What Women Should Know/Chapter 18

A Mother's Duties in Sickness.—I read not long since of a woman who was remarkably successful in the treatment of her children during slight illnesses. Being asked her mode of treatment, she replied that when one of her children was ailing, instead of sending for a doctor and sitting down and waiting until he came, she considered what the doctor would be most likely to order if he were already present, and then proceeded at once as if he had called and left his orders. Prompt and judicious treatment is often all that is necessary to check a malady in its early stages. and prevent it assuming a serious form. I do not recommend that a mother should assume all the responsibility of the medical care of her children. But there are certain things which every mother should know, and which she should be able to put in practice with full confidence in her own knowledge, and it is only when simple remedies fail that a doctor need be summoned.

Hernia or Rupture.—One of the earliest troubles which the nurse or mother has frequently to deal with is hernia. The hernia or rupture may be of the navel ​or of the groin. It may be caused by severe fits of crying, by too tight bandaging, or, if of the former, by imperfect healing at the time the cord was taken away.

Cure for Navel Hernia.—A bullet hammered out into a thin round sheet, covered with linen and slipped into a pocket made in the belly-band and placed directly over the navel, will probably effect a cure in a few weeks. Or a round piece of wash leather, about three inches in diameter, spread in the centre with Burgundy pitch plaster, and placed directly over the navel, will keep the ruptured parts together and effect a cure.

Cure for Groin Hernia.—Groin hernia can be cured if taken in season. When the bowel is found protruding, it should be pushed carefully in. The child should be kept lying down as much as possible, and not be allowed to exert itself in crying. If the rupture does not heal of itself, a pitch plaster may be tried. This failing, a truss should be made and fitted under the direction of an experienced doctor.

Snuffling.—A babe is sometimes affected with catarrh resulting from slight cold in the head. Not being able to relieve itself by blowing its nose, the discharges collect and render breathing difficult. The "snuffling," as it is called, may be relieved by rubbing a little tallow on the bridge of the nose on going to bed. Or a sponge may be dipped in as hot water as the child can bear, and applied a few moments to the same spot.

​Wind on the Stomach.—When the child has been overfed, or when its food does not agree with it, it will sometimes be attacked with pain in the stomach, caused by an accumulation of wind arising from indigestion. A few drops of weak sweetened peppermint water, or a little anise seed tea, will immediately bring up the wind and remove the pain.

Gripes or Colic.—When a child draws up its legs and screams violently, when its bowels are cold, and when it cannot be quieted by putting to the breast, there are indications that it is attacked with colic. The discharges from the bowels will be green and watery. Colic may be caused by improper food or by overfeeding. Or the mother may have eaten something, injurious.

Cure for Colic.—The bowels should be gently rubbed by the hand in order to produce warmth, or a piece of flannel folded and wet with hot water should be bound about them. A warm bath will often give instant relief. A change should be made in the child's diet or dress, or whatever seems to be the cause of the attack, to prevent its recurrence in future.

Hiccoughs.—The simplest remedy for hiccoughs is to apply the child to the breast for a few moments. If this does not stop the hiccoughs, a little anise seed tea will usually cure them.

Diarrhœa.—If a babe has diarrhœa, it is best not to interfere with it unless it continues too long. It is usually an effort of nature to relieve some obstruction of the bowels; or it may be serving some other im​portant purpose, as in the case of teething, when it acts as a diversion to relieve the irritation of the gums. If there is greenness about the stools, a little lime-water added to the infant's food will correct the acidity of the stomach. If the looseness continues too long and seems to need checking, this should not be done by means of an astringent. By all means avoid Godfrey's cordial, soothing syrups and carminatives. Tincture of rhubarb in doses of from ten to thirty drops, according to age of child, will be certain to afford relief in ordinary cases. If this fails, a doctor had better be consulted. Meantime if the child' nurses, the mother should be exceedingly careful in regard to her own diet.

