diet, exercise in the open air, thorough ablution of the _whole_
body—more especially when he is being washed—causing the water, from a
large and well-filled sponge, to stream over the lower part of his
bowels; the regular habit of causing him, at stated periods, to be held
out, whether he want or not, that he may solicit a stool. If all these
rules were observed, costiveness would not so frequently prevail, and
one of the miseries of the nursery would be done away with.
Some mothers are frequently dosing their poor unfortunate babies either
with magnesia to cool them, or with castor oil to heal the bowels! Oh,
the folly of such practices! The frequent repetition of magnesia,
instead of cooling an infant, makes him feverish and irritable. The
constant administration of castor oil, instead of healing the bowels,
wounds them beyond measure. No! it would be a blessed thing if a baby
could be brought up without giving him a particle of opening medicine;
his bowels would then act naturally and well: but then, as I have just
now remarked, a mother must be particular in attending to Nature’s
medicines—to fresh air, to exercise, to diet, to thorough ablution, etc.
Until that time comes, poor unfortunate babies must be occasionally
dosed with an aperient.
97. _What are the causes of, and remedies for, Flatulence?_
Flatulence most frequently occurs in those infants who live on
_artificial_ food, especially if they are over-fed. I therefore beg to
refer you to the precautions I have given, when speaking of the
importance of keeping a child for the first four or five months
_entirely_ to the breast; and, if that be not practicable, of the times
of feeding, and of the _best_ kinds of artificial food, and of those
which are least likely to cause “wind.”
_What to do._—Notwithstanding these precautions, if the babe should
still suffer, “One of the best and safest remedies for flatulence is
sal-volatile,—a teaspoonful of a solution of one drachm to an ounce and
a half of water.” Or, a little dill or aniseed may be added to the
food—half a teaspoonful of dill water. Or, take twelve drops of oil of
dill, and two lumps of sugar; rub them well in a mortar together; then
add, drop by drop, three tablespoonfuls of spring water; let it be
preserved in a bottle for use. A teaspoonful of this, first shaking the
vial, may be added to each quantity of food. Or, three teaspoonfuls of
bruised caraway seeds may be boiled for ten minutes in a teacupful of
water, and then strained. One or two teaspoonfuls of the caraway-tea may
be added to each quantity of his food, or a dose of rhubarb and magnesia
may be occasionally given.
Opodeldoc, or warm olive oil, well rubbed, for a quarter of an hour at a
time, by means of the warm hand, over the bowels, will frequently give
relief. Turning the child over on his bowels, so that they may press on
the nurse’s lap, will often afford great comfort. A warm bath (where he
is suffering severely) generally gives _immediate_ ease in flatulence;
it acts as a fomentation to the bowels. But after all, a dose of mild
aperient medicine, when the babe is suffering severely, is often the
best remedy for “wind.”
Remember, at all times, prevention, whenever it be—and how frequently it
is—possible, is better than cure.
_What_ NOT _to do_.—“Godfrey’s Cordial,” “Infants’ Preservative,” and
“Dalby’s Carminative” are sometimes given in flatulence; but as most of
these quack medicines contain, in one form or another, either opium or
poppy, and as opium and poppy are both dangerous remedies for children,
ALL quack medicines must be banished the nursery.
Syrup of poppies is another remedy which is often given by a nurse to
afford relief for flatulence; but let me urge upon you the importance of
banishing it from the nursery. It has (when given by unprofessional
persons) caused the untimely end of thousands of children. The medical
journals and the newspapers teem with cases of deaths from mothers
incautiously giving syrup of poppies to ease pain and to procure sleep.
98. _What are the symptoms, the causes, and the treatment of “Gripings”
of an infant?_
_The symptoms._—The child draws up his legs; screams violently; if put
to the nipple to comfort him, he turns away from it and cries bitterly;
he strains, as though he were having a stool; if he have a motion, it
will be slimy, curdled, and perhaps green. If, in addition to the above
symptoms, he pass a large quantity of watery fluid from the bowels, the
case becomes one of _watery gripes_, and requires the immediate
attention of a medical man.
The _causes_ of “gripings” or “gripes” may proceed either from the
infant or from the mother. If from the child, it is generally owing
either to improper food or to over-feeding; if from the mother, it may
be traced to her having taken either greens, or pork, or tart beer, or
sour porter, or pickles, or drastic purgatives.
