Turn-of-the-Century Advice for Women at “That Age”
Fellow mid-lifers know that we’re not the first generation to suffer through the agony of hot flashes*, nor will we be the last. Yet, it’s fun to point at previous generations and laugh at what little they knew.
Case in point: A 1904 book on women’s health. From the chapter on “change of life:”
The neuralgias, nervousness, fidgets and hysteriaa which afflict some women at this period are such to make life miserable. Flushings are also a frequent nervous disorder, caused by the rushing of blood to any part of the body. Sometimes flushing is accompanied by excessive heat or violent throbbing….Usually they occur during sleep. They also attend mental excitement of any kind.
The cure? Hot baths and enemas, of course.
If you think women have it bad, pity the poor men:
His system undergoes a process not identical with, but similar to, that occurring in her….He suffers through nervousness, sleeplessness, pain at the base of the brain and insanity.
Well, there ya go.
I wonder what our grandchildren will be saying about how we handle this time of life.
*Whoever decided that hot flashes should be called “power surges” should experience one during a Texas summer. I’m just sayin’.
