OUR BABIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 210, 24 November 1927, Page 4

OUR BABIES

By

Hygeia

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). “It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.”

Articles on worms have frequently been published, but we suppose there are always new. mothers who have not seen the earlier issues, because we get a good many inquiries with regard to the matte.r, and the presence of these parasites is a source of great trouble and anxiety to many mothers of young children. We therefore publish the following letter and answer. A MOTHER’S LETTER “Having two small children, model Plunket babies, I venture to ask your advice in a matter which is causing me much distress. “Our eldest boy, John, has been troubled with worms for some months and we have been unable to secure any satisfactory advice. He was three years old last December. I have, under our doctor’s direction, given him injections and a castor oil emulsion, and, with his consent, have tried some powders. These latter have been most effective, bringing away the worms in myriads: but, after two courses, spread oyer two months, I find that he is far from cured. I began to combat the trouble last November, and, feeling now most discouraged, I beg you to advise me whether anything can .be done. “Baby is nearly 10 months old, and if. anything can be done to prevent the trouble arising in his case I will thankfully do it. Both babies were attended to by myself. John is apparently 'an unusually fine, sturdy boy. I am careful about his diet and give him the . minimum amount of sugar and no cakes.” «*■ REPLY We sympathise very much with our correspondent, especially as she has taken so much trouble to give the child every chance of growing up strong and well. Probably the little boy became infested just at a time when he was a little below par, and the-trouble not having been got rid of at once, has become aggravated. Small thread worms, such as our .correspondent describes, are very common and they should always be got rid of as soon as possible, as they cause intense itching and irritation, restlessness and disturbed sleep, and this tends to upset the whole system. Further, the itching and consequent scratching induced not infrequently lead to the formation of bad habits. GENERAL TREATMENT The broad general treatment for all ailing children is given on pages 3 and ! - of the society’s book, “Feeding and Care of Baby,” and there is no case,in which this applies more strongly than where a baby tends to be pale, is doing poorly,, and is suspected of suffering from worms. Fresh air, sunlight, proper regular feeding, regulation of bowels, plenty of exercise, clock-like regularity with regard to sleep, and plenty of it —these are the main essentials. Cane sugar, if in use, should ; be cut off in such cases. Further, if • the baby has reached an age at which 1 starchy food is generally given, this ' element of the diet should be kept in strict moderation. SPECIAL TREATMENT The following short statement of‘the more important points to bear in mind < about thread worms is summarised from two of the ablest and most recent 1 British and European text books dealing with diseases of children. Thread worms live mainly in the . lower parts of the bowel, where the female deposits her eggs. The irrita- 1 tion due to the wriggling of the worms gives rise to intense itching, which causes the child tp scratch the part arbuiid the lower opening of the bowel. - His lingers, and especially the nails thus become dirty and carry the eggs directly to the mouth or to the nose, which he is very liable to pick. If the lingers and nails are not thoroughly well scrubbed with hot water and soap and perfectly cleansed immediately before meal times the food naturally becomes contaminated, and thus, directly or indirectly, the child daily re-infects himself with a fresh supply of eggs and intense irritation and itching takes place whenever a new colony of worms is hatched out and passes into the lower bowel. It is essential that parents and nurses should clearly understand that mere clearing out of the worms is of little or no avail unless the child be prevented from re-infecting himself and other members of the family through egg-laden dirt adhering to the or car> ried by contamination of

P M n ?. f t V e Worms.— The worms can be effectively removed by the use of purgatives and enemata, the best results being obtained with a five-day A doctor should be confnraf?'- f ° r ’ I+ to obtain the most satisfactory results, two drugs (santonin and calomel) are usually prescribed, to be given on the second day of the treatment. However, the mere giving of diugs alone will not cure the condition permanently, and the .success of the treatment depends-so much on the propery carrying out of the whole routine that we feel the following detailed instructions for general treatment will be helpiul.

. 1 ~’ Th ,? V rsc day the child should be given a. light, simple diet, as shown below. In the afternoon drive the worms down into the lower part of the bowel h y giving ? fu* close of castor oil. v\ lien this has acted the bowel should be evacuated by a large injection of warm water and soap (say a pint). This should be injected slowly, and retained as long as can be managed. A light, simple diet may include bread (baited hard or dried in the

oven), milk and water, cauliflower or puree spinach and fruit juice. The following foodstuffs should he avoided. Porridge, biscuits, butter, farinaceous puddings, pastry, jam, and sweets of all kinds. Fried and salt meat should not be taken. Boiled milk and water, curds, whey or buttermilk may i>e taken. 2. —Js T o food should be allowed on the second day of the treatment, but itl%i child should have a full allowance of boiled water. Powders containing the proper medicine, according to the doctor’s prescription, should be given on the second day—the day on which no food is given. 3, 4 and s.—On the third, fourth and fifth days a warm bath should be given and enema of warm soapy water, followed by an injection of about 6oz. of warm salt and water (a level tablespoonful of salt to the pint of water), or, preferably, an infusion of quassia after the bowels have acted. The fluid is to be introduced slowly and allowed to stay in as long as possible. The cnild may have light diet on the third day and return by the sixth day to a normal, wholesome diet, containing as much in the way of fresh vegetables and fruit as possible and the minimum amount of sugar. Prevention of Re-infection.—This is most important and is often forgotten. The anal region must be carefully washed after each motion and it should be smeared with mercury ointment. The child’s nails must be kept very short and frequently brushed with warm water and soap. Improvement of the General Health and of the digestion.—Both general debility and indigestion strongly favour the continuance of worms.- The treatment is therefore not complete until the general health and digestion have been carefully attended to. In addition to careful dieting, including avoidance of food between meals, the child should be kept in the open air as much as possible, and should have abundance of sunlight and a sufficiency of exercise, rest and sleep. It may seem to our readers that the instructions given involve a great deal of time and trouble for the curing or such a common ailment as thread worms, but the letter sent by our correspondent shows how extremely difficult it may be to get completely rid of thread worms, prevent re-infection and restore the child to perfect health. In any case where much difficulty is encountered in getting rid of this really serious and debilitating disease, five days or even a week could not be better spent than in the entire eradication of the source of trouble. We need scarcely say that the child affected should not be allowed to play with other children, or even to go near them or touch them until the trouble is overcome. Other members of the family should be examined, and, if necessary treated. Usually there are sever: 1 persons infected in the same family, which makes the results of treatment of only one member doubtful.