OUR BABIES.

Opunake Times, 8 December 1931, Page 4

OUR BABIES.

THREAD WORMS. (By Hygeia). Wo receive many inquiries with regard to this matter, and the presence of these parasites is. a souirce of great trouble and anxiety to many mothers of young children. We therefore republish the Mowing letter and answer, which appeared in these coflunms some time ago:— A Mother's Letter. "Having two sural children, model I'lunket babies, 1 venture to ask your adivce in a matter which is cousang ine much distress. "Our eldest boy, John, has been troubled with worms for some months and we have been unable to secure iuiy satisfactory advice. He was three years old last December. I have, Uindfer our dbdtorte dfirbottan, given him injections and a castor oil emulsion, and, with his consent, have tried some powders. These latter have been mast effective, bringing away the worms in myriads; but, after two courses, spread over two months, 1 find that he is far from cured. 1 began to combat the trouble last November, and, feeling now most discourtogod, I beg you to advise mo whether anything can be done. "Baby is nearly 10 months old, and if anything can be be done to prevent the trouble arising in his case I will thankfully djo it. Both babies were attended' to by myself. John is -apparently an unusually fine, sturdy hoy. I am oalreful about his diet, and give him the minimum quantity of sugar and no cakes." Reply. We sympathise very much with our correspondent, especially as she has taken so much trouble to give the child every chance of growing up strong and well. Probably the little boy became infected just at a time when he was a little below par, and, the trouble not having been got rid of at once, has become aggravated. Small thread worms, such as our correspondent describes, are very common, and they should always (be got rid of as soon as possible, as they oauise intense itching and irritation, restlessness, and disturbed sleep, and this tends to upset the whole system. Further, the itching and consequent scratching induced not infrequently lead to the formation of bad habits. General Treatment. The broad general treatment for all ailing children is given on pages 1 and 2 of the Society's book "Feeding and Care of Baby," and there is no case in which this applies more strongly than where a baby tends to be pale, is doing poorly, and is suspected of sneering from worms. Fresh air, sunlight, proper regular feeding, regulation of bowels, plenty of exerciso, cio)ck«Mke regularity with regard to sleep, and p'lenty of it—these are the main essentials. Cane sugar, if in use, should be out off in such cases. Further, if the baby has reached ran age at which starchy food is generally -given, this element of the diet should be kept in strict moderation. Special Treatment. The following short statement of the more important points to bear in mind fflbqut thread w'jorais is summarised from two of the ablest .recent British and European text books dealing with diseases of children. Thread warms live mainly in the lower parts of the bowel, where the female deposits her eggs. The irritation due to the wriggling of the worms gives rise to intense itching, which causes the child to .scratch the part around the lower opening of the bowel. His fingers, and especially the nails, thus become dirty and carry the eggs directly to the mouth or to the nose, which he is very liable to pick. If the fingers land nails are not thoroughly well scrubbed with hot water and soap and perfectly cleansed immediately before meal times the food naturally becomes contaminated, and thus directly ojr indirectly the child d;v!ly re-infects himself with a firesh. siiflply <of eggs, aind intense irritation and itching takes place whenever a new colony of worms is hatched out and passes into the lower bowel.

It is essential that jxurents and nurses should clearly understand that mere clearing out of the wqrrnls is of little or n 0 wail unless the child is prevented from, re-infecting himself and other members of the family Ibhrqugh egg-laden dirt adhering to the fingers or earned by eontaminationi of food.

Expulsion of the Worms.—. The worms can usually be effectively removed by the use of purgatives and cnemata, (but. it is important to remember tbatt no medicines should be. given in the treatment of thread wqrmfc unless specially ordered by a doctor. Certain medicines may suit some children biit prove dangerous to others unless given in the exact dose prescribed, by the doctor for the individual case. Also, certain medicines, harmless in themselvevs, may give rise to severe illness if given in combination with each other. However, as shown by the mother's letter quoted, the mere giving of drugs alone may not cure tin* condition permanently. The success of the treatment depends so much on the proper carrying out of the whole routine that we feel the following detailed instructions for general treatment may be helpful. Subject to the Doctor's Orders: 1. The first day the child should be given a light, simple diet, as shown lxtfow. In the aftejrnjoon drive the worms down into the lower part of the bowel by giving the purgative ordered. When this has acted the bowel should 1)0 evacuated by a large injection of warm water a,nd soap (say a pint). This should be .injected slowly, and retained a* long as can be managed. , A light, simple diet may include bread (baked hard or dried in the oven), milk and water, cauliflower or spinach puree, and fruit juiice. The following foodstuffs should be avoided : —Porridge, biscuits, butter, farinaceous puddings, pastry, jam, and sweets of all kinds. Fried and salt meat should not bo taken. Boiled milk and water, curds, whey, or but" Icrmilk may be taken.

2. N 0 food should be allowed on the second day of the treatment, but the child .sliould have a full allowance of boiled water.

Powders containing the proper medicine, according to the doctor's prescription, should be given as ordered.

3, 4 and 5. On the third, fourth, and fifth days a warm bath should be given, and an enema of warm soapy water, followed, after the bowels have acted, by an injection of about Goz of warm salt and water (a level tablespoonful of salt to the pint of water) or, preferably, an infusion of quassia. The fluid is to bo introduced slowly, and allowed to say in as long as possible. The child may have light diet on the third day, and return by the sixth day to a normal, wholesome diet, containing as much in the way as fresh vegetables and fruit as possible and the minimum amount of sugar. Prevention of Re-in feet ion.—This is most important and is often forgotten. The anal region must be carefully washed after each portion. The ahild's nails must be kept very short alnidl flretpien'tHy brushed (with warm water and soap.

Improvement of the General Health and of the Digestion.—Both general debility and indigostion '.strongly favour the continuance of worms. The treatment is therefore not complete until the general health and digestion have been carefully attended to. In addition to careful dieting, including avoidance of food between meals, the child should be kept in the open air as much as possible, and should have abundance cf sunlight and a sufficiency of exercise, rest, and sleep. It may seem to our readeils that the instructions given involve a great deal of time and trouble for the curing of such a common ailment as thread worms, but the letter sent by our correspondent shows how extremely difficult it may be to get completeily rid of thread worms, prevent re-infeotion, and restore the child to perfect health. In 'any case where much difficulty is encountered in getting rid of this really serious and debilitating disease, five days or even a week could not be better spent than in the entire eradication of the source of trouble. We need scarcely «ay that the child affected should not be allowed to play with other children or touch them until the trouble is overcome. Bedclothes, towels, e#t\. should !>e kept separate. Other members of the family should be examined, and, if necessary, treated. Uvsually there are several persons infected in the same family, which makes the results of treatment of only one member doubtful.