OUR BABIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 688, 22 July 1914, Page 2

OUR BABIES.

Published under the auspices of the 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 afnbulance at the bottom." COMMON COLDS At the conclusion qf last week's article I was dealing with Dr Prpsser White's book, "Catarrhal Fevers, Commonly Called Colds," and 1 do not think I can do better than give his account of the leading features of the onset of the inalartJy. Il course, most of us have had personal experience of colas ourselves, but how many of us have taken the trouble to marshal. the symptoms and to notice the fact that they are just what we find in the rarer diseases which we all dread under the name of fevers? In the case of "colds," familiarity tends to breed contempt; but we should remember that far childrsn die of colds and their consequences than die of scarlet fever, measles, and all the other diseases of infancy put together, wit. the exception of infantile diarrhoea; and 1 even this is greatly predisposed to by the baby being subject to colds. Further, the same measures that render a child hardy and resistive to colds, and capable of throwing them off readily, also tends to render him safe as regards all other fevers and illnesses. The following is Dr Prosßer White's account of a common cold, o?, as he prefers to call it, an attack of Catarrhal Fever:— SYMPTOMS The classical signs found in the household, common, infective, or influenzal colds, or, as I prefer to call it, "catarrhal fever," are associated with a distinct' train of subjective symptoms. An irritation, itching, and smarting at the back of the nose, or back of the throat. This itching and dry« ness is of a very troublesome nature, and primarily may affect any part of the upper respiratory tract. To relieve this discomfort frequent attempts at swallowing are performed, the saliva is fnrced by the tongue against the soft palate, and the friction and moisture bo produced give' a transitory feeling of relief. The ares of fulness and distress in a few hours increases. The nose feels stuffy and blocked, breathing beco/nes difficult, and has to be carried on through the mouth. Pain, varying in intensity, fnllovrs on swallowing, or on pressing under the angles of the jaw. Frontal headache, slight or Bevere, which may bB relieved by running from the eyes or running from the nose; the latter is sometimes profuse and abundant, and excotiates the parts, rendering the mucousj membranes of the nose and the skin of the upper lip tender and painful to touch. As the catarrh of the nose and throat spreads to the contiguous parts, congestion and swelling reEUlts, causing deafness, usually in one, .sometimes in both ears, due to swelling and blocking of the tubes of the ears. The voice becomes harsh, spaech being difficult and painful. The tongue is dry or coated, a feeling of thirst is produced, loss of taste ensues, and the sense of smell is perverted or impaired. Then follows a constant deßire to hawk, up the increasing secretions from the back of the throat, and the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes. The usual relish for food is absent or capricious, depending uopn the severity of the attack. The skin is dry and hot, later on moist. Malaise, listlessness, and great nervous prostration are .invariably concomitants in severe cases, and even in slight cases, in susceptible individuals, are some of the most prominent and difficult after-effects to combat. Aches, pains, and nausea are usually transient experiences, and depend upoofl the severity and extent of the affection, and probably the idiosyncracieß and constitution of the individual. Idiosyncracy here represents immunity, or pre-disposijf tion, acquired or hereditary. As the catarrh passes on to the bronchi, cough and expectoration become more pronounced. In the early stages the secretion is sticky and small in quantity; later on, or in the subjects of previous attacks, it becomes profuse, purulent or watery. In uncomplicated cases of catarrhal fever the bronchial affection is but slight, the nose and throat irritation causing the greater trouble. The stomach can be affected in a similar manner. In some persoi.a the stomach affection seems to take the place of the bronchial catarrh. If one carefully sifts out particulars of the ailments of a family sn which catarrhal fever is running through a house, their sites of attack are so various that one is apt to look upon them as different diseases. Jn some instances it appears chiefly to affect the nose or throat or middle ear; in others it rapidly passes on to the bronchial tubes; occasionally subacute attacks of indidgestion, probablv from the direct passage of the germ to the lining membrane of the stomach, cause inability to take certain foods without pain or discomfort. Particularly is this the case in subjects liable to acute or chronic inflammation of the stomach; in them it may light up and maintain an inflammatory condition for some time, and, to my mind, explains this frequent enigma: Why a sufferer from chronic stomach trouble visits you, who is quite unable to offer any explanation p.s to the wherefore of her being worse, being unable to attribute it to any indiscretion in diet. Under these circumstances I invariably ask whether there have been any catarrhal colds in the house, and if she has been affectod, however slightly. Diarrhoea, aa a direct consequence of this condition, may, of course, be pegsible, and is frequently popularly attributed to it. Shivering, chills, or rigours are probably constant symptoms in catarrhal fever, although the sensation

of chill may be so slight in mild cases, and in healthy individuals, as hardly to be noticed. It is from this feeling of general and local coldness the disease begets its name. Shivering is usually the fist indication of ill-health, and the chilliness is felt in the shoulders, back, or legs, and is usually looked upon as the cause, whereas it is solely one of the initial symptoms of the developing disease, and no more a cause than the headache, sneezing, or throat, etc. BABIES' COLDS A disease, accompanied by this complete upset of the whole body, is a serious enough event in the life of an adult; but it is a mucn more serious thing for the baby. Yet children often have half a dozen colds in the first year of life, every one of which could easily be avoided if mothers would only give their babies plenty of fresh air and exercise, clothe them properly, make their beds propeily, and psy due attention to the other primary rights of infancy summarised on the first pages of "Feeding and Care of Baby." The leading authorities on the nose and thruat are now satisfied that, along with such causes ss careless bottle-feeding, the use of the dummy and pap-feeding (all leading to defective growth of tongue, mouth, jaws, teeth, and nose), repeated colds are the main cause of Adenoids.