CHILDHOOD.
The child is father of the man.—WORDSWORTH.
Bairns are blessings—SHAKESPEARE.
These are MY jewels!—CORNELLA.
116. At twelve months old, do you still recommend a child to be PUT
IN HIS TUB to be washed?
Certainly I do, as I have previously recommended at page 6, in order
that his skin may be well and thoroughly cleansed. If it be summer
time, the water should be used cold; if it be winter, a dash of warm
must be added, so that it may be of the temperature of new milk: but
do not, on any account use very warm water. The head must be washed
(but not dried) before he be placed in a tub, then, putting him in the
tub (containing the necessary quantity of water, and washing him as
previously recommended), [Footnote: See Infancy-Ablution, page 6.] a
large sponge should be filled with the water and squeezed over his
head, so that the water may stream over the whole surface of his
body. A jugful of water should, just before taking him out of his
bath, be poured over and down his loins; all this ought rapidly to be
done, and he must be quickly dried with soft towels, and then
expeditiously dressed. For the washing of your child I would recommend
you to use Castile soap in preference to any other; it is more pure,
and less irritating, and hence does not injure the texture of the
skin. Take care that the soap does not get into his eyes, or it might
produce irritation and smarting.
117. Some mothers object to a child's STANDING in the water.
If the head be wetted before he be placed in the tub, and if he be
washed as above directed, there can be no valid objection to it. He
must not be allowed to remain in his tab more than five minutes.
118. Does not washing the child's head, every morning, make him more
liable to catch cold, and does it not tend to weaken his sight?
It does neither the one nor the other; on the contrary, it prevents
cold, and strengthens his sight; it cleanses his scalp, prevents
scurf, and, by that means, causes a more beautiful bead of hair. The
head, after each washing, ought, with a soft brush, to be well
brushed, but should not be combed. The brushing causes a healthy
circulation of the scalp; but combing the hair makes the head scurfy,
and pulls out the hair by the roots.
119. If the head, notwithstanding the washing, be scurfy, what should
be done?
After the head has been well dried, let a little cocoa-nut oil be well
rubbed, for five minutes each time, into the roots of the hair, and,
afterwards, let the head be well brushed, but not combed. The
fine-tooth comb will cause a greater accumulation of scurf, and will
scratch and injure the scalp.
120. Do you recommend a child to be washed IN HIS TUB every night
and morning?
No; once a day is quite sufficient; in the morning in preference to
the evening; unless he be poorly, then, evening instead of morning;
as, immediately after he has been washed and dried, he can be put to
bed.
121. Ought a child to be placed in his tub whilst he is in a state of
perspiration?
Not whilst he is perspiring violently, or the perspiration might he
checked suddenly, and ill consequences would ensue; nor ought he to
be put in his tub when he is cold, or his blood would be chilled, and
would be sent from the skin to some internal vital part, and thus
would be likely to light up inflammation—probably of the lungs. His
skin, when he is placed in his bath, ought to be moderately and
comfortably warm; neither too hot nor too cold.
122. When the child is a year old, do you recommend cold or warm
water to be used?
If it be winter, a little warm water ought to be added, so as to raise
the temperature to that of new milk. As the summer advances, less and
less warm water is required, so that, at length, none is needed.
123. If a child be delicate, do you recommend anything to be added to
the water which may tend to brace and strengthen him?
Either a handful of table-salt, or half a handful of bay-salt, or of
Tidman's sea-salt, should be previously dissolved in a quart jug of
cold water; then, just before taking the child out of his morning
bath, let the above be poured over and down the back and loins of the
child—holding the jug, while pouring its contents on the back, a foot
distant from the child, in order that it might act as a kind of douche
bath.
124. Do you recommend the child, after he has been dried with the
towel, to be rubbed with the hand?
I do; as friction encourages the cutaneous circulation, and causes the
skin to perform its functions properly, thus preventing the
perspiration (which is one of the impurities of the body) from being
sent inwardly either to the lungs or to other parts. The back, the
chest, the bowels, and the limbs are the parts that ought to be well
rubbed.
125. Have you any remarks to make on the clothing of a child?
Children, boys and girls, especially if they be delicate, ought always
to wear high dresses up to their necks. The exposure of the upper
part of the chest (if the child be weakly) is dangerous. It is in the
upper part of the lungs, in the region of the collar bones, that
consumption first shows itself. The clothing of a child, more
especially about the chest, should be large and full in every part,
and be free from tight strings, so that the circulation of the blood
may not be impeded, and that there may be plenty of room for the fall
development of the rapidly-growing body.
His frock, or tonic, ought to be of woollen material—warm, light, and
porous, in order that the perspiration may rapidly evaporate. The
practice of some mothers in allowing their children to wear tight
bands round their waists, and tight clothes, is truly reprehensible.
Tight bands or tight belts around the waist of a child are very
injurious to health; they crib in the chest, and thus interfere with
the rising and the falling of the ribs—so essential to
breathing. Tight hats ought never to be worn; by interfering with
the circulation they cause headaches. Nature delights in freedom, and
resents interference!
126. What parts of the body in particular ought to be kept warm?
The chest, the bowels, and the feet, should be kept comfortably
warm. We must guard against an opposite extreme, and not keep them too
hot. The head alone should be kept cool, on which account I do not
approve either of night or of day caps.
127. What are the best kinds of hat for a child?
The best covering for the head, when he is out and about, is a
loose-fitting straw hat, which will allow the perspiration to
escape. It should have a broad rim, to screen the eyes. A sun-shade,
that is to say, a sea-side hat—a hat made of cotton—with a wide brim
to keep off the sun, is also an excellent hat for a child; it is very
light, and allows a free escape of the perspiration. It can be
bought, ready made, at a baby-linen warehouse.
A knitted or crocheted woollen hat, with woollen rosettes to keep the
ears warm, and which may be procured at any baby-linen warehouse,
makes a nice and comfortable winter's hat for a child. It is also a
good hat for him to wear while performing a long journey. The colour
chosen is generally scarlet and white, which, in cold weather, gives
it a warm and comfortable appearance.
It is an abominable practice to cover a child's head with beaver or
with felt, or with any thick impervious material It is a
well-ascertained fact, that beaver and silk hats cause men to suffer
from headache, and to lose their hair—the reason being, that the
perspiration cannot possibly escape through them. Now, if the
perspiration cannot escape, dangerous, or at all events injurious,
consequences must ensue, as it is well known that the skin is a
breathing apparatus, and that it will not with impunity bear
interference.
Neither a child nor any one else should be permitted to be in the
glare of the son without his hat. If he be allowed, he is likely to
have a sun-stroke, which might either at once kill him, or might make
him an idiot for the remainder of his life; which latter would be the
worse alternative of the two.
128. Have you, any remarks to make on keeping a child's hands and
legs warm when in the winter time he it carried out?
When a child either walks or is carried out in wintry weather, be sure
and see that both his hands and legs are well protected from the
cold. There is nothing for this purpose like woollen gloves, and
woollen stockings coming up over the knees.
129. Do you approve of a child wearing a flannel nightgown?
He frequently throws the clothes off him, and has occasion to be taken
up in the night, and if he have not a flannel gown on, is likely to
catch cold; on which account I recommend it to be worn. The usual
calico night-gown should be worn under it.
130. Do you advise a child to be LIGHTLY clad, in order that he may
be hardened thereby?
I should fear that such a plan, instead of hardening, would be likely
to produce a contrary effect. It is an ascertained fact that more
children of the poor, who are thus lightly clad, die, than of those
who are properly defended from the cold. Again, what holds good with a
young plant is equally applicable to a young child; and we all know
that it is ridiculous to think of unnecessarily exposing a tender
plant to harden it. If it were thus exposed, it would wither and die.
131. If a child be delicate, if he have a cold body, or a languid
circulation, or if he be predisposed to inflammation of the lungs, do
you approve of his wearing flannel instead of linen shirts?
I do; as flannel tends to keep the body at an equal temperature, thus
obviating the effects of the sudden changes of the weather, and
promotes by gentle friction the cutaneous circulation, thus warming
the cold body, and giving an impetus to the languid circulation, and
preventing an undue quantity of blood from being sent to the lungs,
either to light up or to feed inflammation Fine flannel, of course,
ought to be worn, which should be changed as frequently as the usual
shirts.
If a child have had an attack either of bronchitis or of inflammation
of the lungs, or if he have just recovered from scarlet fever, by all
means, if he have not previously worn flannel, instantly let him
begin to do so, and let him, next to the skin, wear a flannel
waistcoat. This is important advice, and ought not to be
disregarded.
Scarlet flannel is now much used instead of white flannel; and as
scarlet flannel has a more comfortable appearance, and does not shrink
so much in washing, it may be substituted for the white.
132. Have you any remarks to make on the shoes and stockings of a
child? and on the right way of cutting the toe-nails?
He ought, daring the winter, to wear lamb's wool stockings that will
reach above the knees, and thick calico drawers that will reach a
few inches below the knees; as it is of the utmost importance to
keep the lower extremities comfortably warm. It is really painful to
see how many mothers expose the bare legs of their little ones to the
frosty air, even in the depths of winter.
Be sure and see that the boots and shoes of your child be sound and
whole; for if they be not so, they will let in the damp, and if the
damp, disease and perhaps death. "If the poor would take better care
of their children's feet half the infantile mortality would
disappear. It only costs twopence to put a piece of thick felt or cork
into the bottom of a boot or shoe, and the difference is often between
that and a doctors bill, with, perhaps, the undertaker's
besides."—Daily Telegraph,
Garters ought not to be worn, as they impede the circulation, waste
the muscles, and interfere with walking. The stocking may be secured
in its place by means of a loop and tape, which should be fastened to
a part of the dress.
Let me urge upon you the importance of not allowing your child to wear
tight shoes; they cripple the feet, causing the joints of the toes,
which ought to have free play, and which should assist in walking, to
be, in a manner, useless; they produce corns and bunions, and
interfere with the proper circulation of the foot. A shoe ought to be
made according to the shape of the foot—rights and lefts are
therefore desirable. The toe-part of the shoe must be made broad, so
as to allow plenty of room for the toes to expand, and that one toe
cannot overlap another. Be sure, then, that there be no pinching and
no pressure. In the article of shoes you ought to be particular and
liberal; pay attention to having nicely fitting ones, and let them be
made of soft leather, and throw them on one side the moment they are
too small. It is poor economy, indeed, because a pair of shoes be not
worn out, to run the risk of incurring the above evil consequences.
Shoes are far preferable to boots: boots weaken instead of
strengthen the ankle. The ankle and instep require free play, and
ought not to be hampered by boots. Moreover, boots, by undue
pressure, decidedly waste away the ligaments of the ankle. Boots act
on the ankles in a similar way that stays do on the waist—they do
mischief by pressure. Boots waste away the ligaments of the ankle;
stays waste away the muscles of the back and chest; and thus, in both
cases, do irreparable mischief.
A shoe for a child ought to be made with a narrow strap over the
instep, and with button and button-hole; if it be not made in this
way, the shoe will not keep on the foot.
It is a grievous state of things, that in the nineteenth century there
are but few shoemakers who know how to make a shoe! The shoe is made
not to fit a real foot, but a fashionable imaginary one! The poor
unfortunate toes are in consequence screwed up as in a vice!
Let me strongly urge you to be particular that the sock, or stocking,
fits nicely—that it is neither too small nor too large; if it be too
small, it binds up the toes unmercifully, and makes one toe to ride
over the other, and thus renders the toes perfectly useless in
walking; if it be too large, it is necessary to lap a portion of the
sock, or stocking, either under or over the toes, which thus presses
unduly upon them, and gives pain and annoyance. It should be borne in
mind, that if the toes have full play, they, as it were, grasp the
ground, and greatly assist in locomotion—which, of course, if they
are cramped up, they cannot possibly do. Be careful, too, that the
toe-part of the sock, or stocking, be not pointed; let it be made
square in order to give room to the toes. "At this helpless period of
life, the delicately feeble, outspreading toes are wedged into a
narrow-toed stocking, often so short as to double in the toes,
diminishing the length of the rapidly growing foot! It is next,
perhaps, tightly laced into a boot of less interior dimensions than
itself; when the poor little creature is left to sprawl about with a
limping, stumping gait, thus learning to walk as it best can, under
circumstances the most cruel and torturing imaginable." [Footnote:
The Foot and its Covering, second edition. By James Dowie. London:
1872. I beg to call a mother's especial attention to this valuable
little book: it is written by an earnest intelligent man, by one who
has studied the subject in all its bearings, and by one who is himself
a shoemaker.]
It is impossible for either a stocking, or a shoe, to fit nicely
unless the toe-nails be kept in proper order. Now, in cutting the
toe-nails, there is, as in everything else, a right and a wrong
way. The right way of cutting a toe-nail is to cut it straight—in a
straight line. The wrong way is to cut the corners of the nail—to
round the nail as it is called. This cutting the corners of the nails
often makes work for the surgeon, as I myself can testify; it
frequently produces "growing-in" of the nail, which sometimes
necessitates the removal of either the nail, or a portion of it.
133. At what time of the year should a child leave off his winter
clothing?
A mother ought not to leave off her children's winter clothing until
the spring be far advanced: it is far better to be on the safe side,
and to allow the winter clothes to be worn until the end of May. The
old adage is very good, and should be borne in mind:—
"Button to chin
Till May be in;
Ne'er cast a clout
Till May be out."
134. Have you any general remarks to make on the present fashion of
dressing children?
The present fashion is absurd. Children are frequently dressed like
mountebanks, with feathers and furbelows and finery; the boys go
bare-legged; the little girls are dressed like women, with their
stuck-out petticoats, crinolines, and low dresses! Their poor little
waists are drawn in tight, so that they can scarcely breathe; their
dresses are very low and short, the consequence is, that a great part
of the chest is exposed to our variable climate; their legs are bare
down to their thin socks, or if they be clothed, they are only covered
with gossamer drawers; while their feet are encased in tight shoes of
paper thickness! Dress! dress! dress! is made with them, at a tender
age, and when first impressions are the strongest, a most important
consideration. They are thus rendered vain and frivolous, and are
taught to consider dress "as the one thing needful" And if they live
to be women—which the present fashion is likely frequently to
prevent—what are they? Silly, simpering, delicate, lack-a-daisical
nonentities; dress being their amusement, their occupation, their
conversation, their everything, their thoughts by day and their dreams
by night! Truly they are melancholy objects to behold! Let children be
dressed as children, not as men and women. Let them be taught that
dress is quite a secondary consideration. Let health, and not
fashion, be the first, and we shall then have, with God's blessing,
blooming children, who will, in time, be the pride and strength of
dear old England!
135. At TWELVE months old, have you any objection to a child having
any other food besides that you mentioned in answer to the 34th
question?
There is no objection to his occasionally having, for dinner, either
a mealy, mashed potato and gravy, or a few crumbs of bread and
gravy. Rice-pudding or batter-pudding may, for a change, be given; but
remember, the food recommended in a former Conversation is what, until
he be eighteen months old, must be principally taken. During the early
months of infancy—say, for the first six or seven—if artificial food
be given at all, it should be administered by means of a
feeding-bottle. After that time, either a spoon, or a nursing boat,
will be preferable. The food as he becomes older, ought to be made
more solid.
136. At EIGHTEEN months old, have you any objection to a child
having meat?
He ought not to have meat until he have several teeth to chew it
with. If he has most of his teeth—which he very likely at this age
will have—there is no objection to his taking a small slice either of
mutton, or occasionally of roast beef, which should be well cut into
very small pieces, and mixed with a mealy mashed potato, and a few
crumbs of bread and gravy; either every day, if he be delicate, or
every other day, if he be a gross or a fast-feeding child. It may be
well, in the generality of cases, for the first few months to give him
meat every other day, and either potato or gravy, or rice or
suet-pudding or batter-pudding on the alternate days; indeed, I think
so highly of rice, of suet, and of batter-puddings, and of other
farinaceous puddings, that I should advise you to let him have either
the one or the other even on those days that he has meat—giving it
him after his meat. But remember, if he have meat and pudding, the
meat ought to be given sparingly. If he be gorged with food, it makes
him irritable, cross, and stupid; at one time, clogging up his bowels,
and producing constipation; at another, disordering his liver, and
causing either clay-coloured stools—denoting a deficiency of bile,
or dark and offensive motions—telling of vitiated bile; while, in a
third case, cramming him with food might bring on convulsions.
137. As you are to partial to puddings for a child, which do you
consider the best for him?
He ought, every day, to have a pudding for his dinner—either rice,
arrow-root, sago, tapioca, suet-pudding, batter-pudding, or
Yorkshire-pudding, mixed with crumbs of bread and gravy—free from
grease. A well boiled suet-pudding, with plenty of suet in it, is one
of the best puddings he can have; it is, in point of fact, meat and
farinaceous food combined, and is equal to, and will oftentimes
prevent the giving of, cod-liver oil; before cod-liver oil came into
vogue, suet boiled in milk was the remedy for a delicate child. He
may, occasionally, have fruit-pudding, provided the pastry be both
plain and light.
The objection to fruit pies and puddings is, that the pastry is often
too rich for the delicate stomach of a child; there is so objection,
certainly not, to the fruit—cooked fruit being, for a child, most
wholesome; if, therefore, fruit puddings and pies be eaten, the pastry
part ought to be quite plain. There is, in "Murray's Modern Cookery
Book," an excellent suggestion, which I will take the liberty of
quoting, and of strongly urging my fair reader to carry into
practice:—"To prepare fruit for children, a far more wholesome way
than in pies and puddings, is to put apples sliced, or plums,
currants, gooseberries, &c., into a stone jar; and sprinkle among them
as much Lisbon sugar as necessary. Set the jar on an oven or on a
hearth, with a tea-cupful of water to prevent the fruit from burning;
or put the jar into a saucepan of water, till its contents be
perfectly done. Slices of bread or some rice may be put into the jar,
to eat with the fruit."
Jam—such as strawberry, raspberry, gooseberry—is most wholesome
for a child, and ought occasionally to be given, in lieu of sugar,
with the rice, with the batter, and with the other puddings.
Marmalade, too, is very wholesome.
Puddings ought to be given after and not before his meat and
vegetables; if you give him pudding before his meat, he might refuse
to eat meat altogether. By adopting the plan of giving puddings
every day, your child will require less animal food; much meat
is injurious to a young child. But do not run into an opposite
extreme: a little meat ought, every day, to be given, provided he
has cut the whole of his first set of teeth; until then, meat every
other day will be often enough.
138. As soon as a child has cut the whole of his first set of teeth,
what ought to be his diet?—What should be his breakfast?
He can, then, have nothing better, where it agrees, than scalding hot
new milk poured on sliced bread, with a slice or two of bread and
butter to eat with it. Butter, in moderation, is nourishing,
fattening, and wholesome. Moreover, butter tends to keep the bowels
regular. These facts should be borne in mind, as some mothers
foolishly keep their children from butter, declaring it to be too rich
for their children's stomachs! New milk should be used in preference
either to cream or to skim-milk. Cream, as a rule, is too rich for
the delicate stomach of a child, and skim-milk is too poor when robbed
of the butter which the cream contains. But give cream and water,
where new milk (as is occasionally the case) does not agree; but
never give skim-milk. Skim-milk (among other evils) produces
costiveness, and necessitates the frequent administration of
aperients. Cream, on the other hand, regulates and tends to open the
bowels.
Although I am not, as a rule, so partial to cream as I am to good
genuine fresh milk, yet I have found, in cases of great debility, more
especially where a child is much exhausted by some inflammatory
disease, such as inflammation of the lungs, the following food most
serviceable:—Beat up, by means of a fork, the yolk of an egg, then
mix, little by little, half a tea-cupful of very weak black tea,
sweeten with one lump of sugar, and add a table-spoonful of cream. Let
the above, by tea-spoonfuls at a time be frequently given. The above
food is only to be administered until the exhaustion be removed, and
is not to supersede the milk diet, which must, at stated periods, be
given, as I have recommended in answers to previous and subsequent
questions.
When a child has costive bowels, there is nothing better for his
breakfast than well-made and well-boiled oatmeal stir-about, which
ought to be eaten with milk fresh from the cow. Scotch children
scarcely take anything else, and a finer race is not in existence;
and, as for physic, many of them do not even know either the taste or
the smell of it! You win find Robinson's Pure Scotch Oatmeal (sold in
packets) to be very pure, and sweet, and good. Stir-about is truly
said to be—
"The halesome parritch, chief of Scotia's food."—Burns.
Cadbury's Cocoa Essence, made with equal parts of boiling water and
fresh milk, slightly sweetened with lump sugar, is an admirable food
for a delicate child. Bread and butter should be eaten with it.
139. Have you any remarks to make on cow's milk as an article of
food?
Cow's milk is a valuable, indeed, an indispensable article of diet,
for the young; it is most nourishing, wholesome, and digestible. The
finest and the healthiest children are those who, for the first four
or five years of their lives, are fed principally upon it. Milk
ought then to be their staple food. No child, as a rule, can live, or,
if he live, can be healthy, unless milk be the staple article of his
diet. There is no substitute for milk. To prove the fattening and
strengthening qualities of milk, look only at a young calf who lives
on milk, and on milk alone! He is a Samson in strength, and is "as fat
as butter;" and all young things if they are in health are fat!
Milk, then, contains every ingredient to build up the body, which is
more than can be said of any other known substance besides. A child
may live entirely, and grow, and become both healthy and strong, on
milk and on milk alone, as it contains every constituent of the human
body. A child cannot "live by bread alone," but he might on milk
alone! Milk is animal and vegetable—it is meat and bread—it is food
and drink—it is a fluid, but as soon as it reaches the stomach it
becomes a solid [Footnote: How is milk in the making of cheese,
converted into curds? By rennet. What is rennet? The juice of a
calf's maw or stomach. The moment the milk enters the human maw or
stomach, the juice of the stomach converts it into curds—into solid
food, just as readily as when it enters a calfs maw or stomach, and
much more readily than by rennet, as the fresh juice is stronger
than the stale. An ignorant mother often complains that because,
when her child is sick, the milk curdles, that it is a proof that it
does not agree with him! If, at those times, it did not curdle, it
would, indeed, prove that his stomach was in a wretchedly weak state;
she would then have abundant cause to be anxious.]—solid food; it is
the most important and valuable article of diet for a child in
existence. It is a glorious food for the young, and must never, on any
account whatever, in any case be dispensed with. "Considering that
milk contains in itself most of the constituents of a perfect diet,
and is capable of maintaining life in infancy without the aid of any
other substance, it is marvellous that the consumption of it is
practically limited to so small a class; and not only so, but that in
sick-rooms, where the patient is surrounded with every luxury,
arrow-root, and other compounds containing much less nutriment, should
so often be preferred to it."—The Times.
Do not let me be misunderstood. I do not mean to say, but that the
mixing of farinaceous food—such as Lemann's Biscuit Powder, Robb's
Biscuit, Hard's Farinaceous Food, Brown and Polson's Corn Flour, and
the like, with the milk, is an improvement, in some cases—a great
improvement; but still I maintain that a child might live and thrive,
and that for a lengthened period, on milk—and on milk alone!
A dog will live and fatten for six weeks on milk alone; while he will
starve and die in a shorter period on strong beef-tea alone!
It is a grievous sin for a milkman to adulterate milk. How many a
poor infant has fallen a victim to that crime!—for crime it may be
truly called.
It is folly in the extreme for a mother to bate a milkman down in the
price of his milk; if she does, the milk is sure to be either of
inferior quality, or adulterated, or diluted with water; and woe
betide the poor unfortunate child if it be either the one or the
other! The only way to insure good milk is, to go to a respectable
cow-keeper, and let him be made to thoroughly understand the
importance of your child having genuine milk, and that you are then
willing to pay a fair remunerative price for it. Rest assured, that if
you have to pay one penny or even twopence a quart more for genuine
milk, it is one of the best investments that you ever have made, or
that you are ever likely to make in this world! Cheap and inferior
milk might well be called cheap and nasty; for inferior or adulterated
milk is the very essence, the conglomeration of nastiness; and,
moreover, is very poisonous to a child's stomach. One and the
principal reason why so many children are rickety and scrofulous, is
the horrid stuff called milk that is usually given to them. It is a
crying evil, and demands a thorough investigation and reformation, and
the individual interference of every parent. Limited Liability
Companies are the order of the day; it would really be not a bad
speculation if one were formed in every large town, in order to insure
good, genuine, and undiluted milk.
Young children, as a rule, are allowed to eat too much meat. It is a
mistaken notion of a mother that they require so much animal food. If
more milk were given and less meat, they would he healthier, and would
not be so predisposed to disease, especially to diseases of debility,
and to skin-disease.
I should strongly recommend you, then, to be extravagant in your milk
score. Each child ought, in the twenty-four hours, to take at least a
quart of good, fresh, new milk. It should, of course, be given in
various ways,—as bread and milk, rice-puddings, milk and differents
kinds of farinaceous food, stir-about, plain milk, cold milk, hot
milk, any way, and every way, that will please his palate, and that
will induce him to take an abundant supply of it. The "advice" I have
just given you is of paramount importance, and demands your most
earnest attention. There would be very few rickety children in the
world if my "counsel" were followed out to the very letter.
140. But suppose my child will not take milk, he having an aversion
to it, what ought then to be done?
Boil the milk, and sweeten it to suit his palate. After he has been
accustomed to it for a while, he will then, probably, like
milk. Gradually reduce the sugar, until at length it be dispensed
with. A child will often take milk this way, whereas he will not
otherwise touch it.
If a child will not drink milk, he must eat meat; it is absolutely
necessary that he should have either the one or the other; and, if he
have cut nearly all his teeth, he ought to have both meat and
milk—the former in moderation, the latter in abundance.
141. Supposing milk should not agree with my child, what must then be
done?
Milk, either boiled or unboiled, almost always agrees with a child. If
it does not, it must be looked upon as the exception, and not as the
rule. I would, in such a case, advise one-eighth of lime water to be
added to seven-eighths of new milk—that is to say, two
table-spoonfuls of lime water should be mixed with half a pint of new
milk.
142. Can you tell me of a way to prevent milk, in hot weather, from
turning sour?
Let the jug of milk be put into a crock, containing ice—Wenham Lake
is the best—either in the dairy or in the cellar. The ice may at any
time, be procured of a respectable fishmonger, and should be kept,
wrapped either in flannel or in blanket, in a cool place, until it be
wanted.
143. Can you tell me why the children of the rich suffer so much more
from costiveness than do the children of the poor?
The principal reason is that the children of the rich drink milk
without water, while the children of the poor drink water without, or
with very little, milk—milk being binding, and water opening to the
bowels. Be sure then, and bear in mind, as this is most important
advice, to see that water is mixed with all the milk that is given to
your child. The combination of milk and water for a child is a
glorious compound—strengthening, fattening, refreshing, and
regulating to the bowels, and thus doing away with that disgraceful
proceeding so common in nurseries, of everlastingly physicking,
irritating and irreparably injuring the tender bowels of a child.
My opinion is, that aperients, as a rule, are quite unnecessary, and
should only be given in severe illness, and under the direction of a
judicious medical man. How much misery, and injury, might be averted
if milk were always given to a child in combination with water!
Aperients, by repetition, unlike water, increase the mischief tenfold,
and cork them up most effectually; so that the bowels, in time, will
not act without them!
A mother before she gives an aperient to her child should ponder well
upon what I have said upon the subject, it being a vital question,
affecting, as it does, the well-being and the well-doing of her child.
144. But, if a child's bowels be very costive, what is to be done to
relieve them?
Do not give him a grain or a drop of opening medicine, but in lieu
thereof, administer, by means of a 6 oz. India-rubber Enema Bottle,
half a tea-cup or a tea-cupful, according to the age of the child,
[Footnote: For a babe, from birth until he be two years old, one, two,
or three table-spoonfuls of warm water will be sufficient, and a 2
oz. Enema Bottle will be the proper size for the purpose of
administering it.] of warm water; now this will effectually open the
bowels, without confining them afterwards, which opening physic would
most assuredly do!
145. Is it necessary to give a child luncheon?
If he want anything to eat between breakfast and dinner let him have a
piece of dry bread; and if he have eaten very heartily at dinner, and,
like Oliver Twist, "asks for more!" give him, to satisfy his craving,
a piece of dry bread. He will never eat more of that than will do
him good, and yet he will take sufficient to satisfy his hunger, which
is very important.
146. What ought now to be his dinner?
He should now have meat, either mutton or beef, daily, which must be
cut up very small, and should be mixed with mealy, mashed potato and
gravy. He ought always to be accustomed to eat salt with his
dinner. Let a mother see that this advice is followed, or evil
consequences will inevitably ensue. Let him be closely watched, to
ascertain that he well masticates his food, and that he does not eat
too quickly; for young children are apt to bolt their food.
147. Have you any objection to pork for a change?
I have a great objection to it for the young. It is a rich, gross, and
therefore unwholesome food for the delicate stomach of a child. I have
known it, in several instances, produce violent pain, sickness,
purging, and convulsions. If a child be fed much, upon such meat, it
will be likely to produce "breakings-out" on the skin. In fine, his
blood will put on the same character as the food he is fed
with. Moreover, pork might be considered a strong meat, and
"strong meat and strong drink can only be taken by strong men."
148. Do you approve of veal for a child?
My objection to pork was, that it was rich and gross; this does not
apply to veal; but the objection to it is, that it is more difficult
of digestion that either mutton or beef; indeed, all young meats are
harder of digestion than meats of maturity; thus mutton is more
digestible than lamb, and beef than veal.
149. Do you disapprove of salted and boiled beef for a child?
If beef be much salted it is hard of digestion, and therefore ought
not to be given to him; but if it have been but slightly salted,
then for a change there will be no objection to a little. There is no
necessity in the winter time to salt meat intended for boiling;
then boiled unsalted meat makes a nice change for a child's dinner.
Salt, of course, must with the unsalted meat be eaten.
150. But suppose there is nothing on the table that a child may with
impunity eat?
He should then have either a grilled mutton chop, or a lightly-boiled
egg; indeed, the latter, at any time, makes an excellent change. There
is great nourishment in an egg; it will not only strengthen the frame,
but it will give animal heat as well: these two qualities of an egg
are most valuable; indeed, essential for the due performance of
health: many articles of food contain the one qualification, but not
the other: hence the egg is admirably suitable for a child's
occasional dinner.
151. Are potatoes an unwholesome food for a child?
New ones are; but old potatoes well cooked and mealy, are the best
vegetable he can have. They ought to be well mashed, as I have known
lumps of potatoes cause convulsions.
152. Do you approve of any other vegetables for a child?
Occasionally: either asparagus or broccoli, or cauliflower, or
turnips, or French beans, which latter should be cut up fine, may with
advantage be given. Green peas may occasionally be given, provided
they be thoroughly well boiled, and mashed with the knife on the
plate. Underdone and unmashed peas are not fit for a child's stomach:
there is nothing more difficult of digestion than underdone peas. It
is important, too, to mash them, even if they be well done, as a child
generally bolts peas whole; and they pass through the alimentary canal
without being in the least digested.
153. Might not a mother be too particular in dieting her child?
Certainly not. If blood can be too pure and too good she might! When
we take into account that the food we eat is converted into blood;
that if the food be good the blood is good; and that if the food be
improper or impure, the blood is impure likewise; and, moreover, when
we know that every part of the body is built up by the blood, we
cannot be considered to be too particular in making our selection of
food. Besides if indigestible or improper food be taken into the
stomach, the blood will not only be made impure, but the stomach and
the bowels will be disordered. Do not let me be misunderstood: I am no
advocate for a child having the same food one day as another—
certainly not. Let there be variety, but let it be wholesome
variety. Variety in a child's (not in infant's) food is necessary. If
he were fed, day after day, on mutton, his stomach would, at length be
brought into that state, that in time it would not properly digest any
other meat, and a miserable existence would be the result.
154. What ought a child to drink with his dinner?
Toast and water, or, if he prefer it, plain spring water. Let him
have as much as he likes. If you give him water to drink, there is no
fear of his taking too much; Nature will tell him when he has had
enough. Be careful of the quality of the water, and the source from
which you procure it. If the water be hard—provided it be free from
organic matter—so much the better. [Footnote: See the third edition
of Counsel to a Mother, under the head of "Hard or soft water as a
beverage!"] Spring water from a moderately deep well is the best. If
it come from a land spring, it is apt, indeed, is almost sure to be
contaminated by drains, &c.; which is a frequent cause of fevers, of
diphtheria, of Asiatic cholera, and of other blood poisons.
Guard against the drinking water being contaminated with lead; never,
therefore, allow the water to be collected in leaden cisterns, as it
sometimes is if the water be obtained from Water-works companies. Lead
pumps, for the same reason, ought never to be used for drinking
purposes. Paralysis, constipation, lead colic, dropping of the wrist,
wasting of the ball of the thumb, loss of memory, and broken and
ruined health, might result from neglect of this advice.
The drinking fountains are a great boon to poor children, as water and
plenty of it, is one of the chief necessaries of their existence; and,
unfortunately, at their own homes they are not, oftentimes, able to
obtain a sufficient supply. Moreover, drinking fountains are the best
advocates for Temperance.
