntary. Inefficient erection during coition, and a burning or stinging experienced during the discharge. Palpitation of the heart at night; tremulousness, or a feeling of such a condition, in or about the heart; weakness and lameness of the arms and trembling of the hands; perspiration of the palms; great weakness and debility from slight exertion; nocturnal epilepsy, with vehement loquacity; fainting spells, with loss of sight and consciousness; coldness of 52 SELF-ENERVATION. the body; great emaciation; feeling of internal tremulousness; the crowding of thoughts prevent sleep; the patient apprehends terrible dreams; repulsive visions on closing the eyes; alternate flushes of heat and cold; the least exertion, even in the open air, produces perspiration; flaccidity of the skin; night sweats; with an oleaginous, gummy perspiration. CAMPHORA.- The patient feels discouraged; vertigo, and vanishing of ideas; absence of sexual desire, with impotence; coldness of the hands; paroxysms of insensibility, with diminished circulation of blood to the extremities; epileptic conditions, characterized by extreme coldness of the whole body; paleness of the face, and sudden prostration; sleeplessness. CANTHARIDES.- Insatiable desire for sexual intercourse; coldness of the penis, and utter absence of erections; a sort of paralytic condition of the genito-urinary apparatus; emissions occurring only towards morning. CHINA.-This drug, according to Hahnemann, and numerous other writers, possesses a specific adaptability to conditions consequent upon loss of SELF-ENERVATION. 53 fluids and impairment of the sexual organs. The following condition merits its administration: Nervous irritation, with morbid susceptibility of the sexual fancy; sadness and extreme anxiety preponderating at night; fits of unconsciousness and stupefaction; hypochondriacal mood; unrefreshing sleep; the intervals of repose are transient; the patient has horrible dreams, and wakes in great fear; has pain in the back, of a darting character, following nocturnal emissions. The limbs feel tired and heavy, especially the thighs; trembling of the hands; complete aversion to any kind of mental or physical labor; the utmost dread of exercise-wants to be lying or sitting all the time; on rising from the sitting posture the ideas vanish; sweat during sleep in the day time; twitching in the limbs and eyelids. Patients requiring China will complain of numbness of the hands and feet, which also feel as if going to sleep. Inertia of the whole body, with constipation. Atrophy of the limbs. CONIUM MACULATUM.-This remedy is en rapport with those hypochondriacal and hysterical conditions noted as the sequelae of excessive masturbation and venery; forgetfulness, with inability 54 SELF-ENERVATION. to recall events. Female patients as well as males, are full of fears and anxieties when in solitude, yet have no desire for social intercourse. Disinclination to work. Constipation, with hard stool, accompanied by discharge of prostatic fluid; Impotence, and excessive pozlutions; Debility, especially in the morning. ERYNGIUM AQUATIcuM.-Excitation of the sexual passions at night, accompanied by lewd dreams and seminal emissions. This remedy will be found serviceable where the patient seems not to possess proper control over the muscles contiguous to the urethra and prostate gland, also where the patient passes a prostatic secretion during micturition; debility from exercise, with perspiration emitting a disagreeable odor; sensation as of urine in the prostatic portion of the urethra after micturition; languor and debility most ma i the lower limbs. GEL SEMINUM.-This drug has hitherto been awarded little merit, in any affection, by several practitioners of our acquaintance. One in particular, a physician of consummate judgment, and long experience in the Homceopathic ranks, informs us that, notwithstanding the semblance between SELF-ENERVATION. 55 drug and disease, upon which, in several cases, he had anchored the strongest expectations of a curative result; and, although little doubt was entertained as to its theoretical specific adaptability under the law, each result respectively arrived at was any thing but satisfactory to himself. We offer the suggestion-inasmuch as the doctor informs us that low dilutions only were employed; that from the fact the remedy so nearly or quite approximated the similimum, a logical conclusion would seem to be that a more attenuated dose should have been called into requisition. The remedy, according to our experience, will certainly prove curative in the following condition: Complete prostration of the muscular system; the patient says work is out of the question; the hands are cold and sticky, emitting a strong odor, accompanied with coldness of the extremities generally; disinclination to converse with any one; the patient is obtuse and evinces no desire for books, and is very melancholy; there seems to be a vacancy of mind; patients, in spite of all efforts, fall asleep during the day, becoming disturbed at this result; the genitals are cold, not possessing their proper tonicity; pain in the testicle extending to the groin; agreeable or tickling sensation in the urethra 56 SELF-ENERVATION. w~hile passing. urine; emissions occur without erections under the least sexual provocation. HAMAMELIS.