OUR BABIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 414, 24 July 1928, Page 4

OUR BABIES

By

Hygeia.

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

THE AILMENTS OF BABYHOOD (Continued.) Tile following remarks on the infectious troubles of childhood are also quoted from Miss Liddiard's book. "The Mothercraft Manual": — CHICKENPOX Incubation period. 11 to 21 days. This disease spreads through the air. and is very contagious. Pink spots are first seen on the head and face. They form nodules and blisters, then dry up, forming a scab, which comes off without leaving a scar. Successive crops | appear, which may last for three weeks. The patient must be isolated i until all the scabs have fallen off. DIPHTHERIA Incubation period, from two to 10 days. This is a disease which is contracted (a) by inhaling infected material, such as dust containing the germ, or by inhaling it direct from an infected person; or (b) it may be taken into the mouth with toys or other articles on which the germ has lodged; or (c) by kissing an infected person. Symptoms: The child usually complains of a headache, often vomits, appears ill, and has a sore throat; small white patches are seen on the throat. This disease is a very serious ] one, and no time must be lost in getting medical advice. INFLUENZA Incubation period, two to three days. Symptoms: Chill, fever, discharge from the eyes and nose, loss of appetite, general pains. This disease takes many forms, but it is best to put the child to bed and nurse as for “fever.” MEASLES Incubation period, 10 to 14 days. Symptoms: Child appears to be easily tired, the nose and eyes run, the eyelids often become inflamed. Some-

times there is nose bleeding, and always a high temperature. The rash appears on the fourth or fifth day— j first on the brow, then on the cheeks, ] behind the ears and neck: then it extend s to the trunk and extremities. Treatment: Isolate, keep in bed, | keep the room darkened, and do not ' allow the child to look at pictures or j read. GERMAN MEASLES Incubation period, 17 to 21 days. j Symptoms: Rash, which generally begins on the face, then spreads to the j body usually disappears entirely in j five days. This is a much milder j disease than ordinary measles and quite different from it. The only treatment is to isolate and treat any symptoms that arise. MUMPS Incubation period, 10 to 21 days. Inflammation of the salivary gland in j front of and under the ear. Symptoms: Fever, general illness, vomiting, or diarrhoea. The gland j begins to swell and is often very painful. Treatment: Fomentations to relieve the pain, light diet. The patient should be isolated for a week after the swelling has disappeared. SCARLET FEVER OR SCARLATINA Incubation period, one to eight days. ] Symptoms: Usually vomiting, a' rapid rise of temperature headache, j and sore throat. This is the most in- j fectious stage, hence the importance of isolating and getting medical advice in any case of a sore throat and ! rise of temperature. The rash usu-; ally appears about the first or second j day after the sore throat —first on j neck and chest, then spreads rapidly all over the body. Appearance: A diffuse redness all over. This soon disappears. Later the skin peels. The patient should be isolated for at least six weeks. Great care should be taken about the disinfection of clothing, bedding, etc. All books and toys should be burned. TUBERCULOSIS

Incubation period, one to six months. In infants and children the infection may enter through the respiratory tract by inhaling dust, or through the digestive tract by swallowing infected milk. It is always safer to bring all milk to the boil. The stronger the child the more resistant to disease. In an unhealthy child with adenoids the germ is much more likely to gain entrance. The glands of the neck may be affected, or the germ may get into the blood stream and cause a general infection. Children do not inherit tuberculosis, and are not born with it, but children of tuberculous parents probably inherit a diminished resistance, and should he carefully kept from contact .with any person suffering from the disease. They have special need to follow the laws of health, living as much as possible in the open air. WHOOPING COUGH

The incubation period is from one to 14 days. Symptoms usually begin with an ordinary cold or cough. About two weeks after a hard, dry cough develops. This becomes more and more frequent. The attacks are characteristic, spasmodic in character. The spasmodic attack may or may not end in a whoop. The child is distressed, often very much exhausted after a fit of coughing, and frequently vomits at the end. The number of attacks varies with the severity of the disease —sometimes as many as 50 or 60 in 24 hours.

Frequent vomiting may impair the infant’s nutrition. It is a good plan in such a case to give food immedian attack of coughing. The treatment is to make the child as comfortable as possible, to raise during an attack, not to push food, but give plenty of fluid. It is safer to keep the child indoors in a well-ventilated room for a week. After that, if there are no complications, he should go out, except in wet weather or when there are cold w r inds blowing. The disease is a very infectious one. A child with whooping cough should be kept from contact with other children from six to eight weeks. The cough will often last much longer. In all infectious diseases complications are liable. They all need careful nursing under medical supervision. Sir Truby King in his book “Feeding and Care of Baby/* speaks of poorly nourished children who “catch

going” and readily saccnmb to any illness. Then he says: "'This is in striking contrast to the child who is properly fed throughoat on the best air and the best tood. If such a child does chance to get ill, he throws off the germs as the boaof an ocean liner throws off the spray —he is pretty well germ-proof.”