THE YOUNG WIFE's GUIDE, IN THE Management of her Children.
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To the READER.
THE medicinal education of children, which is commonly managed with such negligence, is however, of very great importance, and the faults that may be committed in it are attended with the most dangerous consequences. Children like dough, are susceptible of all impressions, and an infant well formed at its birth, may become weak, and sickly, thro' the improper management of the nurse, to whose care it is committed: and on the contrary, the most tender and sickly infant may become strong and robust, by a careful attention to the rules laid down in this Pamphlet. Several years practice in this particular branch of medicine, has enabled me to make these observations, so that I have asserted nothing but what is agreeable to reason, and confirmed to me by repeated experience: I have also, with great pains and attention, studied all the authors, who [Page]have professedly written on this subject, and have collected together in this treatise, all the useful precepts, both with respect to the nursing, and the treatment of the diseases of children, which are scattered in their different works; and have endeavoured to expose those customs which are evidently founded on absurd and dangerous prejudices. This small tract will, perhaps, appear contemptible, to those who judge of the worth of books by their bulk; but I doubt not, experience will teach its value, to mothers and nurses, and that the perusal will not in the least injure, if it does not improve, the more learned and experienced.
THE YOUNG WIFE's GUIDE, IN THE Management of her Children.
CONTAINING, Every thing necessary to be known relative to the nursing of Children, from the time of their Birth, to the Age of Seven Years; TOGETHER WITH A plain and full account of every Disorder, to which Infants are subject, and a collection of efficacious Remedies, suited to every Disease.
By JOHN THEOBALD, M. D. Author of MEDULLA MEDICINAE.
Compiled at the Command of His Royal Highness the Duke of CUMBERLAND.
LONDON: Printed and sold by W. GRIFFIN, in Fetter-lane, R. WITHY, in Cornhill, G. KEARSLY, opposite St. Martin's Church, in Ludgate-street, and E. ETHERINGTON, at York.
MDCCLXIV.
THE YOUNG WIFE's GUIDE, IN THE Management of her CHILDREN.
CHAP. I. Of the Ligature of the Navel String, and the Evacuation of the first Excrements called the Meconium.
THE tying of the navel-string is the first operation performed on the new born infant, it is done with common thread several times doubled, turned two or three times round the navel-string, and tied at the distance of about two or three inches [Page 2]from the navel, in order to prevent a fatal hemorrhage from this part; at the end which is left, there is applied a small compress of fine linnen, which is kept in its place by a slight bandage.
The skin of children, at their birth, is covered over with a whitish, viscid liquor, this is easily removed by washing the child with a little wine, mixed with warm water; this lotion is also a remedy for inflammations of the skin, which are common at this time, as it augments the motion of the humours, and dissipates the bad effects of the air. The same intention is answered by shaking, extending, and bending, the different members of the infant, by slightly rubbing the belly, and by gently irritating the organs of sensation, by which means the obstructions formed in the vessels of the skin are removed, and the mucous juices that are found in all the joints, are attenuated.
The stomach and intestines of the infant are full of a viscid matter, which is called the meconium, the first intention is to cleanse the child of this, before food, in any quantity, is to be given: for nature, which is always the best director, does not provide any till some days after its birth are expired. Rest, which at this time is the chief nourishment of the child, and the proper discharge of this excrement, are the principal [Page 3]matters to be regarded for a few days. To promote this end, the general practice of nurses is to cram a dab of butter and sugar down the infant's throat, or some such unwholesome mess: it is the custom of some to give a little bit of fat roast pig, with an intention to cure it of its mother's longings, so that from this preposterous management, the child runs the risk of being made sick from the very first hour. In the room of these absurd methods, to encourage the cleansing of the child, a tea spoonful of solutive syrup of roses, or syrup of violets, with an equal quantity of oil of sweet almonds, mixed together, may be now and then given: the pap should be made very thin, and given in small quantities, for if much be given before this excrement is evacuated, they will ferment together and occasion pain, and the tender body of the infant not being able to bear it, is flung into convulsions, and for want of attending sufficiently to this circumstance, abundance of children have lost their lives.