-Amorous dreams, with emissions followed by great lassitude, and a gloomy, desponding mood; dull pains in the lumbar region; profuse cold sweat on the scrotum; neuralgic and drawing pains in the testicles. The symptom of cold exudation on the scrotum, just referred to, should be especially noticed, as we often observe a similar pathological phenomenon following masturbation, and can call to mind but one other drug affording a similar pathogenetic manifestation. The drug to which we refer, viz., Caladium, it may be here remarked, does not possess, in other respects, a very striking similarity to the drug now under consideration. HEPAR SULPHUR. —Hepar will be found useful in those subjects of masturbation exhibiting eruptions upon the face and neck,-a condition which is extremely annoying because of its disfigurement. The following symptoms are in strong therapeutic relation with this drug, to wit: Itching of the scrotum, accompanied by weakness of the genitals, and diminished sexual instinct'; inadequate erections; SELF-ENERVATION. 57 discharge of prostatic juice, during or after stool, as well as micturition. HYDRASTIS CANADENSIS.-This remedy (according to Hale) is an admirable adjuvant for debility following spermatorrhcea. IGNATIA AMARA.-Ignatia is, perhaps, more especially adapted to females who become taciturn and sad, refusing to confide their anxieties to any one; itching of the genitals at night. In males, erections during stool, undoubtedly arising from pressure of the feces upon the nervous distribution of the prostate gland; the penis so dimiinutive as to prove a source of mortification to the patient; lascivious thoughts without producing erections. NUPHAR LUTEA.-Patients have no desire for copulation; voluptuous imaginings do not serve to produce erections; contraction of the dartos over the testicles; comfilete absence of sexual desire. Nux VOMICA.-This and the following remedy, though not as often indicated for the incipient symptoms of masturbation as the several other medicaments already passed in review, are, nevertheless, very essential in the treatment of those epileptic and spasmodic conditions occurring- at 3* 58 SELF-ENERVATION. the more advanced symptoms of the difficulty. We do not, however, wish to be understood that this remedy will not many times be required in the earlier stages of the disease. Patients requiring the exhibition of Nux, seem to be much exercised about their condition; are irritable and anxious; want to make away with themselves, but have not the courage; constipation almost invariably obtains; the patient is extremely hypochondriacal and vacillating; the sexual passions are easily excited, the desire becoming inordinate; the hands go to sleep, and feel as if dead; the patients want to lie down or sit most of the time; aversion to moving about, especially if their duties call them into the open air; convulsions, spasms, epfilejptic attacks, and great debility of the nervous system; at night the mind is filled with repulsive and fugitive ideas, interdicting sleep until towards morning. OPIuM.-Trembling of the limbs, also spasmodic contortions; foaming at the mouth, followed by somnolence; rigidity of the muscles, which, in some extreme cases, amounts to opisthotonos; fits of epilepsy, particularly at night, or towards morning., SELF-ENERVATION. 59 PHOSPHORIC AcID.-Tacit indifference, with a wretched status of the mind, imagining that a dreadful doom awaits them; emaciation, accompanied with perspiration from the least exercise, most prevalent in the morning; perplexing drowsiness throughout the day, the memory becomes treacherous, and the patient has little or no stability: can not think or act coherently; dizziness and buzzing in the head; whilst sitting, sometimes compelled to move about in order to keep awake; formications in the body, also perspiration easily excited in the day time, exhaling an unpleasant aroma; the urine presents a milky aspect; sleepiness after eating; involuntary and very debilitating emissions, followed by trembling, and weakness in the hands and legs; pimples on the face; no desire to work; frequent micturition. PHOSPHORUS. —Palpitation of the heart, in both sexes, with loathing of life; the patient awakes at night in the greatest paroxysm of anxiety; motes float before the eyes; crawling sensations, or formications, in various parts of the dermoid structure; nocturnal emissions without dreams; almost irresistible desire in the male for sexual congress, followed by weakness and impotence. As this 60 SELF-ENERVATION. drug possesses a decided influence over the sexual function, its pathogenesis merits a careful analysis, and every physician, in our judgment, having under consideration the treatment of diseases peculiar to the organs of procreation, will derive no little benefit from a thorough familiarity with its specific curative virtues. Indeed, when our practitioners more fully comprehend its wide range of action over, and affinity for, diseases of a sexual nature, more gratifying results may be achieved. SULPHUR.