Some parents are in the habit of giving their children beer with their
dinners—making them live as they live themselves! This practice is
truly absurd, and fraught with great danger! not only so, but it is
inducing a child to be fond of that which in after life might be his
bane and curse! No good end can be obtained by it; it will not
strengthen so young a child; it will on the contrary, create fever,
and will thereby weaken him; it will act injuriously upon his
delicate, nervous, and vascular systems, and by means of producing
inflammation either of the brain or of its membranes, might thus cause
water on the brain (a disease to which young children are subject), or
it might induce inflammation of the lungs.
155. What ought a child who has cut his teeth to have for his
supper?
The same that he has for breakfast. He should sup at six o'clock.
156. Have you any general remarks to make on a child's meals?
I recommended a great sameness in an infant's diet; but a child's
meals, his dinners especially, ought to be much varied. For instance,
do not let him have day after day mutton; but ring the changes on
mutton, beef, poultry, game, and even occasionally fish—sole or cod.
Not only let there be a change of meat, but let there be a change in
the manner of cooking it; let the meat sometimes be roasted; let it at
other times be boiled. I have known a mother who has prided herself as
being experienced in these matters, feed her child, day after day, on
mutton chops! Such a proceeding is most injurious to him, as after a
while his unfortunate stomach will digest nothing but mutton chops,
and, in time, not even those!
With regard to vegetables, potatoes—mashed potatoes—ought to be
his staple vegetable; but, every now and then, cauliflower, asparagus,
turnips, and French beans, should be given.
With respect to puddings, vary them; rice, one day; suet, another;
batter, a third; tapioca, a fourth; or, even occasionally, he might
have either apple or gooseberry or rhubarb pudding—provided the
pastry be plain and light.
It is an excellent plan, as I have before remarked, to let her child
eat jam—such as strawberry, raspberry, or gooseberry—and that
without stint, either with rice or with batter puddings.
Variety of diet, then, is good for a child: it will give him
muscle, bone, and sinew; and, what is very important, it will tend to
regulate his bowels, and it will thus prevent the necessity of giving
him aperients.
But do not stuff a child—do not press him, as is the wont of some
mothers, to eat more than he feels inclined. On the contrary, if you
think that he is eating too much—that he is overloading his
stomach—and if he should ask for more, then, instead of giving him
either more meat or more pudding, give him a piece of dry bread. By
doing so, you may rest assured that he will not eat more than is
absolutely good for him.
157. If a child be delicate, is there any objection to a little wine,
such as cowslip or tent, to strengthen him?
Wine ought not to be given to a child unless it be ordered by a
medical man; it is even more injurious than beer. Wine, beer, and
spirits, principally owe their strength to the alcohol they contain;
indeed, nearly all wines are fortified (as it is called) with
brandy. Brandy contains a large quantity of alcohol, more than any
other liquor, namely 55.3 per cent. If, therefore, you give wine, it
is, in point of fact, giving diluted brandy—diluted alcohol; and
alcohol acts, unless it be used as a medicine, and under skilful
medical advice, as a poison to a child.
158. Suppose a child suddenly to lose his appetite? is any notice to
be taken of it?
If he cannot eat well, depend upon it, there is something wrong about
the system. If he be teething, let a mother look well to his gums, and
satisfy herself that they do not require lancing. If they be red, hot,
and swollen, send for a medical man, that he may scarify them. If his
gums be not inflamed, and no tooth appears near, let her look well to
the state of his bowels; let her ascertain that they be sufficiently
opened, and that the stools be of a proper consistence, colour, and
smell. If they be neither the one nor the other, give a dose of
aperient medicine, which will generally put all to rights. If the gums
be cool, and the bowels be right, and his appetite continue bad, call
in medical aid.
A child asking for something to eat, is frequently, in a severe
illness, the first favourable symptom; we may generally then
prognosticate that all will soon be well again.
If a child refuse his food, neither coax nor tempt him to eat: as food
without an appetite will do him more harm than it will do him good; it
may produce either sickness, bowel-complaint, or fever. Depend upon
it, there is always a cause for a want of appetite;—perhaps his
stomach has been over-worked, and requires repose; or his bowels are
loaded, and Nature wishes to take time to use up the old
material;—there might be fever lurking in his system; Nature stops
the supplies, and thus endeavours, by not giving it food to work with,
to nip it in the bud;—there might be inflammation; food would then be
improper, as it would only add fuel to the fire; let, therefore, the
cause be either an overworked stomach, over-loaded bowels, fever, or
inflammation, food would be injurious. Kind Nature if we will but
listen to her voice, will tell us when to eat, and when to refrain.
159. When a child is four or five years old, have you any objection
to his drinking tea?
Some parents are in the habit of giving their children strong (and
frequently green) tea. This practice is most hurtful. It acts
injuriously upon their delicate, nervous system, and thus weakens
their whole frame. If milk does not agree, a cup of very weak tea,
that is to say, water with a dash of black tea in it, with a
table-spoonful of cream, may be substituted for milk; but a mother
must never give tea where milk agrees.
160. Have you any objection to a child occasionally having either
cakes or sweetmeats?
I consider them as so much slow poison. Such things both cloy and
weaken the stomach, and thereby take away the appetite, and thus
debilitate the frame. Moreover "sweetmeats are coloured with poisonous
pigments." A mother, surely, is not aware, that when she is giving
her child Sugar Confectionery she is, in many cases, administering a
deadly poison to him? "We beg to direct the attention of our readers
to the Report of the Analytical Sanitary Commission, contained in the
Lancet of the present week (Dec. 18, 1858), on the pigments employed
in colouring articles of Sugar Confectionery. From this report it
appears that metallic pigments of a highly dangerous and even
poisonous character, containing chromic acid, lead, copper, mercury,
and arsenic, are commonly used in the colouring of such articles."
If a child be never allowed to eat cakes and sweetmeats, he will
consider a piece of dry bread a luxury, and will eat it with the
greatest relish.
161. Is bakers' or is home-made bread the most wholesome for a
child?
Bakers' bread is certainly the lightest; and, if we could depend upon
its being unadulterated, would, from its lightness, be the most
wholesome; but as we cannot always depend upon bakers' bread,
home-made bread, as a rule should be preferred. If it be at all heavy,
a child must not be allowed to partake of it; a baker's loaf ought
then to be sent for, and continued to be eaten until light home-made
bread can be procured. Heavy bread is most indigestible. He must not
be allowed to eat bread until it be two or three days old. If it be a
week old, in cold weather, it will be the more wholesome.
162. Do you approve either of caraway seeds or of currants in bread
or in cakes—the former to disperse wind, the latter to open the
bowels?
There is nothing better than plain bread: the caraway-seeds generally
pass through the bowels undigested, and thus might irritate, and might
produce, instead of disperse wind. [Footnote: Although caraway seeds
whole are unwholesome, yet caraway tea, made as recommended in a
previous Conversation, is an excellent remedy to disperse wind.] Some
mothers put currants in cakes, with a view of opening the bowels of
their children; but they only open them by disordering them.
163. My child has an antipathy to certain articles of diet: what
would you advise to be done?
A child's antipathy to certain articles of diet should be respected:
it is a sin and a shame to force him to eat what he has a great
dislike to: a child, for instance, sometimes dislikes the fat of meat,
underdone meat, the skin off boiled milk and off rice-pudding. Why
should he not have his likes and dislikes as well as "children of a
larger growth?" Besides, there is an idiosyncrasy—a peculiarity of
the constitution in some children—and Nature oftentimes especially
points out what is good and what is bad for them individually, and we
are not to fly in the face of Nature. "What is one man's meat is
another man's poison." If a child be forced to eat what he dislikes,
it will most likely not only make him sick, but will disorder his
stomach and bowels; food, if it is really to do him good, must be
eaten by him with a relish, and not with disgust and aversion. Some
mothers, who are strict disciplinarians, pride themselves on
compelling their children to eat whatever they choose to give them!
Such children are to be pitied!
164. When ought a child to commence to dine with his parents?
As soon as he be old enough to sit up at the table, provided the
father and mother either dine or lunch in the middle of the day. "I
always prefer having children about me at meal tines. I think it makes
them little gentlemen and gentlewomen in a manner that nothing else
will."—Christian's Mistake.
165. Save you any remarks to make on the selection, the ventilation,
the warming, the temperature, and the arrangements of a nursery? and
have you any further observations to offer conducive to the well-doing
of my child?
The nursery ought to be the largest and the most airy room in the
house. In the town, if it be in the topmost story (provided the
apartment be large and airy) so much the better, as the air will then
be purer. The architect, in the building of a house, ought to be
particularly directed to pay attention to the space, the loftiness,
the ventilation, the light, the warming, and the conveniences of a
nursery. A bath-room attached to it will be of great importance and
benefit to the health of a child.
It will be advantageous to have a water-closet near at hand, which
should be well supplied with water, be well drained, and be well
ventilated. If this be not practicable, the evacuations ought to be
removed as soon as they are passed. It is a filthy and an idle habit
of a nurse-maid to allow a motion to remain for any length of time in
the room.
The VENTILATION of a nursery is of paramount importance. There ought
to be a constant supply of fresh pure air in the apartment. But how
few nurseries have fresh, pure air! Many nurseries are nearly
hermetically sealed—the windows are seldom, if ever, opened; the
doors are religiously closed; and, in summer time, the chimneys are
carefully stuffed up, so that a breath of air is not allowed to enter!
The consequences are, the poor unfortunate children "are poisoned by
their own breaths," and are made so delicate that they are constantly
catching cold; indeed, it might be said that they are labouring under
chronic catarrhs, all arising from Nature's laws being set at
defiance.
The windows ought to be large, and should be made to freely open both
top and bottom. Whenever the child is out of the nursery, the windows
ought to be thrown wide open; indeed, when he is in it, if the weather
be fine, the upper sash should be a little lowered. A child should be
encouraged to change the room, frequently, in order that it may be
freely ventilated; for good air is as necessary to his health as
wholesome food, and air cannot be good if it be not frequently
changed. If you wish to have a strong and healthy child, ponder over
and follow this advice.
I have to enter my protest against the use of a stove in a nursery. I
consider a gas stove without a chimney to be an abomination, most
destructive to human life. There is nothing like the old-fashioned
open fire-place with a good-sized chimney, so that it may not only
carry off the smoke, but also the impure air of the room.
Be strict in not allowing your child either to touch or to play with
fire; frightful accidents have occurred from mothers and nurses being
on these points lax. The nursery ought to have a large fire-guard, to
go all round the hearth, and which should be sufficiently high to
prevent a child from climbing over. Not only must the nursery have a
guard, but every room where he is allowed to go should he furnished
with one on the bars.
Moreover, it will be advisable to have a guard in every room where a
fire is burning, to prevent ladies from being burned. Fortunately for
them, preposterous crinolines are out of fashion: when they were in
fashion, death from burning was of every-day occurrence; indeed,
lady-burning was then to be considered one of the institutions of our
land!
A nursery is usually kept too hot; the temperature in the winter time
ought not to exceed 60 degrees Fahrenheit A good thermometer
should be considered an indispensable requisite to a nursery. A child
in a hot, close nursery is bathed in perspiration; if he leave the
room to go to one of lower temperature, the pores of his skin are
suddenly closed, and either a severe cold or an inflammation of the
lungs, or an attack of bronchitis, is likely to ensue. Moreover, the
child is both weakened and enervated by the heat, and thus readily
falls a prey to disease.
A child ought never to be permitted to sit with his back to the fire;
if he be allowed, it weakens the spine, and thus his whole frame; it
causes a rash of blood to the head and face, and predisposes him to
catch cold.
Let a nurse make a point of opening the nursery window every time that
she and her little charge leave the nursery, if her absence be only
for half an hour. The mother herself ought to see that this advice is
followed, pure air is so essential to the well-being of a child. Pure
air and pure water, and let me add, pure milk, are for a child the
grand and principal requirements of health.
Look well to the DRAINAGE of your house and neighbourhood. A child is
very susceptible to the influence of bad drainage. Bad drains are
fruitful sources of scarlet fever, of diphtheria, of diarrhoea,
&c. "It is sad to be reminded that, whatever evils threaten the health
of population, whether from pollutions of water or of air,—whether
from bad drainage or overcrowding, they fall heaviest upon the most
innocent victims—upon children of tender years. Their delicate frames
are infinitely more sensitive than the hardened constitutions of
adults, and the breath of poison, or the chill of hardships, easily
blights their tender life."—The Times.
A nursery floor ought not to be washed oftener than once a week; and
then the child or children should, until it be dry, be sent into
another room. During the drying of the floor, the windows must, of
course, be thrown wide open.
The constant wetting of a nursery is a frequent source of illness
among children. The floor ought, of course, to be kept clean; but this
may be done by the servant thoroughly sweeping the room out every
morning before her little charge makes his appearance.
Do not have your nursery wall covered with green paper-hangings. Green
paper-hangings contain large quantities of arsenic—arsenite of copper
(Scheele's green)—which, I need scarcely say, is a virulent poison,
and which flies about the room in the form of powder. There is
frequently enough poison on the walls of a room to destroy a whole
neigbourhood.
There is another great objection to having your nursery walls covered
with green paper-hangings; if any of the paper should become loose
from the walls, a little child is very apt to play with it, and to put
it, as he does every thing else, to his mouth. This is not an
imaginary state of things, as four children in one family have just
lost their lives from sucking green paper-hangings.
Green dresses, as they are coloured with a preparation of arsenic, are
equally as dangerous as green paper-hangings; a child ought,
therefore, never to wear a green dress. "It may be interesting to some
of our readers," says Land and Water, "to know that the new green,
so fashionable for ladies' dresses, is just as dangerous in its nature
as the green wall-paper, about which so much was written some time
since. It is prepared with a large quantity of arsenic; and we have
been assured by several of the leading dressmakers, that the workwomen
employed in making up dresses of this colour are seriously affected
with all the symptoms of arsenical poisoning. Let our lady friends
take care."
Children's toys are frequently painted of a green colour with arsenite
of copper, and are consequently, highly dangerous for him to play
with. The best toy for a child is a box of unpainted wooden bricks,
which is a constant source of amusement to him.
If you have your nursery walls hung with paintings and engravings, let
them be of good quality. The horrid daubs and bad engravings that
usually disfigure nursery walls, are enough to ruin the taste of a
child, and to make him take a disgust to drawing, which would be a
misfortune. A fine engraving and a good painting expand and elevate
his mind. We all know that first impressions are the most vivid and
the most lasting. A taste in early life for everything refined and
beautiful purifies his mind, cultivates his intellect, keeps him from
low company, and makes him grow up a gentleman!
Lucifer matches, in case of sudden illness, should, both in the
nursery and in the bedroom, be always in readiness; but they must be
carefully placed out of the reach of children, as lucifer matches are
a deadly poison. Many inquests have been held on children who have,
from having sucked them, been poisoned by them.
166. Have you any observation to make on the LIGHT of a nursery?
Let the window, or what is better, the windows, of a nursery be very
large, so as to thoroughly light up every nook and corner of the room,
as there is nothing more conducive to the health of a child than an
abundance of light in the dwelling. A room cannot, then, be too light.
The windows of a nursery are generally too small. A child requires as
much light as a plant. Gardeners are well aware of the great
importance of light in the construction of their greenhouses, and yet
a child, who requires it as much, and is of much greater importance,
is cooped up in dark rooms!
The windows of a nursery ought not only to be frequently opened to let
in fresh air, but should be frequently cleaned, to let in plenty of
light and of sunshine, as nothing is so cheering and beneficial to a
child as an abundance of light and sunshine!
With regard to the best artificial light for a nursery.—The air of
a nursery cannot be too pure; I therefore do not advise you to have
gas in it, as gas in burning gives off quantities of carbonic acid and
sulphuretted hydrogen, which vitiate the air. The paraffine lamp, too,
makes a room very hot and close. There is no better light for a
nursery than either Price's patent candles or the old-fashioned
tallow-candle.
Let a child's home he the happiest house to him in the world; and
to be happy he must be merry, and all around him should be merry and
cheerful; and he ought to have an abundance of playthings, to help on
the merriment. If he have a dismal nurse, and a dismal home, he may
as well be incarcerated in a prison, and be attended by a gaoler. It
is sad enough to see dismal, doleful men and women, but it is a truly
lamentable and unnatural sight to see a doleful child! The young ought
to be as playful and as full of innocent mischief as a kitten. There
will be quite time enough in after years for sorrow and for sadness.
Bright colours, plenty of light, clean windows (mind this, if you
please), an abundance of good-coloured prints, and toys without
number, are the proper furnishings of a nursery. Nursery! why, the
very name tells you what it ought to be—the home of childhood—the
most important room in the house,—a room that will greatly tend to
stamp the character of your child for the remainder of his life.
167. Have you any more hints to offer conducive to the well-doing of
my child?
You cannot be too particular in the choice of those who are in
constant attendance upon him. You yourself, of course, must be his
head-nurse—you only require some one to take the drudgery off your
hands! You ought to be particularly careful in the selection of his
nurse. She should be steady, lively, truthful, and good tempered; and
must be free from any natural imperfection, such as squinting,
stammering, &c., for a child is such an imitative creature that he is
likely to acquire that defect, which in the nurse is natural.
"Children, like babies, are quick at 'taking notice.' What they see
they mark, and what they mark they are very prone to copy."—The
Times.
She ought not to be very young, or she may be thoughtless, careless,
and giggling. You have no right to set a child to mind a child; it
would be like the blind leading the blind. No! a child is too precious
a treasure to be entrusted to the care and keeping of a young girl.
Many a child has been ruined for life by a careless young nurse
dropping him and injuring his spine.
A nurse ought to be both strong and active, in order that her little
charge may have plenty of good nursing; for it requires great strength
in the arms to carry a heavy child for the space of an hour or two at
a stretch, in the open air; and such is absolutely necessary, and is
the only way to make him strong, and to cause him to cut his teeth
easily, and at the same time to regulate his bowels; a noise,
therefore, most be strong and active, and not mind hard, work, for
hard work it is; but, after she is accustomed to it, pleasant
notwithstanding.
Never should a nurse be allowed to wear a mask, nor to dress up and
paint herself as a ghost, or as any other frightful object. A child is
naturally timid and full of fears, and what would not make the
slightest impression upon a grown-up person might throw a child into
fits—
"The sleeping, and the dead,
Are but as pictures: 'tis the age of childhood
That fears a painted devil."—Shakspeare.
Never should she be permitted to tell her little charge frightful
stories of ghosts and hobgoblins; if this be allowed, the child's
disposition will become timid and wavering, and may continue so for
the remainder of his life.
If a little fellow were not terrified by such stories, the darkness
would not frighten him more than the light. Moreover, the mind thus
filled with fear, acts upon the body, and injures the health. A child
must never be placed in a dark cellar, nor frightened by tales of
rats, &c. Instances are related of fear thus induced impairing the
intellect for life; and there are numerous examples of sudden fright
causing a dangerous and even a fatal illness.
Night-terrors.—This frightening of a child by a silly nurse
frequently brings on night-terrors. He wakes up suddenly, soon after
going to sleep, frightened and terrified; screaming violently, and
declaring that he has seen either some ghost, or thief, or some object
that the silly nurse had been previously in the day describing, who is
come for him to take him away. The little fellow is the very picture
of terror and alarm; he hides his face in his mother's bosom, the
perspiration streams down him, and it is some time before he can be
pacified—when, at length, he falls into a troubled feverish slumber,
to awake in the morning unrefreshed. Night after night these terrors
harass him, until his health materially suffers, and his young life
becomes miserable looking forward with dread to the approach of
darkness.
Treatment of night terrors.—If they have been brought on by the
folly of the nurse, discharge her at once, and be careful to select a
more discreet one. When the child retires to rest, leave a candle
burning, and let it burn all night, sit with him until he be asleep,
and take care, in case he should rouse up in one of his night-terrors,
that either yourself or some kind person be near at hand. Do not scold
him for being frightened—he cannot help it, but soothe him, calm him,
fondle him, take him into your arms and let him feel that he has some
one to rest upon, to defend and to protect him. It is frequently in
these cases necessary before he can be cared to let him have change of
air and change of scene. Let him live, in the day time, a great part
of the day in the open air.
A nurse maid should never, on any account whatever, be allowed to whip
a child. "Does ever any man or woman remember the feeling of being
'whipped' as a child, the fierce anger, the insupportable ignominy,
the longing for revenge, which blotted out all thought of contrition
for the fault or rebellion against the punishment? With this
recollection on their own parts, I can hardly suppose any parents
venturing to inflict it, much less allowing its infliction by another
under any circumstances whatever. A nurse-maid or domestic of any
sort, once discovered to have lifted up her hand against a child,
ought to meet instant severe rebuke, and on a repetition of the
offence instant dismissal." [Footnote: A Woman's Thoughts about
Women.]
I have seen in the winter tune a lazy nurse sit before the fire with a
child on her lap, rubbing his cold feet just before putting him to his
bed. Now, this is not the way to warm his feet. The right method is to
let him romp and run either about the room, or the landing, or the
hall—this will effectually warm them, but, of course, it will entail
a little extra trouble on the nurse, as she will have to use a little
exertion to induce him to do so, and this extra trouble a lazy nurse
will not relish. Warming the feet before the fire will give the
little fellow chilblains, and will make him when he is in bed more
chilly. The only way for him to have a good romp before he goes to
bed, is for the mother to join in the game. She may rest assured, that
if she does so, her child will not be the only one to benefit by
it. She herself will find it of marvellous benefit to her own health;
it will warm her own feet, it will be almost sure to insure her a good
night, and will make her feel so light and buoyant as almost to fancy
that she is a girl again! Well, then, let every child, before going to
bed, hold a high court of revelry, let him have an hour—the
Children's Hour—devoted to romp, to dance, to shout, to sing, to
riot, and to play, and let him be the master of the revels—
"Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupation,
Which is known as the Children's Hour."
Longfellow.
Let a child be employed—take an interest in his employment, let him
fancy that he is useful—and he is useful, he is laying in a stock
of health. He is much more usefully employed than many other grown-up
children are!
A child should be happy; he must, in every way, be made happy;
everything ought to be done to conduce to his happiness, to give him
joy, gladness, and pleasure. Happy he should be, as happy as the day
is long. Kindness should be lavished upon him. Make a child
understand that you love him; prove it in your actions—these are
better than words; look after his little pleasures—join in his little
sports; let him never hear a morose word—it would rankle in his
breast, take deep root, and in due time bring forth bitter
fruit. Love! let love be his pole-star; let it be the guide and the
rule of all you do and all you say unto him. Let your face, as well as
your tongue speak love. Let your hands be ever ready to minister to
his pleasures and to his play. "Blessed be the hand that prepares a
pleasure for a child, for there is no saying when and where it may
again bloom forth. Does not almost everybody remember some
kind-hearted man who showed him a kindness in the dulcet days of
childhood? The writer of this recollects himself, at this moment, a
bare-footed lad, standing at the wooden fence of a poor little garden
in his native village, while, with longing eyes, he gazed on the
flowers which were blooming there quietly in the brightness of the
Sabbath morning. The possessor came from his little cottage. He was a
wood-cutter by trade, and spent the whole week at work in the
woods. He had come into the garden to gather flowers to stick in his
coat when he went to church. He saw the boy, and breaking off the most
beautiful of his carnations (it was streaked with red and white), he
gave it to him. Neither the giver nor the receiver spoke a word, and
with bounding steps the hoy ran home. And now, here, at a vast
distance from that home, after so many events of so many years, the
feeling of gratitude which agitated the breast of the boy, expressed
itself on paper. The carnation has long since faded, but it now
bloometh afresh."—Douglas Jerrold.
The hearty ringing laugh of a child is sweet music to the ear. There
are three most joyous sounds in nature—the hum of a bee, the purr of
a cat, and the laugh of a child. They tell of peace, of happiness, and
of contentment, and make one for a while forget that there is so much
misery in the world.
A man who dislikes children is unnatural, he has no "milk of human
kindness" in him; he should be shunned. Give me, for a friend, a man—
"Who takes the children on his knee,
And winds their curls, about his hand."—Tennyson.
168. If a child be peevish, and apparently in good health, have you
any plan to propose to allay his irritability?
A child's troubles are soon over—his tears are soon dried; "nothing
dries sooner than a tear"—if not prolonged by improper management—
"The tear down childhood's check that flows
Is like the dew-drop on the rose;
When next the summer breeze comes by,
And waves the bush, the flower is dry."—Scott.
Never allow a child to be teased; it spoils his temper. If he be in a
cross humour take no notice of it, but divert his attention to some
pleasing object. This may be done without spoiling him. Do not combat
bad temper with bad temper—noise with noise. Be firm, be kind, be
gentle, [Footnote: "But we were gentle among you, even as a women
cherisheth her children."—1 Thess. ii. 7.] be loving, speak quietly,
smile tenderly, and embrace him fondly, but insist upon implicit
obedience, and you will have, with God's blessing, a happy child—
"When a little child is weak
From fever passing by,
Or wearied out with restlessness
Don't scold him if he cry.
Tell him some pretty story—
Don't read it from a book;
He likes to watch you while you speak,
And take in every look.
Or sometimes singing gently—
A little song may please,
With quiet and amusing words,
And tune that flows with ease.
Or if he is impatient,
Perhaps from time to time
A simple hymn may suit the best,
In short and easy rhyme.
The measured verses flowing
In accents clear and mild,
May blend into his troubled thought,
And soothe the little child.
But let the words be simple,
And suited to his mind,
And loving, that his weary heart
A resting-place may find."—Household Verses.
Speak, gently to a child; speak gently to all; but more especially
speak gently to a child. "A gentle voice is an excellent thing in a
woman," and is a jewel of great price, and is one of the concomitants
of perfect lady. Let the hinges of your disposition be well
oiled. "'I have a dear friend. He was one of those well-oiled
dispositions which turn upon the hinges of the world without
creaking.' Would to heaven there were more of them! How many there are
who never turn upon the hinges of this world without a grinding that
sets the teeth of a whole household on edge! And somehow or other it
has been the evil fate of many of the best spirits to be so
circumstanced; both men and women, to whom life is 'sweet habitude of
being,' which has gone far to reconcile them to solitude as far less
intolerable! To these especially the creakings of those said rough
hinges of the world is one continued torture, for they are all too
finely strung; and the oft-recurring grind jars the whole sentient
frame, mars the beautiful lyre, and makes cruel discord in a soul of
music. How much of sadness there is in such thoughts! Seems there not
a Past in some lives, to which it is impossible ever to become
reconciled!"—Life's Problems.
Pleasant words ought always to be spoken to a child; there must be
neither snarling, nor snapping, nor snubbing, nor loud contention
towards him. If there be it will ruin his temper and disposition, and
will make him hard and harsh, morose and disagreeable.
Do not always be telling your child how wicked he is; what a naughty
boy he is; that God will never love him, and all the rest of such
twaddle and blatant inanity! Do not, in point of fact, bully him, as
many poor little fellows are bullied! It will ruin him if you do; it
will make him in after years either a coward or a tyrant. Such
conversations, like constant droppings of water, will make an
impression, and will cause him to feel that it is of no use to try to
be good—that he is hopelessly wicked! Instead of such language, give
him confidence in himself; rather find out his good points and dwell
upon them; praise him where and whenever you can; and make him feel
that, by perseverance and God's blessing, he will make a good
man. Speak truthfully to your child; if you once deceive him, he will
not believe you for the future. Not only so, but if you are truthful
yourself you are likely to make him truthful—like begets like. There
is something beautiful in truth! A lying child is an abomination! Sir
Walter Scott says "that he taught his son to ride, to shoot, and to
tell the truth" Archdeacon Hare asserts "that Purity is the feminine,
Truth the masculine of Honour."
As soon as a child can speak he should be made to lisp the noble words
of truth, and to love it, and to abhor a lie! What a beautiful
character he will then make! Blessed is the child that can say,—
"Parental cares watched o'er my growing youth,
And early stamped it with the love of truth."
Leadbeater Papers.
Have no favourites, show no partiality; for the young are very
jealous, sharp-sighted, and quick-witted, and take a dislike to the
petted one. Do not rouse the old Adam in them. Let children be taught
to be "kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;" let
them be encouraged to share each other's toys and playthings, and to
banish selfishness.
Attend to a child's little pleasures. It is the little pleasures
of a child that constitute his happiness. Great pleasures to him and
to us all (as a favourite author remarks) come but seldom, and are the
exceptions, and not the rule.
Let a child he nurtured in love. "It will be seen," says the author of
John Halifax, "that I hold this law of kindness as the Alpha and
Omega of education. I once asked one, in his own house, a father in
everything but the name, his authority unquestioned, his least word
held in reverence, his smallest wish obeyed—'How did you ever manage
to bring up these children?' He said: 'By love.'"
Let every word and action prove that you love your children. Enter
into all their little pursuits and pleasures. Join them in their play,
and be a "child again!" If they are curious, do not check their
curiosity; but rather encourage it; for they have a great deal—as we
all have—to learn, and how can they know if they are not taught? You
may depend upon it the knowledge they obtain from observation is far
superior to that obtained from books. Let all you teach them, let all
you do, and let all you say bear the stamp of love. "Endeavour, from
first to last, in your intercourse with your children, to let it bear
the impress of love. It is not enough that you feel affection
towards your children—that you are devoted to their interests; you
must show in your manner the fondness of your hearts towards
them. Young minds cannot appreciate great sacrifices made for them;
they judge their parents by the words and deeds of every-day
life. They are won by little kindnesses, and alienated by little
acts of neglect or impatience. One complaint unnoticed, one appeal
unheeded, one lawful request arbitrarily refused, will be remembered
by your little ones more than a thousand acts of the most devoted
affection."—The Protoplast.
A placid, well-regulated temper is very conducive to health. A
disordered, or an over-loaded stomach, is a frequent cause of
peevishness. Appropriate treatment in such a case will, of course, be
necessary.
169. My child stammers: can you tell me the cause, and can you
suggest a remedy?
A child who stammers is generally "nervous," quick, and impulsive. His
ideas flow too rapidly for speech. He is "nervous;" hence, when he is
alone, and with those he loves, he oftentimes speaks fluently and
well; he stammers more both when he is tired and when he is out of
health—when the nerves are either weak or exhausted. He is
emotional: when he is either in a passion or in excitement, either of
joy or of grief, he can scarcely speak—"he stammers all over." He is
impulsive: he often stammers in consequence. He is in too great a
hurry to bring out his words; they do not flow in proper sequence:
hence his words are broken and disjointed.
Stammering, of course, might be owing either to some organic defect,
such as from defective palate, or from defective brain, then nothing
will cure him; or it might be owing to "nervous" causes—to "irregular
nervous action," then a cure might, with care and perseverance, be
usually effected.
In all cases of stammering of a child, let both the palate of his
mouth and the bridle of his tongue be carefully examined, to see that
neither the palate be defective, nor the bridle of the tongue be too
short—that he be not tongue-tied.
Now, with regard to Treatment.—Make him speak slowly and
deliberately: let him form each word, without clipping or chopping;
let him be made, when you are alone with him, to exercise himself in
elocution. If he speak quickly, stop him in his mid-career, and make
him, quietly and deliberately, go through the sentence again and
again, until he has mastered the difficulty; teach him to collect his
thoughts, and to weigh each word ere he give it utterance; practise
him in singing little hymns and songs for children; this you will find
a valuable help in the cure. A stammerer seldom stutters when he
sings. When he sings, he has a full knowledge of the words, and is
obliged to keep in time—to sing neither too fast nor too
slow. Besides, he sings in a different key to his speaking voice. Many
professors for the treatment of stammering cure their patients by
practising lessons of a sing-song character.
Never jeer him for stammering, nor turn him to ridicule; if you do, it
will make him ten times worse; but be patient and gentle with him, and
endeavour to give him confidence, and encourage him to speak to you as
quietly, as gently, and deliberately as you speak to him; tell him not
to speak, until he has arranged his thoughts and chosen his words; let
him do nothing in a hurry.
Demosthenes was said, in his youth, to have stammered fearfully, and
to have cured himself by his own prescription, namely, by putting a
pebble in his mouth, and declaiming, frequently, slowly quietly, and
deliberately, on the sea-shore—the fishes alone being his audience,—
until at length he cured himself, and charmed the world with his
eloquence and with his elocution. He is held up, to this very day, as
the personification and as the model of an orator. His patience,
perseverance, and practice ought, by all who either are, or are,
interested in a stammerer, to be borne in mind and followed.
170. Do you approve of a carpet in a nursery?
No, unless it be a small piece for a child to roll upon. A carpet
harbours dirt and dust, which dust is constantly floating about the
atmosphere, and thus making it impure for him to breathe. The truth of
this may be easily ascertained by entering a darkened room, where a
ray of sunshine is struggling through a crevice in the shutters. If
the floor of a nursery must be covered, let drugget be laid down, and
this may every morning be taken up and shaken. The less furniture a
nursery contains the better, for much furniture obstructs the free
circulation of the air, and, moreover, prevents a child from taking
proper play and exercise in the room—an abundance of which are
absolutely necessary for his health.
171. Supposing there is not a fire in the nursery grate, ought the
chimney to be stopped to prevent a draught in the room?
