AWATUNA CHILD’S DEATH

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1933, Page 9

AWATUNA CHILD’S DEATH

CONVULSIONS FOLLOW BURNS. SUCH COMPLICATION UNUSUAL. The death of Joyce Isabel Collins, the two-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Collins, Awatuna, was due to convulsions following severe bums, according to the finding of Mr. R. S. Sage, coroner, at Hawera yesterday. Mr. Sage added that the hospital treatment given the little girl was satisfactory. Dr. E. S. Fossey, resident physician at the Hawera hospital, said the child was admitted on Tuesday evening. There were extensive burns on the left arm and shoulder. She was suffering from shock and partial collapse. Under treatment the child made reasonably good progress for 24 hours, but late on Thursday night suffered a sudden rise in temperature followed by severe convulsions. Had it not been for the convulsions the child would have recovered.

The child, when admitted, had her injuries dressed with kerosene-soaked dressings. In his opinion while this dressing had a temporary protective effect toxic absorption would be deleterious and it was not a dressing he approved of. The cause of death was convulsions and heart failure, the direct results of the bums. It was ’an unusual complication. The mother of the child said that about 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday her mother-in-law had visited and some tea was made. It was put in a billy standing on the table at which she was ironing. Her mother-in-law went to fill the kettle. The lijtle girl came in and pulled the billy over the left side of herself before she could be stopped. Her clothes were taken off and baking soda was applied. A doctor could not be obtained so the advice of a chemist was sought, and at his direction! kerosene was used for a dressing. /When her husband came in the child was taken to hospital. Mrs. Collins then told the coroner that she would like to be assured that the child was properly treated on arrival at the hospital when Dr. Fossey had. told her there was nothing to worry about. The doctor, recalled, said it was not possible to take specific precautions against convulsions because there-were so many complications that might follow and it would not •be practicable to take precautions against every complication. The general treatment was to ' raise the child’s resistance to effects of the bum as high as possible. The general treatment consisted of warmth, stimulants and fluids with local treatment of picric acid in vaseline, injection of camphor in oil, small doses of brandy and infusions of saline. The cause of the convulsions was toxic absorption and not the shock. He doubted whether a little brandy at home would have done any good. The kerosene could not have caused death.

Mrs. Collins senr. said the billy was left in a secure position and one in which she would not have thought the child could reach it. When she was administering first-aid the burns did not appear very severe. C. J. Collins, father <?f the child, said he reached the hospital about 8 p.m. The child did not appear to feel the pain, he said, as much as she should' have done.