The Physical Training of ChildrenChavasse, Pye Henry
Science
The Physical Training of Children
Chavasse, Pye Henry
Child care; Children -- Health and hygiene
Flatulence most frequently occurs in those infants who live on
_artificial_ food, especially if they are over-fed. I therefore beg to
refer you to the precautions I have given, when speaking of the
importance of keeping a child for the first four or five months
_entirely_ to the breast; and, if that be not practicable, of the times
of feeding, and of the _best_ kinds of artificial food, and of those
which are least likely to cause “wind.”
_What to do._—Notwithstanding these precautions, if the babe should
still suffer, “One of the best and safest remedies for flatulence is
sal-volatile,—a teaspoonful of a solution of one drachm to an ounce and
a half of water.” Or, a little dill or aniseed may be added to the
food—half a teaspoonful of dill water. Or, take twelve drops of oil of
dill, and two lumps of sugar; rub them well in a mortar together; then
add, drop by drop, three tablespoonfuls of spring water; let it be
preserved in a bottle for use. A teaspoonful of this, first shaking the
vial, may be added to each quantity of food. Or, three teaspoonfuls of
bruised caraway seeds may be boiled for ten minutes in a teacupful of
water, and then strained. One or two teaspoonfuls of the caraway-tea may
be added to each quantity of his food, or a dose of rhubarb and magnesia
may be occasionally given.
Opodeldoc, or warm olive oil, well rubbed, for a quarter of an hour at a
time, by means of the warm hand, over the bowels, will frequently give
relief. Turning the child over on his bowels, so that they may press on
the nurse’s lap, will often afford great comfort. A warm bath (where he
is suffering severely) generally gives _immediate_ ease in flatulence;
it acts as a fomentation to the bowels. But after all, a dose of mild
aperient medicine, when the babe is suffering severely, is often the
best remedy for “wind.”
Remember, at all times, prevention, whenever it be—and how frequently it
is—possible, is better than cure.
_What_ NOT _to do_.—“Godfrey’s Cordial,” “Infants’ Preservative,” and
“Dalby’s Carminative” are sometimes given in flatulence; but as most of
these quack medicines contain, in one form or another, either opium or
poppy, and as opium and poppy are both dangerous remedies for children,
ALL quack medicines must be banished the nursery.
Syrup of poppies is another remedy which is often given by a nurse to
afford relief for flatulence; but let me urge upon you the importance of
banishing it from the nursery. It has (when given by unprofessional
persons) caused the untimely end of thousands of children. The medical
journals and the newspapers teem with cases of deaths from mothers
incautiously giving syrup of poppies to ease pain and to procure sleep.
98. _What are the symptoms, the causes, and the treatment of “Gripings”
of an infant?_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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