There are two forms of syringes on the market:  the bag or fountain syringe, which is hung up sufficiently high—­ about three feet above the patient—­ to cause the water to flow; and the bulb syringe, in which the bulb has to be constantly squeezed by the hand, which is tiresome to many women, but this is a much more convenient form to have in traveling.  During pregnancy the fountain syringe only should be used, and it should be hung as low as will enable the water to flow.  For a woman who has never taken douches it is well to begin with a temperature of 110° F., gradually increasing the temperature to 118° or 120°; this is as high as the woman should attempt to go, for a higher temperature would burn her, leaving the vulva so sensitive that she would only be able to take cool douches for a long time after this; a bath thermometer should be used in all cases to test the temperature, so that the woman knows exactly what she is doing.

In cases of inflammation of the uterus or its adnexa four quarts of water should be used, and the douche should be taken in the horizontal position.  The water thus acts as a hot poultice about the uterus, and the woman will find on rising that some water flows out from the vagina.  Ordinarily plain hot water is all that is necessary to use, but where the discharge is acrid and scalding, the plain hot-water douche should be followed by a warm douche containing one teaspoonful of borax to a pint of water.  The best time for taking a douche is at night just before retiring; there is also less danger of taking cold when the douche is taken at this time.

The scalding sensations at the vulva may be due to the acidity of the urine, in which case it will be increased just after urination; or it may be due to an acrid discharge from the vagina.  A little observation on the part of the patient will enable her to distinguish which is the real cause.  If there is any trouble with the urine, it should be carefully examined at once, as some congestion or inflammation of the kidneys is not infrequently present, which if attended to might be cured, and which if allowed to run on unattended to, may develop into a serious form of Bright’s disease.

The genitals should be washed with soap and water night and morning.  Women who do not suffer from leuchorrhea need not take a vaginal douche more than once a week; after the menstrual flow the vaginal injection is advised to remove the detritus of the flow.

Baths.—­ The most ordinary forms of baths used may be classified under sponge-, shower-, sitz-, and tub-baths.  The sponge-bath as ordinarily taken is of service for cleansing purposes, and if the water be cold it tones up the system to some extent, and is so a preventive against taking cold.  The effect of this bath will be found to be vastly more beneficial if salt is added to the bath in the proportion of a pint of salt to a gallon of water; either sea-salt may be used or the ordinary coarse salt.  It is