-The patient is intellectually dull, and labors under hesitancy of speech; the limbs go to sleep immediately upon lying down; single jerks of the hands and feet; epileptic fits, with tightness and pressure of the jaws; tremulous condition of the limbs, from weakness; unconquerable drowsiness during the day; sleeplessness at night, with epileptic attacks; a feeling of numbness, or creeping along the back, as though something were crawling; despondency; beating in the head, and seething of the blood; determination of blood to the head; eyes sunken, and surrounded by blue margins; creeping sensation in the face, which is pale; knotty, lumpy, insufficient stool; copious micturition at night; involuntary emissions, of a SELF-ENERVATION. 6 watery semen, constitute a marked characteristic of this remedy; palpitation of the heart, without apparent cause; involuntary discharge of semen, with burning in the urethra; too quick discharges of semen during coition; coldness of the penis, with impotence; discharge of prostatic fluid after micturition; the testicles are relaxed, and dependent; offensive perspiration from the genitals; the palms of the hands also perspire, giving forth a strong odor. ELECTRICITY. —One of the most important and beneficial agents for the treatment of nervous diseases, and especially of self-enervation, is electricity; and it would be well for our physicians generally, to give more study to the therapeutic properties of this imponderable agent, than is generally afforded to it. It is, undoubtedly, one of the most potent means we have to arouse the nervous system when in a state of atony and torpor, restoring the nervous equilibrium; and, when properly administered, will prove equally available in soothing and allaying undue nervous irritation. We are glad to find that of late years some excellent little hand books have been published, giving valuable information not only upon the nature of the agent employed, 62 SELF-ENERVATION. but special directions for treatment in the various diseases to which it is applicable; and electrical and galvanic apparatus, in varied forms, have also been invented, that are great improvements upon the clumsy, old-fashioned contrivances of a few years ago. While there are many very useful and convenient electrical batteries now on sale throughout the United States, we think that among all those which have been brought to our notice, no one of them (for general use) possesses so many points of convenience, or is of so much practical value as that recently patented by Mr. C. S. Halsey, Homceopathic Pharmaceutist and Publisher, Chicago; who has, moreover, prepared an admirable vade mecum to accompany this instrument, which he entitles " Practical Electropathy." This book is concise, yet it affords the clearest indications for the employment of electricity as well as specific instructions for its application to diseases wherein its virtues are demanded. We have found the employment of electricity most emphatically curative, and we believe it to be most purely Homceopathic where there is a manifest condition of paralytic torpor or an inefficiency of nervous energy about the parts contiguous to the generative apparatus, as, for instance, the prostate gland, or SELF-ENERVATION. 63 constrictor muscles of the urethra; and it seems, at this juncture, that we can not do better for our readers, in giving instructions for the practical application of electricity, than to embody in this chapter, the eminently appropriate directions to be found in Mr. Halsey's work, just mentioned. We give his remarks on the treatment of spermatorrhoea entire. He says: "In treating this disease, the patient must first abandon all exciting causes; avoid all stimulating and exciting food and drink; sleep (lying on the side), on hair, straw or sponge mattrass and pillows, and take sufficient bodily exercise to bring the system into as good'tone' as possible, always avoiding the exhaustion arising from over-exertion. Especially is it necessary that he should not permit his mind to dwell upon his ailment, but rather have it occupied with healthful manual labor, and cheerful society, conversation and reading. "' Electrical treatment is as follows: Treat every second or third day, for twenty minutes, with the positive electrode applied close back of the scrotum, and the negative just above the small of the back. Use the primary current. That from the 64 SELF-ENERVATION. Voltaic battery is considered the best. This treatment will cure almost every case." The negative pole is here brought to bear upon the point corresponding to the location