The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in HygieneGalbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Science
The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in Hygiene
Galbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Women -- Health and hygiene
The nature of the child's cry indicates, variously, hunger, temper, or
pain; the mother will soon learn to distinguish these varieties. If
the child cries because it is hungry, the cry ceases so soon as it is
fed. But a child is never to be fed simply because it cries; it must
be fed on the hour by the clock. If this rule is not strictly adhered
to, it will suffer all the forms of indigestion and colic that babies
are heir to. If it cries because of colic, there is a drawn look on
the face, and at the same time the legs are sharply flexed on the
thighs and the thighs on the abdomen. If the cries are due to earache,
the head will be rolled about from one side to the other. In either
case nothing will stop the cries until the pain is relieved. A baby
does not shed tears until the third month.
The Stools.-- The stools of a very young baby fed on breast-milk
should be of a yellow or orange color. There should be three or four
evacuations daily; they should contain no curds. Stools of bottle-fed
babies are lighter in color and more offensive.
Constipation.-- Constipation is not uncommon in infancy; it may be
overcome by the use of a soap suppository, or by an injection of warm
soap-suds into the bowel, or by an injection of oil and water, or by
gentle friction over the bowel, following the course of the large
intestine.
To make the soap suppository, take a piece of castile soap about an
inch long, give it the shape of a cone not any larger than the end of
the little finger, and make it perfectly smooth. This is inserted to
about half of its length into the rectum and held there until it
causes the bowels to move.
The bowel injection is best given by means of the single-bulb syringe,
known as the eye and ear syringe; the bulb holds about two
tablespoonfuls of liquid. This may be warm cotton-seed oil, sweet oil,
or glycerin one teaspoonful to warm water two tablespoonfuls. The
nozle should be small, smooth, and well oiled. It should be very
carefully introduced into the bowel, being directed a little to the
left side, and the bulb gently squeezed to force the contents into the
bowel. The injection is more effective if it is retained for a little
while; this is accomplished by making slight pressure on the anus with
a towel.
Rubbing the abdomen for about ten minutes in the direction of the
large bowel is sometimes very effective in overcoming constipation;
begin in the right groin and rub up as far as the border of the ribs,
then across to the left, then down on the left side.
Vomiting.-- Vomiting means often only that the stomach has been
overfilled, and may be relieved by withholding all food for a few
hours.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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