_What to do._—The _treatment_, of course, must depend upon the cause. If
it arise from over-feeding, I would advise a dose of castor oil to be
given, and warm fomentations to be applied to the bowels, and the mother
or the nurse to be more careful for the future. If it proceed from
improper food, a dose or two of magnesia and rhubarb in a little dill
water, made palatable with simple syrup.
Take of—Powdered Turkey Rhubarb, half a scruple;
Carbonate of Magnesia, one scruple;
Simple Syrup, three drachms;
Dill Water, eight drachms;
Make a Mixture. One or two teaspoonfuls (according to the age of the
child) to be taken every four hours, until relief be obtained—first
shaking the bottle.
If it arise from a mother’s imprudence in eating trash, or from her
taking violent medicine, a warm bath: a warm bath, indeed, let the cause
of “griping” be what it may, usually affords instant relief.
Another excellent remedy is the following: Soak a piece of new flannel,
folded into two or three thicknesses, in warm water; wring it tolerably
dry, and apply as hot as the child can comfortably bear it to the
bowels, then wrap him in a warm, dry blanket, and keep him, for at least
half an hour, enveloped in it. Under the above treatment, he will
generally soon fall into a sweet sleep, and awake quite refreshed.
_What_ NOT _to do_.—Do not give opiates, astringents, chalk, or any
quack medicine whatever.
If a child suffer from a mother’s folly in her eating improper food, it
will be cruel in the extreme for him a _second_ time to be tormented
from the same cause.
99. _What occasions Hiccough, and what is its treatment?_
Hiccough is of such a trifling nature as hardly to require interference.
It may generally be traced to over-feeding. Should it be severe, four or
five grains of calcined magnesia, with a little syrup and aniseed water,
and attention to feeding, are all that will be necessary.
100. _Will you describe the symptoms of Diarrhœa—“Looseness of the
bowels?”_
It will be well, before doing so, to tell you how many motions a young
infant ought to have a day, their color, consistence, and smell. Well,
then, he should have from three to six motions in the twenty-four hours;
the color ought to be a bright yellow, inclining to orange; the
consistence should be that of thick gruel; indeed, his motion, if
healthy, ought to be somewhat of the color (but a little more
orange-tinted) and of the consistence of mustard made for the table; it
should be nearly, if not quite, devoid of smell; it ought to have a
faint and peculiar, but not a strong disagreeable odor. If it has a
strong and disagreeable smell, the child is not well, and the case
should be investigated, more especially if there be either curds or
lumps in the motions; these latter symptoms denote that the food has not
been properly digested.
Now, suppose a child should have a slight bowel complaint—that is to
say, that he has six or eight motions during the twenty-four hours,—and
that the stools are of a thinner consistence than what I have
described,—provided, at the same time, that he is not griped, that he
has no pain, and has not lost his desire for the breast: What ought to
be done? _Nothing._ A slight looseness of the bowels should _never_ be
interfered with,—it is often an effort of nature to relieve itself of
some vitiated motion that wanted a vent—or to act as a diversion, by
relieving the irritation of the gums. Even if he be not cutting his
teeth, he may be “breeding” them, that is to say, the teeth may be
forming in his gums, and may cause almost as much irritation as though
he were actually cutting them. Hence, you see the immense good a slight
“looseness of the bowels” may cause. I think that I have now proved to
you the danger of interfering in such a case, and that I have shown you
the folly and the mischief of at once giving astringents—such as
Godfrey’s Cordial, Dalby’s Carminative, etc.—to relieve a _slight_
relaxation.
A moderate “looseness of the bowels,” then, is often a safety-valve, and
you may with as much propriety close the safety-valve of a steam engine
as stop a moderate “looseness of the bowels!”
Now, if the infant, instead of having from three to six motions, should
have more than double the latter number; if they be more watery; if they
become slimy and green, or green in part and curdled; if they should
have an unpleasant smell; if he be sick, cross, restless, fidgety, and
poorly; if every time he has a motion he be griped and in pain, we
should then say that he is laboring under diarrhœa; then, it will be
necessary to give a little medicine, which I will indicate in a
subsequent Conversation.
