OUR BABIES

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 28, 1 February 1929, Page 2

OUR BABIES

BY HYGEIA. Published under the auspices tt the Royal New Zealand Society .for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Sooiety). "It Is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." THREAD WORMS. We have Jmblished. articles on warms several times in the 20 years since this column was started; but wo suppose there are always nq\y mothers who have not seen the earlier issues, because we get a good many inquires with regard to the matter, and the presence of these parasites is a source of great trouble and anxiety to many mothers of young; children. Wq therefore, republish the folio whig letter, which appeared in these columns last year.. A MOTHER'S LETTER. "Having two small children, model Plunket babies, I venture to ask your advice in a'matter which is causing me much distress.

"Our eldest hoy ,Jolm, lias been troubled with, worms for some months, and we have be.eu unable to secure any satisfactory advice. He was three years old last December. I have, tinder our doctor's direction, given him injections and a castor oil emulsion, and a with his consent, have tried some powders. These- latter h;ave been most effective, bringing away the worms in myriads; but, after %vro courses, spread over two months, X find that ho is far from cured. I began to combat the trouble last November, and, feeling now 1 discouraged, I beg you to advise me whether! anything can be done. "Baby ig nearly ten months, old, and if anything can be done to prevent the trouble arising in his case I will thankfully do it. Both babies were attended to by myselF. John is apparently an unusually fine, sturdy boy. I am careful about hig diet, and give him the minimum amount of sugar and no cakes." ftEPLY. We sympathise very much with our correspondent, especially as she has taken so much trouble to give Vthe child every chance of growing up strong and well. Probably the little boy became infested just at a. time when he was 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, aro very common, and they should always be got rid of as. soon as possible, as they cause 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 tqi the formation ofj had habits.

GENERAL TREATMENT. The broad general treatment for all ailing children is given on pages 1 and 2 of the Society's hook "Feedting and Care, of Baby," and there is no case in whicifthis applies more strongly than where a baby tends to be. pale, is doing poorly, and is suspected of suffering from worms. Fresh air, sunlight, proper regular feeding, regulation of bowels, plenty of exercise, clock-like, regularity with regard to sleep, and plenty of it—these are the main essentials. Cane sugar, if in use, should be cut off in such cases. Further, if the baby has reached au 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 point to bear in mind about thread worms is summarised from two of the ablest r.e.cent British and European, text books dealing with disease of children. Thread; worms live mainly in the lower parts of the bowel, where the female deposits heij eggs. The irritation due to the wriggling of the worms gives rise to intense, itching, which causes trcj 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 th« mmith or to the nose, which he is very liable to pick. If the fingers and nails are •not thoroughly well scrubbed with hot waiter and soap and. perfectly cleansed immediately before meal times the food naturally becomes contaminated, and thus directly or indirectly the child daily re-mfects himself with a fresh supply of eggs and intense irritation and itching takes place whenever a new colony of wor«s L hatched out and passes into the lower bowel. , It is essential that parents and

nurses should dourly understand that mere clearing out of the worms is ol little, or no avail unless tho child is prevented from reinfecting himself and other members of the family through egg-laden dirt adhering to the fingers or carried by contamination of food. EXPULSION OF THE WORMS:— The worms can ho effectively removed by tho use of purgatives and euemata, tho best results being obtained with a five-day treatment. A doctor should bo consulted, for, to obtain tho most satisfactory results 2 drugs (sanonin and calomel) are usually prescribed, to be given on tho second day of tho treatment. However, the mere giving of drugs alone will not euro the condition permanently, and the success of; the treatment depends so much on tho proper carrying out of the. whole routine, that we; feel tjlie following detailed instructions for general treatment will be helpful..

I.—Tho first day tho child should he given a light, simple diet, as shown below. In the afternoon drive the worms down into the lower bowel by giving a full dose of castor oil. "When this has acted tho bowel should be evacuated by a largo injection of warm water and soap (say at pint). This should bo injected slowly, and retained as long as can be managed.

A light, simple diet may include bread (bake,d hard or dried in the oven), milk and water, cauliflower or puree spinach, and fruit juice. The following foodstuffs should be avoided: —Porridge, biscuits, butter, farinaceous puddings, pastry, jam, and sweets of all kinds. Fried and salt meat should not be. taken. Boiled milk and water, curds, whey, or buttermilk may be. taken. 2. —No food should be allowed on the second day of the treatment, but the child should have, a full allowance of boiled water..

Powders containing the proper medicine, according to the doctor's prescription, should be given on the second day—the day on which no food is given. 3,4, and. s.—On the third," fourth, and fifth days a, warm bath should be given, and an enema of warm soapy water, by an injection of about 6 oz of warm salt and water (a level tablespoon of salt, to the pint of water), or, preferably, an infusion of quassia. The fluid is to be introduced slowly, and allowed to stay 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 of fresh vegetables and fruit 'as possible and thet minimum amount of sugar.

PREVENTION OF RE-INFECT-ION:—This is most important, and is often forgotten. Thej anal region must bo carefully washed ati each motion, and it should be smeared with mercury ointment. The child's nails must bo kept very short and frequently brushed with warm water and soap.

IMPROVEMENT OF! TSK GENERAL HEALTH OF THE DIGESTION:—Both general debility and indigestion strongly favour the continuance of worms. The treatment is therefore not complete, until the general health and digestion have been carefully attended to. Ijii addit'on to careful dieting, including avoidance of food between meals, the child should be kept in the open anas much as possible, and should have abundance of sunlight, and a sufficiency of. exercise, rest and sleep. It may seem to- our readers that the instructions given involve a great deal of time and trouble for the curpug of such common ailment as thread worms, but the letter, sent by our correspondent shows how extremely difficult it may be to get completely rid of thread worms, prevent re-infection, and restore the child to perfect health. "In any case where much difficulty is encountered in getting rid of this really serums and deliberating disease, live days or even a week could not be better spent than in the entire eradication of the source of the trouble. We need scarcely say that the child Effected should nob be allowed to play with other children, or even to oo near them or touch them until the trouble is overcome. Usually there are several persons infected m the same family, which makes the results of treatment of only one member doubtful.