OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2842, 5 August 1916, Page 5

OUR BABIES

TBy Evgeia.t

Published under tho auspiccs of the Royal New Zealand Bocicty for tho Health of Women and Children. "It is wiser to nut a fenco at the top of a prccipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." INDIGESTION, ACIDITY, AND HEAT SPOTS. A Mother's Inquiries. T have taken an interest in all your letters, etc., and have brought up m|y boy, sinco the ago of tlwee months,' according to tho society's book. Ho flourished until a year old. and tlien he got an attack of diarrhoea. We had tho doctor, and baby seemingly recovered, but sinco tlien his digestive system lias not been quito right. He is now two and a half years old. His tonguq is furred, and hp has occasional attacks of lumps, coinuionly called heat-spats, but which, I understand, aro owing to some digestive disturbance. His diet is ns follows:—(1) Breakfast: Oatmeal porridge or groats and crisp toast. (Ho loves his toast,, which ho has had sinco a baby, 'and his teeth are all you said they could be made—strong and far apart. (2) Dinner: Broth, toast, milk, pudding, fruit—pears, cooked, and raw, prunes—(apples he cannot take). Lightly-eoosed eggs or fish. (!1) Bread and butter —milk or weak cocoa to drink. Somotimcs brown bread, I watchcd carefully and found that, after having scraped raw apple, or a portion of a whole raw apple, -ho got tho lumps. Ho has an attack of tho lumps now, though he has not had any nnplo for some months, so it caiuiot be that this time. ■ His tonguo is furred,_ aJid his breath, though, as a rule, quite sweet, seems to mo to have a sweety smell. His motions aro normal, and ho is regular. Lhave spent hours and hours ovor getting him to Bo regular each morning. REPLY. . I am much interested in your letter, and you may rest assured tliaL ill 10 cases out of 20 the course w>hdch you have i>ursued with your child would have resulted in normal health and fitness.. 1 am assuming, of course, that besidos dieting, as you describe, yoii also carry out as rogards fresh air, exorcise, etc., all the requirements mentioned on pages 1 and 2 of our book under ihe heading, "What Every Baby Needs." Nothing tends to ovcrcomo skin spots or eruptions associated with indigestion, acidity, etc., more satisfactorily than giving a child as open-air a life as possible and ensuring plenty of exercise. Another important poiul is sponging of the skin every morning, followed by brisk rubbing with a towel and massage without oil—then rapid dressing, and at'least a quarter of an hour's active running and walking exorcise. If the weather' happens to "be extremely bad and quite prohibitive, ten minutes' or quarter of an hour's activo play in a v;ell-ycutilated and airy room can Ire substituted. Skipping with it skipping-rope, when the child luis reached an age and growth' enabling this form of exorcise to be actively carried out, is an excellent alternative when exercise has to be taken indoors. It is wonderful how young children will acquire facility in such if tackled in the right way. Assuming that your child has a sort of idiosyncrasy or individual tendency towards heat spots, etc., it may prove impossible to get him to'do quite satisfactorily until you have found out by ob-. servation and exporience on tho one hand precisely, what classes of food stutf tend to upset hirnj and, on the other hand, what forms of desirable and nutritious food appear to be specially suitable in his case.

'J.'hu.s it has been found that quits a considerable number of children tend to be "lipset when, they take cane sugar in any form except in very minute quantities. ' A "sugar-susceptible" child may 'fye upset by the taking of one or two ordinary sweeties where an ordinary child could take several ounces without showing, any obvious signs of disagreement, though of course, such an indulgence would he unjustified in any case. It is found that malt sugar given in the form of inalt extract and used instead of cane sugar, may not only agree in such 'cases, but it also' tends to bring about freer motions (in other words, serves, as a slight ..laxative),, and. thus tends to do ■away , with constipation. A level teaspoonful of malt extract may be given two or three times a day; halt that quantity would, however, be enough to start With. Dextrose, which can be got from any chemist, tends to agree better even than malt sugar in cases -where, as you. describe, there is a, "sweety smell of the breath." However, indigestion associated with the sweet smell is characteristic of a condition known by doctors as acidosis, and on this account you should see your doctor and explain thoroughly what you have noticed, because he would be *ablo to prescribe for you the proper medicinal remedies which would help to overcome the tendency. You. do not say that baby lias any allowance of milk for breakfast, but 1 suppose lie lias some. At his age he, would be better with at least a pint of milk in the 24 hours. Besides using crisp toast, it would be well to give the child some tough crusts untoasted, especially the kind of crust one gets by pulling the twists off a twist •loaf.