Certainly not. I consider the use of a chimney to be two-fold—first,
to carry off the smoke, and secondly (which is of quite as much
importance), to ventilate the room, by carrying off the impure air,
loaded as it is with carbonic acid gas—the refuse of respiration. The
chimney, therefore, should never, either winter or summer, be allowed
for one moment to be stopped. This is important advice, and requires
the strict supervision of every mother, as servants will, if they have
the chance, stop all chimneys that have no fires in the grates.
172. Do you approve, during the summer months, of sending a child out
BEFORE breakfast?
I do, when the weather will permit, and provided the wind be neither
in an easterly nor in a north-easterly direction; indeed, he can
scarcely be too much in the open air. He must not be allowed to stand
about draughts or about entries, and the only way to prevent him doing
so is for the mother herself to accompany the nurse. She will then
kill two birds with one stone, as she will, by doing so, benefit her
own as well as her child's health.
173. Ought a child to be early put on his feet to walk?
No: let him learn to walk himself. He ought to be put upon a carpet;
and it will be found that when he is strong enough, he will hold by a
chair, and will stand alone: when he can do so, and attempts to walk,
he should then be supported. You must, on first putting him upon his
feet, be guided by his own wishes. He will, as soon as he is strong
enough to walk, have the inclination to do so. When he has the
inclination and the strength it will be folly to restrain him; if he
have neither the inclination nor the strength, it will be absurd to
urge him on. Rely, therefore, to a certain extent, upon the
inclination of the child himself. Self-reliance cannot be too early
taught him, and, indeed, every one else. In the generality of
instances, however, a child is put on his feet too soon, and the
bones, at that tender age, being very flexible, bend, causing bowed
and bandy-legs; and the knees, being weak, approximate too closely
together, and thus they become knock-kneed. This advice of not
putting a child early on his feet, I must strongly insist on, as
many mothers are so ridiculously ambitious that their young ones
should walk early—that they should walk before other children of
their acquaintance have attempted—that they have frequently caused
the above lamentable deformities; which is a standing reproach to them
during the rest of their lives.
174. Do you approve of perambulators?
I do not, for two reasons:—first, because when a child is strong
enough, he had better walk as much as he will; and, secondly, the
motion is not so good, and the muscles are not so much put into
action, and consequently cannot be so well developed, as when he is
earned. A perambulator is very apt to make a child stoop, and to make
him both crooked and round-shouldered. He is cramped by being so long
in one position. It is painful to notice a babe of a few months old in
one of these newfangled carriages. His little head is bobbing about
first on one side and then on the other—at one moment it is dropping
on his chest, the next it is forcibly jolted behind: he looks, and
doubtless feels, wretched and uncomfortable. Again, these
perambulators are dangerous in crowded thoroughfares. They are a
public nuisance, inasmuch as they are wheeled against and between
people's legs, and are a fruitful source of the breaking of shins, of
the spraining of ankles, of the crushing of corns, and of the ruffling
of the tempers of the foot-passengers who unfortunately come within
their reach; while, in all probability, the gaping nurses are staring
another way, and every way indeed but the right, more especially if
there be a redcoat in the path!
Besides, in very cold weather, or in a very young infant, the warmth
of the nurse's body, while he is being carried, helps to keep him
warm, he himself being naturally cold. In point of fact, the child,
while being borne in the nurse's arms, reposes on the nurse, warm and
supported, as though he were in a nest! While, on the other hand, if
he be in a perambulator, he is cold and unsupported, looking the very
picture of misery, seeking everywhere for test and comfort, and
finding none!
A nurse's arm, then, is the only proper carriage for a young child
to take exercise on. She ought to change about, first carrying frim on
the one arm, and then on the other. Nursing him on one arm only might
give his body a twist on one side, and thus might cause deformity.
When he is old enough to walk, and is able properly to support the
weight of his own neck and back, then there will be no objection,
provided it be not in a crowded thoroughfare, to his riding
occasionally in a perambulator; but when he is older still, and can
sit either a donkey or a pony, such exercise will be far more
beneficial, and will afford him much greater pleasure.
175. Supposing it to be wet under foot, but dry above, do you then
approve of sending a child out?
If the wind be neither in the east nor the north-east, and if the air
be not damp, let him be well wrapped up and be sent out. If he be
labouring under an inflammation of the lungs, however slight, or if he
be just recovering from one, it would, of coarse, be highly improper.
In the management of a child, we must take care neither to coddle nor
to expose him unnecessarily, as both are dangerous.
Never send a child out to walk in a fog; he will, if you do, be almost
sure to catch cold. It would be much safer to send him out in rain
than in fog, though neither the one nor the other would be desirable.
176. How many times a day in fine weather ought a child to be sent
out?
Let him be sent out as often as it be possible. If a child lived more
in the open air than he is wont to do, he would neither be so
susceptible of disease, nor would he suffer so much from teething, nor
from catching cold.
177. Supposing the day to be wet, what exercise would you then
recommend?
The child ought to run either about a large room, or about the hall;
and if it does not rain violently, you should put on his hat and throw
up the window, taking care while the window is open that he does not
stand still. A wet day is the day for him to hold his high court of
revelry, and "to make him as happy as the day is long."
Do not on any account allow him to sit any length of time at a table,
amusing himself with books, &c.; let him be active and stirring, that
his blood may freely circulate as it ought to do, and that his muscles
may be well developed. I would rather see him actively engaged in
mischief than sitting still, doing nothing! He ought to be put on the
carpet, and should then be tumbled and rolled about, to make the blood
bound merrily through, the, vessels, to stir up the liver, to promote
digestion, and to open the bowels. The misfortune of it is, the
present race of nurses are so encumbered with long dresses, and so
screwed in with tight stays (aping their betters), that they are not
able to stoop properly, and thus to have a good game of romps with
their little charges. "Doing nothing is doing ill" is as true a saying
as was ever spoken.
178. Supposing it to be winter, and the weather to be very cold,
would you still send a child out?
Decidedly, provided he be well wrapped up. The cold will brace and
strengthen him. Cold weather is the finest tonic in the world.
In frosty weather, the roads being slippery, when you send him out to
walk, put a pair of large old woollen stockings over his boots or
shoes. This will not only keep his feet and his legs warm, but it will
prevent him from falling down and hurting himself. While thus
equipped, he may even walk on a slide of ice without falling down!
A child, in the winter time, requires, to keep him warm, plenty of
flannel and plenty of food, plenty of fresh and genuine milk, and
plenty of water in his tub to wash and bathe him in a morning, plenty
of exercise and plenty of play, and then he may brave the frosty air.
It is the coddled, the half-washed, and the half-starved child
(half-washed and half-starved from either the mother's ignorance or
from the mother's timidity), that is the chilly starveling,—catching
cold at every breath of wind, and every time he either walks or is
carried out,—a puny, skinny, scraggy, scare-crow, more dead than
alive, and more fit for his grave than for the rough world he will
have to struggle in! If the above advice be strictly followed, a child
may be sent out in the coldest weather, even—
"When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick, the shepherd, blows his nail;
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail."
Shakspeare.
179. Have you any remarks to make on the amusements of a child?
Let the amusements of a child be as much as possible out of doors; let
him spend the greater part of every day in the open air; let him exert
himself as much as he please, his feelings will tell him when to rest
and when to begin again; let him be what Nature intended Mm to be—a
happy, laughing, joyous child. Do not let him be always poring over
books:—
"Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife,
Come, hear the woodland linnet!
How sweet his music! On my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,—
Let Nature be your teacher.
She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless,—
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than, all the sagea can."—Wordsworth.
He ought to be encouraged to engage in those sports wherein the
greatest number of muscles are brought into play. For instance, to
play at ball, or hoop, or football, to play at horses, to run to
certain distances and back; and, if a girl, to amuse herself with a
skipping rope, such, being excellent exercise—
"By sports like these are all their cares beguiled,
The sports of children satisfy the child."—Goldsmith.
Every child, where it be practicable, should have a small plot of
ground to cultivate, that he may dig and delve in, and make dirt-pies
if he choose. Children now-a-days, unfortunately, are not allowed to
soil their hands and their fine clothes. For my own part, I dislike
such model children; let a child be natural—let him, as far as is
possible, choose his own sports. Do not be always interfering with his
pursuits, and be finding fault with him. Remember, what may be amusing
to you may be distasteful to him. I do not, of course, mean but that
you should constantly have a watchful eye over him; yet do not let him
see that he is under restraint or surveillance; if you do, you will
never discover his true character and inclinations. Not only so, but
do not dim the bright sunshine of his early life by constantly
checking and thwarting him, Tupper beautifully says—
"And check not a child in his merriment,—
Should not his morning be sunny?"
When, therefore, he is either in the nursery or in the play-ground,
let him shout and riot and romp about as much as he please. His lungs
and his muscles want developing, and his nerves require strengthening;
and how can such be accomplished unless you allow them to be developed
and strengthened by natural means?
The nursery is a child's own domain; it is his castle, and he should
be Lord Paramount therein. If he choose to blow a whistle, or to
spring a rattle, or to make any other hideous noise, which to him is
sweet music, he should be allowed, without let or hindrance, to do
so. If any members of the family have weak nerves, let them keep at a
respectful distance.
A child who never gets into mischief must be either sly, or delicate,
or idiotic; indeed, the system of many persons, in bringing up
children, is likely to make them either the one or the other. The
present plan of training children is nearly all work (books), and very
little play. Play, and plenty of it, is necessary to the very
existence of a child.
A boy not partial to mischief, innocent mischief, and play, is
unnatural; he is a man before his time, he is a nuisance, he is
disagreeable to himself and to every one around. He is generally a
sneak, and a little humbug.
Girls, at the present time, are made clever simpletons; their brains
are worked with useless knowledge, which totally unfits them for
every-day duties. Their muscles are allowed to be idle, which makes
them limp and flabby. The want of proper exercise ruins the
complexion, and their faces become of the colour of a tallow candle!
And precious wives and mothers they make when they do grow up! Grow
up, did I say? They grow all manner of ways, and are as crooked as
crooked sticks!
What an unnatural thing it is to confine a child several hours a day
to his lessons; why, you might as well put a colt in harness, and make
him work for his living! A child is made for play; his roguish little
eye, his lithe figure, his antics, and his drollery, all point out
that he is cut out for play—that it is as necessary to his existence
as the food he eats, and as the air he breathes!
A child ought not to be allowed to have playthings with which he can
injure either himself or others, such as toy-swords, toy-cannons,
toy-paint-boxes, knives, bows and arrows, hammers, chisels, saws,
&c. He will not only be likely to injure himself and others, but will
make sad havoc on furniture, house, and other property. Fun, frolic,
and play ought, in all innocent ways, to be encouraged; but wilful
mischief and dangerous games ought, by every means, to be
discountenanced. This advice is frequently much needed, as children
prefer to have and delight in dangerous toys, and often coax and
persuade weak and indulgent mothers to gratify their wishes.
Painted toys are, many of them, highly dangerous, those painted
green especially, as the colour generally consists of Scheele's
green—arsenite of copper.
Children's paint-boxes are very dangerous toys for a child to play
with; many of the paints are poisonous, containing arsenic, lead,
gamboge, &c, and a child, when painting, is apt to put the brush into
his mouth, to absorb the superabundant fluid. Of all the colours, the
green paint is the most dangerous, as it is frequently composed of
arsenite of copper—arsenic and copper—two deadly poisons.
There are some paint-boxes warranted not to contain a particle of
poison of any kind these ought, for a child, to be chosen by a mother.
But, remember, although he ought not to be allowed to have poison
paint-boxes and poison painted toys, he must have an abundance of
toys, such as the white wood toys—brewers' drays, millers' waggons,
boxes of wooden bricks, &c. The Noah's Ark is one of the most amusing
and instructive toys for a child. "Those fashioned out of brown,
unpainted pine-wood by the clever carvers of Nuremberg or the Black
Forest are the best, I think, not only because they are the most
spirited, but because they will survive a good deal of knocking about
and can be sucked with impunity From the first dawn of recollection,
children are thus familiarised with the forms of natural objects, and
may be well up in natural history before they have mastered the ABC"
[Footnote: From an excellent article About Toys, by J Hamilton Fyfe
in Good Words for December 1862.]
Parents often make Sunday a day of gloom; to this I much object. Of
all the days in the week, Sunday should be the most cheerful and
pleasant. It is considered by our Church a festival, and a glorious
festival it ought to be made, and one on which our Heavenly Father
wishes to see all His children happy and full of innocent joy. Let
Sunday, then, be made a cheerful, joyous, innocently happy day, and
not, as it frequently is, the most miserable and dismal in the
week. It is my firm conviction that many men have been made
irreligious by the ridiculously strict and dismal way they were
compelled, as children, to spend their Sundays. You can no more make
a child religious by gloomy asceticism, than yon can make people good
by Act of Parliament.
One of the great follies of the present age is, children's parties,
where they are allowed to be dressed up like grown-up women, stuck out
in petticoats, and encouraged to eat rich cake and pastry, and to
drink wine, and to sit up late at night! There is something disgusting
and demoralising in all this. Their pure minds are blighted by it. Do
not let me be misunderstood: there is not the least objection, but, on
the contrary, great advantage, for friends' children to meet friends'
children; but then let them be treated as children, and not as men and
women!
180. Do you approve of public play-grounds for children?
It would be well, in every village, and in the outskirts of every
town, if a large plot of ground were set apart for children to play
in, and to go through regular gymnastic exercises. Play is absolutely
necessary to a child's very existence, as much as food and sleep; but
in many parts of England where is he to have it? Playgrounds and play
are the best schools we have; they teach a great deal not taught
elsewhere; they give lessons in health, which is the grandest wealth
that can be bestowed—"for health is wealth;" they prepare the soil
for the future schoolmaster; they clear the brain, and thus the
intellect, they strengthen the muscles; they make the blood course
merrily through the arteries; they bestow healthy food for the lungs;
they give an appetite; they make a child, in due time, become every
inch a man! Play-grounds and play are one of the finest institutions
we possess. What would our large public schools be without their play
and cricket grounds? They would be shorn of half their splendour and
their usefulness!
There is so much talk now-a-days about useful knowledge, that the
importance of play and play-grounds is likely to be forgotten. I
cannot help thinking however, that a better state of things is
dawning. "It seems to be found out that in our zeal for useful
knowledge, that knowledge is found to be not the least useful which
treat boys as active, stirring, aspiring, and ready." [Footnote: The
Saturday Review, December 13, 1862.]
181. Do you approve of infant schools?
I do, if the arrangements be such that health is preferred before
learning. [Footnote: "According to Aristotle, more care should be
taken of the body than of the mind for the first seven years; strict
attention to diet be enforced, &c. . . . . . The eye and ear of the
child should be most watchfully and severely guarded against
contamination of every kind, and unrestrained communication with
servants be strictly prevented. Even his amusements should be under
due regulation, and rendered as interesting and intellectual as
possible."—The Rev John Williams, in his Life and Actions of
Alexander the Great] Let children be only confined for three or four
hours a day, and let what little they learn be taught as an amusement
rather than as a labour. A play-ground ought to be attached to an
infant school; where, in fine weather, for every half-hour they spend
in-doors, they should spend one in the open air; and, in wet weather,
they ought to have, in lieu of the play-ground, a large room to romp,
and shout, and riot in. To develop the different organs, muscles, and
other parts of the body, children require fresh air, a free use of
their lungs, active exercise, and their bodies to be thrown into all
manner of attitudes. Let a child mope in a corner, and he will become
stupid and sickly. The march of intellect, as it is called, or rather
the double quick march of intellect, as it should be called, has
stolen a march upon health. Only allow the march of intellect and the
march of health to take equal strides, and then we shall have "mens
sana in corpore sano" (a sound mind in a sound body).
In the education of a young child, it is better to instruct him by
illustration, by pictures, and by encouraging observation on things
around and about him, than by books. It is surprising how much,
without endangering his health, may be taught in this way. In
educating your child, be careful to instil and to form good
habits—they will then stick to him for life.
Children at the present day are too highly educated—their brains are
over-taxed, and thus weakened. The consequence is, that as they grow
up to manhood, if they grow up at all, they become fools! Children
are now taught what formerly youths were taught. The chord of a
child's life is ofttimes snapped asunder in consequence of over
education:—
"Screw not the cord too sharply, lest it snap"—Tennyson.
You should treat a child as you would a young colt. Think only at
first of strengthening his body. Let him have a perfectly free, happy
life, plenty of food to eat, abundance of air to breathe, and no work
to do; there is plenty of time to think of his learning—of giving him
brain work. It will come sadly too soon; but do not make him old
before his time.
182. At what age do you advise my child to begin his course of
education—to have his regular lessons?
In the name of the prophet,—Figs! Fiddlesticks! about courses of
education and regular lessons for a child! You may as well ask me
when he, a child, is to begin Hebrew, the Sanscrit, and Mathematics!
Let him have a course of education in play; let him go through regular
lessons in foot-ball, bandy, playing at tic, hares and hounds, and
such like excellent and really useful and health-giving lessons. Begin
his lessons! Begin brain work, and make an idiot of him! Oh! for
shame, ye mothers! You who pretend to love your children so much, and
to tax, otherwise to injure, irreparably to injure their brains, and
thus their intellects and their health, and to shorten their very
days. And all for what? To make prodigies of them! Forsooth! to make
fools of them in the end,
183. Well, then, as you have such a great objection to a child
commencing his education early in life, at what age may he, with
safety, commence his lessons? and which do you prefer—home or school
education?
Home is far preferable to a school education. He is, if at home, under
your own immediate observation, and is not liable to be contaminated
by naughty children; for, in every school, there is necessarily a
great mixture of the good and of the bad; and a child, unfortunately,
is more likely to be led by the bad than by the good. Moreover, if he
be educated at home, the mother can see that his brain is not
over-worked. At school the brain is apt to be over-worked, and the
stomach and the muscles to be under-worked.
Remember, as above stated, the brain must have but very little work
until the child be seven years old; impress this advice upon your
memory, and let no foolish ambition to make your child a clever child
allow you, for one moment, to swerve from this advice.
Build up a strong, healthy body, and in due time the brain will bear a
moderate amount of intellectual labour.
As I have given you so much advice, permit me, for one moment, to
address a word to the father of your child:—
Let me advise you, then, Mr. Pater familias, to be careful how you
converse, what language you use, while in the company of your
child. Bear in mind, a child is very observant, and thinks much,
weighs well, and seldom forgets all you say and all you do! Let no
hasty word, then, and more especially no oath, or no impious language,
ever pass your lips, if your child be within hearing. It is, of
course, at all times wicked to swear; but it is heinously and
unpardonably sinful to swear in the presence of your child! "Childhood
is like a mirror, catching and reflecting images. One impious or
profane thought, uttered by a parent's lip, may operate upon the young
heart like a careless spray of water thrown upon polished steel,
staining it with rust, which no after scouring can efface."
Never talk secrete before a child—"little pitchers have long ears;"
if you do, and he disclose your secrets—as most likely he will—and
thus make mischief, it will be cruel to scold him; you will, for your
imprudence, have yourself only to blame. Be most careful, then, in the
presence of your child, of what you say, and of whom you speak. This
advice, if followed, might save a great deal of annoyance and
vexation.
184. Are you an advocate for a child being taught singing?
I am: I consider singing a part of his education. Singing expands the
walls of his chest, strengthens and invigorates his lungs, gives
sweetness to his voice, improves his pronunciation, and is a great
pleasure and amusement to him.
185. Do you approve of a child sleeping on a FEATHER bed?
A feather bed enervates his body, and, if he be so predisposed,
causes rickets, and makes him crooked. A horse-hair mattress is the
best for a child to lie on. The pillow, too, should be made of
horse-hair. A feather pillow often causes the bead to be bathed in
perspiration, thus enervating the child, and making him liable to
catch cold. If he be at all rickety, if he be weak in the neck, if he
be inclined to stoop, or if he be at all crooked, let him, by all
means, lie without a pillow.
186. Do you recommend a child, in the middle of the day, to be put to
sleep?
Let him be put on his mattress awake, that he may sleep for a couple
of hours before dinner, then he will rise both refreshed and
strengthened for the remainder of the day. I said, let him be put down
awake. He might, for the first few times, cry, but, by perseverance,
he will without any difficulty fall to sleep. The practice of sleeping
before dinner ought to be continued until he be three years old, and,
if he can be prevailed upon, even longer. For if he do not have sleep
in the middle of the day, he will all the afternoon and the evening be
cross; and when he does go to bed, he will probably be too tired to
sleep, or his nerves having been exhausted by the long wakefulness, he
will fall into a troubled, broken slumber, and not into that sweet,
soft, gentle repose, so characteristic of healthy, happy childhood!
187. At what hour ought a child to be put to bed in the evening?
At six in the winter, and at seven o'clock in the summer. Regularity
ought to be observed, as regularity is very conducive to health. It
is a reprehensible practice to keep a child up until nine or ten
o'clock at night. If this be done, he will, before his time, become
old, and the seeds of disease will be sown,
As soon as he can run, let him be encouraged, for half an hour before
he goes to bed, to race either about the hall, or the landing, or a
large room, which will be the best means of warming his feet, of
preventing chilblains, and of making him sleep soundly.
188. Have you any directions to give me at to the placing of my child
in his bed?
If a child lie alone, place him fairly on his aide in the middle of
the bed; if it be winter time, see that his arms and hands be covered
with the bed-clothes; if it be summer, his hands might be allowed to
be outside the clothes. In putting him down to sleep, you should
ascertain that his face be not covered with the bedclothes; if it be,
he will he poisoned with his own breath—the breath constantly giving
off carbonic acid gas; which gas must, if his face be smothered in the
clothes; be breathed—carbonic acid gas being highly poisonous.
You can readily prove the existence of carbonic and gas in the
breathing, by simply breathing into a little lime-water; after
breathing for a few seconds into it, a white film will form on the
top; the carbonic acid gas from the breath unites with the lime of the
lime-water and the product of the white film is carbonate of lime.
189. Do you advise a bedroom to be darkened at night?
Certainly: a child sleeps sounder and sweeter in a dark than in a
light room. There is nothing better for the purpose of darkening a
bedroom, than Venetian blinds. Remember, then, a well-ventilated, but
a darkened, chamber at night. The cot or the crib ought not to face
the window, "as the light is best behind." [Footnote: Sir Charles
Locock in a Letter to the Author. ]
190. Which is the beat position for a child when sleeping—on his
back, or on his side?
His side: he ought to be accustomed to change about on the right side
one night, on the left another; and occasionally, for a change, he
should lie on his back. By adopting this plan, you will not only
improve his figure, but likewise his health. Lying, night after night,
in one position, would be likely to make him crooked.
191. Do you advise, in the winter time, that there should be a fire
in the night nursery?
Certainly not, unless the weather be intensely cold. I dislike fires
in bedrooms, especially for children; they are very enervating, and
make a child liable to catch cold. Cold weather is very bracing,
particularly at night "Generally speaking," says the Siecle, "during
winter, apartments are too much heated. The temperature in them ought
not to exceed 16 deg. Centigrade (59 deg. Fahrenheit); and even in periods of
great cold scientific men declare that 12 deg. or 14 deg. had better not be
exceeded. In the wards of hospitals, and in the chambers of the sick,
care is taken not to have greater heat than 15 deg.. Clerks in offices,
and other persons of sedentary occupations, when rooms in which they
sit are too much heated, are liable to cerebral [brain] congestion and
to pulmonary [lung] complaints. In bedrooms, and particularly those of
children, the temperature ought to be maintained rather low; it is
even prudent only rarely to make fires in them, especially during the
night"
If "a cold stable make a healthy horse," I am quite sure that a
moderately cold and well-ventilated bedroom helps to make a healthy
child. But, still, in the winter time, if the weather be biting cold,
a little fire in the bedroom grate is desirable. In bringing up
children, we must never run into extremes—the coddling system and the
hardening system are both to be deprecated; the coddling system will
make the strong child weakly, while the hardening system will probably
kill a delicate one.
A child's bed ought, of course, to be comfortably clothed with
blankets—I say blankets, as they are much superior to coverlids; the
perspiration will more readily pass through a blanket than a
coverlid. A thick coverlid ought never to be used; there is nothing
better, for a child's bed, than the old-fashioned patchwork coverlid,
as the perspiration will easily escape through it.
192. Should a child be washed and dressed AS SOON AS HE AWAKE in
the morning?
He ought, if he awake in anything like reasonable time; for if he doze
after he be once awake, such slumber does him more harm than good. He
should be up every morning as soon as it is light If, as a child, he
be taught to rise early, it will make him an early riser for life, and
will tend greatly to prolong both his existence and his happiness.
Never awake a child from his sleep to dress him, to give him
medicine, or for any other purpose; let him always sleep as long as
he can; but the moment he awakes let him be held out, and then let
him be washed and dressed, and do not wait, as many a silly nurse
does, until he have wet his bed, until his blood be chilled, and until
he be cross, miserable, and uncomfortable! How many babes are made
ill by such foolish practices!
The moment he leaves his bed, turn back to the fullest extent the
clothes, in order that they may be thoroughly ventilated and
sweetened. They ought to be exposed to the air for at least an hour
before the bed be made. As soon as he leaves his room, be it winter or
summer, throw open the windows.
193. Ought a child to lie alone?
He should, after he is weaned. He will rest more comfortably, and his
sleep will be more refreshing.
194. Supposing a child should not sleep well, what ought to be done?
Would you give him a dose of composing medicine?
Certainly not. Try the effects of exercise. Exercise in the open air
is the best composing medicine in the world. Let the little fellow be
well tired out, and there will be little fear of his not sleeping.
195. Have you any further observations to make on the subject of
sleep?
Send a child joyful to bed. Do not, if you can possibly help it, let
him go to bed crying. Let the last impressions he has at night be of
his happy home, and of his loving father and mother and let his last
thoughts be those of joy and gladness. He will sleep all the sounder
if he be sent to bed in such a frame of mind, and he will be more
refreshed and nourished in the morning by his sleep.
196. What are the usual causes of a child walking in his sleep, and
what measures during such times, ought to be adopted to prevent his
injuring himself?
A disordered stomach, in a child of nervous temperament, or worms, are
usually the causes. The means to be adopted to prevent his throwing
himself out of the window, are to have bars to his chamber present,
and if that be not practicable, to have either nails or screws driven
into the window sash to allow the window to open only for a sufficient
space for ventilation, and to have a screw window fastening, in order
that he cannot, without difficulty, open the window, to have a trusty
person to sleep in his room, who should have directions given not to
rouse him from his sleep, but to gently lead him back to his bed,
which may frequently be done without awaking him, and to consult a
medical man, who will adopt means to destroy the worms, to put his
stomach into order, to brace his nerves, and to strengthen his general
system. A trip to the coast and sea bathing, in such a case, is often
of great service.
197. When does a child commence to cut his SECOND set of teeth?
Generally at seven years old. He begins to cut them at about that
time: but it should be borne in mind (so wonderful are the works of
God) that the second crop of teeth, in embryo, is actually bred
and formed from the very commencement of his life, under the first
tier of teeth, but which remain in abeyance for years, and do not come
into play until the first teeth, having done their duty, loosen and
fall out, and thus make room for the more numerous, larger, stronger,
and more permanent teeth, which latter have to last for the remainder
of his existence. The first set is sometimes cut with a great deal
of difficulty, and produces various diseases; the second, or
permanent teeth, come easily, and are unaccompanied with any disorder.
The following is the process:—One after another of the first set
gradually loosen, and either drop out, or with little pain are readily
pulled out; under these, the second—the permanent—teeth make their
appearance, and fill up the vacant spaces. The fang of the tooth that
has dropped out is nearly all absorbed or eaten away, leaving little
more than the crown. The first set consists of twenty; the second
(including the wise-teeth, which are not, generally cut until after
the the age of twenty-seven) consists of thirty-two.
I would recommend you to pay particular attention to the teeth of your
children; for, besides their being ornamental, their regularity and
soundness are of great importance to the present as well as to the
future health of your offspring. If there be any irregularity in the
appearance of the second set, lose no time in consulting an
experienced and respectable dentist.
198. Do you think it important that I should be made acquainted with
the symptoms of the SERIOUS diseases of children?
Certainly I am not advocating the doctrine of a mother treating
serious diseases; far from it, it is not her province, except in
certain cases of extreme urgency, where a medical man cannot be
procured, and where delay might be death; but I do insist upon the
necessity of her knowing the symptoms of disease. My belief is, that
if parents were better informed on such subjects, many children's
lives might be saved, much suffering averted, and sorrow spared. The
fact is, the knowledge of the symptoms of disease is, to a mother,
almost a sealed book. If she were better acquainted with these
matters, how much more useful would she be in a sick-room, and how
much more readily would she enter into the plans and views of the
medical man! By her knowledge of the symptoms, and by having his
advice in time, she would nip disease in the bud, and the fight might
end in favour of life, for "sickness is just a fight between life and
death."—Geo. M'Donald.
It is really lamentable to contemplate the amount of ignorance that
still exists among mothers in all that appertains to the diseases of
children; although, fortunately, they are beginning to see and to feel
the importance of gaining instruction on such subjects; but the light
is only dawning. A writer of the Medical Times and Gazette makes the
following remarks, which somewhat bear on the subject in question. He
observes—"In spite of the knowledge and clear views possessed by the
profession on all that concerns the management of children, no fact is
more palpable than that the most grievous ignorance and incompetency
prevail respecting it among the public. We want some means of making
popular the knowledge which is now almost restricted to medical men,
or, at most, to the well-educated classes."
In the earlier editions of this work I did not give the treatment of
any serious diseases, however urgent. In the eight last editions, I
have been induced, for reasons I will presently state, to give the
treatment of some of the more urgent serious diseases, when a
medical man cannot instantly be procured, and where delay might be
death.
Sir CHARLES LOCOCK, who has taken a kind interest in this little work,
has given me valid reasons why a mother should be so enlightened. The
following extracts are from a letter which I received from Sir CHARLES
on the subject, and which he has courteously allowed me to publish. He
says,—"As an old physician of some experience in complaints of
infants and children, I may perhaps be allowed to suggest that in a
future edition you should add a few words on the actual treatment of
some of the more urgent infantile diseases. It is very right to
caution parents against superseding the doctor, and attempting to
manage serious illness themselves, but your advice, with very small
exceptions, always being 'to lose no tune in sending for a medical
man,' much valuable and often irremediable time may be lost when a
medical man is not to be had. Take, for instance, a case of croup
there are no directions given at all, except to send for a medical
man, and always to keep medicines in the house which he may have
directed. But how can this apply to a first attack? You state that a
first attack is generally the worst. But why is it so? Simply because
it often occurs when the parents do not recognise it, and it is
allowed to get a worse point than in subsequent attacks, when they are
thoroughly alive to it. As the very best remedy, and often the only
essential one, if given early, is a full emetic, surely it is better
that you should give some directions as to this in a future edition,
and I can speak from my own experience when I say that an emetic,
given in time, and repeated to free vomiting, will cut short any
case of croup. In nine cases out of ten the attack takes place in the
evening or early night, and when vomiting is effected the dinner of
that day is brought up nearly undigested, and the seventy of the
symptoms at once cut short. Whenever any remedy is valuable, the more
by its being administered in time, it is surely wiser to give
directions as to its use, although, as a general rule, it is much
better to advise the sending for medical advice."
The above reasons, coming from such a learned and experienced
physician as Sir Charles Locock, are conclusive, and have decided me
to comply with his advice, to enlighten a mother on the treatment of
some of the more urgent diseases of infants and of children. In a
subsequent letter addressed to myself, Sir Charles has given me the
names of those urgent diseases, which he considers may be treated by
a mother "where a medical man cannot be procured quickly, or not at
all." They are Croup: Inflammation of the Lungs; Diptheria; Dysentry;
Diarrhoea; Hooping Cough, in its various stages; and Shivering
Fit. Sir Charles sums up his letter to me by saying, "Such a book
ought to be made as complete as possible, and the objections to
medical treatment being so explained as to induce mothers to try to
avoid medical men is not so serious as that of leaving them without
any guide in those instances where every delay is dangerous, and yet
where medical assistance is not to be obtained or not to be had
quickly."
In addition to the above I shall give you the treatment of
Bronchitis, Measles, and Scarlet Fever. Bronchitis is one of the most
common diseases incidental to childhood, and, with judicious
treatment, is, in the absence of the medical man, readily managed by a
sensible mother. Measles is very submissive to treatment. Scarlet
Fever, if it be not malignant, and, if it be not complicated with
diphtheric-croup, and if certain rules be strictly followed, is also
equally amenable to treatment.
I have been fortunate in treating Scarlet Fever, and I therefore think
it desirable to enter fully into the treatment of a disease which is
looked upon by many parents, and, according to the usual mode of
treatment, with just cause, with great consternation and dread. By
giving my plan of treatment, fully and simply, and without the
slightest reservation, I am fully persuaded, through God's blessing,
that I may be the humble means of saving the lives of numbers of
children.
The diseases that might be treated by a mother, in the absence of a
medical man, will form the subject of future Conversations.
I think it right to promise that in all the prescriptions for a child
I have for the use of a mother given, I have endeavoured to make them
as simple as possible, and have, whenever practicable, avoided to
recommend powerful drugs. Complicated prescriptions and powerful
medicines might, as a rule, to be seldom given; and when they are,
should only be administered by a judicious medical man: a child
requiring much more care and gentleness in his treatment than an
adult: indeed, I often think it would be better to leave a child to
nature rather than to give him powerful and large doses of
medicines. A remedy—calomel, for instance—has frequently done more
mischief than the disease itself; and the misfortune of it is, the
mischief from that drug has oftentimes been permanent, while the
complaint might, if left alone, have only been temporary.
199. At what age does Water in the Brain usually occur, and how is a
mother to know that her child is about to labour under that disease?
Water on the brain is, as a rule, a disease of childhood: after a
child is seven years old it is comparatively rare. It more frequently
attacks delicate children—children who have been dry nursed
(especially if they have been improperly fed), or who have been
suckled too long, or who have had consumptive mothers, or who have
suffered severely from toothing, or who are naturally of a feeble
constitution. Water on the brain sometimes follows an attack of
inflammation of the lungs, more especially if depressing measures
(such as excessive leeching and the administration of emetic tartar)
have been adopted. It occasionally follows in the train of contagious
eruptive diseases, such as either small-pox or scarlatina. We may
divide the symptoms of water on the brain into two stages. The
first—the premonitory stage—which lasts for or five days, in which
medical aid might be of great avail: the second—the stage of
drowsiness and of coma—which usually ends in death.
I shall dwell on the first—the premonitory stage—in order that a
mother may see the importance without loss of time of calling in a
medical man:—
If her child be feverish and irritable, if his stomach be disordered,
if he have urgent vomitings, if he have a foul breath, if his appetite
be capricious and bad, if his nights be disturbed (screaming out in
his sleep), if his bowels be disordered, more especially if they be
constipated, if he be more than usually excited, if his eye gleam with
unusual brilliancy, if his tongue run faster than it is wont, if his
cheek be flushed and his head be hot, and if he be constantly putting
his hand to his head; there is cause for suspicion. If to these
symptoms be added, a more than usual carelessness in tumbling about,
in hitching his foot in the carpet, or in dragging one foot after the
other; if, too, he has complained of darting, shooting, lancinating
pains in his head, it may then be known that the first stage of
inflammation (the forerunner of water on the brain) either has taken,
or is about taking place. Remember no time ought to be lost in
obtaining medical aid; for the commencement of the disease is the
golden opportunity, when life might probably be saved.
200. At what age, and in what neighbourhood, is a child most liable
to croup, and when is a mother to know that it is about to take
place?
It is unusual for a child until he be twelve months old to have croup:
but, from that time until the age of two years, he is more liable to
it than at any other period. The liability after two years, gradually,
until he be ten years old, lessens, after which time it is rare.
A child is more liable to croup in a low and damp, than in a high and
dry neighbourhood; indeed, in some situations, croup is almost an
unknown disease; while in others it is only too well understood. Croup
is more likely to prevail when the wind is either easterly or
north-easterly.
There is no disease that requires more prompt treatment than croup,
and none that creeps on more insidiously. The child at first seems to
be labouring under a slight cold, and is troubled with a little dry
cough, he is hot and fretful, and hoarse when he cries. Hoarseness is
one of the earliest symptoms of croup, and it should be borne in mind
that a young child, unless he be going to have croup, is seldom
hoarse, if, therefore, your child be hoarse, he should be carefully
watched, in order that, as soon as croup be detected, not a moment be
lost in applying the proper remedies.
His voice at length becomes gruff, he breathes as though it were
through muslin, and the cough becomes crowing. These three symptoms
prove that the disease is now fully formed. These latter symptoms
sometimes come on without any previous warning, the little fellow
going to bed apparently quite well, until the mother is awakened,
perplexed and frightened, in the middle of the night, by finding him
labouring under the characteristic cough and the other symptoms of
croup. If she delay either to send for assistance, or if proper
medicines be not instantly given, in a few hours it will probably be
of no avail, and in a day or two the little sufferer will be a corpse.
When once a child has had croup the after attacks are generally
milder. If he has once had an attack of croup, I should advise you
always to have in the house medicine—a 4 oz. bottle of Ipecacuanha
Wine, to fly to at a moments notice, [Footnote: In case of a sudden
attack of croup, instantly give a teaspoonful of Ipecacuanha Wine,
and repeat it every fire minutes natal free vomiting be excited.] but
never omit, where practicable, in a case of croup, whether the case be
severe or mild to send immediately for medical aid. There is no
disease in which time is more precious than in croup, and where the
delay of an hour may decide either for life or for death.
201. But suppose a medical man is not IMMEDIATELY to be procured,
what then am I to do? more especially, as you say, that delay might be
death?
What to do.—I never, in my life, lost a child with croup with
catarrhal croup where I was called in at the commencement of the
disease, and where my plans were carried out to the very letter. Let
me begin by saying, look well to the goodness and purity of the
medicine, for the life of your child may depend upon the medicine
being genuine. What medicine! Ipecacuanha Wine! At the earliest dawn
of the disease give a few spoonful of Ipecacuanha Wine every five
minutes, until free vomiting be exerted. In croup, then, before he be
safe, free vomiting must be established, and that without loss of
time. If, after the expiration of an hour, the Ipecacuanha Wine
(having given during that hour one or two tea-spoonfuls of it every
five minutes) be not sufficiently powerful for the purpose—although
it generally is so—(if the Ipecacuanha Wine be good)—then let the
following mixture be substituted—
Take of—Powdered Ipecacuanha, one scruple,
Wine of Ipecacuanha, one ounce and a half
Make a mixture. One or two tea spoonfuls to be given every five
minutes, until free vomiting be excited, first well shaking the
bottle.
After the vomiting, place the child for a quarter of an hour in a warm
bath. [Footnote: See "Warm Baths"—directions and precautions to be
observed.] When out of the bath give him small doses of Ipecacuanha
Wine every two or three hours. The following is a palatable form for
the mixture—
Take of—Wine of Ipecacuanha, three drachms;
Simple syrup, three drachms,
Water, six drachms
Make a Mixture. A tea-spoonful to be taken every two or three hours.
But remember the emetic which is given at first is pure Ipecacuanha
Wine, without a drop of either water or of syrup.
A large sponge dipped out of very hot water, and applied to the
throat, and frequently renewed, oftentimes affords great relief in
croup, and ought during the time the emetic is being administered in
all cases to be adopted.
If it be a severe case of croup, and does not in the course of two
hours yield to the free exhibition of the Ipecacuanha Emetic, apply a
narrow strip of Smith's Tela Vesicularia to the throat, prepared in
the same way as for a case of inflammation of the lungs (see the
Conversation on the treatment of inflammation of the lungs). With
this only difference, let it be a narrower strip, only one-half the
width there recommended, and apply it to the throat instead of to the
chest. If a child has a very short, fat neck, there may not be room
for the Tela, then you ought to apply it to the upper part of the
chest—just under the collar-bones.
Let it be understood, the the Tela Vesicularia is not a severe
remedy, that the Tela produces very little pain—not nearly so much
as the application of leeches; although, in its action, it is much
more beneficial, and is not nearly so weakening to the system.
Keep the child from all stimulants; let him live on a low diet, such
as milk and water, toast and water, arrowroot, &c.; and let the room
be, if practicable, at a temperate heat—60 deg. Fahrenheit, and be well
ventilated.
So you see that the treatment of croup is very simple, and the the
plan might be carried out by an intelligent mother. Notwithstanding
which, it is your duty, where practicable, to send, at the very
onset of the disease, for a medical man.
Let me again reiterate that, if your child is to be saved, the
Ipecacuanha Wine must be genuine and good. This can only be effected
by having the medicine from a highly respectable chemist. Again, if
ever your child has had croup, let me again urge you always to have
in the house a 4 oz. bottle of Ipecacuanha Wine, that you may resort
to at a moment's notice, in case there be the slightest return of the
disease.
Ipecacuanha Wine, unfortunately, is not a medicine that keeps well,
therefore, every three or four months a fresh bottle ought to be
procured, either from a medical man or from a chemist. As long as the
Ipecacuanha Wine remains clear, it is good; but as soon as it
becomes turbid, it is bad, and ought to be replaced by a fresh
supply. An intelligent correspondent of mine makes the following
valuable remarks on the preservation of Ipecacuanha Wine:—"Now, I
know that there are some medicines and chemical preparations which,
though they spoil rapidly when at all exposed to the air, yet will
keep perfectly good for an indefinite time if hermetically sealed up
in a perfectly full bottle. If so, would it not be a valuable
suggestion if the Apothecaries' Hall, or some other London firm of
undoubted reliability, would put up 1 oz. phials of Ipecacuanha Wine
of guaranteed purity, sealed up so as to keep good so long as
unopened, and sent out in sealed packages, with the guarantee of their
name. By their keeping a few such ounce bottles in an unopened state
in one's house, one might rely in being ready for any emergency. If
you think this suggestion worth notice, and could induce some
first-rate house to carry it out, and mention the fact in a subsequent
edition of your book, you would, I think, be adding another most
valuable item to an already invaluable book."
The above suggestion of preserving Ipecacuanha Wine in ounce bottles,
quite full, and hermetically sealed, is a very good one. The best way
of hermetically sealing the bottle would be, to cut the cork level
with the lip of the bottle, and to cover the cork with sealing-wax, in
the same manner wine merchants serve some kinds of their wines, and
then to lay the bottles on their sides in sawdust in the cellar. I
have no doubt, if such a plan were adopted, the Ipecacuanha Wine would
for a length of time keep good. Of course, if the Wine of Ipecacuanha
be procured from the Apothecaries' Hall Company, London (as suggested
by my correspondent), there can be no question as to the genuineness
of the article.
What NOT to do—Do not give emetic tartar, do not apply leeches, do
not keep the room very warm, do not give stimulants, do not omit to
have always in the house either a 4 oz. bottle, or three or four 1
oz. bottles, of Ipecacuanha Wine.
202. I have heard Child crowing mentioned as a formidable disease,
would you describe the symptoms?
Child-crowing, or spasm of the glottis, or spurious croup, as it is
sometimes called, is occasionally mistaken for genuine croup. It is
a more frequent disorder than the latter, and requires a different
plan of treatment Child crowing is a disease that invariably occurs
only during dentition, and is most perilous, indeed, painful
dentition is the cause—the only cause—of child crowing. But, if
a child labouring under it can fortunately escape suffocation until he
have cut the whole of his first set of teeth—twenty—he is then safe.
Child-crowing comes on in paroxysms. The breathing during the
intervals is quite natural—indeed, the child appears perfectly well,
hence, the dangerous nature of the disease is either overlooked, or is
lightly thought of, until perhaps a paroxysm worse than common takes
place, and the little patient dies of suffocation, overwhelming the
mother with terror, with confusion, and dismay.
The symptoms in a paroxysm of child-crowing are as follows—The
child suddenly loses and fights for his breath, and in doing so, makes
a noise very much like that of crowing, hence the name child-crowing.
The face during the paroxysm becomes bluish or livid. In a favourable
case, after either a few seconds, or even, in some instances, a
minute, and a frightful straggle to breathe, he regains his breath,
and is, until another paroxysm occurs, perfectly well. In an
unfavourable case, the upper part (chink) of the windpipe—the
glottis—remains for a minute or two closed, and the child, not being
able to breathe, drops a corpse in his nurse's arms! Many children,
who are said, to have died of fits, hare really died of child-crowing.
Child-crowing is very apt to cause convulsions, which complication, of
course, adds very much to the danger. Such a complication requires
the constant supervision of an experienced and skilful medical man.
I have entered thus rather fully into the subject, as nearly every
life might be saved, if a mother knew the nature and the treatment of
the complaint, and of the great necessity during the paroxysm of
prompt and proper measures. For, too frequently, before a medical man
has had time to arrive, the child has breathed his last, the parent
himself being perfectly ignorant of the necessary treatment; hence the
vital importance of the subject, and the paramount necessity of
imparting such information, in a popular style, in conversations of
this kind.
203. What treatment, then, during a paroxysm of Child-crowing should
you advise?
The first thing, of course, to be done, is to send immediately for a
medical man. Have a plentiful supply of cold and of hot water always
at hand, ready at a moment's notice for use. The instant the paroxysm
is upon the child, plentifully and perseveringly dash cold water
upon his head and face. Put his foot and legs in hot salt, mustard,
and water; and, if necessary, place him up to his neck in a hot bath,
still dashing water upon his face and head. If he does not quickly
come round, sharply smack his back and buttocks.
In every severe paroxysm of child-crowing, put your fore-finger down
the throat of the child, and pull his tongue forward. This plan of
pulling the tongue forward opens the epiglottis (the lid of the
glottis), and thus admits air (which is so sorely needed) into the
glottis and into the lungs, and thus staves off impending
suffocation. If this plan were generally known and adopted, many
precious lives might be saved. [Footnote: An intelligent correspondent
first drew my attention to the efficacy of pulling forward the tongue
in every severe paroxysm of child-crowing.]
There is nothing more frightfully agonising to a mother's feelings
than to see her child strangled,—as it were,—before her eyes, by a
paroxysm of child crowing.
As soon as a medical man arrives, he will lose no time in thoroughly
lancing the gums, and in applying other appropriate remedies.
Great care and attention ought, during the intervals, to be paid to
his diet. If the child be breathing a smoky, close atmosphere, he
should be immediately removed to a pure one. In this disease, indeed,
there is no remedy equal to a change of air—to a dry, bracing
neighbourhood. Change of air, even if it be winter, is the best
remedy, either to the coast or to a healthy mountainous district. I am
indebted to Mr Roberton of Manchester (who has paid great attention to
this disease, and who has written a valuable essay on the subject
[Footnote: See the end of the volume of "Physiology and Diseases of
Women," &c. Churchill, 1851.]) for the knowledge of this fact. Where,
in a case of this kind, it is not practicable to send a child from
home, then let him be sent out of doors the greater part of every day;
let him, in point of fact, almost live in the open air. I am quite
sure, from an extensive experience, that in this disease, fresh air,
and plenty of it, is the best and principal remedy. Cold sponging of
the body too is useful.
Mr Roberton, who, at my request, has kindly given me the benefit of
his extensive experience in child-crowing, considers that there is no
remedy, in this complaint, equal to fresh air—to dry cold winds—that
the little patient ought, in fact, nearly to live, during the day, out
of doors, whether the wind be in the east or in the north-east,
whether it be biting cold or otherwise, provided it be dry and
bracing, for "if the air be dry, the colder the better,"—taking care,
of course, that he be well wrapped up. Mr Roberton, moreover, advises
that the child should be sent away at once from home, either to a
bracing sea-side place, such as Blackpool or Fleetwood; or to a
mountainous district, such as Buxton.
As the subject is so important, let me recapitulate: the gums ought,
from time to time, to be well lanced, in order to remove the
irritation of painful dentition—painful dentition being the real
cause of the disease. Cold sponging should be used twice or thrice
daily. The diet should be carefully attended to (see Dietary of
Child); and everything conducive to health should (as recommended in
these Conversations) be observed. But, remember, after all that can
be said about the treatment, there is nothing like change of air, of
fresh air, of cold, dry pure air, and of plenty of it—the more the
little fellow can inhale, during the day, the better it will be for
him, it will be far better than any drug contained in the
pharmacopoeia.
I have dwelt on this subject at some length—it being a most important
one—as, if the above advice were more generally known and followed,
nearly every child, labouring under this complaint, would be saved;
while now, as coroners' inquests abundantly testify, the disease
carries off yearly an immense number of victims.
204. When is a mother to know that a cough is not a "tooth cough" but
one of the symptoms of Inflammation of the lungs?
If the child has had a shivering fit; if his skin be very hot and very
dry; if his lips be parched; if there be great thirst; if his cheeks
be flushed; if he be dull and heavy, wishing to be quiet in his cot or
crib; if his appetite be diminished; if his tongue be furred; if his
mouth be burning hot and dry; [Footnote: If you put your finger into
the mouth of a child labouring under inflammation of the lungs, it is
like putting your finger into a hot apple pie, the heat is so great.]
if his urine be scanty and high-coloured, staining the napkin or the
linen; if his breathing be short, panting, hurried, and oppressed; if
there be a hard dry cough, and if his skin be burning hot;—then
there is no doubt that inflammation of the lungs has taken place.
No time should be lost in sending for medical aid; indeed, the hot,
dry mouth and skin, and short, hurried breathing would be sufficient
cause for your procuring immediate assistance. If inflammation of
the lungs were properly treated at the onset, a child would scarcely
ever be lost by that disease. I say this advisedly, for in my own
practice, provided I am called in early, and if my plans are strictly
carried out, I scarcely ever lose a child from inflammation of the
lungs.
You may ask—What are your plans? I will tell you, in case you cannot
promptly obtain medical advice, as delay might be death!
The treatment of Inflammation of the Lungs, what to do.—Keep the
child to one room, to his bedroom, and to his bed. Let the chamber be
properly ventilated. If the weather be cool, let a small fire be in
the grate; otherwise, he is better without a fire. Let him live on low
diet, such as weak black tea, milk and water (in equal quantities),
and toast and water, thin oatmeal gruel, arrow-root, and such like
simple beverages, and give him the following mixture:—
Take of—Wine of Ipecacuanha, three drachms;
Simple Syrup, three drachms;
Water, six drachms;
Make a Mixture. A tea-spoonful of the mixture to be taken every four
hours.
Be careful that you go to a respectable chemist, in order that the
totality of the Ipecacuanha Wine may be good, as the child's life may
depend upon it.
If the medicine produce sickness, so much the better; continue it
regularly until the short, oppressed, and hurried breathing has
subsided, and has become natural.
If the attack be very severe, in addition to the above medicine, at
once apply a blister, not the common blister, but Smith's Tela
Vesicatoria [Footnote: Manufactured by T. & H. Smith, chemists,
Edinburgh, and may be procured of Southalls, chemists, Birmingham.]—a
quarter of a sheet. If the child be a year old, the blister ought to
be kept on for three hours, and then a piece of dry, soft linen rag
should be applied for another three hours. At the end of which
time—six hours—there will be a beautiful blister, which must then,
with a pair of scissors, be cut, to let out the water, and then let
the blister be dressed, night and morning, with simple cerate spread
on lint.
If the little patient be more than one year, say two years old, let
the Tela remain on for five hours, and the dry linen rag for five
hours more, before the blister, as above recommended, be cut and
dressed.
If in a day or two the inflammation still continue violent, let
another Tela Vesicatoria be applied, not over the old blister, but let
a narrow strip of it be applied on each side of the old blister, and
managed in the same manner as before directed.
I cannot speak too highly of Smith's Tela Vesicatoria. It has, in my
hands, through God's blessing, saved the lives of scores of
children. It is far, very far, superior to the old fashioned
blistering plaster. It seldom, if the above rules be strictly
observed, fails to rise, it gives much less pain than the common
blister, when it has had the desired effect, it readily heals, which
cannot always be said of the common fly blister, more especially with
children.
My sheet anchors, then, in the inflammation of the lungs of children
are, Ipecacuanha Wine and Smith's Tela Vesicatoria. Let the greatest
care, as I before advised, be observed in obtaining the Ipecacuanha
Wine genuine and good. This can be only depended upon by having the
medicine from a highly respectable chemist, Ipecacuanha Wine, when
genuine and good, is, in many children's diseases, is one of the most
valuable of medincies.
What, in a case of inflammation of the lungs, NOT to do—Do not, on
any account, apply leeches. They draw out the life of the child, but
not his disease. Avoid—emphatically let me say so—giving emetic
tartar It is one of the most lowering and death-dealing medicines that
can be administered either to an infant or to a child! If you wish to
try the effect of it, take a dose yourself, and I am quite sure that
you will then never be inclined to poison a child with such an
abominable preparation! In olden times—many, many years ago—I myself
gave it in inflammation of the lungs, and lost many children! Since
leaving it off, the recoveries of patients by the Ipecacuanha
treatment, combined with the external application of Smith's Tela
Vesicatoria, have been in many cases marvellous. Avoid broths and
wine, and all stimulants. Do not put the child into a warm bath, it
only oppresses the already oppressed breathing. Moreover, after he is
out of the bath, it causes a larger quantity of blood to rush back to
the lungs and to the bronchial tubes, and thus feeds the
inflammation. Do not, by a large fire, keep the temperature of the
room high. A small fire, in the winter time, encourages ventilation,
and in such a case does good. When the little patient is on the
mother's or on the nurse's lap, do not burden him either with a
heavy blanket or with a thick shawl. Either a thin child's
blanket, or a thin woollen shawl, in addition to his usual
nightgown, is all the clothing necessary.
205. Is Bronchitis a more frequent disease than Inflammation of the
Lungs? Which is the most dangerous? What are the symptoms of
Bronchitis?
Bronchitis is a much more frequent disease than inflammation of the
lungs, indeed, it is one of the most common complaints both of infants
and of children, while inflammation of the lungs is comparatively a
rare disease. Bronchitis is not nearly such a dangerous disease as
inflammation of the lungs.
The symptoms—The child for the first few days labours under
symptoms of a heavy cold, he has not his usual spirits. In two or
three days, instead of the cold leaving him, it becomes more
confirmed, he is now really poorly, fretful, and feverish, his
breathing becomes rather hurried and oppressed, his cough is hard and
dry, and loud, he wheezes, and if you put your ear to his naked back,
between his shoulder blades, you will hear the wheezing more
distinctly. If at the breast, he does not suck with his usual avidity;
the cough, notwithstanding the breast is a great comfort to him,
compels him frequently to loose the nipple; his urine is scanty, and
rather high-coloured, staining the napkin, and smelling strongly. He
is generally worse at night.
Well, then, remember if the child be feverish, if he have symptoms of
a heavy cold, if he have an oppression of breathing, if he wheeze, and
if he have a tight, dry, noisy cough, you may be satisfied that he has
an attack of bronchitis.
206. How can I distinguish between Bronchitis and Inflammation of the
Lungs?
In bronchitis the skin is warm, but moist; in inflammation of the
lungs it is hot and dry: in bronchitis the mouth is warmer than usual,
but moist; in inflammation of the lungs it is burning hot: in
bronchitis the breathing is rather hurried, and attended with
wheezing; in inflammation of the lungs it is very short and panting,
and is unaccompanied with wheezing, although occasionally a very
slight crackling sound might be heard: in bronchitis the cough is long
and noisy; in inflammation of the lungs it is short and feeble: in
bronchitis the child is cross and fretful; in inflammation of the
lungs he is dull and heavy, and his countenance denotes distress.
We have sometimes a combination of bronchitis and of inflammation of
the lungs, an attack of the latter following the former. Then the
symptoms will be modified, and will partake of the character of the
two diseases.
207. How would you treat a case of Bronchitis?
If a medical man cannot be procured, I will tell you What to do:
Confine the child to his bedroom, and if very ill, to his bed. If it
be winter time, have a little fire in the grate, but be sure that the
temperature of the chamber be not above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and let
the room be properly ventilated, which may be effected by occasionally
leaving the door a little ajar.
Let him lie either outside the bed or on a sofa, if he be very ill,
inside the bed, with a sheet and a blanket only to cover him, but no
thick coverlid. If he be allowed to be on the lap, it only heats him
and makes him restless. If he will not lie on the bed, let him rest on
a pillow placed on the lap, the pillow will cause him to lie cooler,
and will more comfortably rest his weaned body. If he be at the
breast, keep him to it, let him have no artificial food, unless, if he
be thirsty a little toast and water. If he be weaned, let him have
either milk and water, arrow root made with equal parts of milk and
water, toast and water, barley water, or weak black tea, with plenty
of new milk in it, &c., but, until the inflammation have subsided,
neither broth nor beef tea.
Now, with regard to medicine, the best medicine is Ipecacuanha Wine,
given in large doses, so as to produce constant nausea. The
Ipecacuanha abates fever, acts on the skin, loosens the cough, and, in
point of fact, in the majority of cases, will rapidly effect a cure. I
have in a preceding Conversation given you a prescription for the
Ipecacuanha Wine Mixture. Let a tea-spoonful of the mixture be taken
every four hours.
If in a day or two he be no better, but worse, by all means continue
the mixture, whether it produce sickness or otherwise, and put on the
chest a Tela Vesicatoria, a quarter of a sheet.
The Ipecacuanha Wine and the Tela Vesicatoria are my sheet anchors in
the bronchitis, both of infants and of children. They rarely, even in
very severe cases, fail to effect a cure, provided the Tela
Vesicatorina be properly applied, and the Ipecacuanha Wine be genuine
and of good quality.
If there be any difficulty in procuring good Ipecacuanha Wine, the
Ipecacuanha may be given in powder instead of the wine The following
is a pleasant form—
Take of—Powder of Ipecacuanha, twelve grains
White Sugar thirty six grains
Mix well together and divide into twelve powders. One of the powders
to be put dry on the tongue every four hours.
The Ipecacuanha Powder will keep better than the Wine—an important
consideration to those living in country places, nevertheless, if the
Wine can be procured fresh and good, I far prefer the Wine to the
Powder.
When the bronchitis has disappeared, the diet ought gradually to be
improved—rice, sago, tapioca, and light batter-pudding, &c.; and, in
a few days, either a little chicken or a mutton chop, mixed with a
well-mashed potato and crumb of bread, should be given. But let the
improvement in his diet be gradual, or the inflammation might return.
What NOT to do.—Do not apply leeches. Do not give either emetic
tartar or antimonial wine, which is emetic tartar dissolved in
wine. Do not administer either paregoric or syrup of poppies, either
of which would stop the cough, and would thus prevent the expulsion of
the phlegm. Any fool can stop a cough, but it requires a wise man to
rectify the mischief. A cough is an effort of Nature to bring up the
phlegm, which would otherwise accumulate, and in the end cause
death. Again, therefore, let me urge upon you the immense importance
of not stopping the cough of a child. The Ipecacuanha Wine will, by
loosening the phlegm, loosen the cough, which is the only right way to
get rid of a cough. Let what I have now said be impressed deeply upon
your memory, as thousands of children in England are annually
destroyed by having their coughs stopped. Avoid, until the bronchitis
be relieved, giving him broths, and meat, and stimulants of all
kinds. For further observations on what NOT to do in bronchitis, I
beg to refer you to a previous Conversation we had on what NOT to do
in inflammation of the lungs. That which is injurious in the one case
is equally so in the other.
208. What are the symptoms of Diphtheria, or, as it is sometimes
called, Boulogne Sore-throat?
This terrible disease, although by many considered to be a new
complaint, is, in point of fact, of very ancient origin. Homer, and
Hippocrates, the Father of Physic, have both described it. Diphtheria
first appeared in England in the beginning of the year 1857, since
which time it has never totally left our shores.
The symptoms—The little patient, before the disease really shows
itself, feels poorly, and is "out of sorts." A shivering fit, though
not severe, may generally be noticed. There is heaviness, and slight
headache, principally over the eyes. Sometimes, but not always, there
is a mild attack of delirium at night The next day he complains of
slight difficulty of swallowing. If old enough, he will complain of
constriction about the swallow. On examining the throat, the tonsils
will be found to be swollen and redder—more darkly red than
usual. Slight specks will be noticed on the tonsils. In a day or two
an exudation will cover them, the back of the swallow, the palate, the
tongue, and sometimes the inside of the cheeks and of the
nostrils. This exudation of lymph gradually increases until it becomes
a regular membrane, which puts on the appearance of leather, hence its
name diphtheria. This membrane peels off in pieces, and if the child
be old and strong enough he will sometimes spit it up in quantities,
the membrane again and again rapidly forming as before. The discharges
from the throat are occasionally, but not always, offensive. There is
danger of croup from the extension of the membrane into the wind
pipe. The glands about the neck and under the jaw are generally much
swollen, the skin is rather cold and clammy, the urine is scanty and
usually pale, the bowels at first are frequently relaxed. This
diarrhoea may, or may not, cease as the disease advances.
The child is now in a perilous condition, and it becomes a battle
between his constitution and the disease. If, unfortunately, as is
too often the case—diphtheria being more likely to attack the
weakly—the child be very delicate, there is but slight hope of
recovery. The danger of the disease is not always to be measured by
the state of the throat. Sometimes, when the patient appears to be
getting well, a sudden change for the worse rapidly carries him
off. Hence the importance of great caution, in such cases, in giving
an opinion as to ultimate recovery. I have said enough to prove the
terrible nature of the disease, and to show the necessity of calling
in, at the earliest period of the symptoms, an experienced and skilful
medical man.
209. Is Diphtheria contagious?
Decidedly. Therefore, when practicable, the rest of the children
ought instantly to be removed to a distance. I say children, for it
is emphatically a disease of childhood. When adults have it, it is the
exception and not the rule: "Thus it will be seen, in the account
given of the Boulogne epidemic, that of 366 deaths from this cause,
341 occurred amongst children under ten years of age. In the
Lincolnshire epidemic, in the autumn of 1858, all the deaths at
Horncastle, 25 in number, occurred amongst children under twelve years
of age." [Footnote: Diphtheria: by Ernest Hart. A valuable pamphlet
on the subject. Dr Wade of Birmingham has also written an interesting
and useful monograph on Diphtheria. I am indebted to the above authors
for much valuable information.]
210. What are the causes of Diphtheria?
Bad and imperfect drainage; [Footnote: "Now all my carefully conducted
inquiries induce me to believe that the disease comes from
drain-poison. All the cases into which I could fully inquire, have
brought conviction to my mind that there is a direct law of sequence
in some peculiar conditions of atmosphere between diphtheria and bad
drainage; and, if this be proved by subsequent investigations, we may
be able to prevent a disease which, in too many cases, our known
remedies cannot cure."—W. Carr, Esq., Blackheath, British Medical
Journal, December 7, 1861.] want of ventilation; overflowing privies;
low neighbourhoods in the vicinity of rivers; stagnant waters; indeed,
everything that vitiates the air, and thus depresses the system, more
especially if the weather be close and muggy; poor and, improper food;
and last, though not least, contagion. Bear in mind, too, that a
delicate child is much more predisposed to the disease than a strong
one.
211. What is the treatment of Diptheria?
What to do—Examine well into the ventilation, for as diphtheria is
frequently caused by deficient ventilation, the best remedy is
thorough ventilation. Look well both to the drains and to the privies,
and see that the drains from the water-closets and from the privies do
not in any way contaminate the pump-water. If the drains be defective
or the privies be full, the disease in your child will be generated,
fed, and fostered. Not only so, but the disease will spread in your
family and all around you.
Keep the child to his bedroom and to his bed. For the first two or
three days, while the fever runs high, put him on a low diet, such as
milk, tea, arrow root, &c.
Apply to his throat every four hours a warm barm and oatmeal
poultice. If he be old enough to have the knowledge to use a gargle,
the following will be found serviceable—
Take of—Permanganate of Potash, pure, four grams,
Water eight ounces
To make a Gargle
Or,
Take of—Powdered Alum, one drachm,
Simple Syrup one ounce,
Water, seven ounces
To make a Gargle
The best medicine for the first few days of the attack, is the
following mixture—
Take of—Chlorate of Potash two drachms,
Boiling Water seven ounces
Syrup of Red Poppy one ounce
To Make a mixture. A table spoonful to be taken every four hours.
Or the chlorate of potash might be given in the form of powder—
Take of—Chlorate of Potash two scruples,
Lump Sugar one drachm
Mix and divide into eight powders. One to be put into a dry tea spoon
and then placed on the tongue every three hours, These powders are
very useful in diphtheria; they are very cleansing to the tongue and
throat. If they produce much smarting as where the mouth is very sore
they sometimes do, let the patient, after taking one, drink
plentifully of milk, indeed I have known these powders induce a
patient to take nourishment, in the form of milk, which he otherwise
would not have done, and thus to have saved him from dying of
starvation, which, before taking the powders, there was every
probability of his doing. An extensive experience has demonstrated to
me the great value of these powders in diphtheria, but they must be
put on the tongue dry.
As soon as the skin has lost its preternatural heat, beef tea and
chicken broth ought to be given. Or if great prostration should
supervene, in addition to the beef tea, port wine, a table spoonful
every four hours, should be administered. If the child be cold, and
there be great sinking of the vital powers, brandy and water should be
substituted for the port wine. Remember, in ordinary cases, port wine
and brandy are not necessary, but in cases of extreme exhaustion
they are most valuable.
As soon as the great heat of the skin has abated and the debility has
set in, one of the following mixtures will be found useful—
Take of—Wine of Iron, one ounce and a half,
Sample Syrup, one ounce,
Water, three ounces and a half
To make a Mixture. A table spoonful to be taken every four hours.
Or,
Take of—Tincture of Perchloride of Iron, one drachm
Simple Syrup, one ounce,
Water, three ounces
To make a Mixture. A table spoonful to be taken three times a day.
If the disease should travel downwards, it will cause all the symptoms
of croup, then it must be treated as croup, with this only difference,
that a blister (Tela Vesicatoria) must not be applied, or the
blistered surface may be attacked by the membrane of diphtheria, which
may either cause death or hasten that catastrophe. In every other
respect treat the case as croup, by giving an emetic, a tea spoonful
of Ipecacuanha Wine every five minutes, until free vomiting be
excited, and then administer smaller doses of Ipecacuanha Wine every
two or three hours, as I recommended when conversing with you on the
treatment of croup.
What NOT to do—Do not, on any account, apply either leeches or a
blister. If the latter be applied, it is almost sure to be covered
with the membrane of diphtheria, similar to that inside of the mouth
and of the throat, which would be a serious complication. Do not give
either calomel or emetic tartar. Do not depress the system by
aperients, for diphtheria is an awfully depressing complaint of
itself, the patient, in point of fact, is labouring under the
depressing effects of poison, for the blood has been poisoned either
by the drinking water being contaminated by faecal matter from either a
privy or from a water-closet, by some horrid drain, by proximity to a
pig-sty, by an overflowing privy, especially if vegetable matter be
rotting at the same time in it, by bad ventilation, or by
contagion. Diphtheria may generally be traced either to the one or to
the other of the above causes, therefore let me urgently entreat you
to look well into all these matters, and thus to stay the pestilence!
Diphtheria might long remain in a neighbourhood if active measures be
not used to exterminate it.
212. Have the goodness to describe the symptoms of Measles?
Measles commences with symptoms of a common cold, the patient is at
first chilly, then hot and feverish, he has a running at the nose,
sneezing, watering, and redness of the eyes, headache, drowsiness, a
hoarse and peculiar ringing cough, which nurses call "measle-cough,"
and difficulty of breathing. These symptoms usually last three days
before the eruption appears, on the fourth it (the eruption) generally
makes its appearance, and continues for four days and then disappears,
lasting altogether, from the commencement of the symptoms of cold to
the decline of the eruption, seven days. It is important to bear in
mind that the eruption consists of crescent-shaped—half
moon-shaped—patches, that they usually appear first about the face
and the neck, in which places they are the best marked; then on the
body and on the arms; and, lastly, on the legs, and that they are
slightly raised above the surface of the skin. The face is swollen,
more especially the eye-lids which are sometimes for a few days
closed.
Well, then, remember, the running at the nose, the, sneezing, the
peculiar hoarse cough, and the half-moon-shaped patches, are the
leading features of the disease, and point out for a certainty that it
is measles.
213. What constitutes the principal danger in Measles?
The affection of the chest. The mucous or lining membrane of the
bronchial tubes is always more or less inflamed, and the lungs
themselves are sometimes affected.
214. Do you recommend "surfeit water" and saffron tea to throw out
the eruption in Measles?
Certainly not. The only way to throw out the eruption, as it is
called, is to keep the body comfortably warm, and to give the
beverages ordered by the medical man, with the chill off. "Surfeit
water," saffron tea, and remedies of that class, are hot and
stimulating. The only effect they can have, will be to increase the
fever and the inflammation—to add fuel to the fire.
215. What is the treatment of Measles?
What to do.—The child ought to be confined both to his room and to
his bed, the room being kept comfortably warm; therefore, if it be
winter time, there should be a small fire in the grate; in the summer
time, a fire would be improper. The child must not be exposed to
draughts; notwithstanding, from time to time, the door ought to be
left a little ajar in order to change the air of the apartment; for
proper ventilation, let the disease be what it may, is absolutely
necessary.
Let the child, for the first few days, be kept on a low diet, such as
on milk and water, arrow-root, bread and butter, &c.
If the attack be mild, that is to say, if the breathing be not much
affected (for in measles it always is more or less affected), and if
there be not much wheezing, the Acidulated Infusion of Roses' Mixture
[Footnote: See page 178] will be all that is necessary.
But suppose that the breathing is short, and that there is a great
wheezing, then instead of giving him the mixture just advised, give
him a tea-spoonful of a mixture composed of Ipecacuanha Wine, Syrup,
and Water, [Footnote: See page 161] every four hours. And if, on the
following day, the breathing and the wheezing be not relieved in
addition to the Ipecacuanha Mixture, apply a Tola Vesicatoria, as
advised under the head of Inflammation of the Lungs.
When the child is convalescing, batter puddings, rice, and sago
puddings, in addition to the milk, bread and butter, &c, should be
given, and, a few days later, chicken, mutton chops, &c.
The child ought not, even in a mild case of measles, and in favourable
weather to be allowed to leave the house under a fortnight, or it
might bring on an attack of bronchitis.
What NOT to do—Do not give either "surfeit water" or wine. Do not
apply leeches to the chest. Do not expose the child to the cold
air. Do not keep the bed room very hot, but comfortably warm. Do not
let the child leave the house, even under favourable circumstances,
under a fortnight. Do not, while the eruption is out, give
aperients. Do not, "to ease the cough," administer either emetic
tartar or paregoric—the former drug is awfully depressing, the latter
will stop the cough, and will thus prevent the expulsion of the
phlegm.
216. What is the difference between Scarlatina and Scarlet Fever?
They are indeed one and the same disease, scarlatina being the Latin
for scarlet fever. But, in a popular sense, when the disease is
mild, it is usually called scarlatina. The latter term does not sound
so formidable to the ears either of patients or of parents.
217. Will you describe the symptoms of Scarlet Fever?
The patient is generally chilly, languid, drowsy, feverish, and poorly
for two days before the eruption appears. At the end of the second
day, the characteristic, bright scarlet efflorescence, somewhat
similar to the colour of a boiled lobster, usually first shows itself.
The scarlet appearance is not confined to the skin; but the tongue,
the throat, and the whites of the eyes put on the same appearance;
with this only difference, that on the tongue and on the throat the
scarlet is much darker; and, as Dr Elliotson accurately describes
it,—"the tongue looks as if it had been slightly sprinkled with
Cayenne pepper;" the tongue, at other times, looks like a strawberry;
when it does, it is called "the strawberry tongue." The eruption
usually declines on the fifth, and is generally indistinct on the
sixth day; on the seventh it has completely faded away. There is
usually, after the first few days, great itching on the surface of the
body. The skin, at the end of the week, begins to peel and to dust
off, making it look as though meal had been sprinkled upon it.
There are three forms of scarlet fever;—the one where the throat is
little, if at all, affected, and this is a mild form of the disease;
the second, which is generally, especially at night, attended with
delirium, where the throat is much affected, being often greatly
inflamed and ulcerated; and the third (which is, except in certain
unhealthy districts, comparatively rare, and which is VERY dangerous),
the malignant form.
218. Would it be well to give a little cooling, opening physic as
soon as a child begins to sicken for Scarlet Fever?
On no account whatever. Aperient medicines are, in my opinion,
highly improper and dangerous both before and during the period of the
eruption. It is my firm conviction, that the administration of opening
medicine, at such times, is one of the principal causes of scarlet
fever being so frequently fatal. This is, of course, more applicable
to the poor, and to those who are unable to procure a skilful medical
man.
219. What constitutes the principal danger in Scarlet Fever?
The affection of the throat, the administration of opening medicine
during the first ten days, and a peculiar disease of the kidneys
ending in anasarca (dropsy), on which account, the medical man
ought, when practicable, to be sent for at the onset, that no time may
be lost in applying proper remedies.
When Scarlet Fever is complicated—as it sometimes is—with
diphtheria, the diphtheric membrane is very apt to travel into the
wind-pipe, and thus to cause diphtheric croup, it is almost sure, when
such is the case, to end in death. When a child dies from such a
complication, the death might truly be said to be owing to the
diphtheric croup, and not to the Scarlet Fever, for if the diphtheric
croup had not occurred, the child would, in all probability, have been
saved. The deaths from diphtheria are generally from diphtheric croup,
if there be no croup, there is, as a rule, frequent recovery.
220. How would you distinguish between Scarlet Fever and Measles?
Measles commences with symptoms of a common cold, scarlet fever does
not. Measles has a peculiar hoarse cough, scarlet fever has not. The
eruption of measles is in patches of a half moon shape, and is
slightly raised above the skin, the eruption of scarlet fever is not
raised above the skin at all, and is one continued mass. The colour of
the eruption is much more vivid in scarlet fever than in measles. The
chest is the part principally affected in measles, and the throat in
scarlet fever.
There is an excellent method of determining, for a certainty, whether
the eruption be that of scarlatina or otherwise. I myself have, in
several instances, ascertained the truth of it—"For several years M
Bouchut has remarked in the eruptions of scarlatina a curious
phenomenon, which serves to distinguish this eruption from that of
measles, erythema, erysipelas &c., a phenomenon essentially vital,
and which is connected with the excessive contractability of the
capillaries. The phenomenon in question is a white line, which can
be produced at pleasure by drawing the back of the nail along the skin
where the eruption, is situated. On drawing the nail, or the extremity
of a hard body (such as a pen-holder), along the eruption, the skin is
observed to grow pale, and to present a white trace, which remains for
one or two minutes, or longer, and then disappears. In this way the
diagnosis of the disease may be very distinctly written on the skin;
the word 'Scarlatina' disappears as the eruption regains its uniform
tint."—Edinburgh Medical Journal.
221. Is it of so much importance, then, to distinguish between
Scarlet fever and Measles?
It is of great importance, as in measles the patient ought to be kept
moderately warm, and the drinks should be given with the chill off;
while in scarlet fever the patient ought to be kept cool—indeed, for
the first few days, cold—and the beverages, such as spring-water,
toast and water, &c., should be administered quite cold.
222. Do you believe in "Hybrid" Scarlet Fever—that is to say, in a
cross between Scarlet Fever and Measles?
I never in my life saw a case of "hybrid" scarlet fever—nor do I
believe in it. Scarlet fever and measles are both blood poisons, each
one being perfectly separate and distinct from the other. "Hybrid"
Scarlet fever is, in my opinion, an utter impossibility. In olden
times, when the symptoms of diseases were not so well and carefully
distinguished as now, scarlet fever and measles were constantly
confounded one with the other, and was frequently said to be
"hybrid"—a cross between measles and scarlet fever—to the patient's
great detriment and danger, the two diseases being as distinct and
separate as their treatment-and management ought to be.
223. What is the treatment of Scarlet Fever? [Footnote: On the 4th
of March 1856, I had the honour to read a Paper on the Treatment of
Scarlet Fever before the members of Queens College Medico-Chirugical
Society, Birmingham—which Paper was afterwards published in the
Association Journal (March 15 1856) and in Braithwaite's Retrospect
of Medicine (January—June, 1856) and in Rankings Half Yearly
Abstract of the Medical Sciences (July—December, 1856), besides in
other publications. Moreover the Paper was translated into German,
and published in Canstatts Jahresbericht, iv 456, 1859]
What to do—Pray pay attention to my rules, and carry out my
directions to the letter—I can then promise, that if the scarlet
fever be neither malignant nor complicated with diphtheria, the plan
I am about to advise will, with God's blessing, be usually successful.
What is the first thing to be done? Send the child to bed, throw open
the windows, be it winter or summer, and have a thorough ventilation,
for the bedroom must be kept cool, I may say cold. Do not be afraid of
fresh air, for fresh air, for the first few days, is essential to
recovery. Fresh air, and plenty of it, in scarlet fever, is the best
doctor a child can have let these words be written legibly on your
mind. [Footnote: In the Times of Sept 4, 1863, is the following
copied from the Bridgewater Mercury—
GROSS SUPERSTITION—In one of the streets of Taunton, there resides a
man and his wife who have the care of a child This child was attacked
with scarlatina, and to all appearance death was inevitable. A jury of
matrons was as it were empanelled, and to prevent the child 'dying
hard' all the doors in the house all the drawers, all the boxes all
the cupboards were thrown wide open, the keys taken out and the body
of the child placed under a beam, whereby a sure, certain, and easy
passage into eternity could be secured. Watchers held their vigils
throughout the weary night, and in the morning the child, to the
surprise of all, did not die, and is now gradually recovering.
These old women—this jury of matrons—stumbled on the right remedy,
"all the doors in the house….were thrown vide open," and thus they
thoroughly ventilated the apartment. What was the consequence? The
child who, just before the opening of the doors, had all the
appearances "that death was inevitable," as soon as fresh air was let
in showed symptoms of recovery, "and in the morning the child, to the
surprise of all, did not die, and is now gradually recovering." There
is nothing wonderful—there is nothing surprising to my mind—in all
this. Ventilation—thorough ventilation—is the grand remedy for
scarlatina! Oh, that there were in scarlet fever cases a good many
such old women's—such a "jury of matrons'"—remedies! We should not
then be horrified, as we now are, at the fearful records of death,
which the Returns of the Registrar General disclose!]
If the weather be either intensely cold, or very damp, there is no
objection to a small fire in the grate provided there be, at the same
time, air—an abundance of fresh air—admitted into the room.
Take down the curtains of the bed, remove the valances. If it be
summer time, let the child be only covered with a sheet. If it be
winter time, in addition to the sheet, he should have one blanket over
him.
Now for the throat—The best external application is a barm and
oatmeal poultice How ought it to be made, and how applied? Put half a
tea-cupful of barm into a saucepan, put it on the fire to boil; as
soon as it boils, take it off the fire, and stir oatmeal into it,
until it be of the consistence of a nice soft poultice; then place it
on a rag, and apply it to the throat, carefully fasten it on with a
bandage, two or three turns of the bandage going round the throat, and
two or three over the crown of the head, so as nicely to apply the
poultice where it is wanted—that is to say, to cover the tonsils.
Tack the bandage: do not pin it. Let the poultice be changed three
times a day. The best medicine is the Acidulated Infusion of Roses,
sweetened with syrup:—
Take of—Dilated Sulphuric Acid, half a drachm;
Simple Syrup, one ounce and a half;
Acid Infusion of Roses, four ounces and a half:
To make a Mixture. A table-spoonful to be taken every four hours.
It is grateful and refreshing, it is pleasant to take, it abates fever
and thirst, it cleanses the throat and tongue of mucus, and is
peculiarly efficacious in scarlet fever; as soon as the fever is
abated it gives an appetite. My belief is that the sulphuric acid in
the mixture is a specific in scarlet fever, as much as quinine is in
ague, and sulphur in itch. I have reason to say so, for, in numerous
cases I have seen its immense value.
Now, with regard to food.—If the child be at the breast, keep him
entirely to it. If he be weaned, and under two years old, give him
milk and water, and cold water to drink. If he be older, give him
toast and water, and plain water from the pump, as much as he chooses;
let it be quite cold—the colder the better. Weak black tea, or thin
gruel, may be given, but not caring, unless he be an infant at the
breast, if he take nothing but cold water. If the child be two years
old and upwards, roasted apples with sugar, and grapes, will be very
refreshing, and will tend to cleanse both the mouth and the throat
Avoid broths and stimulants.
When the appetite returns, you may consider the patient to be
safe. The diet ought now to be gradually improved. Bread and butter,
milk and water, and arrowroot made with equal parts of new milk and
water, should for the first two or three days be given. Then a light
batter or rice pudding may be added, and in a few days, either a
little chicken or a mutton chop.
The essential remedies, then, in scarlet fever, are, for the first few
days—(1) plenty of fresh air and ventilation, (2) plenty of cold
water to drink, (3) barm poultices to the throat, and (4) the
Acidulated Infusion of Roses Mixture as a medicine.
Now, then, comes very important advice. After the first few days,
probably five or six, sometimes as early as the fourth day—watch
carefully and warily, and note the time, the skin will suddenly become
cool, the child will say that he feels chilly; then is the time you
must now change your tactics—instantly close the windows and put
extra clothing, a blanket or two, on his bed. A flannel nightgown
should, until the dead skin have peeled off, be now worn next to the
skin, when the flannel nightgown should be discontinued. The patient
ought ever after to wear, in the day time, a flannel waistcoat.
[Footnote: On the importance—the vital importance—of the wearing of
flannel next to the skin, see "Flannel Waistcoats."] His drinks must
now be given with the chill off; he ought to have a warm cup of tea,
and gradually his diet should, as I have previously advised, be
improved.
There is one important caution I wish to impress upon you,—do not
give opening medicine during the time the eruption is out. In all
probability the bowels will be opened: if so, all well and good; but
do not, on any account, for the first ten days, use artificial means
to open them. It is my firm conviction that the administration of
purgatives in scarlet fever is a fruitful source of dropsy, of
disease, and death. When we take into consideration the sympathy there
is between the skin and the mucous membrane, I think that we should
pause before giving irritating medicines, such as purgatives. The
irritation of aperients on the mucous membrane may cause the poison of
the skin disease (for scarlet fever is a blood-poison) to be driven
internally to the kidneys, to the throat, to the pericardium (bag of
the heart), or to the brain. You may say, Do you not purge if the
bowels be not open for a week? I say emphatically, No!
I consider my great success in the treatment of scarlet fever to be
partly owing to my avoidance of aperients during the first ten days of
the child's illness.
If the bowels, after the ten days, be not properly opened, a dose or
two of syrup of senna should be given: that is to say, one or two
tea-spoonfuls should be administered early in the morning, and should,
if the first dose does not operate, be repeated in four hours.
In a subsequent Conversation, I shall strongly urge you not to allow
your child, when convalescent, to leave the house under at least a
month from the commencement of the illness; I, therefore, beg to refer
you to that Conversation, and hope that you will give it your best and
earnest consideration! During the last twenty years I have never had
dropsy from scarlet fever, and I attribute it entirely to the plan I
have just recommended, and in not allowing my patients to leave the
house under the month—until, in fact, the skin that had peeled off
has been renewed.
Let me now sum up the plan I adopt, and which I beg leave to designate
as—Pye Chavasse's Fresh Air Treatment of Scarlet Fever:—
1. Thorough ventilation, a cool room, and scant clothes on the bed,
for the first five or six days.
2. A change of temperature of the skin to be carefully regarded. As
soon as the skin is cool, closing the windows, and putting additional
clothing on the bed.
3. The Acidulated Infusion of Hoses with Syrup is the medicine for
scarlet fever.
4. Purgatives to be religiously avoided for the first ten days at
least, and even afterwards, unless there be absolute necessity.
5. Leeches, blisters, emetics, cold and tepid spongings, and painting
the tonsils with caustic, inadmissible in scarlet fever.
6. A strict antiphlogistic (low) diet for the first few days, during
which time cold water to be given ad libitum.
7. The patient not to leave the house in the summer under the month;
in the winter, under six weeks.
What NOT to do.—Do not, then, apply either leeches or blisters to
the throat; do not paint the tonsils with caustic; do not give
aperients; do not, on any account, give either calomel or emetic
tartar; do not, for the first few days of the illness, be afraid of
cold air to the skin, and of cold water as a beverage; do not,
emphatically let me say, do not let the child leave the house for at
least a month from the commencement of the illness.
My firm conviction is, that purgatives, emetics, and blisters, by
depressing the patient, sometimes cause ordinary scarlet fever to
degenerate into malignant scarlet fever.
I am aware that some of our first authorities advocate a different
plan to mine. They recommend purgatives, which I may say, in scarlet
fever, are my dread and abhorrence. They advise cold and tepid
spongings—a plan which I think dangerous, as it will probably drive
the disease internally. Blisters, too, have been prescribed; these I
consider weakening, injurious, and barbarous, and likely still more to
inflame the already inflamed skin. They recommend leeches to the
throat, which I am convinced, by depressing the patient, will lessen
the chance of his battling against the disease, and will increase the
ulceration of the tonsils. Again, the patient has not too much blood;
the blood is only poisoned. I look upon scarlet fever as a specific
poison of the blood, and one which will be eliminated from the system,
not by bleeding, not by purgatives, not by emetics but by a
constant supply of fresh and cool air, by the acid treatment, by cold
water as a beverage, and for the first few days by a strict
antiphlogistic (low) diet. Sydenham says that scarlet fever is
oftentimes "fatal through the officiousness of the doctor." I
conscientiously believe that a truer remark was never made; and that,
under a different system to the usual one adopted, scarlet fever would
not be so much dreaded. [Footnote: If any of my medical brethren
should do me the honour to read these pages, let me entreat them to
try my plan of treating scarlet fever, as my success has been great. I
have given full and minute particulars, in order that they and mothers
(if mothers cannot obtain medical advice) may give my plan a fair and
impartial trial. My only stipulations are that they must begin with
my treatment, and not mix any other with it, and carry out my plan
to the very letter. I then, with God's blessing, provided the cases be
neither malignant nor complicated with diphtheria, shall not fear the
result. If any of my confreres have tried my plan of treatment of
scarlet fever—and I have reason to know that many have—I should feel
grateful to them if they would favour me with their opinion as to its
efficacy. Address—"Pye Chavasse, 214 Hagley Road, Birmingham."]
Dr Budd, of Bristol, recommends, in the British Medical Journal,
that the body, including the scalp, of a scarlet fever patient,
should, after about the fourth day, be anointed, every night and
morning, with camphorated oil; this anointing to be continued until
the patient is able to take a warm bath and use disinfectant soap:
this application will not only be very agreeable to the patient's
feelings, as there is usually great irritation and itching of the
skin, but it will, likewise, be an important means of preventing the
dead skin, which is highly infectious, and which comes off partly in
flakes and partly floats about the air as dust, from infecting other
persons. The plan is an excellent one, and cannot be too strongly
recommended.
If the case be a combination of scarlet fever and of diphtheria, as it
unfortunately now frequently is, let it be treated as a case of
diphtheria.
224. I have heard of a case of Scarlet Fever, where the child, before
the eruption showed itself, was suddenly struck prostrate, cold, and
almost pulseless: what, in such a case, are the symptoms, and what
immediate treatment do you advise?
There is an exceptional case of scarlet fever, which now and then
occurs, and which requires exceptional and prompt treatment, or
death will quickly ensue. We will suppose a case: one of the number,
where nearly all the other children of a family are labouring under
scarlet fever, is quite well, when suddenly—in a few hours, or even,
in some cases, in an hour—utter prostration sets in, he is very cold,
and is almost pulseless, and is nearly insensible—comatose.
Having sent instantly for a judicious medical man, apply, until he
arrives, hot bottles, hot bricks, hot bags of salt to the patient's
feet and legs and back, wrap him in hot blankets, close the window,
and give him hot brandy and water—a tablespoonful of brandy to half a
tumblerful of hot water—give it him by teaspoonfuls, continuously—to
keep him alive; when he is warm and restored to consciousness, the
eruption will probably show itself, and he will become hot and
feverish; then your tactics must, at once, be changed, and my Fresh
Air Treatment, and the rest of the plan I have before advised must in
all its integrity, be carried out.
We sometimes hear of a child, before the eruption comes out and within
twenty-four hours of the attack, dying of scarlet fever. When such be
the case it is probably owing to low vitality of the system—to utter
prostration—he is struck down, as though for death, and if the plan
be not adopted of, for a few hours, keeping him alive by heat, and by
stimulants, until, indeed, the eruption comes out, he will never rally
again, but will die from scarlet fever poisoning and from utter
exhaustion. These cases are comparatively rare, but they do, from
time to time, occur, and, when they do, they demand exceptional and
prompt and energetic means to save them from ending in almost
immediate and certain death. "To be forewarned is to be forearmed."
[Footnote: I have been reminded of this exceptional case of scarlet
fever by a most intelligent and valued patient of mine, who had a
child afflicted as above described, and whose child was saved from
almost certain death, by a somewhat similar plan of treatment as
advised in the text.]
225. How soon ought a child to be allowed to leave the house after an
attack of Scarlet Fever?
He must not be allowed to go out for at least a month from the
commencement of the attack, in the summer, and six weeks in the
winter; and not even then without the express permission of a medical
man. It might be said that this is an unreasonable recommendation: but
when it is considered that the whole of the skin generally
desquamates, or peels off, and consequently leaves the surface of the
body exposed to cold, which cold flies to the kidneys, producing a
peculiar and serious disease in them, ending in dropsy, this warning
will not be deemed unreasonable.
Scarlet fever dropsy, which is really a formidable disease, generally
arises from, the carelessness, the ignorance, and the thoughtlessness
of parents in allowing a child to leave the house before the new skin
be properly formed and hardened. Prevention is always better than
cure.
Thus far with regard to the danger to the child himself. Now, if you
please, let me show you the risk of contagion that you inflict upon
families, in allowing your child to mix with others before a month at
least has elapsed. Bear in mind, a case is quite as contagious, if not
more so, while the skin is peeling off, as it was before. Thus, in ten
days or a fortnight, there is as much risk of contagion as at the
beginning of the disease, and when the fever is at its height. At
the conclusion of the month, the old skin has generally all peeled
off, and the new skin has taken its place; consequently there will
then be less fear of contagion to others. But the contagion of scarlet
fever is so subtle and so uncertain in its duration, that it is
impossible to fix the exact time when it ceases.
Let me most earnestly implore you to ponder well on the above
important facts. If these remarks should be the means of saving only
one child from death, or from broken health, my labour will not have
been in vain.
226. What means do you advise to purify a house, clothes, and
furniture, from the contagion of Scarlet Fever?
Let every room in the house, together with its contents, and clothing
and dresses that cannot be washed, be well fumigated with
sulphur—taking care the while to close both windows and door; let
every room be lime-washed and then be white-washed; if the contagion
have been virulent, let every bedroom be freshly papered (the walls
having been previously stripped of the old paper and then
lime-washed); let the bed, the holsters, the pillows, and the
mattresses be cleansed and purified; let the blankets and coverlids be
thoroughly washed, and then let them be exposed to the open air—if
taken into a field so much the better; let the rooms be well scoured;
let the windows, top and bottom, be thrown wide open; let the drains
be carefully examined; let the pump water be scrutinised, to see that
it be not contaminated by faecal matter, either from the water-closet,
from the privy, from the pig-stye, or from the stable; let privies be
emptied of their contents—remember this is most important
advice—then put, into the empty places, either lime and powdered
charcoal or carbolic acid, for it is a well ascertained fact that it
is frequently impossible to rid a house of the infection of scarlet
fever without adopting such a course. "In St George's, Southwark, the
medical officer reports that scarlatina 'has raged fatally, almost
exclusively where privy or drain, smells are to be perceived in the
houses.'" [Footnote: Quarterly Report of the Board of Health upon
Sickness in the Metropolis.] Let the children, who have not had, or
who do not appear to be sickening for scarlet fever, be sent away from
home—if to a farm house so much the better. Indeed, leave no stone
unturned, no means untried, to exterminate the disease from the house
and from the neighbourhood. Remember the young are more prone to catch
contagious diseases than adults; for
"in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent."—Shakspeare.
227. Have you any further observations to offer on the precautions to
be taken against the spread of Scarlet Fever?
Great care should be taken to separate the healthy from the
infected. The nurses selected for attending scarlet fever patients
should be those who have previously had scarlet fever themselves.
Dirty linen should be removed at once, and be put into boiling
water. Very little furniture should be in the room of a scarlet fever
patient—the less the better—it only obstructs the circulation of the
air, and harbours the scarlet fever poison. The most scrupulous
attention to cleanliness should, in these cases, be observed. A
patient who has recovered from scarlet fever, and before he mixes with
healthy people, should, for three or four consecutive mornings, have a
warm bath, and well wash himself, while in the bath, with soap; he
will, by adopting this plan, get rid of the dead skin, and thus remove
the infected particles of the disease. If scarlet fever should appear
in a school, the school must for a time be broken up, in order that
the disease might be stamped out There must be no half measures where
such a fearful disease is in question. A house containing scarlet
fever patients should, by parents, be avoided as the plague; it is a
folly at any time to put one's head into the lion's mouth! Chloralum
and carbolic acid, and chloride of lime, and Condy's fluid, are each
and all good disinfectants; but not one is to be compared to perfect
cleanliness and to an abundance of fresh and pure air—the last of
which may truly par excellence be called God's disinfectant! Either
a table-spoonful of chloralum, or two tea-spoonfuls of carbolic acid,
or two tea-spoonfuls of Condy's fluid, or a tea-spoonful of chloride
of lime in a pint of water, are useful to sprinkle the soiled
handkerchiefs as soon as they be done with, and before the be washed,
to put in the pot-de-chambre, and to keep in saucers about the room;
but, remember, as I have said before, and cannot repeat too often,
there is no preventative like the air of heaven, which should be
allowed to permeate and circulate freely through the apartment and
through the house: air, air, air is the best disinfectant, curative,
and preventative of scarlet fever in the world!
I could only wish that my Treatment of Scarlet Fever were, in all
its integrity, more generally adopted; if it were, I am quite sure
that thousands of children would annually be saved from broken health
and from death. Time still further convinces me that my treatment is
based on truth as I have every year additional proofs of its value and
of its success; but error and prejudice are unfortunately ever at
work, striving all they can to defeat truth and common sense. One of
my principal remedies in the treatment of scarlet fever is an
abundance of fresh air; but many people prefer their own miserable
complicated inventions to God's grand and yet simple remedies—they
pretend that they know better than the Mighty Framer of the universe!
228. Will you describe the symptoms of Chicken pox?
It is occasionally, but not always, ushered in with a slight shivering
fit; the eruption shows itself in about twenty-four hours from the
child first appearing poorly. It is a vesicular [Footnote:
Vesicles. Small elevations of the cuticle, covering a fluid which
is generally clear and colourless at first, but afterwards whitish and
opaque, or pearly.—Watson.] disease. The eruption comes out in the
form of small pimples, and principally attacks the scalp, the neck,
the back, the chest, and the shoulders, but rarely the face; while in
small-pox the face is generally the part most affected. The next day
these pimples fill with water, and thus become vesicles; on the third
day they are at maturity. The vesicles are quite separate and distinct
from each other. There is a slight redness around each of them. Fresh
ones, whilst the others are dying away, make their appearance.
Chicken-pox is usually attended with a slight itching of the skin;
when the vesicles are scratched the fluid escapes, and leaves hard
pearl-like substances, which, in a few days, disappear. Chicken-pox
never leaves pit marks behind. It is a child's complaint; adults
scarcely, if ever, have it.
229. Is there any danger in Chicken-pox; and what treatment do you
advise?
It is not at all a dangerous, but, on the contrary, a trivial
complaint. It lasts only a few days, and requires but little
medicine. The patient ought, for three or four days, to keep the
house, and should abstain from animal food. On the sixth day, but not
until then, a dose or two of a mild aperient is all that will be
required.
230. Is Chicken-pox infectious?
There is a diversity of opinion on this head, but one thing is
certain—it cannot be communicated by inoculation.
231. What are the symptoms of Modified Small-pox?
The Modified Small-pox—that is to say, small-pox that has been robbed
of its virulence by the patient having been either already vaccinated,
or by his having had a previous attack of small-pox—is ushered in
with severe symptoms, with symptoms almost as severe as though the
patient had not been already somewhat protected either by vaccination
or by the previous attack of small-pox—that is to say, he has a
shivering fit, great depression of spirits and debility, malaise,
sickness, headache, and occasionally delirium. After the above
symptoms have lasted about three days, the eruption shows itself. The
immense value of the previous vaccination, or the previous attack of
small-pox, now comes into play. In a case of unprotected small-pox,
the appearance of the eruption aggravates all the above symptoms,
and the danger begins; while in the modified small-pox, the moment
the eruption shows itself the patient feels better, and, as a rule,
rapidly recovers. The eruption, of modified small-pox varies
materially from the eruption of the unprotected small-pox. The
former eruption assumes a varied character, and is composed, first, of
vesicles (containing water); and, secondly, of pustules (containing
matter), each of which pustules has a depression in the centre; and,
thirdly, of several red pimples without either water or matter in
them, and which sometimes assume a livid appearance. These
"breakings-out" generally show themselves more upon the wrist, and
sometimes up one or both of the nostrils. While in the latter
disease—the unprotected small-pox—the "breaking-out" is composed
entirely of pustules containing matter, and which pustules are more on
the face than on any other part of the body. There is generally a
peculiar smell in both diseases—an odour once smelt never to be
forgotten.
Now, there is one most important remark I have to make,—the modified
small-pox is contagious. This ought to be borne in mind, as a person
labouring under the disease must, if there be children in the house,
either be sent away himself, or else the children ought to be banished
both the house and the neighbourhood. Another important piece of
advice is,—let all in the house—children and adults, one and
all—be vaccinated, even if any or all have been previously
vaccinated.
Treatment.—Let the patient keep his room, and if he be very ill,
his bed. Let the chamber be well ventilated. If it be winter time, a
small fire in the grate will encourage ventilation. If it be summer, a
fire is out of the question; indeed, in such a case, the window-sash
ought to be opened, as thorough ventilation is an important requisite
of cure, both in small-pox and in modified small-pox. While the
eruption is out, do not on any account give aperient medicine. In ten
days from the commencement of the illness a mild aperient may be
given. The best medicine in these cases is, the sweetened Acidulated
Infusion of Roses, [Footnote: See page 178] which ought to be given
from the commencement of the disease, and should be continued until
the fever be abated. For the first few days, as long as the fever
lasts, the patient ought not to be allowed either meat or broth, but
should be kept on a low diet, such as on gruel, arrow-root,
milk-puddings, &c. As soon as the fever is abated he ought gradually
to resume his usual diet. When he is convalescent, it is well, where
practicable, that he should have change of air for a month.
232. How would you distinguish between Modified Small-pox and
Chicken-pox?
Modified small-pox may readily be distinguished from chicken-pox, by
the former disease being, notwithstanding its modification, much more
severe and the fever much more intense before the eruption shows
itself than chicken-pox; indeed, in chicken-pox there is little or no
fever either before or after the eruption; by the former disease—the
modified small-pox—consisting partly of pustules (containing
matter), each pustule having a depression in the centre, and the
favourite localities of the pustules being the wrists and the inside
of the nostrils; while, in the chicken-pox, the eruption consists of
vesicles (containing water), and not pustules (containing matter),
and the vesicles having neither a depression in the centre, nor having
any particular partiality to attack either the wrists or the inside of
the nose. In modified small-pox each pustule is, as in unprotected
small-pox, inflamed at the base; while in chicken-pox there is only
very slight redness around each vesicle. The vesicles in chicken-pox
are small—much smaller than the pustules in modified small-pox.
