The Mother's Manual of Children's DiseasesWest, Charles
Science
The Mother's Manual of Children's Diseases
West, Charles
Pediatrics -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
The _glandular swellings_ of the neck or about the lower jaw are
likewise best let alone, or merely covered with a layer of cotton wool,
stitched inside a piece of oiled silk to maintain a uniform temperature.
If they become suddenly painful and more swollen, a cooling lotion of
Goulard water and spirits of wine, constantly applied, will reduce the
swelling and lessen the discomfort. When stationary, a mild iodine
ointment may be smeared over the gland at bedtime, and covered with
oiled silk. Applications of iodine, however, need careful watching, for
sometimes they over-irritate the gland, and cause an abscess. If the
gland were out of sight there would be no objection to this, which
would probably be a rapid mode of getting rid of the swelling; but the
scar left behind, if the abscess burst or were opened, is an objection
when the swelling is situated in the neck or at the jaw.
If the skin over the top of the swelling becomes red, and its substance
begins to feel soft, then, but not till then, it is desirable to apply a
warm poultice constantly. At the same time the progress must be daily
watched by the doctor, in order that he may seize the proper moment to
make a small puncture and let out the matter. The small cut leaves a
less puckered scar than the natural opening. The subsequent management
of the case must be superintended by the doctor.
_Offensive discharge from the nostrils_ does not depend, in by far the
majority of cases, on disease of the bones, but on an unhealthy
condition of their lining membrane. It is exceedingly obstinate and
difficult of cure, is four times more frequent in girls than in boys,
and unfortunately often lasts into womanhood, and continues even when
the general health is perfect.
Much may be done to abate the annoyance by diligent sniffing up the
nostrils some weak disinfectant; or by regularly irrigating the nostrils
by means of a simple apparatus, to be obtained from any
instrument-maker. In spite of this, however, it is often necessary to
introduce a little plug of cotton wool dipped in the fluid some distance
up the nostrils, with a thread attached by which it can be withdrawn,
and a fresh one substituted twice a day.
The discharge of _whites_ is sometimes very troublesome, and apt to
return from the commencement of teething up even to womanhood. It is a
mere sign of debility, usually also connected with a scrofulous habit,
but has no further or graver meaning. Locally, constant cold ablution by
means of a sponge held above the child, not touching it, is the great
remedy, and this may have to be repeated every hour or two if the case
is severe. Astringent lotions of different kinds may be used in the same
manner; while care must be taken that the child's drawers are large and
loose, so as not to irritate her when sitting. General treatment,
however, sea air and sea bathing are especially in these cases the great
remedy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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