The diseases if infancy and childhood; for the use of students and practitioners of medicine / by L. Emmett Holt.

  • Holt, L. Emmett (Luther Emmett), 1855-1924.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The diseases if infancy and childhood; for the use of students and practitioners of medicine / by L. Emmett Holt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    sleeves. All petticoats should be supported from the shoulders and not from waistbands. Canton flannel and stockinet are both superior as absorbents to the more commonly used linen diapers. Stockinet has the advantage of being very soft and pliable. Care should be given that in in- fants the feet be kept warm. If the circulation is very poor, a bag of hot water should always be in the crib. Cold feet are resjiousible for many attacks of colic and indigestion. The abdominal band is usually worn during infancy. It cannot be considered in any sense a necessity after the first few months, excepting in cases of very thin infants whose supply of fat in the abdominal walls is an insufficient protection to the viscera. For the first few weeks a band of plain flannel is to be preferred; later,a knitted band with shoulder-straps. The fashion of low neck and short sleeves for infants and very young children has fortunately passed away—let us hope, never to return. During the summer the outer clothing should be light and the under clothing of the thinnest flannel or gauze. The changes in the tempera- ture of morning and evening may be met by extra wraps. The custom of allowing young children to go with legs bare has many enthusiastic advo- cates; while it may not be objectionable during the heat of summer, its advantages at any season are very questionable in a changeable climate like that of New York or the Atlantic coast. Many delicate children are certainly injured by such ill-advised attempts at hardening. The night clothing of infants should be similar to that worn during the day, but should be loose, the material being of the lightest flannel. The night clothing for older children should consist of a thin woollen shirt and a union suit with waist and trousers, and in some eases with feet, if there is a tendency to get outside the coverings. The common mistake is to overload all children, but especially infants, with covering at night. This is an explanation of much of the restless sleep which is seen particularly in delicate children. Care of the Eyes.—During the first few days at the daily bath, the eyes should be cleansed with a saturated solution of boric acid. They should be carefully protected from too strong light during early infancy. It is desirable that a child should always sleep in a darkened room. Care of the Mouth and Teeth.—The mouth of the newly-born infant should be gently cleansed at each morning bath with boiled water and a soft cloth. On the first appearance of thrush the mouth should be washed after every feeding with a solution of bicarbonate of soda or borax (twenty grains to the ounce). Harm is often done by the use of too much force in cleansing the mouth of a young infant. The primary teeth as well as those of the permanent set should receive daily attention. Too often they are neglected altogether. Dirty teeth are likely sooner or later to become carious; and carious teeth, besides being a cause of bad breath and neuralgia, are a constant menace to the