233. Is Hooping-cough an inflammatory disease?
Hooping-cough in itself is not inflammatory, it is purely spasmodic;
but it is generally accompanied with more or less of bronchitis—
inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes—on which
account it is necessary, in all cases of hooping-cough, to consult a
medical man, that he may watch the progress of the disease and nip
inflammation in the bud.
234. Will you have the goodness to give the symptoms, and a brief
history of, Hooping-cough?
Hooping-cough is emphatically a disease of the young; it is rare for
adults to have it; if they do, they usually suffer more severely than
children. A child seldom has it but once in his life. It is highly
contagious, and therefore frequently runs through a whole family of
children, giving much annoyance, anxiety, and trouble to the mother
and the nurses; hence hooping-cough is much dreaded by them. It is
amenable to treatment. Spring and summer are the best seasons of the
year for the disease to occur. This complaint usually lasts from six
to twelve weeks—sometimes for a much longer period, more especially
if proper means are not employed to relieve it.
Hooping-cough commences as a common cold and cough. The cough, for ten
days or a fortnight, increases in intensity; at about which time it
puts on the characteristic "hoop." The attack of cough comes on in
paroxysms. In a paroxysm, the child coughs so long and so violently,
and expires so much air from the lungs without inspiring any, that
at times he appears nearly suffocated and exhausted; the veins of his
neck swell; his face is nearly purple; his eyes, with the tremendous
exertion, almost seem to start from their sockets; at length there is
a sudden inspiration of air through the contracted chink of the
upper part of the wind-pipe—the glottis—causing the peculiar "hoop;"
and after a little more coughing, he brings up some glairy mucus from
the chest; and sometimes, by vomiting, food from the stomach; he is at
once relieved, until the next paroxysm occur, when the same process is
repeated, the child during the intervals, in a favourable case,
appearing quite well, and after the cough is over, instantly returning
either to his play or to his food. Generally, after a paroxysm he is
hungry, unless, indeed, there be severe inflammation either of the
chest or of the lungs. Sickness, as I before remarked, frequently
accompanies hooping-cough; when it does, it might be looked upon as a
good sign. The child usually knows when an attack is coming on; he
dreads it, and therefore tries to prevent it; he sometimes partially
succeeds; but, if he does, it only makes the attack, when it does
come, more severe. All causes of irritation and excitement ought, as
much as possible, to be avoided, as passion is apt to bring on a
severe paroxysm.
A new-born babe—an infant of one or two months old—commonly escapes
the infection; but if, at that tender age, he unfortunately catch
hooping-cough, it is likely to fare harder with him than if he were
older—the younger the child, the greater the risk. But still, in such
a case, do not despair, as I have known numerous instances of new-born
infants, with judicious care, recover perfectly from the attack, and
thrive after it as though nothing of the kind had ever happened.
A new-born babe, labouring under hooping-cough, is liable to
convulsions, which is in this disease one, indeed the great, source of
danger. A child, too, who is teething, and labouring under the
disease, is also liable to convulsions. When the patient is
convalescing, care ought to be taken that he does not catch cold, or
the "hoop" might return. Hooping-cough may either precede, attend, or
follow an attack of measle.
235. What is the treatment of Hooping-cough?
We will divide the hooping-cough into three stages, and treat each
stage separately,
What to do.—In the first stage, the commencement of hooping-cough:
For the first ten days give the Ipecacuanha Wine Mixture, [Footnote:
For the prescription of the Ipecacuanha Wine Mixture, see page 161.] a
tea-spoonful three times a day. If the child be not weaned, keep him
entirely to the breast, if he be weaned, to a milk and farinaceous
diet. Confine him for the first ten days to the house, more especially
if the hooping-cough be attended, as it usually is, with more or less
bronchitis. But take care that the rooms be well ventilated; for good
air is essential to the cure.
If the bronchitis attending the hooping-cough be severe, confine him
to his bed, and treat him as though it were simply a case of
bronchitis. [Footnote: For the treatment of bronchitis, see answer to
207th question.]
In the second stage, discontinue the Ipecacuanha Mixture, and give
Dr Gibb's remedy—namely, Nitric Acid—which I have found to be an
efficacious and valuable one in hooping-cough:—
Take of—Diluted Nitric Acid, two drachms;
Compound Tincture of Cardamons, half a drachm;
Simple Syrup, three ounces;
Water, two ounces and a half:
Make a Mixture. One or two tea-spoonfuls, or a table-spoonful,
according to the age of the child—one tea-spoonful for an infant of
six months, and two tea-spoonfuls for a child of twelve months, and
one table-spoonful for a child of two years, every four hours, first
shaking the bottle.
Let the spine and the chest be well rubbed every night and morning
either with Roche's Embrocation, or with the following stimulating
liniment (first shaking the bottle):—
Take of—Oil of Cloves, one drachm;
Oil of Amber, two drachms;
Camphorated Oil, nine drachms:
Make a Liniment.
Let him wear a broad band of new flannel, which should extend round
from his chest to his back, and which ought to be changed every night
and morning, in order that it may be dried before putting on again. To
keep it in its place it should be fastened by means of tapes and with
shoulder-straps.
The diet ought now to be improved—he should gradually return to his
usual food; and, weather permitting, should almost live in the open
air—fresh air being, in such a case, one of the finest medicines.
In the third stage, that is to say, when the complaint has lasted a
month, if by that time the child is not well, there is nothing like
change of air to a high, dry, healthy, country place. Continue the
Nitric Acid Mixture, and either the Embrocation or the Liniment to the
back and the chest, and let him continue to almost live in the open
air, and be sure that he does not discontinue wearing the flannel
until he be quite cured, and then let it be left off by degrees.
If the hooping-cough have caused debility, give him Cod-liver Oil—a
tea-spoonful twice or three times a day, giving it him on a full
stomach, after his meals. But, remember, after the first three or four
weeks, change of air, and plenty of it, is for hooping-cough the grand
remedy.
What NOT to do.—"Do not apply leeches to the chest, for I would
rather put blood into a child labouring under hooping-cough than take
it out of him—hooping-cough is quite weakening enough to the system
of itself without robbing him of his life's blood; do not, on any
account whatever, administer either emetic tartar or antimonial wine;
do not give either paregoric or syrup of white poppies; do not drug
him either with calomel or with grey-powder; do not dose him with
quack medicine; do not give him stimulants, but rather give him plenty
of nourishment, such as milk and farinaceous food, but no
stimulants; do not be afraid, after the first week or two, of his
having fresh air, and plenty of it—for fresh, pure air is the grand
remedy, after all that can be said and done, in hooping-cough.
Although occasionally we find that, if the child to labouring under
hooping-cough, and is breathing a pure country air, and is not getting
well so rapidly as we could wish, change of air to a smoky gas-laden
town will sometimes quickly effect a cure; indeed, some persons go so
far as to say that the best remedy for an obstinate case of
hooping-cough is, for the child to live, the great part of every day,
in gas-works!"
236. What is to be done during a paroxysm of Hooping-cough?
If the child be old enough, let him stand up; but if he be either too
young or too feeble, raise his head, and bend his body a little
forward; then support his back with one hand, and the forehead with
the other. Let the mucus, the moment it be within reach, be wiped with
a soft handkerchief out of his mouth.
237. In an obstinate case of Hooping-cough, what is the best remedy?
Change of air, provided there be no active inflammation, to any
healthy spot. A farm-house, in a high, dry, and salubrious
neighbourhood, is as good a place as can be chosen. If, in a short
time, he be not quite well, take him to the sea-side: the sea breezes
will often, as if by magic, drive away the disease.
238. Suppose my child should have a shivering fit, is it to be looked
upon as an important symptom?
Certainly. Nearly all serious illnesses commence with a shivering
fit: severe colds, influenza, inflammations of different organs,
scarlet fever, measles, small-pox, and very many other diseases, begin
in this way. If, therefore, your child should ever have a shivering
fit, instantly send for a medical man, as delay might be
dangerous. A few hours of judicious treatment, at the commencement of
an illness, is frequently of more avail than days and weeks, nay
months, of treatment, when disease has gained a firm footing. A
serious disease often steals on insidiously, and we have perhaps
only the shivering fit, which might be but a slight one, to tell us
of its approach.
A trifling ailment, too, by neglecting the premonitory symptom,
which, at first might only be indicated by a slight shivering fit,
will sometimes become a mortal disorder:—
"The little rift within the lute,
That by-and-by will make the music mute,
And ever widening slowly silence all." [Footnote: The above extract
from Tennyson is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful
pieces of poetry in the English language. It is a perfect gem, and a
volume in itself, so truthful, so exquisite, so full of the most
valuable reflections; for instance—(1.) "The little rift within the
lute,"—the little tubercle within the lung "that by-and-by will
make the music mute, and ever widening slowly silence all," and the
patient eventually dies of consumption. (2.) The little rent—the
little rift of a very minute vessel in the brain, produces an attack
of apoplexy, and the patient dies. (3.) Each and all of us, in one
form or another, sooner or later, will have "the little rift within
the lute." But why give more illustrations?—a little reflection
will bring numerous examples to my fair reader's memory.]
239. In case of a shivering fit, perhaps you will tell me what to
do?
Instantly have the bed warmed, and put the child to bed. Apply
either a hot bottle or a hot brick, wrapped in flannel, to the soles
of his feet. Put an extra blanket on his bed, and give him a cup of
hot tea. As soon as the shivering fit is over, and he has become hot,
gradually lessen the extra quantity of clothes on his bed, and take
away the hot bottle or the hot brick from his feet.
What NOT to do.—Do not give either brandy or wine, as inflammation
of some organ might be about taking place. Do not administer opening
medicine, as there might be some "breaking out" cooling out on the
skin, and an aperient might check it.
240. My child, apparently otherwise healthy, screams out in the night
violently in his sleep, and nothing for a time will pacify him: what
is likely to be the cause, and what is the treatment?
The causes of these violent screamings in the night are various. At
one time, they proceed from teething; at another, from worms;
sometimes, from night-mare; occasionally, from either disordered
stomach or bowels. Each of the above causes will, of course, require
a different plan of procedure; it will, therefore, be necessary to
consult a medical man on the subject, who will soon, with appropriate
treatment, be able to relieve him.
241. Have the goodness to describe the complaint of children called
Mumps.
The mumps, inflammation of the "parotid" gland, is commonly ushered in
with a slight feverish attack. After a short time, a swelling, of
stony hardness, is noticed before and under the ear, which swelling
extends along the neck towards the chin. This lump is exceedingly
painful, and continues painful and swollen for four or five days. At
the end of which time it gradually disappears, leaving not a trace
behind. The swelling of mumps never gathers. It may affect one or both
sides of the face. It seldom occurs but once in a lifetime. It is
contagious, and has been known to run through a whole family or
school; but it is not dangerous, unless, which is rarely the case, it
leaves the "parotid" gland, and migrates either to the head, to the
breast, or to the testicle.
242. What is the treatment of Mumps?
Foment the swelling, four or five times a day, with a flannel wrung
out of hot camomile and poppy-head decoction; [Footnote: Four
poppy-heads and four ounces of camomile blows to be boiled in four
pints of water for half an hour, and then strained to make the
decoction.] and apply, every night, a barm and oatmeal poultice to the
swollen gland or glands. Debar, for a few days, the little patient
from taking meat and broth, and let him live on bread and milk, light
puddings, and arrow-root. Keep him in a well-ventilated room, and shut
him out from the company of his brothers, his sisters, and young
companions. Give him a little mild, aperient medicine. Of course, if
there be the slightest symptom of migration to any other part or
parts, instantly call in a medical man.
243. What is the treatment of a Boil?
One of the best applications is a Burgundy-pitch plaster spread on a
soft piece of wash leather. Let a chemist spread a plaster, about the
size of the hand; and, from this piece, cut small plasters, the size
of a shilling or a florin (according to the dimensions of the boil),
which snip around and apply to the part. Put a fresh one on
daily. This plaster will soon cause the boil to break; when it does
break, squeeze out the contents—the core and the matter—and then
apply one of the plasters as before, which, until the boil be well,
renew every day.
The old-fashioned remedy for a boil—namely, common yellow soap and
brown-sugar, is a capital one for the purpose. It is made with equal
parts of brown sugar and of shredded yellow soap, and mixed by means
of a table-knife on a plate, with a few drops of water, until it be
all well blended together, and of the consistence of thick paste; it
should then be spread either on a piece of wash-leather, or on thick
linen, and applied to the boil, and kept in its place by means either
of a bandage or of a folded handkerchief; and should he removed once
or twice a day. This is an excellent application for a boil—soothing,
comforting, and drawing—and will soon effect a cure. A paste of honey
and flour, spread on linen rag, is another popular and good
application for a boil.
If the boils should arise from the child being in a delicate state of
health, give him cod-liver oil, meat once a day, and an abundance of
milk and farinaceous food. Let him have plenty of fresh air,
exercise, and play.
If the boil should arise from gross and improper feeding, then keep
him for a time from meat, and let him live principally on a milk and
farinaceous diet.
If the child be fat and gross, cod-liver oil would he improper; a
mild aperient, such as rhubarb and magnesia, would then be the best
medicine.
244. What are the symptoms of Ear-ache?
A young child screaming shrilly, violently, and continuously, is
oftentimes owing to ear-ache; carefully, therefore, examine each ear,
and ascertain if there be any discharge; if there be, the mystery is
explained.
Screaming from ear-ache may be distinguished from the screaming from
bowel-ache by the former (ear-ache) being more continuous—indeed,
being one continued scream, and from the child putting his hand to his
head; while, in the latter (bowel-ache), the pain is more of a coming
and of a going character, and he draws up his legs to his
bowels. Again, in the former (ear-ache), the secretions from the
bowels are natural; while, in the latter (bowel-ache), the secretions
from the bowels are usually depraved, and probably offensive. But a
careful examination of the ear will generally at once decide the
nature of the case.
213. What is the best remedy for Ear-ache?
Apply to the ear a small flannel bag, filled with hot salt—as hot as
can be comfortably borne, or foment the ear with a flannel wrung out
of hot camomile and poppy head decoction. A roasted onion, inclosed in
muslin applied to the ear, is an old-fashioned and favourite remedy,
and may, if the bag of hot salt, or if the hot fomentation do not
relieve, be tried. Put into the ear, but not very far, a small piece
of cotton wool, moistened with warm olive oil. Taking care that the
wool is always removed before a fresh piece be substituted, as if it
be allowed to remain in any length of time, it may produce a discharge
from the ear. Avoid all cold applications. If the ear-ache be
severe, keep the little fellow at home, in a room of equal
temperature, but well-ventilated, and give him, for a day or two, no
meat.
If a discharge from the ear should either accompany or follow the
ear-ache, more especially if the discharge be offensive, instantly
call in a medical man, or deafness for life may be the result.
A knitted or crotcheted hat, with woollen rosettes over the ears, is,
in the winter time, an excellent hat for a child subject to
ear-ache. The hat may be procured at any baby-linen warehouse.
246. What are the causes and the treatment of discharges from the
Ear?
Cold, measles, scarlet fever, healing up of "breakings out" behind the
ear; pellets of cotton wool, which had been put in the ear, and had
been forgotten to be removed, are the usual causes of discharges from
the ear. It generally commences with ear-ache.
The treatment consists in keeping the parts clean, by syringing the
ear every morning with warm water, by attention to food—keeping the
child principally upon a milk and a farmaceous diet, and by change of
air—more especially to the coast. If change of air be not
practicable, great attention should be paid to ventilation. As I have
before advised, in all cases of discharge from the ear call in a
medical man, as a little judicious medicine is advisable—indeed,
essential; and it may be necessary to syringe the ear with lotions,
instead of with warm water; and, of course, it is only a doctor who
has actually seen the patient who can decide these matters, and what
is best to be done in each case.
247. What is the treatment of a "stye" on the eye-lid?
Bathe the eye frequently with warm milk and water, and apply, every
night at bedtime, a warm white-bread poultice.
No medicine is required; but, if the child be gross, keep him for a
few days from meat, and let him live on bread and milk and farinaceous
puddings.
248. If a child have large bowels, what would you recommend as likely
to reduce their size?
It ought to be borne in mind, that the bowels of a child are larger in
proportion than those of an adult. But, if they be actually larger
than they ought to be, let them be well rubbed for a quarter of an
hour at a time night and morning, with soap liniment, and then apply a
broad flannel belt. "A broad flannel belt worn night and day, firm but
not tight, is very serviceable." [Footnote: Sir Charles Locock, in a
Letter to the Author.] The child ought to be prevented from drinking
as much as he has been in the habit of doing; let him be encouraged to
exercise himself well in the open air; and let strict regard be paid
to his diet.
249. What are the best aperients for a child?
If it be actually necessary to give him opening medicine, one or two
tea-spoonfuls of Syrup of Senna, repeated, if necessary, in four
hours, will generally answer the purpose; or, for a change, one or two
tea-spoonfuls of Castor Oil may be substituted. Lenitive Electuary
(Compound Confection of Senna) is another excellent aperient for the
young, it being mild in its operation, and pleasant to take; a child
fancying it is nothing more than jam, and which it much resembles both
in appearance and in taste. The dose is half or one tea-spoonful
early in the morning occasionally. Senna is an admirable aperient for
a child, and is a safe one, which is more than can be said of many
others. It is worthy of note that "the taste of Senna may be concealed
by sweeting the infusion, [Footnote: Infusion of Senna may be procured
of any respectable druggist. It will take about one or two
table-spoonfuls, or even more, of the infusion (according to the age
of the child, and the obstinacy of the bowels), to act as an
aperient. Of course, you yourself will be able, from time to time, as
the need arises, to add the milk and the sugar, and thus to make it
palatable. It ought to be given warm, so as the more to resemble tea.]
adding milk, and drinking as ordinary tea, which, when thus prepared,
it much resembles" [Footnote: Waring's Manual of Practical
Therapeutics.] Honey, too, is a nice aperient for a child—a
tea-spoonful ought to be given either by itself, or spread on a slice
of bread.
Some mothers are in the habit of giving their children jalap
gingerbread. I do not approve of it, as jalap is a drastic, griping
purgative; besides, jalap is very nasty to take—nothing will make it
palatable.
Fluid Magnesia—Solution of Carbonate of Magnesia—is a good aperient
for a child; and, as it has very little taste, is readily given, more
especially if made palatable by the addition either of a little syrup
or of brown sugar. The advantages which it has over the old solid form
are, that it is colourless and nearly tasteless, and never forms
concretions in the bowels, as the solid magnesia, if persevered in
for any length of time, sometimes does. A child of two or three years
old may take one or two table-spoonfuls of the fluid; either by itself
or in his food, repeating it every four hours until the bowels be
open. When the child is old enough to drink the draught off
immediately, the addition of one or two tea-spoonfuls of Lemon Juice
to each dose of the Fluid Magnesia, makes a pleasant effervescing
draught, and increases its efficacy as an aperient.
Bran-bread [Footnote: One-part of bran to three parts of flour, mixed
together and made into bread.] and treacle will frequently open the
bowels; and as treacle is wholesome, it may be substituted for butter
when the bowels are inclined to be costive. A roasted apple, eaten
with raw sugar, is another excellent mild aperient for a child. Milk
gruel—that is to say, milk thickened with oatmeal—forms an excellent
food for him, and often keeps his bowels regular, and thus (which is
a very important consideration) supersedes the necessity of giving
him an aperient. An orange (taking care he does not eat the peel or
the pulp), or a fig after dinner, or a few Muscatel raisins, will
frequently regulate the bowels.
Stewed prunes is another admirable remedy for the costiveness of a
child. The manner of stewing them is as follows:—Put a pound of
prunes in a brown jar, add two table-spoonfuls of raw sugar, then
cover the prunes and the sugar with cold water; place them in the
oven, and let them stew for four hours. A child should every morning
eat half a dozen or a dozen of them, until the bowels be relieved,
taking care that he does not swallow the stones. Stewed prunes may be
given in treacle—treacle increasing the aperient properties of the
prunes.
A suppository is a mild and ready way of opening the bowels of a
child. When he is two or three years old and upwards, a Candle
suppository is better than a Soap suppository. The way of preparing
it is as follows:—Cut a piece of dip-tallow candle—the length of
three inches—and insert it as you would a clyster pipe, about two
inches up the fundament, allowing the remaining inch to be in sight,
and there let the suppository remain until the bowels be opened.
Another excellent method of opening a child's bowels is by means of an
enema of warm water,—from half a tea-cupful to a tea-cupful, or even
more, according to the age of the child. I cannot speak too highly of
this plan as a remedy for costiveness, as it entirely, in the
generality of cases, prevents the necessity of administering a
particle of aperient medicine by the mouth. The fact of its doing so
stamps it as a most valuable remedy—opening physic being, as a rule,
most objectionable, and injurious to a child's bowels. Bear this
fact—for it is a fact—in mind and let it be always remembered.
450. What are the most frequent causes of Protrusion of the
lower-bowel?
The too common and reprehensible practice of a parent administering
frequent aperients, especially calomel and jalap, to her
child. Another cause, is allowing him to remain for a quarter of an
hour or more at a time on his chair; this induces him to strain, and
to force the gut down.
251. What are the remedies?
If the protrusion of the bowel have been brought on by the abase of
aperients, abstain, for the future from giving them; but if medicine
be absolutely required, give the mildest—such as either Syrup of
Senna or Castor Oil—and the less of those the better.
If the external application of a purgative will have the desired
effects it will in such cases, be better than the internal
administration of aperients. Castor Oil used as a Liniment is a good
one for the purpose. Let the bowels be well rubbed, every night and
morning, for five minutes at a time with the oil.
A wet compress to the bowels will frequently open them, and will thus
do away with the necessity of giving an aperient—a most important
consideration. Fold a napkin in six thicknesses, soak it in cold
water, and apply it to the bowels; over which put either a thin
covering or sheet of gutta-percha, or a piece of oiled-silk; keep it
in its place with a broad flannel roller; and let it remain on the
bowels for three or four hours, or until they be opened.
Try what diet will do, as opening the bowels by a regulated diet is
far preferable to the giving of aperients. Let him have either
bran-bread or Robinson's Patent Groats, or Robinson's Pure Scotch
Oatmeal made into gruel with new milk, or Du Barry's Arabica
Revalenta, or a slice of Huntly and Palmer's lump gingerbread. Let him
eat stewed prunes, stewed rhubarb, roasted apples, strawberries,
raspberries, the inside of grapes and gooseberries, figs, &c. Give him
early every morning a draught of cold water.
Let me, again, urge you not to give aperients in these cases, or in
any case, unless you are absolutely compelled. By following my advice
you will save yourself an immense deal of trouble, and your child a
long catalogue of misery. Again, I say, look well into the matter, and
whenever it be practicable avoid purgatives.
Now, with regard to the best manner of returning the bowel, lay the
child upon the bed on his face and bowels, with his hips a little
raised; then smear lard on the forefinger of your right hand (taking
care that the nail be cut close), and gently with, your fore-finger
press the bowel into its proper place. Remember, if the above methods
be observed, you cannot do the slightest injury to the bowel; and the
sooner it be returned, the better it will be for the child; for if the
bowel be allowed to remain long down, it may slough or mortify, and
death may ensue. The nurse, every time he has a motion, must see that
the bowel does not come down, and if it does, she ought instantly to
return it. Moreover, the nurse should be careful not to allow the
child to remain on his chair more than two or three minutes at a time.
Another excellent remedy for the protrusion of the lower bowel, is to
use every morning a cold salt and water sitz bath. There need not be
more than a depth of three inches of water in the bath; a small
handful of table salt should be dissolved in the water; a dash of warm
water in the winter time must be added, to take off the extreme chill;
and the child ought not to be allowed to sit in the bath for more than
one minute, or whilst the mother can count a hundred; taking care, the
while, to throw either a square of flannel or a small shawl over his
shoulders. The sitz bath ought to be continued for months, or until
the complaint be removed. I cannot speak in too high praise of these
baths.
252. Do you advise me, every spring and fall, to give my child
brimstone to purify and sweeten his blood, and as a preventive
medicine?
Certainly not; if you wish to take away his appetite, and to weaken
and depress him, give brimstone! Brimstone is not a remedy fit for a
child's stomach. The principal use and value of brimstone is as an
external application in itch, and as an internal remedy, mixed with
other laxatives, in piles—piles being a complaint of adults. In olden
times poor unfortunate children were dosed, every spring and fall,
with brimstone and treacle to sweeten their blood! Fortunately for the
present race, there is not so much of that folly practised, but still
there is room for improvement. To dose a healthy child with physic
is the grossest absurdity. No, the less physic a delicate child has
the better it will be for him, but physic to a healthy child is
downright poison! And brimstone of all medicines! It is both weakening
and depressing to the system, and by opening the pores of the skin and
by relaxing the bowels, is likely to give cold, and thus to make a
healthy, a sickly child. Sweeten his blood! It is more likely to
weaken his blood, and thus to make his blood impure! Blood is not made
pure by drugs, but by Nature's medicine; by exercise, by pure air, by
wholesome diet, by sleep in a well-ventilated apartment, by regular
and thorough ablution. Brimstone a preventive medicine! Preventive
medicine—and brimstone especially in the guise of a preventive
medicine—is "a mockery, a delusion, and a snare."
253. When a child is delicate, and his body, without any assignable
cause, is gradually wasting away, and the stomach rejects all food
that is taken, what plan can be adopted likely to support his
strength, and thus probably be the means of saving his life?
I have seen, in such a case, great benefit to arise from half a
tea-cupful of either strong mutton-broth or of strong beef-tea, used
as an enema every four hours. [Footnote: An enema apparatus is an
important requisite in every nursery; it may be procured of any
respectable surgical instrument maker. The India-rubber Enema Bottle
is, for a child's use, a great improvement on the old syringe, as it
is not so likely to get out of order, and, moreover, is more easily
used.] It should be administered slowly, in order that it may remain
in the bowel. If the child be sinking, either a dessert-spoonful of
brandy, or half a wine-glassful of port wine, ought to be added to
each enema.
The above plan ought only to be adopted if there be no diarrhoea. If
there be diarrhoea, an enema must not be used. Then, provided there
be great wasting away, and extreme exhaustion, and other remedies
having failed, it would be advisable to give, by the mouth, raw beef
of the finest quality, which ought to be taken from the hip bone, and
should be shredded very fine. All fat and skin must be carefully
removed. One or two tea-spoonfuls (according to the age of the child)
ought to be given every four hours. The giving of raw meat to
children in exhaustive diseases, such as excessive long-standing
diarrhoea, was introduced into practice by a Russian physician, a
Professor Wiesse of St Petersburg. It certainly is, in these cases, a
most valuable remedy, and has frequently been the means of snatching
such patients from the jaws of death. Children usually take raw meat
with avidity and with a relish.
254. If a child be naturally delicate, what plan would you recommend
to strengthen him?
I should advise strict attention to the rules above mentioned, and
change of air—more especially, if it be possible, to the
coast. Change of air, sometimes, upon a delicate child, acts like
magic, and may restore him to health when all other means have
failed. If a girl be delicate, "carry her off to the farm, there to
undergo the discipline of new milk, brown bread, early hours, no
lessons, and romps in the hay-field."—Blackwood. This advice is, of
course, equally applicable for a delicate boy, as delicate boys and
delicate girls ought to be treated alike. Unfortunately in these very
enlightened days there is too great a distinction made in the
respective management and treatment of boys and girls.
The best medicines for a delicate child will be the wine of iron and
cod-liver oil. Give them combined in the manner I shall advise when
speaking of the treatment of Rickets.
In diseases of long standing, and that resist the usual remedies,
there is nothing like change of air. Hippocrates, the father of
medicine, says—
"In longis morbis solum mutare."
(In tedious diseases to change the place of residence.)
A child who, in the winter, is always catching cold, whose life during
half of the year is one continued catarrh, who is in consequence,
likely, if he grow up at all, to grow up a confirmed invalid, ought,
during the winter months, to seek another clime; and if the parents
can afford the expense, they should at the beginning of October, cause
him to bend his steps to the south of Europe—Mentone being as good a
place as they could probably fix upon.
255. Do you approve of sea bathing for a delicate young child?
No: he is frequently so frightened by it that the alarm would do him
more harm than the bathing would do him good. The better plan would be
to have him every morning well sponged, especially his back and loins,
with sea water; and to have him as much as possible carried on the
beach, in order that he may inhale the sea breezes. When he be older,
and is not frightened at being dipped, sea bathing will be very
beneficial to him. If bathing is to do good, either to an adult or to
a child, it must be anticipated with pleasure, and neither with dread
nor with distaste.
256. What is the best method for administering medicine to a child?
If he be old enough, appeal to his reason; for, if a mother endeavour
to deceive her child, and he detect her, he will for the future
suspect her. If he be too young to be reasoned with, then, if he will
not take his medicine, he must be compelled. Lay him across your
knees, let both his hands and his nose be tightly held, and then, by
means of the patent medicine-spoon, or, if that be not at hand, by
either a tea or a dessert-spoon, pour the medicine down his throat,
and he will be obliged to swallow it.
It may be said that this is a cruel procedure; but it is the only way
to compel an unruly child to take physic, and is much less cruel than
running the risk of his dying from the medicine not having been
administered. [Footnote: If any of my medical brethren should
perchance read these Conversations, I respectfully and earnestly
recommend them to take more pains in making medicines for children
pleasant and palatable. I am convinced that, in the generality of
instances, provided a little more care and thought were bestowed on
the subject, it may be done; and what an amount of both trouble and
annoyance it would save! It is really painful to witness the struggles
and cries of a child when nauseous medicine is to be given; the
passion and excitement often do more harm than the medicine does
good.]
257. Ought a sick child to be roused from his sleep to give him
physic, when it is time for him to take it?
On no account, as sleep, being a natural restorative, must not be
interfered with. A mother cannot be too particular in administering
the medicine, at stated periods, whilst he is awake.
258. Have you any remarks to make on the management of a sick-room,
and have you any directions to give on the nursing of a child?
In sickness select a large and lofty room; if in the town, the back of
the house will be preferable—in order to keep the patient free from
noise and bustle—as a sick-chamber cannot be kept too quiet. Be sure
that there be a chimney in the room—as there ought to be in every
room in the house—and that it be not stopped, as it will help to
carry off the impure air of the apartment. Keep the chamber well
ventilated, by, from time to time, opening the window. The air of the
apartment cannot be too pure; therefore, let the evacuations from the
bowels be instantly removed, either to a distant part of the house, or
to an out-house or to the cellar, as it might be necessary to keep
them for the medical man's inspection.
Before using either the night-commode, or the pot-de-chambre, let a
little water, to the depth of one or two inches, be put in the pan, or
pot; in order to sweeten the motion, and to prevent the faecal
matter from adhering to the vessel.
Let there be frequent change of linen, as in sickness it is even more
necessary than in health, more especially if the complaint be
fever. In an attack of fever, clean sheets ought, every other day, to
be put on the bed; clean body-linen every day. A frequent change of
linen in sickness is most refreshing.
If the complaint be fever, a fire in the grate will not be
necessary. Should it be a case either of inflammation of the lungs or
of the chest, a small fire in the winter time is desirable, keeping
the temperature of the room as nearly as possible at 60 degrees
Fahrenheit. Bear in mind that a large fire in a sick-room cannot be
too strongly condemned; for if there be fever—and there are scarcely
any complaints without—a large fire only increases it. Small fires,
in cases either of inflammation of the lungs or of the chest, in the
winter time, encourage ventilation of the apartment, and thus carry
off impure air. If it be summer time, of course fires would be
improper. A thermometer is an indispensable requisite in a sick-room.
In fever, free and thorough ventilation is of vital importance, more
especially in scarlet fever; then a patient cannot have too much air;
in scarlet fever, for the first few days the windows, be it winter or
summer, must to the widest extent be opened. The fear of the patient
catching cold by doing so is one of the numerous prejudices and
baseless fears that haunt the nursery, and the sooner it is exploded
the better it will he for human life. The valances and bed-curtains
ought to be removed, and there should be as little furniture in the
room as possible.
If it be a case of measles, it will be necessary to adopt a different
course; then the windows ought not to be opened, but the door must
from time to time be left ajar. In a case of measles, if it be winter
time, a small fire in the room will be necessary. In inflammation of
the lungs or of the chest, the windows should not be opened, but the
door ought occasionally to be left unfastened, in order to change the
air and to make it pure. Remember, then, that ventilation, either by
open window or by open door, is in all diseases most necessary.
Ventilation is one of the best friends a doctor has.
In fever, do not load the bed with clothes; in the summer a sheet is
sufficient, in winter a sheet and a blanket.
In fever, do not be afraid of allowing the patient plenty either of
cold water or of cold toast and water; Nature will tell him when he
has had enough. In measles, let the chill be taken off the toast and
water.
In croup, have always ready a plentiful supply of hot water, in case
a warm bath might he required.
