The Care and Feeding of Children by L. Emmett Holt (epub read online books .TXT) 📖

an infant?

The instinct in a baby to put everything into the mouth is so strong that nothing should be given that cannot be safely treated in this way. Hence one should choose things which are smooth, those which can be easily washed, and those which cannot be swallowed.

One should avoid (1) toys with sharp points or corners; (2) those with loose parts that might be detached or broken off and swallowed; (3) small objects which might be swallowed or pushed into the nose or ear, such as coins, marbles, and safety-pins, also beads and buttons unless strung upon a stout cord; (4) painted toys; (5) those covered with hair or wool. Infants have often been severely injured by swallowing what they have pulled off from their small toy animals.

What points are to be considered in selecting the toys and playthings of a child over two years old?

It should be remembered that toys are not merely a source of amusement, but that they have an educational value as well. Those are therefore to be preferred the use of which develops the child's imagination, and with which he can be taught to amuse himself. For boys nothing can surpass blocks, toy soldiers, balls, engines, and cars; and for girls, dolls and housekeeping sets. The complicated mechanical toys now so much in vogue give only a momentary pleasure, and as soon as the wonder at their operation has worn off, they have lost interest for the child except that which he gets in breaking them to see how the thing worked.

What important things can be taught children with their toys and how may this be done?

The imagination may be developed, and children may be trained to habits of neatness, order and regularity and to concentration of mind.

To this end toys should be kept in an orderly way upon a shelf in the nursery or in a closet, never piled in a miscellaneous heap in the corner of the room. Children should select their toys and play with one thing at a time, which they should be taught to put away in its place before another is given. They should never be allowed to have a dozen things strewn about the room at one time, with none of which they are occupied.

 

KISSING

Are there any valid objections to kissing infants?

There are many serious objections. Tuberculosis, diphtheria, and many other grave diseases may be communicated in this way. The kissing of infants upon the mouth by other children, by nurses, or by people generally, should under no circumstances be permitted. Infants should be kissed, if at all, upon the cheek or forehead, but the less even of this the better.

 

CONVULSIONS

What should be done for a child in convulsions before a doctor arrives?

Keep the child perfectly quiet with ice at the head, put the feet in a mustard bath, and roll the entire body in large towels which have been dipped in mustard water (two heaping tablespoonfuls of mustard to one quart of tepid water), and have plenty of hot water and a bath tub at hand, so that the doctor can give a hot bath if he thinks it advisable.

When is a hot bath useful?

If the convulsions have continued until the pulse is weak, the face very pale, the nails and lips blue, and the feet and hands cold, the hot bath will be useful by bringing blood to the surface and relieving the heart, lungs, and brain.

How should the bath be given?

The temperature should not be over 106° F.; this should always be tested by a thermometer if one can be obtained. Without this precaution, in the excitement of the moment, infants have frequently been put into baths so hot that serious and even fatal burns have been produced. If no thermometer is available the nurse may plunge her arm to the elbow into the water. It should feel warm, but not so hot as to be at all uncomfortable. One half a teacupful of powdered mustard added to the bath often adds to its efficacy.

 

FOREIGN BODIES

What should be done if a foreign body has been swallowed?

First, examine the throat with the finger to see if it has lodged there, and if so remove it. If it has passed from the throat it has usually gone into the stomach.

What should be done in this case?

Give the child plenty of dry food, like bread, potato, etc., but under no circumstances either an emetic or cathartic. An infant may have its usual food.

What harm would a cathartic do?

It is likely to hurry the foreign body too rapidly through the intestine and in this way do harm; otherwise it becomes coated with fecal matter and passes the intestine usually without doing injury.

What should be done if a child gets a foreign body into the ear?

Unless this can easily be removed with the fingers it should not be meddled with, for it is likely to be pushed farther into the ear. The child should be taken to a physician.

What should be done if there is a foreign body in the nose?

The child should blow his nose strongly while the empty nostril is compressed. Unless this removes it a physician should be called. Meddlesome interference is always harmful.

 

COLIC

What are the symptoms of colic?

There is a strong, hard cry, which comes suddenly and returns every few minutes. With this there is drawing up of the feet, contraction of the muscles of the face, and other signs of pain. The abdomen is usually tense and hard.

What should be done for a baby with colic?

First, see that the feet are warm. Place them against a hot-water bag, or hold them before an open fire; apply a hot flannel to the abdomen, or let the child lie upon its stomach across a hot-water bag. If the colic continues, a half teacupful of warm water containing ten drops of turpentine may be injected into the bowels with a syringe; at the same time the abdomen should be gently rubbed so as to start the wind. If the gas is in the stomach, half of a soda mint tablet may be given in a tablespoonful of very warm water.

