TEETHING AND ITS PERILS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XV, Issue X, 7 September 1895, Page 309

TEETHING AND ITS PERILS.

The period of dentition is nearly always one of anxiety to the parent. It certainly is not always without peril to the infant. The age of infancy is characterised by changes which are not only numerous, but in many instances, at least, too rapid for the constitution of the little one. The various organs are in a state of growth and development, a circumstance which in itself is sufficient reason for the peculiar susceptibility of infants to disease. But more than all, the brain, and, in fact, the whole nervous system, is influenced by a multitude of impressions from without and within, which, in the child’s undeveloped state, are often overpowering. More especially is this the case when the sensitiveness is heightened by the irritation caused by the process of teething. Under these'circumstances the child becomes peevish and restless upon the slightest provocation. The general feverishness of the body be it ever so slight, decreases proportionately its ability to withstand external influences. The intestinal canal, upon which nature relies chiefly at this period of active growth, becomes torpid, and the bowels are constipated. We can do much toward relieving the child from the besetting danger of this period, however, by taking a hint from nature and maintaining a salutary looseness of the bowels, which will act as a waste-gate, protecting the nervous ceutres and the various important organs of the body from harm. This, together with frequent washings of the mouth with cold water, is sufficient to ward oft' many an attack of serious illness which wonld otherwise come as a result of the general irritation excited by the process of teething. We should never endeavour to hasten matters by incising the gums. This is an expedient which should be resorted to by physicians only.