Should there be both blood and slime mixed with the stool, the case
becomes more serious; still with proper care, relief can generally be
quickly obtained. If the evacuations—instead of being stool—are merely
blood and slime, and the child strain frequently and violently,
endeavoring thus, but in vain, to relieve himself, crying at each
effort, the case assumes the character of dysentery. See Symptoms and
Treatment of Dysentery.
If there be a mixture of blood, slime, and stool from the bowels, the
case would be called dysenteric diarrhœa. This latter case requires
great skill and judgment on the part of a medical man, and great
attention and implicit obedience from the mother and the nurse. I merely
mention these diseases in order to warn you of their importance, and of
the necessity of strictly attending to a doctor’s orders.
101. _What are the causes of diarrhœa—“Looseness of the bowels?”_
Improper food; over-feeding; teething; cold; the mother’s milk from
various causes disagreeing, namely, from her being out of health, from
her eating unsuitable food, from her taking improper and drastic
purgatives, or from her suckling her child when she is pregnant. Of
course, if any of these causes are in operation, they ought, if
possible, to be remedied, or medicine to the babe will be of little
avail.
102. _What is the treatment of Diarrhœa?_
_What to do._—If the case be _slight_, and has lasted two or three days
(do not interfere by giving medicine at first), and if the cause, as it
probably is, be some acidity or vitiated stool that wants a vent, and
thus endeavors to obtain one by purging, the best treatment is to assist
nature by giving either a dose of castor oil or a moderate one of
rhubarb and magnesia, and thus to work off the enemy. For a rhubarb and
magnesia mixture prescription, see question 98.
After the enemy has been worked off, either by the castor oil or by the
magnesia and rhubarb, the purging will, in all probability, cease; but
if the relaxation still continue, that is to say, for three or four
days,—then, if medical advice cannot be procured, the following mixture
should be given:
Take of—Compound Powdered Chalk with Opium, ten grains;
Oil of Dill, five drops;
Simple Syrup, three drachms;
Water, nine drachms;
Make a Mixture. Half a teaspoonful to be given to an infant of six
months and under, and one teaspoonful to a child above that age, every
four hours—first shaking the bottle. Let the mixture be made by a
chemist.
The baby ought, for a few days, to be kept _entirely_ to the breast. The
mother should be most particular in her own diet.
_What_ NOT _to do_.—The mother must neither take greens, nor cabbage,
nor raw fruit, nor pastry, nor beer; indeed, while the diarrhœa of her
babe continues, she had better abstain from wine, as well as from
fermented liquors. The child, if at the breast, ought _not_, while the
diarrhœa continues, to have any artificial food. He must neither be
dosed with gray powder (a favorite but highly improper remedy in these
cases), nor with any quack medicines, such as Dalby’s Carminative or
Godfrey’s Cordial.
103. _What are the symptoms of Dysentery?_
Dysentery frequently arises from a neglected diarrhœa. It is more
dangerous than diarrhœa, as it is of an inflammatory character; and as,
unfortunately, it frequently attacks a delicate child, requires skillful
handling: hence the care and experience required in treating a case of
dysentery.
Well, then, what are the symptoms? The infant, in all probability, has
had an attack of diarrhœa—bowel complaint as it is called—for several
days; he having had a dozen or two of motions, many of them slimy and
frothy, like “frog-spawn,” during the twenty-four hours. Suddenly the
character of the motion changes,—from being principally stool, it
becomes almost entirely blood and mucus; he is dreadfully griped, which
causes him to strain violently, as though his inside would come away
every time he has a motion,—screaming and twisting about, evidently
being in the greatest pain, drawing his legs up to his belly and
writhing in agony. Sickness and vomiting are always present, which still
more robs him of his little remaining strength, and prevents the repair
of his system. Now, look at his face! It is the very picture of
distress. Suppose he has been a plump, healthy little fellow, you will
see his face, in a few days, become old-looking, care-worn, haggard, and
pinched. Day and night the enemy tracks him (unless proper remedies be
administered); no sleep, or, if he sleep, he is every few minutes
roused. It is heart-rending to have to attend a bad case of dysentery in
a child,—the writhing, the screaming, the frequent vomiting, the pitiful
look, the rapid wasting and exhaustion, make it more distressing to
witness than almost any other disease a doctor attends.