Costiveness.—If a child is costive, do not give it physic until all else has been tried. Generally a certain as well as a safe remedy is to use a suppository of soap, tallow or molasses candy introduced up the rectum. This will shortly be expelled, and following it will come a motion of the bowels. This suppository should be cut an inch or an inch and a half long, and a little larger in size than a lead-pencil. It must be smooth and round, that no sharp edges or protruding corners shall hurt the delicate membrane lining the intestine. If the suppository fails, an injection of warm water or molasses and water should be given. It is only after these have both failed that a mother is justified in resorting to medicine. The best because the mildest opening medicine for an infant is either magnesia or tincture of rhubarb. It is impera​tively necessary for the child's health that the movements of the bowels should be regular and of the proper consistency.

Thrush or Sore Mouth.—In infant's sore mouth there will be roundish white specks on the lips, the tongue, and on the inside of the mouth. The tongue especially will look as if curds were smeared over it. The mouth is hot and painful, and the babe nurses with difficulty. The cause of thrush is usually improper feeding. In curing thrush the child should be allowed no food but its mother's milk, or, if brought up by hand, the milk obtained from one cow. It should be fed in sufficient quantities, but as seldom as possible, as the operation of sucking is painful. Powdered lump-sugar and borax put dry in the mouth is an excellent, remedy. A tea made of the berries of the sumac is considered excellent in this disease.

Croup.—Croup is a disease of the windpipe. Some children are more liable to attacks of croup than others. Fleshy children are especially predisposed to it. After infancy has passed there is less and less danger of croup, though sometimes, in rare instances, adults are attacked. Croup may easily be managed if taken in time. A child predisposed to croup needs constant watching, as a slight ordinary cold may at ⟨night⟩, in the course of a few hours, develop into croup.

There are two kinds of croup, in describing which I must depend on my own knowledge and experience alone. Nearly all authorities which I have examined ​either make mention of only one kind, and give to that the symptoms of both; or, recognizing the two kinds, so confound and confuse the symptoms of each as to be wholly unreliable.

Common Croup.—The common croup will result in death in a very few hours if prompt efforts are not made to check its progress. The characteristic of this disease is the suddenness of its attack. A child may retire at night in perfect health, and in two or three hours the parents may be awakened by the shrill breathing and hoarse, barking cough which indicate croup. The special distinguishing feature of this form of croup is its peculiar cough. When the disease is fully developed, it is exactly like the bark of a dog.

Treatment for Common Croup.—The child should be at once brought into a warm room, and well protected against any exposure to cold. Water must be heated as quickly as possible. Bathe the feet in warm water, and wrap flannel wrung out of water as hot as the child can bear around the neck. Protect this flannel with a dry flannel over it, and renew it as fast as it cools. This treatment alone may be sufficient to relieve the child, but I always prefer to administer Coxe's hive syrup in doses of from ten to twenty drops at intervals of from fifteen minutes to half an hour, according to the urgency of the case, until free vomiting is induced, when, with proper precautions to prevent a relapse, the danger is passed. The warm water relaxes the system and loosens the ​phlegm that is fast filling the throat. The hive syrup also helps to do this, and finally throws the phlegm off by the process of vomiting. Frequent doses of ipecacuanha wine will do equally well, or any medicine that will produce immediate and free vomiting. Some physicians recommend a use of lamp oil. Goose oil is also an excellent remedy. A teaspoonful of powdered alum in molasses or honey, given every ten minutes, will frequently afford relief. After the immediate danger is over the child should be made to drink freely of flaxseed or slippery-elm tea until convalescent.

