RESULTS OF SECRET VICE.
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Kellogg, John Harvey
A Victim's Mental Condition Pictured.—The mental condition of a victim of this vice cannot be better described than is done in the following paragraphs by one himself a victim, though few of these unfortunate individuals would be able to produce so accurate and critical a portrait of themselves as is here drawn by M. Rousseau, as quoted by Mr. Acton:—
"One might say that my heart and my mind do not belong to the same person. My feelings, quicker than lightning, fill my soul; but instead of illuminating, they burn and dazzle me. I feel everything. I see nothing. I am excited, but stupid; I cannot think except in cold blood. The wonderful thing is that I have sound enough tact, penetration, even finesse, if people will wait for me. I make excellent impromptus at leisure; but at the moment I have nothing ready to say or do. I should converse brilliantly by post, as they say the Spaniards play at chess. When I read of a Duke of Savoy who turned back after starting on his journey to say, 'In your teeth! you Paris shop-keeper!' I said, 'That is like me!'"
"But not only is it a labor to me to express, but also to receive, ideas. I have studied men, and I think I am a tolerably good observer; yet I can see nothing of what I do see. I can hardly say that I see anything except what I recall; I have no power of mind but in my recollection. Of all that is said, of all that is done, of all that passes in my presence, I feel nothing, I appreciate nothing. The external sign is all that strikes me. But after a while it all comes back to me."
EFFECTS IN FEMALES.
Local Effects.—The local diseases produced by the vice in females are, of course, of a different nature from those seen in males, on account of the difference in organization. They arise, however, in the same way, congestions at first temporary ultimately becoming permanent and resulting in irritation and various disorders.
Leucorrhoea.—The results of congestion first appear in the mucous membrane lining the vagina, which is also injured by mechanical irritation, and consists of a catarrhal discharge which enervates the system. By degrees the discharge increases in quantity and virulence, extending backward until it reaches the sensitive womb.
Contact with the acrid, irritating secretions of the vagina produces soreness of the fingers at the roots of the nails, and also frequently causes warts upon the fingers. Hence the value of these signs, as previously mentioned.
Uterine Disease.—Congestion of the womb is also produced by the act of abuse; and as the habit is continued, it also becomes permanent. This congestion, together with the contact of the acrid vaginal discharge, finally produces ulceration upon the neck, together with other diseases.
Another result of congestion is all kinds of menstrual derangements after puberty, the occurrence of which epoch is hastened by the habit. Prolapsus and various displacements are produced in addition to menstrual irregularities.
Cancer of the Womb.—Degeneration of this delicate organ also occurs as the result of the constant irritation and congestion, and is often of a malignant nature, occasioning a most painful death.
Sterility.—Sterility, dependent on a total loss of sexual desire and inability to participate in the sexual act, is another condition which is declared by medical authors to be most commonly due to previous habits of self-abuse. In consequence of overexcitement the organs become relaxed.
Atrophy of Mammæ.—Closely connected with other local results is the deficient development of the breasts when the vice is begun before or at puberty, and atrophy if it is begun or continued after development has occurred. As previously remarked, this is not the sole cause of small mammæ, but it is one of the great causes.
Pruritis.—This is an affection not infrequent in these subjects. Continued congestion produces a terrible itching of the genitals, which increases until the individual is in a state of actual frenzy, and the disposition to manipulate the genitals becomes irresistible, and is indulged even in the presence of friends or strangers, and though the patient be at other times a young woman of unexceptionable modesty. In cases of this kind, great hypertrophy of the organ of greatest sensibility has been observed, and in some cases amputation of the part has been found the only cure.
General Effects.—The general effects in the female are much the same as those in the male. Although women suffer no seminal loss, they suffer the debilitating effects of leucorrhoea, which is in some degree injurious in the same manner as seminal losses in the male. But in females the greatest injury results from the nervous exhaustion which follows the unnatural excitement. Nervous diseases of every variety are developed. Emaciation and debility become more marked even than in the male, and the worst results are produced sooner, being hastened by the sedentary habits of these females, generally. Insanity is more frequently developed than in males. Spinal irritation is so frequent a result that a recent surgical author has said that "spinal irritation in girls and women is, in a majority of cases, due to self-abuse."[52]
52 Davis.
A Common Cause of Hysteria.—This, too, is one of the most frequent causes of hysteria, chorea, and epilepsy among young women, though not often recognized.
A writer, quoted several times before in this work, remarks as follows:—
"This is not a matter within the scope of general investigation; truth is not to be expected from its habitués; parents are deceived respecting it, believing rather what they wish than what they fear. Even the physician can but suspect, till time develops more fully by hysterias, epilepsies, spinal irritations, and a train of symptoms unmistakable even if the finally extorted confession of the poor victim did not render the matter clear. Marriage does, indeed, often arrest this final catastrophe, and thus apparently shifts the responsibility upon other shoulders, and to the 'injurious effects of early marriages,' to the 'ills of maternity,' are ascribed the results of previous personal abuse.
"For statistics and further information on this all-important subject, we must refer the reader to the opinions of physicians who have the charge of our retreats for the insane, lunatic asylums, and the like; to the discriminating physicians of the families of the upper classes—stimulated alike by food, drinks, scenes where ease is predominant, where indolence is the habit and novel-reading is the occupation—for further particulars on a subject here but barely alluded to."[53]
53 Gardner.
EFFECTS UPON OFFSPRING.
If sterility does not result, children are liable to be "delicate, puny, decrepit, or subject to various congenital maladies, especially of the nervous system, to idiocy from deficient development of the brain, to hydrocephalus, to epilepsy, convulsions, palsy. The scrofulous diathesis, tubercular and glandular maladies, diseases of the vertebræ and of the joints, softening of the central portions of the brain, and tuberculous formations in the membranes, palsy and convulsions, chorea, inflammations of the membranes or substance of the brain or spinal cord, and numerous other affections to which infants and children are liable, very commonly result from the practice of self-pollution by either of the parents previous to marriage. But the evil does not always stop at this epoch of existence, it often extends throughout the life of the offspring, or it appears only with puberty and mature age."
Too frequently, the victim of self-abuse, when he finds himself suffering from the first results of his sin, neglects to adopt any measures for the cure of the disease. Not understanding its inveterate character, he labors under the delusion that it will cure itself in time. This is a fatal mistake. The diseased conditions induced by this vice never improve themselves. Their constant tendency is to increase in virulence and inveteracy. The necessity of taking prompt measures for relief is too apparent to need especial emphasis.