Menopause in 1930

Age	In some families as well as in some climates, notably the tropics, the menopause is early; an inherited tendency has been shown as early in life as thirty-five; but in general, if the change occurs before forty or after fifty a strong possibility exists of its being abnormal and an indication of serious complications. About half of the sex experience the change between forty-five and fifty.
Cancer possibilities	If menstruation persists after forty-five a physician should be consulted to ascertain if a tumor in the uterus is a cause, and the bleeding returns after its cessation, which indicated that the turn of life had been established, a doctor must be consulted immediately so as to determine if this flow is caused by cancer. Tumors and cancers are not the result of this change of life; the condition of the system or of some organ may predispose toward an unnatural growth and it is safest to investigate all irregularities. Every woman with a lump in her breast, which develops during this period, should consult a physician at once. Some women who were slim before the climacteric, as a result of this change become stouter, and the breasts enlarge though in other cases the breasts may diminish in size.
Variation in onset	There is no uniformity in the manner of this change. Usually it is slow, enduring several months and sometimes several years, with a gradual diminution of menstruation. Sometimes the bleeding, though more infrequent, is more profuse, due perhaps to weakening contractile power in the uterine muscular tissues. As the period progresses the generative organs, varying with different persons, shrink and become less vigorous. Sometimes the flow stops suddenly and never returns. Again a month or two, now and then, may be lost followed by periods of short regularity diminishing in length to the end; or there may be an excessive flow with the subsequent menstruations lessening in volume to the last. The removal from high elevations to the seashore sometimes occasions an early menopause, and a change from sea level to high altitudes may cause severe hemorrhage, if a constitutional tendency exists. Those who suffer from a chronic inflammation of the uterus or are weakened by severe uterine hemorrhages begin to change life sooner than a healthy woman. The climacteric is generally begun by premonitory symptoms, one or more of almost any of the physical or mental disturbances to which womankind is liable, and any ailments that have persisted for years now disappear.
Be prepared. Control yourself...	When the menopause comes on gradually the woman is not very liable to have severe disturbances, but if it comes on abruptly, the discomforts are very bad, and the general train of symptoms is very pronounced. A few women, however, pass through the change hardly knowing that it has come and gone. Those of oversensitive nerves, any who have not their feelings under firm control, those who naturally fret and worry and nervous city-bred women of fashion have not become fitted beforehand to escape certain ills attendant upon the menopause. The most important action is to keep careful watch and ward over the general health, especially beginning a few years beforehand, so as to approach the ordeal of the climacteric thoroughly prepared for it.
Hot flashes	A very disagreeable feature of the change is the fever and sweats; this consists in a rush of blood to the head, the body becomes very warm and then breaks out into profuse perspiration. This may occur at any time and place. When others think the room very cool she will think it exceedingly warm.
Palpitations	The heart is often affected in the form of palpitations and shortness of breath
"Nervous" conditions	The nervous system also shows evidences of a general upset. Sometimes the limbs become very trembly. The temper is subject to great changes, and the sexual appetite may be greatly increased. She may become delirious or even go insane.
List of symptoms	The symptoms that may be felt in connection with the change are flushes in the face and over the body, increased nervousness, hysteria and melancholy, sleeplessness or dreams, dizziness, faintness and general weakness, headache, dyspepsia, biliousness, diarrhea or constipation, piles, itching of the vulva, swelling of the abdomen or limbs, pains in back or loins, at the time the flow occurs there may be bleeding of the nose. As each one is inclined so the weakness will appear, and quite frequently it is a mental disturbance
General precautions	Quiet conditions are imperative; stimulants should be avoided and moderate exercise and fresh air taken regularly.. Every woman in this period should be very careful in diet and should live chiefly on fish, vegetables, fruit, greens and salads, take hot baths and if the system will admit, cold sponge baths quickly applied followed by a vigorous rubbing with a Turkish towel. The urine, as during pregnancy, should be examined regularly so as to avoid kidney complications. In case of constipation care must be taken to use only a gentle laxative. The following has proved to be very effective as an easy purgative: Compound licorice powder 2 ounces Phosphate of soda 2 ounces Cream of tartar 1 ounce Mix. Dose: One teaspoonful in one glass of water night and morning. For sediment in the urine it is well to drink Vichy or Seltzer water freely during the day, or to take half a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda in a tumblerful of water in the course of the day. For great nervousness and hysteria the following is recommended: Elixir of valeriate of ammonium 6 ounces Dose: One or two teaspoonfuls in water once or twice a day. A good uterine tonic such as the pil. viburnum comp. often does much to relieve the nervous condition and allay pain and distress. The congestion of the head and the disturbances of vision are relieved by hot footbaths with or without mustard, and by cold water applications five minutes three times daily. A lukewarm general bath taken three times a week will keep the skin in good condition and is of value.
Dealing with weight	Those women who have a tendency to stoutness should adhere to a restricted diet such as fish, meat, green vegetables, lettuce, salad and juicy fruits. Milk and rich foods are prohibited. The few women who lose flesh must be well fed, and have chocolate and plenty of milk to drink, providing they can digest them.
Dealing with hemorrhaging	If hemorrhages occur employ the remedies advocated for the treatment of menorrhagia and metrorrhagia. See Index. If the bleeding is quite profuse pack clean pieces of linen tightly in the vagina, and allow them to remain until a physician is consulted which should be immediately. This method of packing the vagina will control the bleeding until the physician arrives and institutes more radical measures. Have the pieces attached to a string which extends to the outside, so that all the pieces may be drawn forth together.
Headache remedy	Ammonia water or cologne water mixed with equal parts of spirits of camphor is a simple remedy for severe headache, bathing the top of the head and forehead.
need for restraint	Women who have been imprudent and careless of their conduct and conditions at this time of life and previously have suffered most seriously. Careful attention to all the bodily needs, prudence and unvarying self-restraint are needed at the time of menstruation and during pregnancy, and so much more are they essential as the foundations of life are under going complete change. When an important system of the body intimately associated with the nervous and circulatory systems is becoming so altered as to be inoperative, inert and in parts atrophied, a woman should prepare and school herself for this nervous strain and thus avoid mental and physical collapse.
Don'ts	During this active period of change great exposure must be avoided and the same guarded behavior maintained as in pregnancy; frequent rest must be taken, especially during nervous spells; continuous and repeated joltings as in dancing, horseback riding, sea voyages, etc. are sometimes injurious; exciting entertainments, overeating, late hours, sexual indulgence have been known to produce a serious and sometimes dangerous reaction.