104. _Can anything be done to relieve such a case?_
Yes. A judicious medical man will do a great deal. But, suppose that you
are not able to procure one, I will tell you _what to do_ and _what_ NOT
_to do_.
_What to do._—If the child be at the breast, keep him to it, and let him
have nothing else, for dysentery is frequently caused by improper
feeding. If your milk be not good, or it be scanty, _instantly_ procure
a healthy wet-nurse. _Lose not a moment_; for in dysentery moments are
precious. But, suppose that you have no milk, and that no wet-nurse can
be procured: what then? Feed him entirely on cow’s milk—the milk of
_one_ healthy cow; let the milk be unboiled, and be fresh from the cow.
Give it in small quantities at a time, and frequently, so that it may be
retained on the stomach. If a tablespoonful of the milk make him sick,
give him a dessertspoonful; if a dessertspoonful cause sickness, let him
only have a teaspoonful at a time, and let it be repeated every quarter
of an hour. But remember, in such a case the breast-milk—the breast-milk
alone—is incomparably superior to any other milk or to any other food
whatever.
If he be a year old and weaned, then feed him, as above recommended, on
the cow’s milk. If there be extreme exhaustion and debility, let fifteen
drops of brandy be added to each tablespoonful of new milk, and let it
be given every half hour.
Now with regard to medicine. I approach this part of the treatment with
some degree of reluctance—for dysentery is a case requiring opium, and
opium I never like a mother of her own accord to administer. But suppose
a medical man cannot be procured in time, the mother must then prescribe
or the child will die! _What then is to be done?_ Sir Charles Locock
considers “that in severe dysentery, especially where there is sickness,
there is no remedy equal to pure calomel, in a full dose, without
opium.” Therefore, at the very _onset_ of the disease, let from three to
five grains (according to the age of the patient) of calomel, mixed with
an equal quantity of powdered white sugar, be put dry on the tongue. In
three hours after let the following mixture be administered:
Take of—Compound Ipecacuanha Powder, five grains;
Ipecacuanha Wine, half a drachm;
Simple Syrup, three drachms;
Cinnamon Water, nine drachms:
To make a Mixture. A teaspoonful to be given every three or four
hours, first _well_ shaking the bottle. Let this mixture, or any other
medicine I may prescribe, be always made by a respectable chemist.
Supposing he cannot retain the mixture—the stomach rejecting it as soon
as swallowed—what then? Give the opium, mixed with small doses of
mercury with chalk and sugar, in the form of powder, and put one of the
powders _dry_ on the tongue every three hours:
Take of—Powdered Opium, half a grain;
Mercury with Chalk, nine grains;
Sugar of Milk, twenty-four grains:
Mix well in a mortar, and divide into twelve powders.
Now, suppose the dysentery has for several days persisted, and that,
during that time, nothing but mucus and blood—that no real stool—has
come from the bowels, then a combination of castor oil and opium ought,
instead of the medicine recommended above, to be given. My friend, the
late Dr. Baly, who had made dysentery his particular study, considered
the combination of opium and castor oil very valuable in dysentery.
Take of—Mixture of Acacia, three drachms;
Simple Syrup, three drachms;
Tincture of Opium, ten drops (not minims);
Castor oil, two drachms;
Cinnamon Water, four drachms:
Make a Mixture. A teaspoonful to be taken every four hours, first
_well_ shaking the bottle.
A warm bath, at the commencement of the disease, is very efficacious;
but it must be given at the _commencement_. If he has had dysentery for
a day or two, he will be too weak to have a warm bath; then, instead of
the bath, try the following: Wrap him in a blanket which has been
previously wrung out of hot water, over which envelop him in a _dry_
blanket. Keep him in this hot, damp blanket for half an hour; then take
him out, put on his night-gown and place him in bed, which has been, if
it be winter time, previously warmed. The above “blanket treatment” will
frequently give great relief, and will sometimes cause him to fall into
a sweet sleep. A flannel bag filled with hot powdered table salt, made
hot in the oven, applied to the bowels, will afford much comfort.
_What_ NOT _to do_.—Do not give aperients, unless it be, as before
advised, the castor oil guarded with the opium; do not stuff him with
artificial food; do not fail to send for a judicious and an experienced
medical man; for, remember, it requires a skillful doctor to treat a
case of dysentery, more especially in a child.