 

EARACHE

What are the symptoms of earache?

The pain is generally severe and accompanied by a sharp scream; the child often puts the hand to the affected ear, or cries whenever it is touched. The pain is likely to be prolonged and continuous.

How should a child with earache be treated?

The ear should be irrigated with a solution of boric acid (twenty grains to the ounce) as warm as can be borne. Dry heat may then be applied in several ways. The ear having been first covered with cotton, a small hot-water bag or one filled with hot salt or bran, may be bound over it with a bandage; or a small butter plate heated in hot water may be used in the same way. The hot-water bag may be held against the ear or the child may lie with his head upon it. The use of such substances as oil and laudanum in the ear is not to be recommended.

 

CROUP

What are the symptoms of croup?

There is a hollow, dry, barking cough, with some difficulty in breathing.

When is this likely to come on?

Usually at night.

Is simple croup dangerous?

The ordinary croup of infants is spasmodic croup, and is very rarely dangerous, although the symptoms seem very alarming.

What are the symptoms?

In a mild attack there is simply noisy breathing, especially on drawing in the breath, with a tight, barking, or croupy cough. In a severe attack the child's breathing is more noisy and becomes difficult.

What is the dangerous form of croup?

Membranous croup, which is the same thing as diphtheria of the larynx.

How does this develop?

Gradually; very rarely does it come on suddenly.

What should be done for a baby who has spasmodic croup?

The room should be very warm, hot cloths or poultices should be applied over the throat, and either a croup kettle or an ordinary tea-kettle kept boiling in the room. This is more efficacious if the child is placed in a tent made by a raised umbrella with a sheet thrown over it, and the steam introduced beneath the tent. If the symptoms are urgent, ten drops of the sirup of ipecac should be given every fifteen minutes until free vomiting occurs. Whenever the symptoms reach a point where breathing becomes difficult, a doctor should be summoned without delay.

 

CONTAGIOUS DISEASES

What are the first symptoms of measles?

Measles comes on rather gradually with cough, sneezing, watery eyes and nose, much like an ordinary cold in the head. The eruption appears after three or four days, first upon the face and neck as small red spots, and spreads slowly over the body.

Is measles a serious disease?

In infants and during the winter season it is likely to be very serious on account of the danger of bronchitis and pneumonia, which frequently accompany it. In children over four years old it is generally not severe. No child should be voluntarily exposed to this disease, and particularly one who is delicate or prone to disease of the lungs should be protected against it.

When and how is measles contagious?

Measles may readily be conveyed from the very beginning of the catarrh, two or three days before any eruption is present. It is not often carried by healthy persons. Its poison does not cling long to a sick room.

What is German measles?

German measles, or rubella, is a distinct disease and has nothing to do with ordinary measles. It is extremely rare for a child to be much sick with it. There is usually a very extensive eruption which may cover the body, but few other symptoms.

What are the first symptoms of scarlet fever?

Generally it comes suddenly, with vomiting, high fever, and sore throat. The eruption usually appears within twenty-four hours as a red blush, first upon the neck and chest, and spreads rapidly.

When and how is scarlet fever contagious?

Scarlet fever is only slightly contagious for the first one or two days of the attack. It is most contagious at the height of the disease and during desquamation. It may be carried by healthy persons and by the clothing or bedding from the sick room.

How does whooping-cough begin?

For a week or ten days it cannot be distinguished from an ordinary cold on the chest. Then the attacks of coughing gradually become more severe and vomiting may follow. After a severe coughing fit the breath is caught with a peculiar noise known as the "whoop."

How does chicken-pox begin?

It usually comes out gradually, as widely scattered pimples over the scalp, face, and body, many of which soon become small vesicles, resembling tiny blisters. There is itching and local discomfort but little fever, and the child rarely seems to be very ill.

How does diphtheria begin?

Sometimes suddenly, but usually gradually, with sore throat and swelling of the glands of the neck, with white patches upon the tonsils, or a free discharge which may be bloody, from the nostrils.

How does mumps begin?

As a swelling upon the jaw, beneath the ear. As it increases it extends forward upon the cheek and backward behind the ear. It affects one or both sides.

Mumps is not very common in young children, and in them it is usually mild. After twelve or thirteen years it is likely to be more severe.

How long after exposure do the first symptoms appear in the different diseases?

In scarlet fever in from three to five days, rarely later than a week; in measles in from nine to fourteen days, occasionally as late as twenty days; in whooping-cough in from one to two weeks; in chicken-pox in from fourteen to sixteen days; in German measles in from ten to sixteen days. In diphtheria the time varies much; it may be only