Rupture of any description is not a condition that any mother should attempt to treat. A physician should be called in every case. Any misdirected effort at manipulation or pressure may result in irreparable injury to the parts. External applications are useless and may be injurious. All ordinary forms of rupture in infancy and early childhood are curable if properly treated. * * * * * CHAPTER XXXVI DISEASES OF CHILDREN, CONTINUED Mastitis or Inflammation of the Breasts in Infancy--Mastitis in Young Girls--Let Your Ears Alone--Never Box a Child's Ears--Do Not Pick the Ears--Earache--Inflammation of the Ear--Acute Otitis--Swollen Glands--Acute Adenitis--Swollen Glands in the Groin--Boils--Hives--Nettle Rash--Prickly Heat--Ringworm in the Scalp--Eczema--Poor Blood--Simple Anemia--Chlorosis--Severe Anemia--Pernicious Anemia MASTITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE BREASTS IN INFANCY There are a few drops of a milky secretion in the breasts of infants when born. Occasionally the amount will be in excess of the normal quantity, and the breasts, around the nipple, may be swollen and slightly inflamed. Should this condition persist, it may be relieved by painting the parts with the tincture of belladonna. Under no circumstances should the breasts be manipulated or rubbed, as this is very apt to cause an inflammatory condition, and to result in mastitis. Mastitis begins, as a rule, during the second week of life. The breast becomes red, swollen, painful, and shows inflammatory changes. It may terminate without the formation of an abscess, or it may go on to suppuration. The child becomes extremely restless and irritable, it is disinclined to nurse, and suffers from loss of sleep and nourishment. It is possible for such a condition, in the female, to injure the breast to the extent of arresting its development and to render it useless in the future. If the suppuration is extensive the process may terminate fatally. Mastitis in infants is caused by unnecessary interference and manipulation and by want of cleanliness. When it occurs the parts should be kept absolutely clean and should not be handled in any way. Ichthyol 25 per cent., Zinc Oxide Ointment, enough to make one ounce, spread upon old, clean, soft linen, and laid over the parts and changed every six hours, is an excellent healing application. A piece of oiled silk may be put outside the linen to prevent the ointment staining the clothing, and over this a layer of absorbent cotton and a binder, applied without pressure. If an abscess develops in spite of treatment, it must be freely opened and freely drained, and the general health of the patient supported by regular nourishment and tonics.