In child-crowing, have always in the sick-room a supply of cold
water, ready at a moment's notice to dash upon the face.
In fever, do not let the little patient lie on the lap; he will rest
more comfortably on a horse-hair mattress in his crib or cot. If he
have pain in the bowels, the lap is most agreeable to him; the warmth
of the body, either of the mother or of the nurse, soothes him;
besides, if he be on the lap, he can be turned on his stomach and on
his bowels, which, often affords him great relief and comfort. If he
be much emaciated, when he is nursed, place a pillow upon the lap and
let him lie upon it.
In head affections, darken the room with a green calico blind;
keep the chamber more than usually quiet; let what little talking is
necessary be carried on in whispers, but the less of that the better;
and in head affections, never allow smelling salts to be applied to
the nose, as they only increase the flow of blood to the head, and
consequently do harm.
It is often a good sign for a child, who is seriously ill, to suddenly
become cross. It is then he begins to feel his weakness and to give
vent to his feelings. "Children are almost always cross when
recovering from an illness, however patient they may have been during
its severest moments, and the phenomenon is not by any means confined
to children."—Geo. McDonald.
A sick child must not be stuffed with much food at a time. He will
take either a table-spoonful of new milk or a table-spoonful of
chicken broth every half hour with greater advantage than a tea-cupful
of either the one or the other every four hours, which large quantity
would very probably be rejected from his stomach, and may cause the
unfortunately treated child to die of starvation!
If a sick child be peevish, attract his attention either by a toy or
by an ornament; if he be cross, win him over to good humour by love,
affection, and caresses, but let it be done gently and without
noise. Do not let visitors see him; they will only excite, distract,
and irritate him, and help to consume the oxygen of the atmosphere,
and thus rob the air of its exhilarating health-giving qualities and
purity; a sick-room, therefore, is not a proper place, either for
visitors or for gossips.
In selecting a sick-nurse, let her be gentle, patient, cheerful,
quiet, and kind, but firm withal; she ought to be neither old nor
young: if she be old she is often garrulous and prejudiced, and thinks
too much of her trouble; if she he young, she is frequently
thoughtless and noisy; therefore choose a middle-aged woman. Do not
let there be in the sick-room more than, besides the mother, one
efficient nurse; a greater number can he of no service—they will only
be in each other's way, and will distract the patient.
Let stillness, especially if the head be the part affected, reign in a
sick-room. Creaking shoes [Footnote: Nurses at these times ought to
wear slippers, and not shoes. The best slippers in sick-rooms are
those manufactured by the North British Rubber Company, Edinburgh;
they enable nurses to walk in them about the room without causing the
slightest noise; indeed, they might truly be called "the noiseless
slipper," a great desideratum in such cases, more especially in all
head affections of children. If the above slippers cannot readily be
obtained, then list slippers—soles and all bring made of list—will
answer the purpose equally as well.] and rustling silk dresses ought
not to be worn in sick-chambers—they are quite out of place there. If
the child be asleep, or if he be dozing, perfect stillness must he
enjoined, not even a whisper should be heard:—
"In the sick-room be calm,
More gently and with care.
Lest any jar or sudden noise,
Come sharply unaware.
You cannot tell the harm.
The mischief it may bring,
To wake the sick one suddenly,
Besides the suffering.
The broken sleep excites
Fresh pain, increased distress;
The quiet slumber undisturb'd
Soothes pain and restlessness.
Sleep is the gift of God:
Oh! bear these words at heart,
'He giveth His beloved sleep,'
And gently do thy part."
[Footnote: Household verses on Health and Happiness. London: Jarrold
and Sons. A most delightful little volume.]
If there be other children, let them be removed to a distant part of
the house; or, if the disease be of an infectious nature, let them be
sent away from home altogether.
In all illnesses—and bear in mind the following is most important
advice—a child must be encouraged to try and make water, whether he
ask or not, at least four times during the twenty-four hours; and at
any other time, if he express the slightest inclination to do so. I
have known a little fellow to hold his water, to his great detriment,
for twelve hours, because either the mother bad in her trouble
forgotten to inquire, or the child himself was either too ill or too
indolent to make the attempt.
See that the medical man's directions are, to the very letter, carried
out. Do not fancy that you know better than he does, otherwise you
have no business to employ him. Let him, then, have your implicit
confidence and your exact obedience. What you may consider to be a
trifling matter, may frequently be of the utmost importance, and may
sometimes decide whether the case shall end either in life or death!
Lice.—It is not very poetical, as many of the grim facts of
every-day life are not, but, unlike a great deal of poetry, it is
unfortunately too true that after a severe and dangerous illness,
especially after a bad attack of fever, a child's head frequently
becomes infested with vermin—with lice. It therefore behoves a mother
herself to thoroughly examine, by means of a fine-tooth comb,
[Footnote: Which fine-tooth comb ought not to be used at any other
time except for the purpose of examination, as the constant use of a
fine-tooth comb would scratch the scalp, and would encourage a
quantity of scurf to accumulate.] her child's head, in order to
satisfy her mind that there be no vermin there. As soon as he be well
enough, he ought to resume his regular ablutions—that is to say, that
he must go again regularly into his tub, and have his head every
morning thoroughly washed with soap and water. A mother ought to be
particular in seeing that the nurse washes the hair-brush at least
once every week; if she does not do so, the dirty brush which had
during the illness been used, might contain the "nits"—the eggs of
the lice—and would thus propagate the vermin, as they will, when on
the head of the child, soon hatch. If there be already lice on the
head, in addition to the regular washing every morning with the soap
and water, and after the head has been thoroughly dried, let the hair
be well and plentifully dressed with camphorated oil—the oil being
allowed to remain on until the next washing on the following
morning. Lice cannot live in oil (more especially if, as in
camphorated oil, camphor be dissolved in it), and as the camphorated
oil will not, in the slightest degree, injure the hair, it is the best
application that can be used. But as soon as the vermin have
disappeared, let the oil be discontinued, as the natural oil of the
hair is, at other times, the only oil that is required on the head.
The "nit"—the egg of the louse—might be distinguished from scurf
(although to the naked eye it is very much like it in appearance) by
the former fastening firmly on one of the hairs as a barnacle would on
a rock, and by it not being readily brushed off as scurf would, which
latter (scurf) is always loose.
259. My child, in the summer time, is much tormented with fleas: what
are the best remedies?
A small muslin bag, filled with camphor, placed in the cot or bed,
will drive fleas away. Each flea-bite should, from time to time, be
dressed by means of a camel's hair brush, with a drop or two of Spirit
of Camphor; an ounce bottle of which ought, for the purpose, to be
procured from a chemist. Camphor is also an excellent remedy to
prevent bugs from biting. Bugs and fleas have a horror of camphor; and
well they might, for it is death to them!
There is a famous remedy for the destruction of fleas manufactured in
France, entitled "La Poudre Insecticide," which, although perfectly
harmless to the human economy, is utterly destructive to fleas. Bugs
are best destroyed either by Creosote or by oil of Turpentine: the
places they do love to congregate in should be well saturated by means
of a brush, with the creosote or with the oil of turpentine. A few
dressings will effectually destroy both them and their young ones.
260. Is not the pulse a great sign either of health or of disease?
It is, and every mother should have a general idea of what the pulse
of children of different ages should be both in health and in
disease. "Every person should know how to ascertain the state of the
pulse in health; then, by comparing it with what it is when he is
ailing, he may have some idea of the urgency of his case. Parents
should know the healthy pulse of each child, since now and then a
person is born with a peculiarly slow or fast pulse, and the very case
in hand may be of such peculiarity. An infant's pulse is 140, a child
of seven about 80, and from 20 to 60 years it is 70 beats a minute,
declining to 60 at fourscore. A healthful grown person beats 70 times
in a minute, declining to 60 at fourscore. At 60, if the pulse always
exceeds 70, there is a disease; the machine working itself out, there
is a fever or inflammation somewhere, and the body is feeding on
itself, as in consumption, when the pulse is quick."
261. Suppose a child to have had an attack either of inflammation of
the lungs or of bronchitis, and to be much predisposed to a return:
what precautions would you take to prevent either the one or the other
for the future?
I would recommend him to wear fine flannel instead of lawn shirts; to
wear good lamb's-wool stockings above the knees, and good, strong,
dry shoes to his feet; to live, weather permitting, a great part of
every day in the open air; to strengthen his system by good nourishing
food—by an abundance of both milk and meat (the former especially);
to send him, in the autumn, for a couple of months, to the sea-side;
to administer to him, from time to time, cod-liver oil; in short, to
think only of his health, and to let learning, until he be stronger,
be left alone. I also advise either table salt or bay salt, or
Tidman's Sea Salt, to be added to the water in which the child is
washed with in the morning, in a similar manner as recommended in
answer to a previous question.
262. Then do you not advise such a child to be confined within
doors?
If any inflammation be present, or if he have but just recovered from
one, it would be improper to send him into the open air, but not
otherwise, as the fresh air would be a likely means of strengthening
the lungs, and thereby of preventing an attack of inflammation for the
future. Besides, the more a child is coddled within doors, the more
likely will he be to catch cold, and to renew the inflammation. If the
weather be cold, yet neither wet nor damp, he ought to be sent out,
but let him be well clothed; and the nurse should have strict
injunctions not to stand about entries or in any draughts—indeed,
not to stand about at all, but to keep walking about all the time she
is in the open air. Unless you have a trustworthy nurse, it will be
well for you either to accompany her in her walk with your child, or
merely to allow her to walk with him in the garden, as you can then
keep your eye upon both of them.
263. If a child be either chicken-breasted, or if he be
narrow-chested, are there any means of expanding and of strengthening
his chest?
Learning ought to be put out of the question, attention must be paid
to his health alone, or consumption will probably mark him as its own!
Let him live as much as possible in the open air; if it be country, so
much the better. Let him rise early in the morning, and let him go to
bed betimes; and if he be old enough to use the dumb-bells, or what is
better, an India-rubber chest-expander, he should do so daily. He
ought also to be encouraged to use two short sticks, similar to, but
heavier than, a policeman's staff, and to go, every morning, through
regular exercises with them. As soon as he is old enough, let him have
lessons from a drill-sergeant and from a dancing master. Let him be
made both to walk and to sit upright, and let him be kept as much as
possible upon a milk diet, [Footnote: Where milk does not agree, it may
generally be made to do so by the addition of one part of lime water
to seven parts of new milk. Moreover, the lime will be of service in
hardening his bones, and, in these cases, the bones require
hardening.] and give him as much as he can eat of fresh meat every
day. Cod liver oil, a tea-spoonful or a dessert-spoonful, according to
his age, twice a day, is serviceable in these cases. Stimulants ought
to be carefully avoided. In short, let every means be used to nourish,
to strengthen, and invigorate the system, without, at the same time,
creating fever. Such a child should be a child of nature, he ought
almost to live in the open air, and throw his books to the winds. Of
what use is learning without health? In such a case as this you
cannot have both.
264. If a child be round-shouldered, or if either of his
shoulder-blades have "grown out," what had better be done?
Many children have either round shoulders, or have their shoulder
blades grown out, or have their spines twisted, from growing too fast,
from being allowed to slouch in their gait, and from not having
sufficient nourishing food, such as meat and milk, to support them
while the rapid growth of childhood is going on.
If your child be affected as above described, nourish him well on milk
and on farinaceous food, and on meat once a day, but let milk be his
staple diet; he ought, during the twenty four hours, to take two or
three pints of new milk. He should almost live in the open air, and
must have plenty of play. If you can so contrive it, let him live in
the country. When tired, let him lie, for half an hour, two or three
times daily, flat on his back on the carpet. Let him rest at night on
a horse-hair mattress, and not on a feather bed.
Let him have every morning, if it be summer, a thorough cold water
ablution, if it be winter, let the water be made tepid. Let either two
handfuls of table salt or a handful of bay salt be dissolved in the
water. Let the salt and water stream well over his shoulders and down
his back and loins. Let him be well dried with a moderately coarse
towel, and then let his back be well rubbed, and his shoulders be
thrown back-exercising them much in the same manner as in skipping,
for five or ten minutes at a time. Skipping, by-the-by, is of great
use in these cases, whether the child be either a boy or a girl-using,
of course, the rope backwards, and not forwards.
Let books be utterly discarded until his shoulders have become strong,
and thus no longer round, and his shoulder-blades have become
straight. It is a painful sight to see a child stoop like an old man.
Let him have, twice daily, a tea-spoonful or a dessert-spoonful
(according to his age) of cod-liver oil, giving it him on a full and
not on an empty stomach.
When he is old enough, let the drill-sergeant give him regular
lessons, and let the dancing-master be put in requisition. Let him go
through regular gymnastic exercises, provided they are not of a
violent character.
But, bear in mind, let there be in these cases no mechanical
restraints—no shoulder-straps, no abominable stays. Make him straight
by natural means—by making him strong. Mechanical means would only,
by weakening and wasting the muscles, increase the mischief, and thus
the deformity. In this world of ours there is too much reliance placed
on artificial, and too little on natural means of cure.
265. What are the causes of Bow Legs in a child; and what is the
treatment?
Weakness of constitution, poor and insufficient nourishment, and
putting a child, more especially a fat and heavy one, on his legs too
early.
Treatment.—Nourishing food, such as an abundance of milk, and, if
he be old enough, of meat; iron medicines; cod-liver-oil; thorough
ablution, every morning of the whole body; an abundance of exercise,
either on pony, or on donkey, or in carriage, but not, until his legs
be stronger, on foot. If they are much bowed, it will be necessary to
consult an experienced surgeon.
266. If a child, while asleep, "wet his bed" is there any method of
preventing him from doing so?
Let him be held out just before he himself goes to bed, and again when
the family retires to rest. If, at the time, he be asleep, he will
become so accustomed to it, that he will, without awaking, make water.
He ought to be made to lie on his side; for, if he be put on his back,
the urine will rest upon an irritable part of the bladder, and, if he
be inclined to wet his bed, he will not be able to avoid doing so. He
must not be allowed to drink much with his meals, especially with his
supper. Wetting the bed is an infirmity with some children—they
cannot help it. It is, therefore, cruel to scold and chastise them for
it. Occasionally, however, wetting the bed arises from idleness; in
which case, of course, a little wholesome correction might be
necessary.
Water-proof Bed-sheeting—one yard by three-quarters of a yard—will
effectually preserve the bed from being wetted, and ought always, on
these occasions, to be used.
A mother ought, every morning, to ascertain for herself, whether a
child have wet his bed; if he have, and if, unfortunately, the
water-proof cloth have not been used, the mattress, sheets, and
blankets must be instantly taken to the kitchen fire and be properly
dried. Inattention to the above has frequently caused a child to
suffer either from cold, from a fever, or from an inflammation; not
only so, but, if they be not dried, he is wallowing in filth and in an
offensive effluvium. If both mother and nurse were more attentive to
their duties—in frequently holding a child out, whether he ask or
not—a child wetting his bed would be the exception, and not, as it
frequently is, the rule. If a child be dirty, you may depend upon it,
the right persons to blame are the mother and the nurse, and not the
child!
267. If a child should catch Small-pox, what are the best means to
prevent pitting?
He ought to be desired neither to pick nor to rub the pustules. If he
be too young to attend to these directions, his hands must be secured
in bags (just large enough to hold them), which bags should he
fastened round the wrists. The nails must be cut very close.
Cream smeared, by means of a feather, frequently in the day, on the
pustules, affords great comfort and benefit. Tripe liquor (without
salt) has, for the same purpose, been strongly recommended. I myself,
in several cases, have tried it, and with the happiest results. It is
most soothing, comforting, and healing to the skin.
268. Can you, tell me of any plan to prevent Chilblaine, or, if a
child be suffering from them, to cure them?
First, then, the way to prevent them.—Let a child, who is subject
to them, wear, in the winter time, a square piece of wash-leather over
the toes, a pair of warm lamb's-wool stockings, and good shoes; but,
above all, let him be encouraged to run about the house as much as
possible, especially before going to bed; and on no account allow him
either to warm has feet before the fire, or to bathe them in hot
water. If the feet be cold, and the child be too young to take
exercise, then let them be well rubbed with the warm hand. If adults
suffer from chilblains, I have found friction, night and morning, with
horse-hail flesh-gloves, the best means of preventing them.
Secondly, the way to cure them.—If they be unbroken: the
old-fashioned remedy of onion and salt is one of the best of
remedies. Cut an onion in two; take one-half of it, dip it in table
salt and well rub, for two or three minutes, the chilblain with
it. The onion and salt is a famous remedy to relieve that intolerable
itching which sometimes accompanies chilblains: then let them be
covered with a piece of lint, over which a piece of wash-leather
should be placed.
If they be broken, let a piece of lint be spread with
spermaceti-cerate, and be applied, every morning, to the part, and let
a white-bread poultice be used every night.
269. During the winter time my child's hands, legs, &c., chap very
much; what ought I to do?
Let a tea-cupful of bran be tied up in a muslin bag, and be put, over
the night, into either a large water-can or jug of rain water;
[Footnote: Rain water ought always to be used in the washing of a
child; pump water is likely to chap the skin, and to make it both
rough and irritable.] and let this water from the can or jug be the
water he is to be washed with on the following morning, and every
morning until the chaps be cured. As often as water is withdrawn,
either from the water-can or from the jog, let fresh rain water take
its place, in order that the bran may be constantly soaking in it. The
bran in the bag should be renewed about twice a week.
Take particular care to dry the skin well every time he be washed;
then, after each ablution, as well as every night at bed-time, rub a
piece of deer's suet over the parts affected: a few dressings will
perform a cure. The deer's suet may be bought at any of the shops
where venison is sold. Another excellent remedy is glycerine,
[Footnote: Glycerine prepared by Price's Patent Candle Company is by
far the best. Sometimes, if the child's skin be very irritable, the
glycerine requires diluting with water—say, two ounces of glycerine
to be mixed in a bottle with four ounces of rain water—the bottle to
be well shaken just before using it.] which should be smeared, by
means of the finger or by a camel's hair brush, on the parts affected,
two or three times a day. If the child be very young, it might be
necessary to dilute the glycerine with rose-water; fill a small bottle
one-third with glycerine, and fill up the remaining two-thuds of the
bottle with rose-water—shaking the bottle every time just before
using it. The best soap to use for chapped hands is the glycerine
soap: no other being required.
270. What is the best remedy for Chapped Lips?
Cold-cream (which may be procured of any respectable chemist) is an
excellent application for chapped lips. It ought, by means of the
finger, to be frequently smeared on the parts affected.
271. Have the goodness to inform me of the different varieties of
Worms that infest a child's bowels?
Principally three—1, The tape-worm; 2, the long round-worm; and 3,
the most frequent of all, the common thread or maw-worm. The tape-worm
infests the whole course of the bowels, both small and large: the long
round-worm, principally the small bowels, occasionally the stomach; it
sometimes crawls out of the child's mouth, causing alarm to the
mother; there is, of course, no danger in its doing so: the common
thread-worm or maw-worm infests the rectum or fundament.
272. What are the causes of Worms?
The causes of worms are: weak bowels; bad and improper food, such as
unripe, unsound, or uncooked fruit, and much green vegetables; pork,
especially underdone pork; [Footnote: One frequent, if not the most
frequent, cause of tape-worm is the eating of pork, more especially if
it be underdone. Underdone pork is the most unwholesome food that
can he eaten, and is the most frequent cause of tape-worm
known. Underdone beef also gives tape-worm; let the meat, therefore,
be well and properly cooked. These facts ought to be borne in mind, as
prevention is always better than cure.] an abundance of sweets; the
neglecting of giving salt in the food.
273. What are the symptoms and the treatment of Worms?
The symptoms of worms are—emaciation; itching and picking of the
nose; a dark mark under the eyes; grating, during sleep, of the teeth;
starting in the sleep; foul breath; furred tongue; uncertain
appetite—sometimes voracious, at other times bad, the little patient
sitting down very hungry to his dinner, and before scarcely tasting a
mouthful, the appetite vanishing; large bowels; colicky pains of the
bowels; slimy motions; itching of the fundament. Tape-worm and
round-worm, more especially the former, are apt, in children, to
produce convulsions. Tape-worm is very weakening to the constitution,
and usually causes great emaciation and general ill-health; the
sooner, therefore, it is expelled from the bowels the better it will
be for the patient.
Many of the obscure diseases of children arise from worms. In all
doubtful cases, therefore, this fact should be borne in mind, in order
that a thorough investigation may be instituted.
With regard to treatment, a medical man ought, of course, to be
consulted. He will soon use means both to dislodge them, and to
prevent a future recurrence of them.
Let me caution a mother never to give her child patent medicines for
the destruction of worms. There is one favourite quack powder, which
is composed principally of large doses of calomel, and which is quite
as likely to destroy the patient as the worms! No, if your child have
worms, put him under the care of a judicious medical man, who will
soon expel them, without, at the same tune, injuring health or
constitution!
274. How may worms be prevented from infesting a child's bowels?
Worms generally infest weak bowels; hence, the moment a child
becomes strong worms cease to exist. The reason why a child is so
subject to them is owing to the improper food which is usually given
to him. When he be stuffed with unsound and with unripe fruits, with
much sweets, with rich puddings, and with pastry, and when he is
oftentimes allowed to eat his meat without salt, and to bolt his
food without chewing it, is there any wonder that he should suffer
from worms? The way to prevent them is to avoid such things, and, at
the same time, to give him plenty of salt to his fresh and
well-cooked meat. Salt strengthens and assists digestion, and is
absolutely necessary to the human economy. Salt is emphatically a worm
destroyer. The truth of this statement may be readily tested by
sprinkling a little salt on the common earth-worm. "What a comfort
and real requisite to human life is salt! It enters into the
constituents of the human blood, and to do without it is wholly
impossible."—The Grocer. To do without it is wholly impossible!
These are true words. Look well to it, therefore, ye mothers, and
beware of the consequences of neglecting such advice, and see for
yourselves that your children regularly eat salt with their food. If
they neglect eating salt with their food, they must of necessity have
worms, and worms that will eventually injure them, and make them
miserable. All food, then, should be "flavoured with salt;"
flavoured, that is to say, salt should be used in each and every
kind of food—not in excess, but in moderation.
275. You have a great objection to the frequent administration of
aperient medicines to a child: can you advise any method to prevent
their use?
Although we can scarcely call constipation a disease, yet it sometimes
leads to disease. The frequent giving of aperients only adds to the
stubbornness of the bowels.
I have generally found a draught, early every morning, of cold pump
water, the eating either of Huntley and Palmer's loaf ginger-bread, or
of oatmeal gingerbread, a variety of animal and vegetable food, ripe
sound fruit, Muscatel raisins, a fig, or an orange after dinner, and,
when he be old enough, coffee and milk instead of tea and milk, to
have the desired effect, more especially if, for a time, aperients be
studiously avoided.
276. Have you any remarks to make on Rickets?
Rickets is owing to a want of a sufficient quantity of earthy matter
in the bones; hence the bones bend and twist, and lose their shape,
causing deformity. Rickets generally begins to show itself between the
first and second years of a child's life. Such children are generally
late in cutting their teeth, and when the teeth do come they are bad,
deficient of enamel, discoloured, and readily decay. A rickety child
is generally stunted in stature; he has a large head, with overhanging
forehead, or what nurses call a watery-head-shaped forehead. The
fontanelles, or openings of the head, as they are called, are a long
time in closing. A rickety child is usually talented; his brain seems
to thrive at the expense of his general health. His breast-bone
projects out, and the sides of his chest are flattened; hence he
becomes what is called chicken-breasted or pigeon-breasted; his spine
is usually twisted, so that he is quite awry, and, in a bad case, he
is hump-backed; the ribs, from the twisted spine, on one side bulge
out; he is round-shouldered; the long bones of his body, being soft,
bend; he is bow-legged, knock-kneed, and weak-ankled.
Rickets are of various degrees of intensity, the humpbacked being
among the worst There are many mild forms of rickets; weak ankles,
knocked-knees, bowed-legs, chicken-breasts, being among the latter
number. Many a child, who is not exactly hump-backed, is very
round-shouldered, which latter is also a mild species of rickets.
Show me a child that is rickety, and I can generally prove that it is
owing to poor living, more especially to poor milk. If milk were
always genuine, and if a child had an abundance of it, my belief is
that rickets would be a very rare disease. The importance of genuine
milk is of national importance. We cannot have a race of strong men
and women unless, as children, they have had a good and plentiful
supply of milk. It is utterly impossible. Milk might well be
considered one of the necessaries of a child's existence. Genuine,
fresh milk, then, is one of the grand preventatives, as well as one of
the best remedies, for rickets. Many a child would not now have to
swallow quantities Of cod-liver oil if previously he had imbibed
quantities of good genuine milk. An insufficient and a poor supply of
milk in childhood sows the seeds of many diseases, and death often
gathers the fruit. Can it be wondered at, when there is so much poor
and nasty milk in England, that rickets in one shape or another is so
prevalent?
When will mothers arouse from their slumbers, rub their eyes, and see
clearly the importance of the subject? When will they know that all
the symptoms of rickets I have just enumerated usually proceed from
the want of nourishment, more especially from the want of genuine, and
of an abundance of, milk? There are, of, course, other means of
warding off rickets besides an abundance of nourishing food, such as
thorough ablution, plenty of air, exercise, play, and sunshine; but of
all these splendid remedies, nourishment stands at the top of the
list.
I do not mean to say that rickets always proceeds from poorness of
living—from poor milk. It sometimes arises from scrofula, and is an
inheritance of one or of both the parents.
Rickety children, if not both carefully watched and managed,
frequently, when they become youths, die of consumption.
A mother, who has for some time neglected the advice I have just
given, will often find, to her grievous cost, that the mischief has,
past remedy, been done, and that it is now "too late!—too late!"
277. How may a child be prevented from becoming rickety? or, if he be
rickety, how ought he to be treated?
If a child be predisposed to be rickety, or if he be actually rickety,
attend to the following rules:—
Let him live well, on good nourishing diet, such as on tender
rump-steaks, cut very fine, and mixed with mashed potatoes, crumb of
bread, and with the gravy of the meat. Let him have, as I have before
advised, an abundance of good new milk—a quart or three pints during
every twenty-four hours. Let him have milk in every form—as milk
gruel, Du Barry's Arabica Revalenta made with milk, batter and rice
puddings, suet puddings, bread and milk, etc.
To harden the bones, let lime water be added to the milk (a
table-spoonful to each tea-cupful of milk.)
Let him have a good supply of fresh, pure, dry air. He must almost
live in the open air—the country, if practicable, in preference to
the town, and the coast in summer and autumn. Sea bathing and sea
breezes are often, in these cases, of inestimable value.
He ought not, at an early age, to be allowed to bear his weight upon
his legs. He must sleep on a horse-hair mattress, and not on a feather
bed. He should use every morning cold baths in the summer and tepid
baths in the winter, with bay salt (a handful) dissolved in the water.
Friction with the hand must, for half an hour at a time, every night
and morning, be sedulously applied to the back and to the limbs. It is
wonderful how much good in these cases friction does.
Strict attention ought to be paid to the rules of health as laid down
in these Conversations. Whatever is conducive to the general health is
preventive and curative of rickets.
Books, if he be old enough to read them, should be thrown aside;
health, and health alone, must be the one grand object.
The best medicines in these cases are a combination of cod-liver oil
and the wine of iron, given in the following manner:—Put a
tea-spoonful of wine of iron into a wine-glass, half fill the glass
with water, sweeten it with a lump or two of sugar, then let a
tea-spoonful of cod-liver oil swim on the top; let the child drink it
all down together, twice or three times a day. An hour after a meal is
the best time to give the medicine, as both iron and cod-liver oil
sit better on a full than on an empty stomach. The child in a
short time will become fond of the above medicine, and will be sorry
when it is discontinued.
A case of rickets requires great patience and steady perseverance;
let, therefore, the above plan have a fair and long-continued trial,
and I can then promise that there will be every probability that great
benefit will be derived from it.
278. If a child be subject to a scabby eruption about the mouth, what
is the best local application?
Leave it to nature. Do not, on any account, apply any local
application to heal it; if you do, you may produce injury; you may
either bring on an attack of inflammation, or you may throw him into
convulsions. No! This "breaking-out" is frequently a safety-valve,
and must not therefore be needlessly interfered with. Should the
eruption be severe, reduce the child's diet; keep him from butter,
from gravy, and from fat meat, or, indeed, for a few days from meat
altogether; and give him mild aperient medicine; but, above all
things, do not quack him either with calomel or with grey-powder.
279. Will you have the goodness to describe the eruption on the face
and on the head of a young child, called Milk-Crust or Running Scall?
Milk-crust is a complaint of very young children—of those who are
cutting their teeth—and, as it is a nasty looking complaint, and
frequently gives a mother a great deal of trouble, of anxiety, and
annoyance, it will be well that you should know its symptoms, its
causes, and its probable duration.
Symptoms.—When a child is about nine months or a year old, small
pimples are apt to break out around the ears, on the forehead, and on
the head. These pimples at length become vesicles (that is to say,
they contain water), which run into one large one, break, and form a
nasty dirty-looking yellowish, and sometimes greenish, scab, which
scab is moist, indeed, sometimes quite wet, and gives out a
disagreeable odour, and which is sometimes so large on the head as
actually to form a skullcap, and so extensive on the face as to form a
mask. These, I am happy to say, are rare cases. The child's beauty
is, of, course, for a time completely destroyed, and not only his
beauty, but his good temper; for as the eruption causes great
irritation and itching, he is constantly clawing himself, and crying
with annoyance the great part of the day, and sometimes also of the
night—the eruption preventing him from sleeping. It is not
contagious, and soon after he has cut the whole of his first set of
teeth it will get well, provided it has not been improperly interfered
with.
Causes.—Irritation from teething; stuffing him with overmuch meat,
thus producing a humour, which Nature tries to get rid of by throwing
it out on the surface of the body; the safest place she could fix on
for the purpose; hence the folly and danger of giving medicines and
applying external applications to drive the eruption in. "Diseased
nature oftentimes breaks forth in strange eruptions," and cures
herself in this way, if she be not too much interfered with, and if
the eruption be not driven in by injudicious treatment. I have known
in such cases disastrous consequences to follow over-officiousness and
meddlesomeness. Nature is trying all she can to drive the humour out,
while some wiseacres are doing all they can to drive the humour in.
Duration.—As milk-crust is a tedious affair, and will require a
variety of treatment, it will be necessary to consult an experienced
medical man; and although he will be able to afford great relief, the
child will not, in all probability, be quite free from the eruption
until he have cut the whole of his first set of teeth—until he be
upwards of two years and a half old—when, with judicious and careful
treatment, it will gradually disappear, and eventually leave not a
trace behind.
It will be far better to leave the case alone—to get well of
itself—rather than to try to cure the complaint either by outward
applications or by strong internal medicines; "the remedy is often
worse than the disease," of this I am quite convinced.
280. Have you any advice to give me as to my conduct towards my
medical man?
Give him your entire confidence. Be truthful and be candid with
him. Tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth. Have no reservations; give him, as near as you can, a plain,
unvarnished statement of the symptoms of the disease. Do not magnify,
and do not make too light of any of them. Be prepared to state the
exact time the child first showed symptoms of illness. If he have had
a shivering fit, however slight, do not fail to tell your medical man
of it. Note the state of the skin; if there be a "breaking-out"—be it
ever so trifling—let it be pointed out to him. Make yourself
acquainted with the quantity and with the appearance of the urine,
taking care to have a little of it saved, in case the doctor may wish
to see and examine it. Take notice of the state of the motions—their
number during the twenty-four hours, their colour, their smell, and
their consistence, keeping one for his inspection. Never leave any of
these questions to be answered by a servant; a mother is the proper
person to give the necessary and truthful answers, which answers
frequently decide the fate of the patient. Bear in mind, then, a
mother's untiring care and love, attention and truthfulness,
frequently decide whether, in a serious illness, the little fellow
shall live or die! Fearful responsibility!
A medical man has arduous duties to perform; smooth, therefore, his
path as much as you can, and you will be amply repaid by the increased
good he will be able to do your child. Strictly obey a doctor's
orders—in diet, in medicine, in everything. Never throw obstacles in
his way. Never omit any of his suggestions; for, depend upon it that
if he be a sensible man, directions, however slight, ought never to be
neglected; bear in mind, with a judicious medical man,
"That nothing walks with aimless feet."—Tennyson.
If the case be severe, requiring a second opinion, never of your own
accord call in a physician, without first consulting and advising with
your own medical man. It would be an act of great discourtesy to do
so. Inattention to the foregoing advice has frequently caused injury
to the patient, and heart-burnings and ill-will among doctors.
Speak, in the presence of your child, with respect and kindness of
your medical man, so that the former may look upon the latter as a
friend—as one who will strive, with God's blessing, to relieve his
pain and suffering. Remember the increased power of doing good the
doctor will have if the child be induced to like, instead of dislike,
him. Not only be careful that you yourself speak before your child,
respectfully and kindly of the medical man, but see that your
domestics do so likewise; and take care that they are never allowed to
frighten your child, as many silly servants do, by saying that they
will send for the doctor, who will either give him nasty medicine, or
will perform some cruel operation upon him. A nurse-maid should, then,
never for one moment be permitted to make a doctor an object of terror
or of dislike to a child.
