OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2635, 4 December 1915, Page 12

OUR BABIES

Hygeu.i . X

Published; under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Health Society for the Health of Women and Children. • "It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." THE EVIDENCES OF ILLNESS: (Continued.) The following is a continuation of Dr. Leroy Yale's chapter on Evidences of Illness in Infants, quoted from his book for Mothers:— SIGNfI ABOUT THE MOUTH. The mouth gives a good many indications. If if be kept open, especially in sleep, it probably means obstruction to the ihgreiss of air through the nose. Enlarged tonsils and, above all, the pressure of an. adenoid growth in the pharynx, may bo suspected if the open mouth is habitual. If it is ail accompaniment of fever, more likely it signifies tonsil.tis. Children often put their hands into their mouths when the gums are tendei or when the tonsils are painful) or they may do so when they are hungry. Eruptions are seen about the lips, espeoially at the corners of the mouth, hi various ailments. The breath gives notice by its bad odour of disordered stomach, as well as. of diseases of the nasal and pharyngeal mucous membrane. The gums are swollen with teething, swollen and easy to bleed in infan.tile scurvy. The upper surfaco of the -tongue present a great variety of coatings in various disorders. That which is of most importance in the nursery is the whitish or greyish overlaying '(not the whitish tongue of the very young baby) which exists in a multiude of disturbed conditions, but which is generally considered as indicating some stomachic derangement, most likely due to improper feeding. . . Interrupted drinking or suckling or difficulty :ji swallowing suggests some obstruction to a free supply of air,- such as collections in the nostrils, ■ swollen tonsils or adenoids, or even some chest troubles. [Note by "Hygeia."—lt is curious that Dr. Yale does not happen to mention the v'hite patches, due to Thrush, which are so often seen in sickly babies, or in casus where proper attention is not paid to scrupulous cloanliness, especially _ in pottle-fed babies. This condition is described on Page 120 of the Society's Book. "Feeding and Care of Baby."] THROAT TROUBLES. The throat wed fauces can be readily examined by plaoing the child upon the lap of another person in such a way that it faces the light. The child's head is held. The observer then depresses its chin to open its mouth, and if the chili cries no depression of the tongue is usually necessary. If. it does not cry ths tongue may bo goiitly cud quickly depressed by some small, smooth, flat implement; the smooth handle of ;i teaspoon is the traditional one. A single glance, if fortunate, shows if the tonsils be swollen, if they have any .vhite spots or patches upon them or oa other parts of the throat. It is hot easy to desoribe the differences between the spots of the ordinary "follicular tor.silitis" and the patches of the diphtheritic variety. In fact, the bacteriological study of such, matters has to a very great degree broken down the distinctions formerly niade. So far as anything can bo stated, it is this: that spots 011 the tonsils alone which shov no tendency to spread or to mn together are probably not diphtheritic. Thoso which do spread or unite, and spots on the palate, in the pharynx ("back of tho throat"), 'or in the nose probably are diphtheritic. But tho distinction is not to be cer- • tainly made, oven by a physician, without microscopic evidence. Hence, any sore throat should be isolated, and -if any patches or spots are seen it is better to have a physician's opinion. "Sore throats" are not to be slightingly treated, since there is good reason to ' think from diphtheria— they are tliei infective starting point for enlarged glands, rheumatism, and other constitutional disorders, not to mention nearly all eir troubles. The Voice. The voice and cry vary with' the disturbance. The tired "worry" of a sleepy child is sometimes hoard in illness. The explosive cries of anger and fright are not evidences of illness. The lioarso note heard in both cry and. cough, tho latter, resembling a bark, show laryngeal inflammation—that is, croup. Iu obstructive croup the sound is much lessened. AYlien tho nose is obstructed the noto of the cry is modified, as. would be the voice of an adult. The loud cry of pain is pretty easil)' recognised: it is prolonged or spasmodic, in harmony with the pain—tho tormenting pain of earache, for instance, giving rise to a prolonged cry, while colic usually gives rise to one which is interrupted and renewed.

[Nofco t.v "Hygeia."—l must again draw attention to tho very thorough description and explanation of tho "Cries of tho Baby" given in the society's book "Feeding and Care of Baby," pages 96 tc 98.. It is tlu. duty of every mother to niastor thoroughly these pages.

All reference to pages in "Feeding and Care of Baby" are made to the latest edition of tho society's book, published by Macmillans in 1913. Mothers have sometimes failed to find the passages referred to on looking them up in their books, because they were consulting the previous edition. The latest .edition was completely revised, and was enlarged by 16 pages, so-that besides containing a great deal of new information, the old matter' frequently appears on a differently-numbered page.] / -