This may come from many causes. Without constitutional symptoms, attention should be given to the urethra and bladder. A catarrhal condition of the bladder will continue to furnish albumin in the urine for months and years. Stricture, with granulations, in the urethra will present more or less albumin in the urine. At times it will be clear, at others there will be albumin. Onanism will create such a seminal weakness that the seminal fluid will be passing almost daily with the urine. This is the disease known as spermatorrhea. This will cause an albuminous reaction to the test given the urine. Then again there are those who eat very heartily, crowding their nutrition and circulation, and who show a certain amount of albumin passing off at times--two or three hours after eating. The albumin in these cases will be rather irregularly present in the urine; but unless the cause is discovered, and the patient made to believe that there is liable to be something seriously wrong, he may develop Bright's disease, which is unnecessary.

Treatment

Where there is a cystitis, either catarrhal or gonorrheal, the treatment must be in keeping with the cause. If the urine is rather offensive, it would indicate that a food is the cause of the odor, or that the urine is retained too long in the bladder. Possibly the bladder trouble may come from stricture of the urethra, or from inflammation of the neck of the bladder. Sounding the urethra into the bladder will clear this passage and develop whether there is stricture or not. After using the sound, the catheter should be introduced and the bladder washed out. The bladder-washing should be repeated once every day. Perhaps the evening before bedtime is the best time.

Of course, the patient should be given very little food--perhaps fruit, or simply buttermilk. Buttermilk acts better than anything else on all kidney and urethral derangements when it is desirable to increase the flow of urine. If there is a strictured condition of the urethra, this must be overcome by gradual dilation. If the albumin comes from seminal weakness, the patient must be instructed and made to understand just how much he is injuring himself. He will be requested to stop his self-abuse. If he will not, there is no use of attempting to cure him; for it cannot be done so long as the practice is continued. Those who overeat must be informed of the danger there is in keeping up so much pressure on the kidneys. They can be assured that if they do not let up they will certainly in time bring on disease of the kidneys.