of that plexus from whence emanate the nerves presiding over the generative organs, and the other or posi. tive pole, to the point of existing diseased action, The current should at first be applied rather moderately, and subsequently, as the patient becomes accustomed to it, a stronger current and one of longer duration may be employed, if found necessary. I A L S E Y' S ROCKET VO}LTA[C UAIERiL Patented January 26th, 1869. This Battery produces a direct galvanic current of great intensity, and of "force" sufficient to overcome the resistance of the human body, and influence all the tissues. It is more constant in action,,nore simple and durable in construction, and, though it i iqilres only a table spoonful of conmmon vinegar to excite the ( urrent, produces a more powerful current than any other Pocket Voltaic apparatus now exhibited. The case containing it is but one inch thick, three inches wide and five inches long. DIRECTIONS FOR OPERATING THE BATTERY.-Press the two sets of plates together, sidewise, being careful that the red ends of the two backs are both uppermost; then saturate a small piece of sponge with strong vinegar, and press it out over the edges of the plates until the spaces between them are filled. Set the Battery, red end uppermost, upon the bottom of the case, putting the copper slip through the loop in the case, as in the engraving. The positive and negative poles where the cords are to be attached are marked P and N. The Voltaic Battery does not "give a shock," but when working properly the wire brush connected with the negative pole will produce a sensation of pricking or burning when applied to the face or bare arm, the other electrode being moistened and held in the hand. After the apparatus is used, separate the two sets of plates, rinse in clean water, and let dry a little before returning to the case. If the action of the Battery is too powerful for the patient, slide the plates partially out of position. By covering the fiat electrodes with wet cloth or paper the action is made more gentle. Price of Battery, including a Book of Instructions for Voltaic treatment of Disease, $6.50. FOR SALE BY DRUGGISTS AND PHARMACEUTISTS EVERYWHERE. C. S. HALSEY, Proprietor, a70 Main St., Buffalo. 147 Clark st., Chicago. THE CELEBRATED VOLTAIC CURE FOR Neuralgia, Rheumatism, and all Nervous Diseases. DR. HALL'S VOLT A a AI: 0 E BANDS and SOILES. A SCIENTIFIC AND RATIONAL METHOD OF CURING All diseases originating in a disturbed condition of the electrical or VITALIZING forces of the body; such as Cold Feet, Nervous Headache, Rheumatism, Neural. gia, Dyspepsia, Paralysis, St. Vitus' Dance, Fits, Cramps, Weak Joints, Sciatica, Contracted Sinews, Sprains, Hip Complaints, Spinal Affections, and all Nervous Disorders. These Electrical appliances can be depended on as a remedial agent of POSITIVE RELIABILITY in all such complaints, and will save thousands from complicating their afflictions by resorting to injurious remedies and improper applications. The Voltaic Armor, Soles and Bands Are made on the principle of the VOLTAIC PILE, and being perfectly flexible, can be worn under the feet or on any part of the body without the least inconvenience. They Restore the Equilibrium of Electric Action in the System And impart life and vigor to every organ of the body. For restoring exhausted vital energy, and in all diseases having their origin in the loss of vital power, through excess, sedentary habits, or the use of powerful and pernicious drugs, the Armor may be used with the fullest assurance of success. Circulars giving more full description of the Apparatus, also numerous and reliable testimonials of the beneficial results of the use of the Armor are in our possession, and will be forwarded to parties desiring them. PRICE: Soles, per pair. —----------.$1 00 Bands for the Knees, each....$2 25 Bands for the Head, each. ---- 2 00 Bands for the Thighs, each... 2 50 Bands for the Wrists, each. 1 00 Bands for the Waist, each.- 5 00 Bands for the Arm, each....... 2 00 In ordering, state the size of the boot or shoe worn, also the width required, or, if bands, state the part of the body they are intended for. Sent to all parts of the United States on receipt of the above prices. Address C_ S. HIA.LISEY, 147 South Clark St., Chicago, Ill. General Agent for the Northwest. CASTlLLOT POWDERS VV g AN ARTICLE OF DIET I FOR WEAIKLY INFANTS. The composition of the Castillon Powders is well known to Physicians and Pharmaceutists. Though it is simply a combination of mucilaginous and starchy substances, with a small proportion of carbonate of lime of a peculiar preparation. yet, when combined with pure milk (according to the directions for use), the resulting substance is found to possess such nutritive and medical virtues as to make the Powder an indispensable necessity in the treatment of many cases of diseased conditions of the stomach and bowels of weakly infants. There are numerous instances on record, where childrenwho, from