An American text-book of the diseases of children / By American teachers. Ed. by Louis Starr ... assisted by Thompson S. Westcott.

  • Starr, Louis, 1849-1925.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An American text-book of the diseases of children / By American teachers. Ed. by Louis Starr ... assisted by Thompson S. Westcott. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

    52/1302 (page 36)
    Bromide of potassium, a most valuable remedy in many diseases, must be given to infants with watchfulness, as it sometimes, even in small doses, pro- duces severe local inflammations of the skin and localized patches of soft, warty growths. Belladonna and arsenic are illustrations of an opposite tendency, for chil- dren are very tolerant of these drugs, particularly the first. A child of four or five years can readily take from two to five minims of tincture of bella- donna, and in cases in which it is necessary to administer arsenic to choreic children of six years and upward a commencing dose of five minims of Fow- ler's solution may often be given three* times daily, and a considerable increase in this be attained if required. Such initial doses are, however, occasionally productive of the symptoms of mild arsenical poisoning, and therefore it is well to begin with one- or two-minim doses and increase rapidly. This rule applies especially to children belonging to the wealthier classes, for these, like their parents, are much more sensitive to drugs than hospital patients—an undoubted physiological fact of wide bearing. Alcohol is frequently indicated and is of great value, but it must be used with judgment. It is most useful in broncho-pneumonia, severe febrile condi- tions ; in the prostration following measles, diphtheria, and whooping cough; and in the collapse that frequently attends severe thoracic or abdominal disease. All drugs should be made as palatable as possible. In conclusion, it must be remembered that children do not often require energetic treatment with drugs. Proper feeding and hygiene are of most importance in the management of disease in early life.