American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian HomesStowe, Harriet Beecher
Religion
American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes
Stowe, Harriet Beecher
Home economics
Most trouble with, the teeth of young children comes from neglect to
use the brush to remove the tartar that accumulates near the gum,
causing disease and decay. This disease is sometimes called _scurvy_,
and is shown by an accumulation around the teeth and by inflamed gums
that bleed easily. Removal of the tartar by a dentist and cleaning the
teeth after every meal with a brush will usually cure this evil, which
causes loosening of the teeth and a bad breath.
Much injury is often done to teeth by using improper tooth-powder.
Powdered chalk sifted through muslin is approved by all dentists, and
should be used once every day. The tooth-brush should be used after
every meal, and floss silk pressed between the teeth to remove food
lodged there. This method will usually save the teeth from decay till
old age.
When an infant seems ill during the period of dentition, the following
directions from an experienced physician may be of service. It is now
an accepted principle of all the medical world that fevers are to be
reduced by cold applications; but an infant demands careful and
judicious treatment in this direction; some have extremely sensitive
nerves, and cold is painful. For such, tepid sponging should be used
near a fire, and the coldness increased gradually. The sensations of
the child should be the guide. Usually, but not always, children that
are healthy will learn by degrees to prefer cold water, and then it
may safely be used.
When an infant becomes feverish, wrapping its body in a towel wrung
out in warm, or tepid water, and then keeping it warm in a woolen
blanket, is a very safe and soothing remedy.
In case of constipation, this preparation of food is useful:
One table-spoonful of unbolted flour wet with cold water. Add one pint
of hot water, and boil twenty minutes. Add when taken up, one pint of
milk. If the stomach seems delicate and irritable, strain out the bran,
but in most cases, retain it.
In case of diarrhea, walk with the child in arms a great deal in the
open air, and give it rice-water to drink.
The warmth and vital influences of the nurse are very important, and
make this mode of exercise both more soothing and more efficacious,
especially in the open air, the infant being warmly clad.
In case of feverishness from teething or from any other cause, wrap
the infant in a towel wrung out in tepid water and then wrap it in a
woolen blanket. The water may be cooler according as the child is older
and stronger. The evaporation of the water draws off the heat, while
the moisture soothes the nerves, and usually the child will fall into
a quiet sleep. As soon as it becomes restless, change the wet towel
and proceed as before.
The leading physicians of Europe and of this country, in all cases of
fevers, use water to reduce them, by this and other modes of
application. This method is more soothing than any other, and is as
effective for adults as for infants.
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