DIGESTIVE ILLS

NZ Truth, Issue 1255, 19 December 1929, Page 21

DIGESTIVE ILLS

Common In Children During Summer (Plunket Articles Series— No. 30) QIGESTIVE disturbances of all kind: . are commonest during the sum mer months, especially m artificial^ fed babies. and. in toddling-. children. f is about these • we specially .wish! t< speak this week— sounding ; a^iidte^o warning. . , ,- . ' : •«&;}■ Already a number of children hav< come under our riotice. suffering froH mild digestive trouble—loss .of aiipe. tite, perhaps slight feyerishness, ,khs so on. Quite a number of these '.art children' "omthe; move," whose parent! are passing-^through or staying awa^ from home. , .- , There is always a tendency for children to become upset when travelling— except the fortunate breast-fed baby whose fresh food 'supply goes with him Children thrive best on a re-r gular routine, and'this is bound to be disturbed when away frorri home-— -food is different, hours are ; " different, the milk may not be'? above suspicion, and so on. , -' So perhaps these few hints as to p¥e~ vention of trouble, anyhow to nip an incipient upset m the bud; as' it were may not come amiss before hot weather and holidays really, "set m." Spare no efforts to kieepregular meal times. Specially avoid- sweets, biscuits, and cakes at odd times. Useuifti milk without scalding- and coolirigirli first. ■■•■ '.--• :*""'.:;■; ;•;•- : • - . >■-•] ";« Lowered Vitality : If the weather, is hot or close and muggy, rescald what is left m the evening and cool it down quickly. TJat no water which has not been boiled. Use no strange utensils which have not been scoured and well scalded. Beware of unripe or overripe fruit, or even decidedly more fruit than usual. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Do not , introduce a number of unaccustomed foods into the' .child's diet all at once. • *- ■ , See that sieving and straining are not discontinued too suddenly.- Do riot press a child to' eat if it seems disinclined for the" usual food, or off color, but give plenty of water to drink... During very hot weather the vitality tends to be lowered,) and the child may not be able to deal with a full ordinary diet. Lack of appetite- is Nature's warning-. ' .' ?■ .>V--?' Restlessness at night is often one^of the first signs that air is not quite right. Tjrowsiriess m the daytime is anpther. sign. Slight fe.verishness niaty go with these. / ; . ..\,T^'' Disinclihatioh for food, with'or-withc-out thirst ' ' v . • v. V^'^ It is a great mistake, and often, a dangerous one, to attribute any or all of these symptoms, or any other* signs of illness, to teeth-, ing. , ' "'" "r Many and many a ;baby has been seriously- ill, and many have died of pneumonia,- bepause. the, parents let things drift-^satisfled that there was nothing much ' wrong — that the child was "only teething." •; ; . Although there may be slight fever.* ishness and some digestive disturbance coincident w.ith the cutting" of teeth> this is not to be considered as the actual cause of the condition, or as an excuse for letting it run on unchecked,