Membranous Croup.—Membranous is more to be dreaded than common croup. It is more insidious in its attacks, not so easily recognized, and more difficult to cure. A child will perhaps for several days be afflicted with a severe cold and a hoarse cough which refuse to yield to any of the ordinary remedies, and croup may not be suspected until the false membrane being formed inside the windpipe threatens immediate suffocation. If taken in time, this form of croup would probably yield to the remedies used in common croup. But after the membrane is nearly or quite formed it is almost impossible to cure. I have never seen any course of treatment prescribed for this form of croup, nor have I ever seen a case of it out of my own family. So I am forced to give a chapter from my own experience. One of my daughters, then a child of eight years, who as an infant had been subject to croup in its common form, was affected with a ​severe cold and cough. She complained too of a bad feeling in her throat; but as I saw no indication of diphtheria, I concluded she had a touch of quinsy. This continued for several days, and in spite of my remedies she grew worse, until at last I thought best to put her in the hands of a doctor. The messenger sent for the doctor had not been gone many minutes before I detected the choking of croup, though there had been no previous barking. Nearly an hour must elapse before the doctor could come, even if the messenger found him at home. So seeing that what was to be done must be done without a moment's hesitation or waiting, I proceeded with the usual remedies for croup. They were of no avail. The girl was on the verge, of suffocation, her face almost black and her breath drawn with the utmost difficulty, and sometimes stopped altogether. Her life was a question of moments, not of hours. I remembered having read that sulphur was an excellent remedy for croup, but had no recollection of quantity or manner of using. So in desperation I gave her a teaspoonful of sulphur and molasses. It produced immediate vomiting of ropy phlegm. Another teaspoonful, administered shortly afterward, brought up still more membranous phlegm. When the doctor came in half an hour afterward, he regarded the girl with astonishment, and said not one child in fifty ever recovered from membranous croup when it had reached that stage. The sulphur had undoubtedly saved her life, and under the doctor's subsequent ​treatment she rapidly recovered. I afterward found the prescription which I had so indistinctly remembered. In it sulphur was used in such minute quantities, and at such long intervals, that in her critical state it would not have done the slightest good.

Diphtheria.—Diphtheria is similar to membranous croup in so far as a membrane is formed in the windpipe. But unlike croup, there are sores in the throat at the same time. These sores are grayish in color, and lie at the back of the throat. They may easily be seen by pressing the handle of a teaspoon on the base of the tongue. These sores are not painful, but feel as if a stick or scale or some dry hard substance was lodged in the throat. They can be cured. in their first stages by putting a pinch of salt on the handle of a teaspoon and pressing it against them. Or a small piece of gum camphor dissolved in the mouth will give relief and avert serious illness. In case of an infant, it is impossible to use these means. The babe must be kept from exposure. Its food must be warm, and hot applications must be made to the throat. A doctor must be called.

Sore Throat.—The common form of sore throat van usually be cured by binding a piece of flannel around the throat and keeping it there for a day or two. In severe cases let the flannel be wrung out of water either hot or cold and put around the neck with a dry cloth pinned over it. Warm lard in which sage has simmered, used both inwardly and outwardly, in an excellent remedy. The same may be said of ​goose-grease and molasses. Goose-grease should always be kept in the house where there is a family of children.

Quinsy.—Quinsy is a swelling of the throat and tonsils which seriously interferes with swallowing. The usual remedies for sore throat may be applied for this. In addition to these, pour into the ear on the side of the affected tonsil, or into both ears if both tonsils be affected, a few drops of tincture of arnica. Repeat this occasionally until the swelling is reduced.

Earache.—Arnica is a specific for earache. A few drops poured into the ear as soon as the least sensation of pain is felt, the dose repeated at short intervals, will not fail to cure earache. If used in time, it will subdue inflammation and prevent gathering in the ear, which is so distressing and so dangerous to the hearing. I have prescribed this treatment numberless times, and never knew it to fail.

The Value of Arnica.—Every house should have its bottle of tincture of arnica where it can be found at once in case of need. Not only is it good for earache, but there is nothing better or half so good in case of bruises, cuts or burns. It prevents inflammation and subdues pain.

Burns and Scalds.—Never apply cold water to a burn or scald. Over the burnt or scalded surface put instantly a thick layer of flour, to exclude all air. Over this again a layer of cotton. Delay dressing for two days, and afterward only dress every other day. Unsalted lard is also an excellent remedy for burns. ​It excludes the air and cools and soothes the part, and allays irritation.

Bites and Stings of Insects.—These may be instantly relieved by an application of spirits of hartshorn, or by wetting the spot and rubbing on bicarbonate of soda—the soda used in cooking.