CHAP. II. Of the Examination of the Bridle of the Tongue, and of the time when the Child ought to take the first Aliments.
THE child makes known by the motion of its lips, when it wants some nourishment, it sucks its own glands, and draws spittle from them, which it either swallows or rejects, by putting it in foam out of its mouth; if any one presents a finger, it seizes it, rolls it in its mouth, and by these signs demands the nipple; but before it be given, it is not sufficient to teach it by little and little to seize it as it ought, we must also examine if the child is not hindered by some fault in the formation of its tongue. The tongue is sometimes so closely tied to the lower part of the mouth, by the means of the bridle, that it is obliged to be cut; this is usually done by nurses and midwives with the nail, but as this method is frequently attended with bad consequences, I would recommend rather the cutting it with a sharp pair of scissars. But the bridle of the tongue very seldom requires this operation, for it ought never to be cut, except when it is extended almost [Page 5]to the very tip of the tongue, which is very uncommon.
As to the time when the child ought to take nourishment, it is very difficult to give certain and invariable rules on this subject: however, it is natural to believe that following an exact method in relation to suckling of children, or giving them any other kind of nourishment, will not meet with unsurmountable obstacles, and it would be very useful if mothers would give themselves the trouble to put it in practice, and determine not to be discouraged at the beginning: those nurses, or mothers, cannot be sufficiently blamed who perpetually incite their children to swallow down milk, or any other kind of food, under pretence that they have warm stomachs, and an easy digestion; that they want them to grow and look fat, and that good milk can do them no hurt, without considering whether these excesses are followed by vomiting, a looseness, the gripes or convulsions: the weaker and more delicate the stomach of the infant is, the greater precaution should be taken not to overload it, and it ought to be allowed the more time to digest the nourishment it contains. Those who would not have children voracious, subject, to a vomiting and looseness, to breakings out and ether disorders, ought, as much as possible, to prescribe [Page 6]a fixed rule for the time when infants are to be fed, and for the quantity of aliments necessary for them. Their digestion would be more perfect, and their health more solidly established, were parents contented with giving them their nourishment, five or six times in the twenty four hours, a small quantity at each time, and always at the same hour, or as near as possible; this method should be observed about a twelvemonth, when, and not before, the child ought to be weaned, not all at once, but by degrees that it may neither feel, nor fret at, the want of the breast. Were this plan of nursing strictly followed, the children kept clean and sweet, tumbled and tost about a good deal, I am certain that in six or eight months time, most children would become healthful and strong, would readily find the use of their legs, and very soon shift for themselves.
CHAP. III. Of the Dress most proper for new born Children, and some remarks on the errors, in the common method of nursing.
THE ingenious Dr. Cadogan observes, that there needs no other proof of the impropriety of the present method of bringing up children, as practised by nurses, &c. than the frequent miscarriages attending it. Children in general are over cloathed and over fed: to these causes the doctor imputes almost all their diseases, the first great mistake is that they think a new born infant cannot be kept too warm; from this prejudice, they load and bind it with flannels, wrappers, stays, &c. which are all together almost equal to its own weight, by which means a healthy child is made so tender and chilly, that if by any accident a door or window be left open, the child often catches an irrecoverable cold, and what is still more absurd, at the end of the month, is sent into the country to be nursed, in a leaky house, that lets in wind and rain from every quarter. Can it be any wonder the child never thrives afterwards? But besides the mischief arising from the heat and weight of these swadling cloaths, they are too often put on so tight, [Page 8]and the child is so crampt by them, that its bowels have not room to act and exert themselves in the free easy manner they ought, this is a very hurtful circumstance, for limbs that are not used, will never be strong, and such tender bodies cannot bear much pressure, the circulation hindered by the compression of any one part, must produce unnatural swellings in some other, to which without doubt the many distortions and deformities we every where meet with are owing. A new born child cannot be well too cool and loose in its dress, it even wants less cloathing in proportion than a grown person, for children are capable of bearing great hardships before they are made sickly, by the mistaken management of their nurses, witness the many foundlings picked up daily in the streets of London, and the many instances, both antient and modern, of infants exposed, and deserted, which have nevertheless lived several days, tho' exposed to the utmost severity of the winter season.
