RHEUMATISM IN CHILDREN

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 34, 3 September 1952, Page 3

RHEUMATISM IN CHILDREN

SIGNS NOT TO BE NEGLECTED ■-(Issued by the General Health Council, England, via the New Zealand Health Department.) Rheumatism in children is pne of the most serious diseases. Why? Because it is often neglected andi often causes serious injury to the heart. Jtheuma-. tism in children is quite dilferent from. rheumatism in grown-ups. A bad attack is called "acute rheumatic fever." The child is feverish and ill and has painful swollen joints; No parent would fail to call in a doctor in such a case. But more often than not rheumatism attacks children in an underhand sort of way, as if it did not want to reveal its identity until it had complete control. Rheumatism is the fifth columnist of childhood. What you have to do is to learn how to recognise the nasty habits of this fifth columnist. And the reason is that your child's heart may be injured, however mild the ' rheumatism may appear to be. Oue of the tricks of the fifth columnist is to appear, in the form of "growing pains,v,. Normal growth does not cause pain. It is a healthy energetic affair. So if your child complains of vague aches and pains in the arms and the legs, dont say "They're only growing pains." Instead, say to ;yourself "This may be rheumatism. I'll call in the doctor." 1

Another warning sign is repeated attacks of sore throat or tonsillitis. Suspect this, especially if there are growing pains as well. Some children with * rheumatism show its presence by suddenly going ofr work at school, and becoming peevish and irritable. Such children are often also pale and lose appetite. These are warning signs. Don't scold^ the child and make matters worse. Take him to the dipton, or ask the teacher to hace him examined by qthe school doctor. Rheumatism tends to run in families. If one of the parents was rheuniatic as a child, then he or she I should keep a sharp look out for suspicious signs in his or her children. Bamp, fatigue, and exposure all encourage the rheumatic germ. Protect your child from these. You must catch the rheumatic fifth columnist early to safeguard your child's heart from attack.