Ivy Poisoning.—Bathe the parts frequently and freely with sweet spirits of nitre. If the blisters are broken, allowing the nitre to penetrate, the cure will be the more rapid.

Chicken-Pox.—Chicken-pox sometimes comes on with a slight chill. About twenty-four hours after, the child feels badly, an eruption of small pimples will appear on its head, neck and body, showing but slightly on the face. The next day these pimples fill with water. This eruption continues for a few days, and then disappears. It is not in any way a dangerous disease, and ordinarily requires no medical treatment whatever. The infant should be protected from exposure, special care taken with its diet, and strict attention paid to the state of its bowels.

Vaccination.—Every infant ought to be vaccinated, the sooner after it has reached the age of two months, the better. If the vaccination takes properly, the child will probably be fretful and peevish. It needs special care, but no medicine. The dress should be so arranged that it will not irritate the sore, nor rub off the scab before it is ready to come. Some people stand in fear of vaccination, believing that by its means diseases are given from one person to an​other. Physicians cannot of course be too careful in obtaining healthy matter, and should scrupulously avoid taking a scab from the arm of a child who has a scrofulous or syphilitic taint in its blood. But I think in the hands of a responsible physician who has been thus careful there is little or no danger from vaccination—certainly not the hundredth part there is in going unvaccinated and subject to contagion from smallpox.

Scarlet Fever.—There are three different forms of scarlet fever, but they all display similar symptoms. An attack of this disease is preceded by chilliness, weariness and fretfulness, headache, redness and moisture of the eyes, and sometimes sickness and vomiting. The centre of the tongue will sometimes be covered with a white or yellowish coat, with the edges a bright red. The tonsils will be swollen and ulcerated, and the fever perhaps strong, with quick and difficult breathing. In malignant scarlet fever the head and throat are the most affected. Generally about the third day the rash appears, sometimes on one part of the body and sometimes on another, but spreading eventually over the whole body, the inside of the mouth, tongue and throat. This rash consists of innumerable small points set so closely together that they present one uniform red surface, brighter on the seat, the folds of the joints and the edges of the tongue. The skin is rough to the touch, hot and itching. Toward the fifth day the rash begins to diminish, disappearing about the seventh. Shortly after, ​the skin begins to peel and dust off. This will continue for two or three weeks, until the skin is completely shed.

In the simplest form of scarlet fever, called scarlatina simplex, the throat is not affected.

Treatment of Scarlet Fever.—Though at doctor is necessary in this disease, there is much that a mother can do without waiting for orders. She must first of all avoid giving physic. She must establish thorough ventilation in the sick-room and reduce its temperature, at the same time making the clothing of the bed light. She must attend scrupulously to the diet, giving nothing of a stimulating nature, and allow the patient to drink plentifully of cold water. And she should grease the child thoroughly from head to foot with fat bacon during the whole course of the disease. The cool temperature of the room, the open windows and the light bedclothing should continue till about the fifth or sixth day, when the patient's skin will become suddenly cool, and it will seem to be chilly. Then the windows and doors must be closed, and extra covering put on the bed. Flannel should now be worn next to the skin until the disease is ended. The child should not be taken into the open air under a month in summer and longer in winter.

Measles.—Measles usually commence with the symptoms of a common cold. There is running at the nose, redness and wateriness of the eyes, sneezing, headache and a hoarse, peculiar ringing cough. The mother can at once detect measles from scarlet fever ​by the cough, which is absent in the latter. In three or four days an eruption of crescent-shaped, slightly-raised patches appears in the skin. It usually commences on the face and neck and moves downward. The face is swollen sometimes even to closing the eyes.

Treatment of Measles.—The body must be kept completely warm, and all drinks and medicines must be given with the chill off. The diet should be low, and no medicine should be given to move the bowels or to "ease the cough." If the rash comes out promptly and fully, proper care and attention on the part of the mother will take the child through without the aid of a doctor. If the rash does not appear, a doctor should be at once sent for. If the bowels need moving, it should be done by means of warm injections. The body may be occasionally sponged with warm water to which a little vinegar has been added. The room should be darkened. In the latter stages of the disease there is sometimes a looseness of the bowels amounting to diarrhœa. This should never be checked, as it is beneficial. Measles is a contagious disease.

