MOTHERS AND CHILDREN.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 4 November 1915, Page 3

MOTHERS AND CHILDREN.

(By Uygeia). (Published under the auspices-of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children). THE EVIDENCES OF ILLNESS. The following is a continuation of Dr Leroy Yale's chapter on Evidences of Illness iii Infants, quoted from his book for Mothers: Signs about the Mouth. The mouth gives a good many indications. , If it be kept open, especially in sleep it probably means obstruction to the ingress of air through the ntose. Enlarged tonsils and, above aU, the pressure of an adenoid growth in the pharynx, may be suspected if the open mouth is habitual, if it is an acconv paniment of fever, more likely it signifies tonsilitis. Children: often put their hands into their mouths when the gums are tender or when they are hun- ■ gry. Eruptions are seen about the lips, especially at the corners of the mouth, in various ailments. The breath gives notice by its bad odor of disordered stomach,;as well as of diseases of the nasal and pharyngeal mucous membrane. The gums are swollen with teething, swollen and easy to bleed in infantile scurvy. The upper surface of the tongue presents a great variety of coatings in various disorders. That which is of most importance in the nursery is the whitish or greyish overlaying (not the whitish tongue of the very young baby) which exists in a multitude of disturbed conditions, but which is generally considered as indicating some stomachic derangement, most likely due to improper feeding. Interrupted drinking, or suckling or difficulty in swallowing, suggests some obstruction to a free supply of air, such as collections in the nostrils, swollen tonsils or adenoids, or even some chest troubles. ' [Note by "Hygeia."—lt is curiousthat Dr Yale does not happen to men-' tion the white, patches, due to Thrush, j which are so often seen in sickly babies, or in cases where proper attention is not paid to scrupulous cleanliness, especially in bottle-fed babies. This condition is described on page 120 of the Society's book "Feeding and Care of Baby-"] Throat Troubles. The throat and fauces can be readily examined by placing the child upon the [ lap of another person in such a way ! that it faces the light. The child's head [is held. The observer then depresses its chin to open its mouth, and if the child cries no degression of the tongue is usually necessary. If it does not cry, the tongue may be gently and quickly depressed by some small, smooth, flat implement; the smooth handle of a teaspoon is the traditional one. A single glance, if fortunate, shows if the tonsils be swollen, if they have any white spots or patches upon them or on other parts ©t the throat. It is not easy to describe the differences between the spots of the ordinary ' 'follicular tonsilitis" and the patches of the diphtheritic variety. In fact, the bacteriological study of such matters has to a very yeat degree broken'down the distinctions formerly made. So far as anything can be stated, it is this: that spots on the tonsils alone which show no tendency to spread or to run together are probably not diphtheritic. Those which do spread or unite, and spots on the palate, in the pharynx ("back of the throat"), or in the nose probably are diphtheritic. But the distinction is not to be certainly made, • even by a physician, without microscopic evidence. Hence, any sore throat should be isolated, and if any patches or spots are seen it is bptter to have a physician's opinion. ''Sore throats" are not to be slightingly treated, since there is good reason to think that aside from diphtheria—they are the infective starting point for enlarged glands, rheumatism, and other constitutional disorders, not to mention nearly all ear troubles. The Voice. The voice and cry vary with the disturbance. The tired "worry" of a sleepy child is sometimes heard in illness. The explosive cries of anger and fright are not evidences of illness. The hoarse note heard in both cry and cough, the latter resembling a bark, show laryngeal inflammation— that is, croiiD. In obstructive croup the sound is much lessened- When the ' nose is obstructed the note of the cry is modified, as would be the voice of an adult. The loud cry of pain is pretty easily recognised: it is prolonged or spasmodic, in harmony with the pain—the tormenting pain of earacho, for distance, giving rise to a prolonged cry, while colic usually gives rise to one which is interruoted and renewed. ['Note by "Hygeia."—l nuist fgain draw attention to the very thorough description and explanation of thr> "Cries of the Baby given in the Society's book, "Feeding and Care of Baby " pages 96 to 98. It is the duty of every mother to master thoroughly these pages. All references to pages in "Feeding and Care of Baby" are made to the latest edition of the Society's book, published by Macmillans 'in 1913. Mothers have sometimes falied to find the passages referred to on looking them up in their books, because they were consulting the previous edition. The latest edition was completely revised, and was enlarged by 16 pages, so that besides containing: a great deal' of new information, the old matter frequently appears on a differently-num-bered page.]