The maternal management of children, in health and diseaseBull, Thomas
Science
The maternal management of children, in health and disease
Bull, Thomas
Child care
Not so, if ill. Frequently it will be unwilling to be put into its cot
at all, and the nurse will be obliged to take the infant in her arms;
it will then sleep but for a short time, and in a restless and
disturbed manner.
If it suffer pain, however slight, the countenance will indicate it;
and, as when awake, so now, if there is any thing wrong about the head,
the contraction of the eye-brow and grinding of the teeth will appear;
if any thing wrong about the belly, the lips will be drawn apart,
showing the teeth or gums,--and in both instances there will be great
restlessness and frequent startings.
OF THE STOOLS.
In the new-born infant the motions are dark coloured, very much like
pitch both in consistence and appearance. The first milk, however,
secreted in the mother's breast, acts as an aperient upon the infant's
bowels, and thus in about four-and-twenty hours it is cleansed away; or
if it should not, a tea-spoonful of castor oil accomplishes this
purpose.
From this time, and through the whole of infancy, the stools will be
of a lightish yellow colour, the consistence of thin mustard, having
little smell, smooth in appearance, and therefore free from lumps or
white curded matter, and passed without pain or any considerable
quantity of wind. And as long as the child is in health, it will have
daily two or three, or even four, of these evacuations. But as it grows
older, they will not be quite so frequent; they will become darker in
colour, and more solid, though not so much so as in the adult.
Any deviation, then, from the above characters, is of course a sign of
something wrong; and as a deranged condition of the bowels is
frequently the first indication we have of coming disease, the nurse
should daily be directed to watch the evacuations. Their appearance,
colour, and the manner in which discharged, are the points principally
to be looked to. If the stools have a very curdy appearance, or are too
liquid, or green, or dark-coloured, or smell badly, they are unnatural.
And in reference to the manner in which they are discharged, it should
be borne in mind, that, in a healthy child, the motion is passed with
but little wind, and as if squeezed out, but in disease, it will be
thrown out with considerable force, which is a sign of great
irritation. The number, too, of stools passed within the four-and-
twenty hours it is important to note, so that if the child does not
have its accustomed relief, (and it must not be forgotten that
children, although in perfect health, differ as to the precise number,)
a little castor oil may be at once exhibited, and thus mischief be
prevented.
This, however, is not the place to discuss the question of disordered
bowels, but simply to point out how this circumstance may be
known.[FN#27]
[FN#27] See section on Disorders of the Stomach and Bowels, p. 208.
OF THE BREATHING AND COUGH.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account