I would recommend the following dress. A flannel waistcoat without sleeves, made to fit the body, and tie loosely behind, to which there should be a petticoat sewed, and over this a kind of gown of the same materials, or any other that is light, thin and flimsy. The petticoat should not be [Page 9]quite so long as the child, the gown a few inches longer, with one cap only on the head, which may be made double if it be not thought warm enough; what I mean is, that the whole head-dress should be so contrived, that it may be put on at once, and neither bind or press the head at all; the linnen may be the same as usual. This I think, would be abundantly sufficient for the day, laying aside all those swathes, bandages, stays, and contrivances, that are most ridiculously used to close, and keep the head in its place, and support the body; as if nature had produced her chief work, a human creature, so carelessly unfinished, as to want those idle aids to make it perfect. Shoes and stockings are not in the least necessary till the child is able to run about, for they keep the legs wet, and nasty, if they are not changed almost every hour, and often cramp and hurt the feet, besides, a child would stand firmer, and learn to walk much sooner without them. The child should wear a thin flannel shirt during the night, which ought to be every way quite loose: Children in this simple, loose, dress, which may be easily put on and off, without much trouble, would be infinitely easier, and enjoy a much freer use of their limbs, than when they are loaded, as is too frequently practised, with wrappers, stays, swathes, &c.
Nurses entertain a strange opinion about changing the linnen, and keeping the children clean. They foolishly imagine, that clean linnen, and fresh cloaths, draw away and rob them of their nourishment; on the contrary, they do nothing more than imbibe a little of that moisture, which their bodies exhale, which is of service to them, and therefore their linnen cannot be changed too often, it should be constantly clean every day, as it would free them from stinks, and acidities, which are not only offensive, but prejudicial to the tender state of infancy. Every mother who is able, ought to suckle her own child, since it is not only more beneficial to the child, but also conducive to her own health, since forcing back the milk, which most young women have in great plenty, sometimes endangers life, and often lays the foundation of many incurable diseases.
But if from a bad habit of body, want of a sufficient quantity of milk, or any other cause, the mother is incapable of suckling her child, it will be infinitely better to procure a wet-nurse, than to attempt to rear the infant by dry-nursing, since not above one in three of the children attempted to be brought up, by this unnatural and dangerous method, ever survive it.
Rules proper to be observed in the choice of a Wet-Nurse.
CARE should be taken to chuse a healthy woman, not more than thirty years of age, who has already suckled one child, and who has not lain-in above two or three months, and has plenty of good milk, which is judged to be so, when it is white, full of cream, sweet, and of a moderate consistence; if it be too wheyey or thick, yellowish, salt, hot, or but in a small quantity, it is a sufficient reason to think it bad, and on that account to reject: the nurse. The trials commonly made to determine the quality of the milk, are tasting it, and letting a drop fall into the eyes, when, if it makes the eyes smart, or does not leave a sweetness on the tongue, it is good for nothing. We judge of its consistence by the sight, or letting a little of it run into the palm of the hand, and then stroking the other hand upon it, by which it is easily known whether the milk is of a proper consistence. Great regard should be paid to the diet of the nurse: she ought to be very sober and temperate; she should eat one hearty meal of flesh-meat, with a good deal of garden-stuff and bread, every day, broth, milk, tea, or chocolate, are best for [Page 12]her breakfast. Her drink should be small-beer, or milk and water; wine and strong-beer should be carefully avoided, since giving spirituous liquors to a nurse, is, in reality, giving them to the child, the consequence of which may be easily foreseen. Tho' moderate exercise is, in general, useful in preserving the health of nurses, yet it is impossible to lay down general rules on this subject, as we must of necessity, in this case, comply with their usual custom and disposition. It is commonly thought, that long sleep is advantageous, and can never be prejudicial; but this opinion is wrongly founded, since too long sleep is succeeded by heaviness, stupidity, and melancholy, whereas vivacity, and gaiety of disposition, are qualities constantly required in nurses, which it is impossible to find in a woman who sleeps twelve or fourteen hours every night.
