OUR BABIES

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144827, 3 November 1915, Page 5

OUR BABIES

By HYGEIA. Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. • . "It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at-the'bottom." THE EVIDENCES OF ILLNESS. (Continued.) The following is a continuation of Dr, Leroy Yale's chapter on Evidences of Illness in Infants, quoted from his book for Mothers; SIGNS ABOUT THE MOUTH. The mouth gives a good many indications. If it be kept open, especially in sleep, it probably means obstruction to the ingress of air through' tho nose. Enlarged tonsils, and, above all, the

pressure of an adenoid growth in the I pharynx, may be suspected if the open mouth is habitual. If it is accompaniment of fever, more likely it signifies tonsilitis. Children often put their hands into their mouthswhcn the gums aro tender or when the tonsils are painful, or they may do so when they are hungry. Eruptions may be seen about the Tips, cspenallyat the corners of the; mouth, in various ailments. The breath gives notice- by its .bad odour of disordered stomach, as well as of diseases of the nasal and pharyngeal mucous membrane. ’ ■ .• , T The gums are swollen with teething,, swollen and easy to bleed in infantile scurvy. The upper surface of tho tongue presents a great variety -of coatings in various disorders. That which is of most importance in the nursery is the writish or greyish overlaying (not the whitish tongue of the yerv young baby) which exists in a multitude of disturbed conditions, but which is generally considered as indicating some stomachic derangement, most likely duo to improper feeding. Interrupted drinking or suckling or difficulty in swallowing suggests some obstruction to a free supply of air, such as collections in tho nostrils, swollen tonsils or adenoids, or even some chest troubles. . [Note hv ‘■Hvgeia.’’— It is curious that Dr. Vale does not happen to mention the white patches, due to thrush, which are so often seen in sickly ha bio-., or in cases where proper attention is_ not paid to scrupulous cleanliness, especially in bottle-fed babies. This condition is described on page 120 of the Society s book, "Feeding and Caro of Baby. J THROAT TROUBLES.

The throat and fauces can be readily examined by placing the child upon the lap of another person ih such a way that it faces the light. The child s head is held. Tho observer then Represses its chin to open its mouth, and'if the chi (a cries no depression of the tongue is usually necessary. If it docs not cry, the tongue may bo gently and quickly, depressed hy some small, smooth, flat implement; the smooth handle of a teaspoon is the traditional one. A single glance, if fortunate, shows if the tonsils ho swollen, it they have any white spots or patches upon them or op other parts of tho throat. It is not cosy to describe tho differences between the spots of the erdinarv "follicular tonsilitis and tho patches’ of the diphtheritic variety. In fact, the bacteriological study of such matters has to a very great degree, broken down the - distinctions formerly made. So far as anything can bo stated, it is this: that spots on tho tonsils alone which show, no, tfiidencv to spread or to run together are nrobnbly not diphtheritic. Those which do spread, or unite, and spots on the palate.-in the pharynx ("back of the “’ r . oa f) : °' D the nose probably are diphtheritic- put the distinction is not to be certainly made even by a physician, without microscopic evidence. Hence, any sore throat should ho isolated, and if any patches or spots' are seen it is better to have a physician s opunon _ boro throats" are not to be slightingly treated. since there is good reason to think that—aside from diphtheria—they are the infective starting-point for enlarged dands, rheumatism, and other constitutional disorders, not to -mention nearly all ear troubles.

TEDS VOICE. The voice and cry vary with-the dia~. turbauce. The tired v-orry’ of asleepy child is sometimes heard m illness The explosive cries of anger and fright are not evidences of illness. The hoarse note heard in both cry and cough, the latter resembhpg a bark, show laryngeal inflammation—that is, croup In obstructive croup the sound: is much lessoned. ‘When, tho nose is obstructed- the note of the cry is JPodi* fled, as would be the voice of an adult The loud cry of pain is pretty easily recognised; it is prolonged or spasmodic! in harmony , with the pain—the tormenting’ P»i“ of earache tor instance, ming rise to a prplongM cry, while colic nsnally gives nse to one which is interrupted and. renewed. [Note by ‘Tlygeia. —I must agam draw attention to the v«y thorough description and explanation of tiro “Cries of the Baby" given ra the Society’s book, “Feeding and Care of Baby,” pages 96 to 98. It is the duty of every mother to master thoroughly these pages. AH reference to pages in “Feerfeg and Care of Baby” are made to the latest edition of the Socretys book, published by Macmillans m 1913. Mothers hove sometimes failed to find the passages referred to on. looking them up m their books, because they were consulting the previous edition. The latest edition- was completely revised, and was enlarged by 16 pages, so that, besides rontaining.a great deal of now information, the old matter rreQOcntlv appears on a differently- numbered