The ill-effects of departing too readily from ordinary nursery routine
on account of a little illness, and of adopting straightway a variety
of measures of treatment, is well shown in cases of asthma in
children. The asthmatic child is almost always of a highly nervous
temperament, and often passionate and ungovernable. Often the most
effective treatment of an attack, which usually comes on some hours
after going to bed, is to make little of it, to talk naturally and
calmly to the child, to turn on the light, and to allow him, if he
will, to busy himself with toys or books. To be seized with panic, to
send post-haste for the doctor, to carry the patient to the open
window, to burn strong-smelling vapours, and so forth, not only is apt
to prolong the nervous spasm on this occasion, but makes it likely
that a strong impression will be left in his mind which by
auto-suggestion will provoke another attack shortly. With nervous
children a seeming neglect is the best treatment of all trivial
disorders. Meanwhile we can redouble our efforts to remedy defects in
management, and to obtain an environment which will gradually lower
the heightened nervous irritability.
When the illness is of a more serious nature, as has been said, the
restlessness as a rule promptly disappears. In each case it must be
decided whether it is best for the child to be nursed by his mother
and his own nurse, or by a sick-nurse. In the latter event the
ordinary nurse and the mother should absent themselves from the
sick-room as much as possible. Often the firm routine of the hospital
nurse is all that is wanted to obtain rest. Less often, the child will
be quiet with his own nurse, and quite unmanageable with a stranger.
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