Hooping Cough.—This disease usually lasts from six to twelve weeks, and even for a longer period if it is contracted in the fall or winter. It commences as a common cold and cough, but after a week or two the cough assumes a spasmodic character, giving the peculiar and characteristic hoop. During the coughing fit let the child stand, if old enough; if not, raise its ​head and bend its body a little forward. The back should be supported with one hand and the forehead with the other, and the phlegm raised by the cough should be at once taken from its mouth. When it is possible to accomplish it, a change of air is desirable in this complaint. The spot selected should be in the country, high and salubrious. A second change to the seaside will sometimes cure the disease as if by magic. If the child should be attacked by shivering, send for a doctor at once. Meantime, warm the bed and put the child in it, with warm bottles and bricks at its feet. The diet throughout the disease should be light, and the child guarded from extremes of heat and cold. The bowels should be kept open without the use of medicines if possible. Tincture of the black cohosh or squaw root has been found of benefit for this cough. This tincture is formed by adding a pint of spirits to two ounces of the pulverized root. The dose for a child one year old is from fifteen to twenty drops in sweetened water four or five times a day. From half a teaspoonful to a teaspoonful for an older child.

Teething.—Infants may begin to cut their teeth at any period from six months to a year in age. The process of teething is a natural one, and should be nearly or quite painless, yet owing to improper management it seldom is so. My own experience—an experience supported by the testimony of physicians—is that a child who lives entirely upon the food that nature intended for it will encounter little or no trouble in teething. The first intimation the mother will ​have of the fact is the actual visible presence of the tooth. Nevertheless, as mothers do not and will not feed their infants properly, it is necessary to refer to the disorders incident to teething. The diarrhœa accompanying teething should not be checked. It is a provision of nature which prevents more serious ailments.

Summer Complaint.—Infants who have been improperly fed are especially liable to summer complaint during teething. It is an aggravated form of diarrhœa, occurring during the hot summer months. Boiled milk to which a little lime-water has been added will be the best drink for a young child, and may be alone sufficient to check the disorder. If the child be old enough to eat, boiled rice is the very best food for it. A porridge or gruel made of ground rice, stirred in boiling milk, will also be excellent. Fruit and vegetables should be given very sparingly to a teething child—meat not at all. If the gums are red, swollen and painful, and the teeth seem ready to push through the skin, it may be well to lance the gums. If the disordered state of the bowels still continues, small doses of spiced tincture of rhubarb may be administered with good effect.

Convulsions.—A teething child is subject to convulsions. The mother must retain her presence of mind and know just what to do. There is time for neither delays nor mistakes. She must hold the child in her lap, and have two persons to wait upon her, while a third goes for the doctor. The feet must be ​put into warm water without a moment of unnecessary delay and cold water applied constantly to the head. The handle of a spoon must be placed between the teeth to keep them from biting the tongue. As soon as the convulsion begins to relax its severity, the cold application to the head must be changed to a warm one, and continued until all spasmodic symptoms have ceased. The cold water is first used to cool the head at once; but if continued, the reaction which follows its use is liable to bring on a second attack or culminate in inflammation of the brain or hydrocephalus. So that after the first immediate effects are produced, warm water is used to prevent this reaction. When the convulsion is over, a physician must be on hand to see if any disease is threatened, and if so to treat it in time. After the convulsion is over the child must be kept in a darkened room, and perfect quiet must be insisted upon. The feet must be kept warm, and warm wet cloths applied to the head.

A mother who knows the symptoms which foretell a convulsion—the dull look to the eyes, varied by occasional rolling, and the nervous twitchings of the hands and feet, the hot head and the cold extremities—may easily avert it by putting the child in a warm bath, and afterward in a comfortable bed, wrapped in flannels and secluded from noise and light.