Send, whenever it be practicable, for your doctor early in the
morning, as he will then make his arrangements accordingly, and can by
daylight better ascertain the nature of the complaint, more especially
if it be a skin disease. It is utterly impossible for him to form a
correct opinion of the nature of a "breaking-out" either by gas or by
candle light. If the illness come on at night, particularly if it be
ushered in either with a severe shivering, or with any other urgent
symptom, no time should be lost, be it night or day, in sending for
him,
"A little fire is quietly trodden out,
Which, being sufier'd, rivers cannot quench."
Shakespeare.
281. Have the goodness to mention the complaints of a child for which
warm baths are useful.
1. Convulsions; 2. Pains in the bowels, known by, the child drawing up
his legs, screaming violently, etc.; 3. Restlessness from teething;
4. Flatulence. The warm bath acts as a fomentation to the stomach and
the bowels, and gives ease where the usual remedies do not rapidly
relieve.
282. Will you mention the precautions, and the rules to be observed
in gutting a child info a warm bath?
Carefully ascertain before he be immersed in the bath that the water
be neither too hot nor too cold. Carelessness, or over-anxiety to put
him in the water as quickly as possible, has frequently, from his
being immersed in the bath when the water was too hot, caused him
great pain and suffering. From 96 to 98 degrees of Fahrenheit is the
proper temperature of a warm bath. If it be necessary to add fresh
warm water, let him be either removed the while, or let it not be put
in when very hot; for if boiling water be added to increase the heat
of the bath, it naturally ascends, and may scald him. Again, let the
fresh water be put in at as great a distance from him as possible. The
usual time for him to remain in a bath is a quarter of an hour or
twenty minutes. Let the chest and the bowels be rubbed with the hand
while he is in the bath. Let him be immersed in the bath as high up as
the neck, taking care that he be the while supported under the
armpits, and that his head be also rested. As soon as he comes out of
the bath, he ought to be carefully but quickly rubbed dry; and if it
be necessary to keep up the action on the skin, he should be put to
bed, between the blankets; or if the desired relief has been obtained,
between the sheets, which ought to have been previously warmed, where,
most likely, he will fall into a sweet refreshing sleep.
283. In case of a child suffering pain either in his stomach or in
his bowels, or in case he has a feverish cold, can you tell me of the
best way of applying heat to them?
In pain either of the stomach or of the bowels, there is nothing
usually affords greater or speedier relief than the external
application of heat The following are four different methods of
applying heat:—1. A bag of hot salt—that is to say, powdered
table-salt—put either into the oven or into a frying-pan over the
fire, and thus made hot, and placed in a flannel bag, and then
applied, as the case may be, either to the stomach or to the
bowels. Hot salt is an excellent remedy for these pains. 2. An
india-robber hot-water bottle, [Footnote: Every house where there are
children ought to have one of these India-rubber hot-water bottles. It
may be procured at any respectable Vulcanised India-rubber warehouse.]
half filled with hot water—it need not be boiling—applied to the
stomach or to the bowels, will afford great comfort 3. Another and an
excellent remedy for these cases is a hot bran poultice. The way to
make it is as follows:—Stir bran into a Vessel containing either a
pint or a quart (according to size of poultice required) of boiling
water, until it be the consistence of a nice soft poultice, then put
into a flannel bag and apply it to the part affected. When cool, dip
it from time to time in hot water. 4. In case a child has a feverish
cold, especially if it be attended, as it sometimes is, with pains in
the bowels, the following is a good external application.—Take a yard
of flannel, fold it in three widths, then dip it in very hot water,
wring it out tolerably dry, and apply it evenly and neatly round and
round the bowels; over this, and to keep it in its place, and to keep
in the moisture, put on a dry flannel bandage, four yards long and
four inches wide. If it be put on at bed-time, it ought to remain on
all night. Where there are children, it is desirable to have the yard
of flannel and the flannel bandage in readiness, and then a mother
will be prepared for emergencies. Either the one or the other, then,
of the above applications will usually, in pains of the stomach and
bowels, afford great relief. There is one great advantage of the
external application of heat—it can never do harm; if there be
inflammation, it will do good; if there be either cramps or spasms of
the stomach, it will be serviceable; if there be colic, it will be one
of the best remedies that can be used; if it be a feverish cold, by
throwing the child into a perspiration, it will be beneficial.
It is well for a mother to know how to make a white bread poultice;
and as the celebrated Abernethy was noted for his poultices, I will
give you his directions, and in his very words:—"Scald out a basin,
for you can never make a good poultice unless you have perfectly
boiling water, then, having put in some hot water, throw in coarsely
crumbled bread, and cover it with a plate. When the bread has soaked
up as much water as it will imbibe, drain off the remaining water, and
there will be left a light pulp. Spread it a third of an inch thick on
folded linen, and apply it when of the temperature of a warm bath. It
may be said that this poultice will be very inconvenient if there be
no lard in it, for it will soon get dry; but this is the very thing
you want, and it can easily be moistened by dropping warm water on it,
whilst a greasy poultice will be moist, but not wet."—South's
Household Surgery.
284. Supposing a child to cut his finger, what is the best
application?
There is nothing better than tying it up with rag in its blood, as
nothing is more healing than blood. Do not wash the blood away, but
apply the rag at once, taking care that no foreign substance be left
in the wound. If there be either glass or dirt in it, it will of
course be necessary to bathe the cut in warm water, to get rid of it
before the rag be applied. Some mothers use either salt or Fryar's
Balsam, or turpentine, to a fresh wound; these plans are cruel and
unnecessary, and frequently make the cut difficult to heal. If it
bleed immoderately, sponge the wound freely with cold water. If it be
a severe cut, surgical aid, of course, will be required.
285. If a child receive a blow, causing a bruise, what had better be
done?
Immediately smear a small lump of fresh butter on the part affected,
and renew it every few minutes for two or three hours; this is an
old-fashioned, but a very good remedy. Olive oil may—if fresh
butter be not at hand—be used, or soak a piece of brown-paper in one
third of French brandy and two-thirds of water, and immediately apply
it to the part; when dry renew it. Either of these simple plans—the
butter plan is the best—will generally prevent both swelling and
disfiguration.
A "Black Eye."—If a child, or indeed any one else, receive a blow
over the eye, which is likely to cause a "black eye," there is no
remedy superior to, nor more likely to prevent one, than well
buttering the parts for two or three inches around the eye with fresh
butter, renewing it every few minutes for the space of an hour or two;
if such be well and perseveringly done, the disagreeable appearance of
a "black eye" will in all probability be prevented. A capital remedy
for a "black eye" is the Arnica Lotion,—
Take of—Tincture of Arnica, one ounce;
Water, seven ounces;
To make a Lotion. The eye to be bathed by means of a soft piece of
linen rag, with this lotion frequently; and, between times, let a
piece of linen rag, wetted in the lotion, be applied: to the eye, and
be fastened in its place by means of a bandage.
The white lily leaf, soaked in brandy, is another excellent remedy for
the bruises of a child. Gather the white lily blossoms when in full
bloom, and put them in a wide-mouthed bottle of brandy, cork the
bottle, and it will then always be ready for use. Apply a leaf to the
part affected, and bind it on either with a bandage or with a
handkerchief. The white lily root sliced is another valuable external
application for bruises.
286. If a child fall upon his head and be stunned, what ought to be
done?
If he fall upon his head and be stunned, he will look deadly pale,
very much as if he had fainted. He will in a few minutes, in all
probability, regain his consciousness. Sickness frequently
supervenes, which makes the case more serious, it being a proof that
injury, more or less severe, has been done to the brain; send,
therefore, instantly for a medical man.
In the meantime, loosen both his collar and neckerchief, lay him flat
on his back, sprinkle cold water upon his face, open the windows so as
to admit plenty of fresh air, and do not let people crowd round him,
nor shout at him, as some do, to make him speak.
While he is in an unconscious state, do not on any account whatever
allow a drop of blood to be taken from him, either by leeches or from
the arm-venesection; if you do, he will probably never rally, but will
most likely "sleep the sleep that knows not breaking."
287. A nurse sometimes drops an infant and injures his back; what
ought to be done?
Instantly send for a surgeon; omitting to have proper advice in such a
case has frequently made a child a cripple for life. A nurse
frequently, when she has dropped her little charge, is afraid to tell
her mistress; the consequences might then be deplorable. If ever a
child scream violently without any assignable cause, and the mother is
not able for some time to pacify him, the safer plan is that she send
for a doctor, in order that he might strip and carefully examine him;
much after misery might often be averted if this plan were more
frequently followed.
288. Have you any remarks to make and directions to give on
accidental poisoning by lotions, by liniments, etc?
It is a culpable practice of either a mother or nurse to leave
external applications within the reach of a child. It is also
highly improper to put a mixture and an external application (such
as a lotion or a liniment) on the same tray or on the same
mantel-piece. Many liniments contain large quantities of opium, a
tea-spoonful of which would be likely to cause the death of a
child. "Hartshorn and oil," too, has frequently been swallowed by
children, and in several instances has caused death. Many lotions
contain sugar of lead, which is also poisonous. There is not,
fortunately, generally sufficient lead in the lotion to cause death;
but if there be not enough to cause death, there may be more than
enough to make the child very poorly. All these accidents occur from
disgraceful carelessness.
A mother or a nurse ought always, before administering a dose of
medicine to a child, to read the label on the bottle; by adopting this
simple plan many serious accidents and much after misery might be
averted. Again, I say, let every lotion, every liniment, and indeed
everything for external use, be either locked up or be put out of the
way, and far away from all medicine that is given by the mouth. This
advice admits of no exception.
If your child have swallowed a portion of a liniment containing opium,
instantly send for a medical man. In the meantime force a strong
mustard emetic (composed of two tea-spoonfuls of flour of mustard,
mixed in half a tea-cupful of warm water) down his throat. Encourage
the vomiting by afterwards forcing him to swallow warm water. Tickle
the throat either with your finger or with a feather. Souse him
alternately in hot and then in a cold bath. Dash cold water on his
head and face. Throw open the windows. Walk him about in the open
air. Rouse him by slapping him, by pinching him, and by shouting to
him; rouse him, indeed, by every means in your power, for if you allow
him to go to sleep, it will, in all probability, be the sleep that
knows no waking!
If a child have swallowed "hartshorn and oil," force him to drink
vinegar and water, lemon-juice and water sweetened with sugar, barley
water, and thin gruel.
If he have swallowed a lead lotion, give him a mustard emetic, and
then vinegar and water, sweetened either with honey or with sugar, to
drink.
289. Are not lucifer matches poisonous?
Certainly, they are very poisonous; it is, therefore, desirable that
they should be put out of the reach of children. A mother ought to be
very strict with servants on this head. Moreover, lucifer matches are
not only poisonous but dangerous, as a child might set himself on fire
with them. A case bearing on the subject has just come under my own
observation. A little boy three years old, was left alone for two or
three minutes, during which time he obtained possession of a lucifer
match, and struck a light by striking the match against the
wall. Instantly there was a blaze. Fortunately for him, in his fright,
he threw the match on the floor. His mother at this moment entered the
room. If his clothes had taken fire, which they might have done, had
he not have thrown the match away, or if his mother had not been so
near at hand, he would, in all probability, have either been severely
burned or have been burned to death.
290. If a child's clothes take fire, what ought to be done to
extinguished them?
Lay him on the floor, then roll him either in the rug, or in the
carpet, or in the door-mat, or in any thick article of dress you may
either have on, or have at hand—if it be woollen, so much the better;
or, throw him down, and roll him over and over on the floor, as, by
excluding the atmospheric air, the flame will go out:—hence the
importance of a mother cultivating presence of mind. If parents were
better prepared for such emergencies, such horrid disfigurations and
frightful deaths would be less frequent.
You ought to have a proper fire-guard before the nursery grate, and
should be strict in not allowing your child to play with fire. If he
still persevere in playing with it, when he has been repeatedly
cautioned not to do so, he should be punished for his temerity. If
anything would justify corporal chastisement, it would surely be such
an act of disobedience. There are only two acts of disobedience that I
would flog a child for—namely, the playing with fire and the telling
of a lie! If after various warnings and wholesome corrections he still
persist, it would be well to let him slightly taste the pain of his
doing so, either by holding his hand for a moment very near the fire,
or by allowing him to slightly touch either the hot bar of the grate
or the flame of the candle. Take my word for it the above plan, will
effectually cure him—he will never do it again. It would be well for
the children of the poor to have pinafores made either of woollen or
of stuff materials. The dreadful deaths from burning, which so often
occur in winter, too frequently arise from cotton pinafores first
taking fire. [Footnote: It has been computed that upwards of 1000
children are annually burned to death by accident in England.]
If all dresses after being washed, and just before being dried, were,
for a short time, soaked in a solution of tungstate of soda, such
clothes, when dried, would, be perfectly fire-proof.
Tangstate of soda may be used either with or without starch; but full
directions for the using of it will, at the time of purchase, be given
by the chemist.
291. Is a burn more dangerous than a scald?
A burn is generally more serious than a scald. Burns and scalds are
more dangerous on the body, especially on the chest, than either on
the face or on the extremities. The younger the child, the greater
the danger.
Scalds both of the mouth and the throat, from a child drinking boiling
water from the spout of a tea-kettle, are most dangerous. A poor
person's child is, from the unavoidable absence of the mother,
sometimes shut up in the kitchen by himself, and being very thirsty,
and no other water being at hand, he is tempted, in his ignorance, to
drink from the tea-kettle: If the water be unfortunately boiling, it
will most likely prove to him to be a fatal draught!
292. What are the best immediate applications to a scald or to a
burn?
There is nothing more efficacious than flour. It ought to be thickly
applied over the part affected, and should be kept in its place either
with a rag and a bandage, or with, strips of old linen. If this be
done, almost instantaneous relief will be experienced, and the burn or
the scald, if superficial, will soon be well. The advantage of flour
as a remedy, is this, that it is always at hand. I have seen some
extensive bums and scalds cured by the above simple plan. Another
excellent remedy is, cottonwool of superior quality, purposely made
for surgeons. The burn or the scald ought to be enveloped in it;
layer after layer should be applied until it be several inches
thick. The cotton-wool must not be removed for several days. These two
remedies, flour and cotton-wool, may be used in conjunction; that is
to say, the flour may be thickly applied to the scald or to the burn,
and the cotton wool over all.
Prepared lard—that is to say, lard without salt [Footnote: If there
be no other lard in the house but lard with salt, the salt may be
readily removed by washing the lard in cold water. Prepared
lard—that is to say, lard without salt—can, at any moment, be
procured from the nearest druggist in the neighbourhood]—is an
admirable remedy for burns and for scalds. The advantages of lard
are,—(1.) It is almost always at hand; (2.) It is very cooling,
soothing, and unirritating to the part, and it gives almost immediate
freedom from pain; (3.) It effectually protects and sheathes the burn
or the scald from the air; (4.) It is readily and easily applied: all
that has to be done is to spread the lard either on pieces of old
linen rag, or on lint, and then to apply them smoothly to the parts
affected, keeping them in their places by means of bandages—which
bandages may be readily made from either old linen or calico shirts.
Dr John Packard, of Philadelphia, was the first to bring this remedy
for burns and scalds before the public—he having tried it in numerous
instances, and with the happiest results. I myself have, for many
years been in the habit of prescribing lard as a dressing for
blisters, and with the best effects. I generally advise equal parts of
prepared lard and of spermaceti-cerate to be blended together to make
an ointment. The spermaceti-cerate gives a little more consistence to
the lard, which, in warm weather especially, is a great advantage.
Another valuable remedy for burns is "carron-oil;" which is made by
mixing equal parts of linseed-oil and lime-water in a bottle, and
shaking it up before using it.
Cold applications, such as cold water, cold vinegar and water, and
cold lotions, are most injurious, and, in many cases, even
dangerous. Scraped potatoes, sliced cucumber, salt, and spirits of
turpentine, have all been recommended; but, in my practice, nothing
has been so efficacious as the remedies above enumerated.
Do not wash the wound, and do not dress it more frequently than every
other day. If there be much discharge, let it be gently sopped up
with soft old linen rag; but do not, on any account, let the burn be
rubbed or roughly handled. I am convinced that, in the majority of
cases, wounds are too frequently dressed, and that the washing of
wounds prevents the healing of them. "It is a great mistake," said
Ambrose Pare, "to dress ulcers too often, and to wipe their surfaces
clean, for thereby we not only remove the useless excrement, which is
the mud or sanies of ulcers, but also the matter which forms the
flesh. Consequently, for these reasons, ulcers should not be dressed
too often."
It is nature, and not the surgeon, that really cures the wound, and it
is done, like all Nature's works, principally in secret, by degrees,
and by patience, and resents much interference. The seldom-dressing of
a wound and patience are, then, two of the best remedies for effecting
a cure. Shakspeare, who seemed to know surgery, as he did almost
everything else beside was quite cognisant of the fact:—
"How poor are they, that have not patience
What wound did ever heal, but by degrees"
The burn or the scald may, after the first two days, if severe,
require different dressings; but, if it be severe, the child ought of
course to be immediately placed under the care of a surgeon.
If the scald be either on the leg or on the foot, a common practice is
to take the shoe and the stocking off; in this operation the skin is
also at the same time very apt to be removed. Now, both the shoe and
the stocking ought to be slit up, and thus be taken off, so that
neither unnecessary pain nor mischief may be caused.
293. If a bit of quick-lime should accidentally enter the eye of my
child, what ought to be done?
Instantly, but tenderly remove, either by means of a camel's hair
brush, or by a small spill of paper, any bit of lime that may adhere
to the ball of the eye, or that may be within the eye or on the
eye-lashes; then well bathe the eye (allowing a portion to enter it)
with vinegar and water-one part of vinegar to three parts of water,
that is to say, a quarter fill a clean half-pint medicine bottle with
vinegar, and then fill it up with spring water, and it will be ready
for use. Let the eye be bathed for at least a quarter of an hour with,
it The vinegar will neutralise the lime, and will rob it of its
burning properties.
Having bathed the eye with vinegar and water for a quarter of an hour,
bathe it for another quarter of an hour simply with a little warm
water, after which, drop into the eye two or three drops of the best
sweet-oil, put on an eye-shade made of three thicknesses of linen rag,
covered with green silk, and then do nothing more until the doctor
arrive.
If the above rules be not promptly and properly followed out, the
child may irreparably lose his eyesight; hence the necessity of
conversations of this kind, to tell a mother, provided immediate
assistance cannot be obtained, what ought instantly to be done; for
moments, in such a case, are precious.
While doing all that I have just recommended, let a surgeon be sent
for, as a smart attack of inflammation, of the eye is very apt to
follow the burn of lime; but which inflammation will, provided the
previous directions have been promptly and efficiently followed
out, with appropriate treatment, soon subside.
The above accident is apt to occur to a child who is standing near a
building when the slacking of quicklime is going on, and where
portions of lime in the form of powder are flying about the air. It
would be well not to allow a child to stand about such places, as
prevention is always better than cure. Quicklime is sometimes called
caustic-lime—it well deserves its name, for it is a burning-lime,
and if proper means be not promptly used, will soon burn away the
sight.
294. If any other foreign substance should enter the eye, what is the
best method of removing it?
If there be grit, or sand, or dust, or particle of coal, or gnat, or a
hair, or an eye-lash in the eye, it ought to be tenderly removed by a
small tightly-folded paper spill, holding down the lower lid with the
fore-finger of the left hand the while; and the eye, if inflamed,
should be frequently bathed with warm milk and water; but generally as
soon as the cause is removed the effect will cease, and after
treatment will be unnecessary.
If a particle of metal be sticking on the cornea of the eye, as it
sometimes does, it will require the skilled hand of a surgeon to
remove it.
Any foreign substance, however minute, in the eye, is very painful;
but a piece of burning lime is excruciating. Shakspeare gives a
graphic description of the pain from the presence of any foreign
substance, however small, in the eye:—
"Oh heaven!—that there were but a mote in yours,
A grain, a dust, a gnat, a wand'ring hair,
Any annoyance in that precious sense!
Then, feeling what small things are boist'rous there,
Your vile intent must needs seem horrible."
295. What ought to be done in a case of choking?
How often does a hungry little child, if not carefully watched, fill
his mouth so full, and swallow lumps of food in such hot haste, as to
choke himself—
"With eager feeding, food doth choke the feeder"
Shakespeare.
Treatment.-Instantly put your finger into the throat and feel if the
substance be within reach; if it be food, force it down, and thus
liberate the breathing; should it be a hard substance, endeavour to
hook it out; if you cannot reach it, give a good smart blow or two
with the flat of the hand on the back; or, as recommended by
contributor to the Lancet, on the chest, taking care to "seize the
little patient, and place him between your knees side ways, and in
this or some other manner to compress the abdomen [the belly],
otherwise the power of the blow will be lost by the yielding of the
abdominal parieties [walls of the belly], and the respiratory effort
will not be produced." If that does not have the desired effect,
tickle the throat with your finger, so as to ensure immediate
vomiting, and the subsequent ejection of the offending substance.
296. Should my child be bitten by a dog supposed to be mad, what
ought to be done?
Instantly well rub for the space of five or ten seconds—seconds,
not minutes—a stick of nitrate of silver (lunar-caustic) into the
wound. The stick of lunar-caustic should be pointed, like a cedar
pencil for writing, in order the more thoroughly to enter the
wound. [Footnote: A stick of pointed nitrate of silver, in a case,
ready for use, may be procured of any respectable chemist.] This, if
properly done directly after the bite, will effectually prevent
hydrophobia. The nitrate of silver acts not only as a caustic to the
part, but it appears effectually to neutralise the poison, and thus,
by making the virus perfectly innocuous, is a complete antidote. If it
be either the lip, or the parts near the eye, or the wrist, that have
been bitten, it is far preferable to apply the caustic than to cut the
part out; as the former is neither so formidable, nor so dangerous,
nor so disfiguring as the latter, and yet it is equally as
efficacious. I am indebted to the late Mr Youatt, the celebrated
veterinary surgeon, for this valuable antidote or remedy for the
prevention of the most horrible, heart-rending, and incurable
disease known. Mr Youatt had an immense practice among, dogs as well
as among horses. He was a keen observer of disease, and a dear lover
of his profession, and he had paid great attention to rabies—
dog-madness. He and his assistants had been repeatedly bitten by
rabid dogs; but knowing that he was in possession of an infallible
preventive remedy, he never dreaded the wounds inflicted either upon
himself or upon his assistants. Mr Youatt never knew lunar-caustic, if
properly and immediately applied, to fail. It is, of course, only a
preventive. If hydrophobia be once developed in the human system, no
antidote has ever yet, for this fell and intractable disease, been
found.
While walking the London Hospitals, upwards of forty years ago, I
received an invitation from Mr Youatt to attend a lecture on
rabies—dog-madness. He had, during the lecture, a dog present
labouring under incipient madness. In a day or two after the
lecture, he requested me and other students to call at his infirmary
and see the dog, as the disease was at that time fully developed. We
did so, and found the poor animal raving mad—frothing at the mouth,
and snapping at the iron bars of his prison. I was particularly struck
with a peculiar brilliancy and wildness of the dog's eyes. He seemed
as though, with affright and consternation, he beheld objects unseen
by all around. It was pitiful to witness his frightened and anxious
countenance. Death soon closed the scene!
I have thought it my duty to bring the value of lunar-caustic as a
preventive of hydrophobia prominently before your notice, and to pay a
tribute of respect to the memory of Mr Youatt—a man of talent and of
genius.
Never kill a dog supposed to be mad who has bitten either a child, or
any one else, until it has, past all doubt, been ascertained whether
he be really mad or not. He ought, of course, to be tied up; and be
carefully watched, and be prevented the while from biting any one
else. The dog by all means should be allowed to live at least for some
weeks, as the fact of his remaining well will be the best guarantee
that there is no fear of the bitten child having caught hydrophobia.
There is a foolish prejudice abroad, that a dog, be he mad or not, who
has bitten a person ought to be immediately destroyed; that although
the dog be not at the time mad, but should at a future period become
so, the person who had been bitten when the dog was not mad, would,
when the dog became mad, have hydrophobia! It seems almost absurd to
bring the subject forward; but the opinion is so very general and
deep-rooted, that I think it well to declare that there is not the
slightest foundation of truth in it, but that it is a ridiculous
fallacy!
A cat sometimes goes mad, and its bite may cause hydrophobia; indeed,
the bite of a mad cat is more dangerous than the bite of a mad dog. A
bite from a mad cat ought to be treated precisely in the same
manner-namely, with the lunar-caustic—as for a mad dog.
Hydrophobia was by our forefathers graphically called water-fright:
it was well named, for the horror of swallowing water is, by an
hydrophobic patient, most intense, and is the leading symptom of
this fell and incurable disease.
A bite either from a dog or from a cat who is not mad, from a cat
especially, is often venomous and difficult to heal. The best
application is, immediately to apply a large hot white bread
poultice to the part, and to renew it every four hours; and, if there
be much pain in the wound, to well foment the part, every time before
applying the poultice, with a hot camomile and poppy-head fomentation.
Scratches of a cat are best treated by smearing, and that freely and
continuously for an hour, and then afterwards at longer intervals,
fresh butter on the part affected. If fresh butter Be not at hand,
fresh lard—that is to say, lard without salt—will answer the
purpose. If the pain of the scratch be very intense, foment the part
affected with hot water, and then apply a hot white bread poultice,
which should be frequently renewed.
297. What are the best remedies in ease of a sting from either a bee
or a wasp?
Extract the sting, if it have been left behind, either by means of the
pair of dressing forceps, or by the pressure of the hollow of a small
key—a watch-key will answer the purpose; then, the blue-bag (which is
used in washing) moistened with water, should be applied to the part;
or a few drops of solution of potash, [Footnote: Which may be
instantly procured of a druggist.] or "apply moist snuff or tobacco,
rubbing it well in," [Footnote: A Bee-master. The Times, July
28,1864.] and renew from time to time either of them: if either of
these be not at hand, either honey, or treacle, or fresh butter, will
answer the purpose. Should there be much swelling or inflammation,
foment the part with hot water, and then apply hot bread poultice, and
renew it frequently. In eating apricots, or peaches, or other fruit,
they ought beforehand to be carefully examined, in order to ascertain
that no wasp is lurking in them; otherwise, it may sting the throat,
and serious consequences will ensue.
298. If a child receive a fall, causing the skin to be grazed, can
you tell me of a good application?
You will find gummed paper an excellent remedy: the way of preparing
it is as follows:—Apply evenly, by means of a small brush, thick
mucilage of gum-arabic to cap-paper; hang it up to dry, and keep it
ready for use. When wanted, cut a portion as large as may be
requisite, then moisten it with your tongue, in the same manner you
would a postage stamp, and apply it to the grazed part. It may be
removed when necessary by simply wetting it with water. The part in
two or three days will be well. There is usually a margin of gummed
paper sold with postage stamps; this will answer the purpose equally
well. If the gummed paper be not at hand, then frequently, for the
space of an hour or two, smear the part affected with fresh butter.
299. In case of a child swallowing by mistake either laudanum, or
paregoric, or Godfrey's Cordial, or any other preparation of opium,
what ought to be done?
Give, as quickly as possible, a strong mustard emetic; that is to
say, mix two tea-spoonfuls of flour of mustard in half a tea-cupful
of water, and force it down his throat. If free vomiting be not
induced, tickle the upper part of the swallow with a feather, drench
the little patient's stomach with large quantities of warm water. As
soon as it can be obtained from the druggist, give him the following
emetic draught—
Take of—Sulphate of Zinc, one scruple;
Simple Syrup, one drachm.
Distilled Water, seven drachms;
To make a Draught.
Smack his buttocks and his back, walk him, or lead him, or carry him
about in the fresh air, shake him by the shoulders, pat his hair,
tickle his nostrils, shout and holler in his ears, plunge him into a
warm bath and then into a cold bath alternately. Well sponge his head
and face with cold water, dash cold water on his head, face, and neck,
and do not, on any account, until the effects of the opiate are gone
off, allow him to go to sleep, if you do, he will never wake again!
While doing all those things, of course, you ought to lose no time in
sending for a medical man.
300. Have you any observation to make on parent's allowing the Deadly
Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna) to grow in their gardens?
I wish to caution you not on any account to allow the Belladonna—the
Deadly Nightshade—to grow in your garden. The whole plant—root,
leaves, and berries—is poisonous and the berries, being attractive to
the eye, are very alluring to children.
301. What is the treatment of poisoning by Belladonna?
Instantly send for a medical man, but, in the mean time, give an
emetic-a mustard emetic—mix two teaspoonfuls of flour of mustard in
half a tea-cupful of warm water, and force it down the child's throat
then drench him with warm water, and tickle the upper part of his
swallow either with a feather or with the finger, to make him sick as
the grand remedy is an emetic to bring up the offending cause. If the
emetic has not acted sufficiently, the medical man when he arrives may
deem it necessary to use the stomach pump, but remember not a moment
must be lost, for moments are precious in a case of belladonna
poisoning, in giving a mustard emetic, and repeating it again and
again until the enemy be dislodged. Dash cold water upon his head and
face; the best way of doing which is by means of a large sponge,
holding his head and his face over a wash-hand basin, half filled with
cold water, and filling the sponge from the basin, and squeezing it
over his head and face, allowing the water to continuously stream over
them for an hour or two, or until the effects of the poison have
passed away. This sponging of the head and face is very useful in
poisoning by opium, as well as in poisoning by belladonna; indeed, the
treatment of poisoning by the one is very similar to the treatment of
poisoning by the other. I, therefore, for the further treatment of
poisoning by belladonna, beg to refer you to a previous Conversation,
on the treatment of poisoning by opium.
302. Should a child put either a pea or a bead, or any other foreign
substance, up the nose, what ought to be done?
Do not attempt to extract it yourself, or you might push it further
in, but send instantly for a surgeon, who will readily remove it,
either with a pair of forceps, or by means of a bent probe, or with a
director. If it be a pea, and it be allowed for any length of time to
remain in, it will swell, and will thus become difficult to extract,
and may produce great irritation and inflammation. A child ought not
to be allowed to play with peas or with beads (unless the beads are on
a string), as he is apt, for amusement, to push them up his nose.
303. If a child have put either a pea, a bean, a bead, a
cherry-stone, or any other smooth substance, into his ear, what ought
to be done to remove it?
Turn his head on one side, in order to let the ear with the pea or the
bead in it be undermost, then give with the flat of your hand two or
three sharp, sudden slaps or boxes on the other, or _upper_most ear,
and most likely the offending substance will drop out. Poking at the
ear will, in the majority of cases, only send the substance further
in, and will make it more difficult (if the above simple plan does not
succeed) for the medical man to remove. The surgeon will, in all
probability, syringe the ear; therefore have a supply of warm water in
readiness for him, in order that no time may be lost.
304. If an earwig or any other living thing, should get into the ear
of a child, what ought to be done?
Lay the child on his side, the affected ear being uppermost, and fill
the ear, from a tea-spoon, with either water or sweet oil. The water
or oil will carry the living thing, whatever it be, out of the ear,
and the child is at once relieved.
305. If a child swallow a piece of broken glass, what ought to be
done?
Avoid purgatives, as the free action on the bowels would be likely to
force the spiculae of glass into the mucous membrane of the bowels, and
thus would wound them, and might cause ulceration, and even death.
"The object of treatment will be to allow them to pass through the
intestines well enveloped by the other contents of the tube, and for
this purpose a solid, farinaceous diet should be ordered, and
purgatives scrupulously avoided."—Shaw's Medical Remembrancer, by
Hutchinson.
306. If a child swallow a pin, what should be done?
Treat him as for broken glass. Give him no aperients, or it might, in
action, force the pin into the bowel. I have known more than one
instance where a child, after swallowing a pin, to have, voided it in
his motion.
307. If a child swallow a coin of any kind, is danger likely, to
ensue, and what ought to be done?
There is, as a rule, no danger. A dose or two of castor oil will be
all that is usually necessary. The evacuations ought to be carefully
examined until the coin be discovered. I once knew a child swallow a
pennypiece, and pass it in his stool.
308. If a child, while playing with a small coin (such as either a
threepenny or a fourpenny piece), or any other substance, should toss
it into his mouth, and inadvertently allow it to enter the windpipe,
what ought to be done?
Take hold of him by the legs, allowing his head to hang downwards;
then give him with the palm of your hand several sharp blows on his
back, and you may have the good fortune to see the coin coughed out of
his mouth. Of course, if this plan does not succeed, send instantly,
for a medical man.
309. How can a mother prevent her child from having an accident?
By strict supervision over frim on her own part, and by not permitting
her child to be left to the tender mercies of servants; by not
allowing him to play with fire, to swing over banisters, and to have
knives and playthings of a dangerous character; to keep all poisonous
articles and cutting instruments out of his reach; and, above all and
before all, insisting, lovingly, affectionately, but firmly, upon
implicit obedience.
Accidents generally arise from one of three causes, namely, either
from wilful disobedience, or from gross carelessness, or from
downright folly. I quite agree with Davenant, that they do not arise
from chance—
"If we consider accident,
And how, repugnant unto sense,
It pays desert with bad event,
We shall disparage Providence."