OUR BABIES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 89, 22 April 1913, Page 7

OUR BABIES.

(By Hygeia.) Published under the auspices ol the Society for the Health. of Womei and Children. “It is wiser to put up a fence al the top of a precipice than to main tain an ambulance at the bottom.” THE USE A XI) ABUSE OF APERIENTS. The following letter just received from the wife of a settler in one of our backblocks seems to me to be of sufficient general interest to be worth dealing with in this column : THE LETTER. Dear “Hygeia,”—l read your article pointing out the danger of using Castor Oil. Since then I have read your later article and the letter which had been published in one of the newspapers; I mean the letter in which the writer spoke of your seeming to look upon Castor Oil “as a specious concoction for babies’ troubles.”

I must say I have felt puzzled myself as to what it is best and safest to keep in the way of simple medicines for family use. Of course, we are always being told that we ought not to use patent medicines, and we are warned against doctoring ourselves and our children. Now, 1 should like to know what we are to do in the back country when it comes to a question of the simple medical needs of the household, when there is nothing serious enough the matter to need sending for a doctor fortymiles away over simply awful roads. Surely avc ought to keep something in the house in the way of opening medicines. We all do, whether avc ought to or not; and aa - !: at ever they may say about toAvn people, I don’t think there are many of them avlio don’t keep something at hand, such as Castor Oil or Epsom Salts. What better can Ave do? If Ave must not use Castor Oil for stomach-ache or constipation, Avhat can Ave use? REPLY.

Since the above letter was written last week’s column dealing further with the objection to Castor Oil has been published, and I may repeat here the summary advice which I then gave:— 1. Never give castor oil for chronic constipation, or, indeed, for ordinary constipation at all. 2. 'At the onset of diarrhoea give on(?" dose of Castor Oil, but never repeat it except under competent advice. 3. Never give Castor Oil, or, indeed, any aperient to a, seized with sudden, acute abdominal J)ai(i. ' ’ Ft must not bq supposed; frpnj this tirUt Castor Oil is to, jie entirely; ooed, ,01’* indeed, that, it has be<|n, 'in any way, discredited for appropriate use in emergencies. Indeed, il one were naming four useful aperients For -the ’ ordinary household, tlie first to occur to the mind would probably be .Castor Oil, Epspm Salts, Liquorice ' Powder, and Cascara—though,tiie hist, warned .should.be ..regarded as| a tonic laxative, not as an aperient, and <sMld‘hevekllib- used in large enough doses to cause purgation. | I quite agree That some simple medicines should 1)Q kept in the house, and, as our correspondent says, people will, keep what they need, whatever may be said to the contrary. The following extract from a vdry interesting book, “The Doctor and the People,” by Dr. de Carle Wooicock, a well-known English physician (which has just appeared), shows that colonials are not singular in this matter :

As to the so-called doctoring of the present day, it is in all classes mostly done by the wife, the mother, the druggist, or the patent medicine vendor ; only when there are signs of danger is the doctor sent f or . . . The doctor is never called in to prevent disease, but only to relieve it. ... Once, having been called to see a patient of my own, 1 found it necessary to order a purgative. “Stop, doctor,” said the patient s i\ifc, “that’s my department!”

CASTOR OIL. In general, Castor Oil in doses varying from a small teaspoonful (in the case of Imliies)' to a tablespoonful (in the case of adults) may be used for diarrhoea, as I have before explained, and for any digestive upset, apart from ordinary constipation or the onset of sudden, intense abdominal pain suggestive of obstruction of the bowel or of appendicitis; indeed, in the latter case even the mildest laxative would be dangerous. The objection to Castor Oil for ordinary constipation is that while it causes evacuation at the time it tends to leave the person" more costive'. Repeated use of Castor Oil thus confirms and aggravates instead of curing constipation. HYGIENE VERSUS DRUGS.

No drug of any kind should he needed in order to secure regularity of the bowels. The great thing is to take a sufficiency of fluid, no strong tea, and regular, moderate meals of suitable foods, including fruit, vegetables, whole-meal bread, porridge, etc., and, above all things, the being out as much as possible in the open air. Daily cold bathing or cold sponging of the whole body, and outdoor exercise are of the first importance. If. in spite of trying to ensure perfect regularity by the above simple means, there is still a tendency to constipation, this may generally be overcome by taking every evening a small dose, say, from 10 to 20 drops of the best liquid extract of Cascara.

If this docs not suffice, a level teaspoonful of Epsom Salts may be taken in water on rising, followed by a glass of hot or cold water. As the need lessens leave off the Epsom Salts and then reduce the dose of Cascara drop by drop. Where other means have failed*,; there is no objection to an occasional enema of a pint of tepid salt and water (a level teaspoonful of salt to the pint may bo used). This is much less open to objection than soap and water. Cooler Water is more bracing, but it too cool it is apt to cause ■discomfort and Cramp. Enemata, if frequently repeated, are injurious; and if constipation does ilOt .yield to such simple measures as I have described, a doctor should always be consulted.

Constipation almost always yields to open-air exercise, bathing, proper feeding, training in regularity of habits, etc.; but if these measures fail for a time, similar measures to those mentioned above generally suffice. Cascara generally suits children, -but if a single dose of opening medicine is needed, the best and pleasantest is “Liquorice Powder.” This is in every way preferable to the nauseous Gregory’s Powder of the last century.