OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 97, 18 January 1919, Page 5

OUR BABIES

I'B* Hyobia/I

Published under tho auspiccs of tho Royal New Zoaland Society, lor tho Health of Women nnd Ohildron. "It is wiser-to put-up a fence at tho •op of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." SUMMER DIARKHOEA. Last week, when dealing with this subject, wo pointed out tliat summer diarrhoea rarely attacks babies unless they have been a little "out of sorts?" or uctunlly failing in health beforehand. We now enumcrare some of tho dangers to bp avoided and the precautions to bo taken. .

Keep Baby Germ-proof. When will mothers and nurses realise that li child ivlio Ims apparently thriven for mouths in of wrong treatment may suddenly fail a victim to some mal.ady against which his system would have been fiuito proof had lio been kcjjt in a stato of perfect health and fitness, oy paying due attention to all the simple laws of life and primary needs of iniancy? A baby, may hold out against almost any form of inattention or carelessness (luring spring,, and yet succumb to the lirst drink of tainted milk given to him 011 a warm summer's day. 'l'he e/fect of such food on a perfectly healthy baby might be merely to bring on passiug colic, or to cause one oc more green motions; but if tile system had been insiduously undermined previously (though there might have been nothing apparently wrong with the baby) the ellect of a single feeding with risky food might be an attack of acute diarrhoea, ending fatally, simply because the child had not acquired enough stamina to put up a good fight. If a baby is fed artificially, and there is no means of keeping prepared milk below 60deg. Fahr.,-the mother should heat up to 155deg. any residue left over at tho end of 12' hours after preparation, and then cool it down rapidly as directed on page 28, "Feeding and Oare of Baby,!' and keep it cool.. If there is no thermometer in the house the milk may bo mildly 6calded as follows:— ■ • How to Scald Milk., •' Place the jug of milk in a saucenan of hot water, heat until the water boils, and keep boiling for 10 minutes. Then cool rapidly in running • water, etc., keeping covered as directed in the society's book. • Epidemic Diarrhoea, • . Under tho above heading. Dr. lialph iVincent, senior physician to the Infants' Hospital, Westminster, makes the following remarks on the , disease more commonly known as "summer diarrhoea of infants"This disease is peculiarly • liable to ' appear at certain times of tho year, and is practioally absent in other por- \ tions of the year. Tie conditions in which the disease arises occur during hot weather, and especially during a lipt summer. The characteristic of the disease m regard to tho date of its appearance is that ■it appears mostly towards the latter end of summer, when the heat has continued for some ' considerable time. (Memo, by "llyeeia : The worst months in New Zealand are January, February, and March.)

The Most FjUal Disease. As a.mortal disease affecting babies' - eiHdcmic diarrhoea is tho most serious ot all. The number of deathe, depends • on. the; temperature. If it is a cool summer the number of deaths is comparatively low: if it is, a hot summer, the number of deaths is very high indeed. (Naturally the hotter the "ummor the more the germs grow and nourish m the milk.) The year 1304 afforded a sad illustration in England The summer of that year was very hot and- m many towns throughout the country nearly one-half tho babies un- .•■■*?«■«»«».•« died in the three R,hnf Ul ?- and September. ' .-these infants died because' they were ■poisoned.'; (Poisoned, as Dr. Vincent proceeds,to show, mainly-'by' the microbes. contained in tainted milk, acting on babies who had not been kept •in such a. state of first-rate health and .?°" di «°H as.-w enable them to resfs? the .-attacks of germs."-"Hygeia ") r, ' ln ' e nt emphasises the fact that the name- "Epidemic Diarrhoea" is liable to ■ to, somewhat misleading, Jbecause; although all epidemic diseases tend to attaeic tie bodily "unfit" rathor than the '% " yet people who arc quite well may fa 1 vi c .

How to Prevont Diarrhosa. ' ,i?" the r ™?° Qf so-called epidemic diari SsSnatly 0,,0 TCry :«"**s*& Bibg^ S^^«^^very. . ; thoniselves jij the iuterior of the' babv ; :^XuK^tte a £ t S son ; ha,ppens to •be good' and h™. 2. By not feeding him with rprm .^ror dmilkorany^to: