OUR BABIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 17 April 1926, Page 15

OUR BABIES.

By Hygeia

[Published under the auspices the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Pluriket Society).]

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS The Care of Baby’s Skin.

Question I. “My baby is subject to frequent outbreaks of prickly heat. Is this natural in a young baby? Jie has been breast fed from birth and is a very healthy baby—never ir. stable except when the rash is present. Could you advise me, through lbe Our Babies column, what I could do to prevent the rash coming on?”

Prickly heat is the' commonest' skin trouble in infancy. It tends to recur again and again if the cause is not found out and dealt with. It appears as a rash consisting of multitudes of tiny red specks, about the size of pin heads. The rash is usually on the face and forehead, or back or front of' chest and on the neck. The rash may last’ for several days, and give rise to intolerable itching, causing the baby to became extremely restless and irritable. This rash occurrs mainly in overclad babies during hot weather, and is due to engorgement and obstruction of the sweat glands which takes place owing to the skin being called upon to overwork and pour out too much fluid. Prickly heat is also often caused through direct irritation of the skin by woollen or flannel undergarments placed next to it. But most frequently it is due to both these causes acting together —viz., overclothing with irritating, woollen material, placed next the skin. In addition, lack of fresh air, day and night, predisposes to prickly heat; and, worse still, keeping the baby in warm, moist stuffy air, laden with moisture from the breath. Treatment. —Overclothing during hot weather being the main cause, owing to the use of an unventilated, dark-colour-ed perambulator hood, which becomes intolerably hot when exposed to sunlight (see page 72, “Feeding and Care of Baby.” E. Trubv King), this must be avoided. Next- the skin, silk, silk and wool, or thin cellular cotton, should he used instead of flannel or other pure woollen mat.rials, in very hot- weather clothing should be reduced to a minimum, but..- of course, every precaption should be taken against sudden change and chills. - . It is wise to tuck, a piece of soft cotton material over the blankets round baby’s face and neck, pinning it down secure! v so that the roughness of the blanket does not irritate baby’s skin. In addition to the above, the best curative treatment for the attack is cool,: bathing and sponging of the affected parts —using, say, a level ftaiblespoonfui of bicarbonate of soda to a gallon of water. The baby finds this very soothing. Any good starch and boracic a’cid dusting powder may be used to allay the irritation* —or mere firwfiy powdered starch, or rice flour may suffice. Question II. —“My baby is suffering from a redness of the buttocks. The skin has not actually broken, but it is very red and hot to the touch. I have used powder on the parts, hut without success.” Sore* Buttocks. You do not say whether baby has been having frequent acid motions to cause the redness -of his buttocks: If this has been so, attention must h* paid to baby’s food, and you. should consult the nearest Plunket nurse.

Sore buttocks are also* caused by napkins being left too long before being changed. Wet napkins must never he dried and then used again, without being washed. They should be boiled at least once a week. Where there is redness, the affected parts must be kept dry and free from every .source of irritation. Treatment. —Gently cleanse the parts with warm water and a. very soft, clean rag. Drv by dabbing gently with ,a soft towel. Apply a trace of some simple zinc* and boracic acid ointment. Cover with a piece of clean, soft rag, and repeat this process each time the napkin is changed. The redness should -disappear within a day or so. The following is the* formula used in the preparation of the ointment now fairly widely known as “Karitane Ointment” —i.e.', the ointment generally used throughout the Karita-ije* Hospitals. .and by the Plunket and Karitane nurses, to alleviate this trouble. Any chemist will make it u,p for von in small quantities. Formula for Karitane Ointment. White vaseline 1 ounce Zinc ointment 1 drachm Almond oil 1 drachm Lanolin i drachm