105. _What are the symptoms, the causes, and the treatment of
Nettle-rash?_
Nettle-rash consists of several irregular raised wheals, red at the base
and white on the summit, on different parts of the body; _but it seldom
attacks the face_. It is not contagious, and it may occur at all ages
and many times. It comes and goes, remaining only a short time in a
place. It puts on very much the appearance of the child having been
stung by nettles—hence its name. It produces great heat, itching, and
irritation, sometimes to such a degree as to make him feverish, sick,
and fretful. He is generally worse when he is warm in bed, or when the
surface of his body is suddenly exposed to the air. Rubbing the skin,
too, always aggravates the itching and the tingling, and brings out a
fresh crop.
The _cause_ of nettle-rash may commonly be traced to improper feeding;
although, occasionally, it proceeds from teething.
_What to do._—It is a complaint of no danger, and readily gives way to a
mild aperient, and to attention to diet. There is nothing better to
relieve the irritation of the skin than a warm bath. If it be a severe
attack of nettle-rash, by all means call in a medical man.
_What_ NOT _to do_.—Do not apply cold applications to his skin, and do
not wash him (while the rash is out) in quite _cold_ water. Do not allow
him to be in a draught, but let him be in a well-ventilated room. If he
be old enough to eat meat, keep it from him for a few days, and let him
live on milk and farinaceous diet. Avoid strong purgatives, and calomel,
and gray powder.
106. _What are the symptoms and the treatment of Red-gum?_
Red-gum, tooth-rash, red-gown, is usually owing to irritation from
teething; not always from the cutting, but from the evolution, the
“breeding,” of the teeth. It is also sometimes owing to unhealthy stools
irritating the bowels, and showing itself, by sympathy, on the skin.
Red-gum consists of several small papulæ, or pimples, about the size of
pins’ heads, and may be known from measles—the only disease for which it
is at all likely to be mistaken—by its being unattended by symptoms of
cold, such as sneezing, running, and redness of the eyes, etc., and by
the patches _not_ assuming a crescentic, half-moon shape; red-gum, in
short, may readily be known by the child’s health being unaffected,
unless, indeed, there be a great crop of pimples; then there will be
slight feverishness.
_What to do._—Little need be done. If there be a good deal of
irritation, a mild aperient should be given. The child ought to be kept
moderately but not very warm.
_What_ NOT _to do_.—Draughts of air, or cold, should be carefully
avoided; as, by sending the eruption suddenly in, either convulsions or
disordered bowels might be produced. Do not dose him with gray powder.
107. _How would you prevent “Stuffing of the nose” in a new-born babe?_
Rubbing a little tallow on the bridge of the nose is the old-fashioned
remedy, and answers the purpose. It ought to be applied every evening
just before putting him to bed.
If the “stuffing” be severe, dip a sponge in hot water, as hot as he can
comfortably bear; ascertain that it be not too hot, by previously
applying it to your own face, and then put it for a few minutes to the
bridge of his nose. As soon as the hard mucus is within reach, it should
be carefully removed.
108. _Do you consider sickness injurious to an infant?_
Many thriving babies are, after taking the breast, frequently sick;
still we cannot look upon sickness otherwise than as an index of either
a disordered or of an overloaded stomach. If the child be sick, and yet
be thriving, it is a proof that he overloads his stomach. A mother,
then, must not allow him to suck so much at a time. She should, until he
retains all he takes, lessen the quantity of milk. If he be sick and
does _not_ thrive, the mother should notice if the milk he throws up has
a sour smell; if it has, she must first of all look to her own health;
she ought to ascertain if her own stomach be out of order; for if such
be the case, it is impossible for her to make good milk. She should
observe whether, in the morning, her own tongue be furred and dry;
whether she have a disagreeable taste in her mouth, or pains at her
stomach, or heart-burn, or flatulence. If she have all, or any of these
symptoms, the mystery is explained why he is sick and does not thrive.
She ought then to seek advice, and a medical man will soon put her
stomach into good order; and, by so doing, will, at the same time,
benefit the child.
But if the mother be in the enjoyment of good health, she must then look
to the babe herself, and ascertain if he be cutting his teeth; if the
gums require lancing; if the secretions from the bowels be proper both
in quantity and in quality; and, if he have had _artificial_ food—it
being absolutely necessary to give such food—whether it agree with him.