But above all things don’t get frightened, don’t take any medicines or drugs, DON’T BELIEVE A THING THE QUACKS ADVERTISE. Be your own master in this as in all matters.
There are other causes which you must correct. The irritation I spoke about which comes by letting matter remain in your lower bowel, is sometimes a cause for too frequent emissions. This material remaining so close to the sex organs causes a pressure and heat. This excites the parts and then goes the message to the brain, bringing dreams and the letting out of seminal fluid. Such a cause if continued will do harm, but you can at once stop the cause and then the emissions cease.
Too warm clothing will bring about the same state by overheating the organs, hence always sleep with as little clothing as is consistent with comfort. In this matter you can commence in the autumn to accustom yourself to light coverings, so that when winter comes you will not want a lot of heavy blankets over you. And this is much better also for the breathing process of the skin. Sleeping on the back will, with some boys, always bring on a night emission. Sleep on your side always. If you are inclined to roll over in your sleep and remain on your back, take a towel and tie a knot in it. Tie this towel around your back so that the knot comes in the middle of the back. Then go to sleep on your side. Should you roll over in the night, the knot will wake you up. After a few nights of this scheme you will break the habit of sleeping on your back and so correct the habit of emissions.
Cold-water bathing of the sex organs every morning and night is an excellent way of keeping up their tone and preventing a laxity which has a tendency to bring on emissions.
If you hear a big, strong boy say that he has an emission once a week and you have only one a month, don’t worry about it. Nature is taking care of you. It simply means that the big boy secretes more seminal fluid than you do. This by no means implies that he has more manhood; it is just a difference in temperament――the same difference as is shown by a fair-haired boy and a black-haired boy. This stands true only if both boys are living a correct physical life.
I am not trying to preach to you, boys, but I cannot let this subject go without warning you about smoking. Now there is nothing wrong or wicked about smoking――I smoke a lot myself. But there are reasons why you should not smoke before you have reached complete development. Smoking does affect the growth and vigor of the sex organs. It does so through lowering the nervous system. Frequently I have seen boys whose night emissions were fast pulling them down, and the whole cause of these losses was smoking. In strong doses tobacco is a powerful depressant to the sexual activity. It can be given in such doses as to completely stop all seminal secretion. So don’t forget this fact. I don’t think many boys would smoke if they knew these facts, but the trouble is that you have been told that smoking was not nice, that it injured you, but just HOW it injured you has not been told in plain language.