Medical Treatment.—­ But if all these means have failed, medicines must be resorted to.  Cold water is a better laxative than hot; to a glassful of cold water add from one teaspoonful to one tablespoonful of the effervescing granules of the phosphate of soda, and take this the first thing on rising in the morning.  This preparation of soda is particularly useful because it acts slightly on the liver.  Other laxatives are:  a seidlitz powder dissolved in a glass of cold water on rising; a wineglass or more of Hunyadi Janos, also taken on rising.  Any of these may be taken with safety by pregnant women.  For children the simplest laxative is one teaspoonful of Husband’s milk of magnesia, to be taken in one glass of water on rising.

Enemas.—­ Perhaps one of the most common methods used by the laity for the relief of constipation is the rectal injection, or enema.  Enemas habitually given to unload the bowels are productive of much harm by overdistending the rectum, so that in time the rectum fails to react to the normal stimulus—­ namely, the presence of the feces—­ as it otherwise would.  But by some means or other the bowels must be well moved once every twenty-four hours.  And it is much better to use an enema than to go to bed without a bowel movement.  If the woman is going around, so that she can give the enema to herself, the most effective way to take it is in the knee-chest position or an approximation to this.  Either a fountain or bulb syringe may be used for this purpose; a quart of water at a temperature of 110° F. should be prepared by making it into a suds with castile soap, or one tablespoonful of glycerin may be added to one pint of water.  The nozle to be used is the smallest one that comes with the syringe, the so-called infant’s nozle; this is quite large enough, and its insertion is not nearly so painful as the larger ones; the nozle must be well greased with vaselin.  When everything is ready, the patient gets down on her knees with the shoulders near the floor, having first loosened all of her bands and taken off her corsets; the nozle is introduced as far as it will go into the rectum, and if a bulb syringe is used the water must be very gradually squeezed into the rectum, otherwise it will not retain so much; or if the fountain syringe is used, it must not be hung too high.  So soon as the patient feels that she has taken all that she can retain, she should lie down on the left side, and retain the water as long as possible, as it is thus rendered more effective.  An enema so taken will be very much more effective than one taken in the ordinary manner of sitting on the toilet.  In the method just described more water can be used and it will be longer retained; it can be felt to go up along the course of the large bowel, and it will often be found very effective when the ordinary enema fails.  This enema will often be found to be a very valuable aid in curing an obstinate chronic diarrhea, which is kept up by particles of feces remaining