A SIMPLE, RATIONAL AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF STUBBORN VAGINAL INFECTIONS IN INFANTS AND IN LITTLE GIRLS

There is definite need for a revision of antiquated ideas and some clear, simple instructions in regard to the management of vaginal infection in the immature. I shall limit this discussion to the treatment for this condition¹ and to the cause only in so far as is necessary to a clear understanding of the reasons for a modified technic. Directions and illustrations are purposely simple and fundamental for the reason that I am convinced that many physicians have no clear conception even of the gross anatomy of the infantile female genitalia.

RATIONAL CONCEPT OF ETIOLOGY  The time worn theory that the infantile vaginal canal is carpeted by a thin, weakly resistant mucous membrane is untenable, as proved by repeated gross and microscopic examinations. In the infant and small child, the vaginal canal constitutes an ideal "harbor of infection," whereas in the adult it does not. Obvious characteristics of the