There can be no kind of itis without the presence of something which irritates the membrane of the affected part.  If we get unusual and irritating bacteria in some spoiled food, we are likely to have an acute inflammation until the offending bacteria are expelled.  But an inflammation of this kind never lasts.  People who have had ptomaine poisoning sometimes assert that they are afterwards susceptible to poisoning by the kind of food which first made them ill.  Such a susceptibility is not so much a hold-over effect from the poison as a hold-over fear which tends to repeat the physical reaction whenever that food is eaten.  I, myself, have had ptomaine poisoning from canned salmon, but I have never since had any trouble about eating salmon.

=Sour Stomach.= Sometimes when a person lies down an hour or so after a meal, some of the contents of his stomach comes up in his throat.  Then if he be ignorant of physiology, he may be very much alarmed because his stomach is “sour.”  Not knowing that he would have far greater cause for alarm if his stomach were not sour, he may, if the idea is interesting to him, begin to restrict his diet, to take digestive tablets, and to develop a regular case of nervous dyspepsia.  Sometimes when the specialists measure the amount of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, they do find too much or too little acid; but this merely means that an emotion has made the glands work overtime or has stopped their action for a little while.  The functions of the body are so very, very old that there is little likelihood of permanent disturbance.

=Biliousness.= The stomach is not the only part of the body concerning which we lack proper confidence.  Next to it the liver is the most maligned organ in the whole body.  Although the liver is about as likely to be upset in its process of secreting bile as the ocean is likely to be lacking in salt, many an intelligent person labels every little disturbance “biliousness” and lays it at the door of his faithful, dependable liver.

As a matter of fact, the liver is liable to injury from virtually but three sources—­alcohol, bacterial infection, and cancer—­and even a liver hardened by alcohol goes on secreting bile as usual.  The patient dies of dropsy but not of “liver complaint.”

Some people act as if they thought bile were a poison.  On the contrary, it is a very useful digestant; it aids in keeping down the number of harmful bacteria and helps to carry the food from intestines to blood.  Every day the liver manufactures at least a pint of this important fluid.  The body uses what it needs and stores the surplus for reserve in the gall-bladder.  The flow is continuous and, despite all appearances to the contrary, there is no such thing as a torpid or an over-active liver.

It is true that after a “bilious” person has vomited for a few minutes he is likely to throw up a certain amount of bile, which is supposed to have been lying in his stomach and causing the nausea.  In fact, however, this bile is merely a part of the usual supply stored away in the gall-bladder.  By the very act of retching, the bile is forced out of the bile channels into the stomach and thence up into the mouth.  Anybody can throw up bile at any time if he only tries hard enough.