THE TRUE NURSERY DOCTOR.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18629, 26 July 1930, Page 15

THE TRUE NURSERY DOCTOR.

By LADY LAWFORD.

Mothers who occupy themselves with their children are often called upon to bind up cut fingers, attend to bruises, bumped heads, and such like minor ailments, to say nothing of colds and sore throats. The nursery medicine cupboard is often untidy, the bottles are nearly all sticky, one or two empty. The tubes of vaseline and kindred things are usually without tops, and nine times out of ten there is no medicine glass. The inside of the cupboard should be painted, the bottles and corks wiped each time they are used with a little cottonwool soaked in eau de Cologne. In the case of jars, cut small circles of grease-proof kitchen paper to fit them inside, the tube tops tie with sewing silk to the tube so that they cannot fall on the floor. If this does happen, soak in eau de Cologne or rectified spirit before replacing. Lint and bandages should be sewn up in a clean handkerchief until needed again. Never be without an emetic. lodine is an infallible and neverfailing remedy for cuts, while for burns I have yet to find a better remedy than olive oil. For a cold it is best to bring all one’s forces to bear on it in the first stage, and (touch wood!) there is often no second stage in consequence. When the nursery develops “snuffles” I insist on the small “snuffler” sniffing warm salt and water up his or her nose and gargling every four hours; a boiling bath followed by cinnamon tea or a hot lemon and honey, the chest rubbed back and front with camphorated oil; then pour half a bottle of eucalyptus oil into a steam kettle, which should be left boiling for an hour or so; repeating it before bedtime if there is any sign of a cough. All this fussing, plus little luxuries like black-current lozenges and menthol snuff, usually has the desired effect; if not, bed or the bed-room, which must be kept at the same temperature.

Before repapering the walls of a room cover all grease spots with a heavy coat of shellac. This prevents the grease from coming through on to the new wallpaper.