difficult teething, or other causes, constitutional or hereditary, were pining away, as the result of distaste for food, or from inability to retain and digest any of that given themhave yet taken with avidity the food prepared from these Powders, and thrived upon it, the disease of the bowels quickly disappearing without other medical treatment. This prepared food is also an invaluable aid in weaning children from the breast, and is highly recommended in the ordinary SUMMER COMPLAINTS of children, as well as in many case of DIARRH(EA of adults. The CASTILLON POWDERS are put up in neat boxes of one dozen each. PRICE,: FIFTY CENTS PER BOX. -- e' They can be obtained from Homoeopathic Physicians and respectable Druggists, or will be sent free by mail by C. S. HALSEY, 147 Clark St., Chicago. HALSIEY'S EXTRACT OF HAMAMELIS. (WITCH HAZEL.) This well-known preparation has come into so extensive use that it has become necessary to put it up expressly for family use, and it can now be had of Homceopathic Physicians and most respectable Druggists throughout the United States, in pint bottles, at $I.oo each, and small bottles at z5c. each, with full directions for use in the cure of INFLAMMATIONS of all kinds, PILES (Blind or Bleeding), BLEEDING at the NOSE, BLEEDING of the LUNGS, SORE NIPPLES, INFLAMED EYES, BURNS and SCALDS, BRUISES, CUTS, STINGS of INSECTS, BOILS, BROKEN BREASTS, VARICOSE VEINS, etc., etc. The Extract of Hamamelis has long been sold in bulk and in bottles, under a variety of names, as "Pond's Extract," "Extract of Witch Hazel," etc. It being a regular Pharmaceutical preparation, the public are interested in knowing whose is the most reliable, and will do well to ask always for HALSEY'S, and take no other. Sold Wholesale and Retail by C. S. HALSEY, Pharmaceutist, 147 Clark Street. CHICAGO. 40 Put up in large tin canisters, at $1.00 each; sample boxes, 25c. We have numerous testimonials from physicians who daily prescribe it in their practice, and from well-known citizens who MAKE USE OF IT in their families. It consists of Malt and Wheaten Flour, mixed in certain proportions, and heated to a degree which produces chemical changes, resulting in the formation of an exceedingly nutritious compound. The process is patented, and the preparation a strictly scientific one, the substance possessing the same chemical composition as HEALTHY HUMAN MILK. COMSTOCK'S RATIONAL FOOD has a large sale East and West, and is being employed with WONDERFUL SUCCESS as a most nutritious, wholesome FOOD for INFANTS, INVALIDS, and DYSPEPTICS, and particularly as a SUBSTITU'TE FOR B:BE:.'AST MILE FOR CHILDREN BROUGHT UP BY HAND, and for WEANING CHILDREN. It can be fed from a bottle like milk. Families and Dealers supplied by C- S. E -'IrS2Y'-, 147 CLARK STREET, CHICAGO, Agent for the North-West. COMSTOCK'S RATIONAL FOOD. READ WHAT IS SAID OF IT. I have used Comstock's Rational Food for Infants, Invalids and Dyspeptics, and cheerfully recommend it as the best article no~w in use. t. Louis, No., June, 1867. WM. TOD HELMUTH, M. D. I have prescribed the Rational Food, ready prepared from Liebig's formula, and have found it reliable, and cheerfully recommend it as especially adapted to Children and Invalids. In Summer Complaint, Dysentery, and all derangements of the digestion where no other nouzrishment will remain on the stomach and digest at all, I recommend it. St. Louis, iho., Nov., 1867. T. G. COMSTOCK, M. D. 0. S. HALSRY: The Rational Food you furnish me is just the thing for Infants. I am using it in eight families. It gives perfect satisfaction. Mothers are delighted with it. It is so easily'assimilated into the system that it excels any article of diet I have ever used. When the stomach rejected everything else, I have given it with benefit to Dyspeptics and Lying-in Women. Truly yours, Rockfordl, Oct. 20th, 1868. W. D. McAFFEE, M D. C. S. HALsE~Y-Dear Sir: In reply to your letter of the 2nd instant, I have used as diet for Infants, Comstock's Rational Food, and it has given the very best satistaction in every case. I believe it to be the best diet I have ever known for Invalids or Infants. Inclosed is a line from C. B. Hoffman who has used it for nearly a year in his family. Yours, ic., Colon, Mich., Jan. 19th, 1869. L. M. GODFREY, M. D. P. S.-I can cheerfully recommend Comstock's Rational Food to any one in want of highly nutritious Food for Feeble Infants. L. M. G. MR. 0. S. HALSeY —Dear Sir: I take pleasure in saying to you that I can cheerfully recommend the Rational Food as the best article of the kind now in use, especially for Infants; and in many cases I believe it better for those Infants than the mother's milk. Yours, respectfully, Colon, Jan. 11th, 1869. a. B. HOFFMAN. We used one box of " aomstock's Food" for our infant, and I claim that its fie twas saved by its timely use. DR. P. FAHRNEY. Franklin Grove, Ill., Dec. 19, 1868. Large Tin Canisters, $1.00 each; Sample Boxes, 25c. eao. A reasonable discount to Physicians and Dealers.