The maternal management of children, in health and disease — John Shaqi
The maternal management of children, in health and diseaseBull, Thomas
Science
The maternal management of children, in health and disease
Bull, Thomas
Child care
It may be given in various ways; poured upon a little mint water, or
blended with a little moist sugar;--or, if the stomach is unusually
delicate, the oil may be made into an emulsion with some aromatic
water, by the intervention of the yolk of an egg and a little syrup of
roses or sugar combined with it. The following proportions make an
elegant and not at all a disagreeable mixture, of which a desert-
spoonful (or more, according to the age,) may be repeated every hour
until it operate:
Castor oil, six drachms;
The yolk of an egg;
Mix well together, and add
Dill water, two ounces,
Syrup of roses, two drachms.
MANNA.
This also may be given with impunity to the youngest infant; it is
sweet to the taste, and mild in its operation. It should be exhibited
in doses of one to two drachms in a little warm milk; or if it cause
flatulence in this form, in some aromatic water, a desert spoonful of
carraway-seed or dill water. For children above two years, it must
always be given with some other aperient: thus, it may be combined with
castor oil by the medium of mucilage or the yolk of an egg; in fact, it
might be substituted for the syrup of roses in the previous
prescription for castor oil.
MAGNESIA AND RHUBARB.
Magnesia, besides being a laxative, allays irritability of the
stomach; it is consequently useful during dentition, at which period
there is both much irritability and a prevailing acescency of the
stomach. The dose is from five grains to ten for an infant, increasing
the quantity to fifteen grains or twenty to children of nine or ten
years of age. When taken alone the best vehicle is hot milk, which
greatly quickens its aperient operation. And whenever the bowels are
distended with wind, the pure magnesia is preferable to the carbonate.
It is well to mention here, that when the infant throws up the nurse's
milk it is generally curdled; a fact which leads the inexperienced
mother to infer that the child is suffering from acidity; and to
counteract the supposed evil magnesia is given again and again. This is
a useless and pernicious practice, for curdling or coagulation of the
milk always takes place in the stomach, and is produced by the gastric
juice, and is so far from being a morbid process, that milk cannot be
properly digested without it.
Rhubarb, it should always be recollected, has an astringent as well as
purgative property, according to the extent of the dose in which it is
administered; the former of which never opposes or interferes with the
energy of the latter, since it only takes effect when the substance is
administered in small doses, or, if given in larger ones, not until it
has ceased to operate as a cathartic. This latter circumstance renders
it particularly eligible in cases of diarrhoea, as it evacuates the
offending matter before it operates as an astringent upon the bowels.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account