Another error is, that nurses should be absolutely deprived of the conjugal embraces of their husbands, lest they should become pregnant, and the infant, suck bad milk; but since medicinal observations prove, that the frustrating this appetite is attended often with dangerous consequences, and I do not believe, that its being moderately gratified, has been ever attended with the least inconvenience, with respect to health; I see [Page 13]no reason for forbidding nurses the company of their husbands, provided that the nurse is changed, if she should prove with child.
CHAP. IV. Of the most proper Diet, and the Rules necessary to be observed in Weaning of Children.
THE food of infants on their being weaned, ought certainly to be proportioned to the weakness of their digestive organs, contrary to the opinion of Mr. Locke, who advises children to be accustomed to the coarsest aliments, but the inconveniences, and danger attending this method are very evident, since indigestions, and all the disorders arising from them, threaten the infant who is fed with nourishment, which its weak stomach cannot thoroughly digest, since the digestive power is very weak in young children. Their principal nourishment at first should consist of broths, but little seasoned, of the best white bread well baked, of rice gruel, barley broth, water-gruel, panada, or pap made with bread instead of flower: baked [Page 14]apples, pears, cherries, &c. this permission must not extend to plums, apricots, peaches, figs, melons, almonds and nuts, which are by repeated observations, found to be very pernicious; they may be allowed bread and butter, now and then, provided the butter be quite sweet and fresh, and all the produce of the kitchen garden, for all these things are wholesome and good for them, notwithstanding the common notion of their being windy, which they are only to stomachs whose tone is spoilt by the use of high seasoned sauces, ragouts, &c.
The child should be weaned when about a twelvemonth old, which the nurse should do by rubbing her nipple with a little aloes, or any other bitter, or drug, which has a strong disagreeable smell, this disgusts the infant, who cries, is uneasy, and frets at the loss of a food he has so long been used to. The nurse must be careful not to let the uneasiness of the child prevail on her to change her resolution, and give the child the breast again, for the disposition of body contracted from hunger, fretting, and crying, will hinder the child from properly digesting the milk, and a vomiting, and troublesome looseness will certainly ensue. The child at first should not be too often fed, nor too much food given it at once, the most proper nourishment will be panada, or rice gruel, [Page 15]since the same ill consequences will attend feeding the child too much, as we observed would follow the misguided tenderness of the nurse, in giving suck to children, whom they have begun to wean. 'Tis impossible to use too much precaution in bringing the stomach to loose its habit of digesting nothing but milk, the use of which should always be insensibly left off: from milk the child should pass to panada, rice-gruel, or water gruel, from these to broths, and meat by degrees. A mixture ought never to be made of nourishments that are not of the same nature, and of an equal consistence, and particularly nurses ought to observe, not to give the infant more solid food, than can supply by its nutritious particles, the place of the milk it took before. The leanness which accompanies the weaning of children is a salutary change, it is the effect of the emptying of the small vessels, filled with a milky juice, that is to give place to a more nourishing lymph of another nature, and a more solid consistence; reason therefore, here agrees with experience, in convincing us that we are to blame to consider the state of those infants as fatal and dangerous, who become less plump after their being weaned, since most of the diseases children are subject to at the time of their being weaned, are owing to the too great quantity of food [Page 16]given them on their being deprived of milk. A looseness, and feverish disorders in young children, are thought to require the use of opiates, but where they proceed from weaning, the use of syrup of diacodion, and other narcotics, cannot be too much condemned, as the diet alone, when properly managed, is most useful for the different disorders that happen to infants when they are weaned, for the scurfs, scabs, and other disorders that then arise, will disappear of themselves, if the nurse has patience to wait for it.
CHAP. V. Of Cutting the Teeth.
ABOUT the fifth or sixth month after the birth, the cutting of the teeth is plainly discovered by the mouth of the infant being overflowed with spittle. Their gums swell, grow red, and inflamed, caused by the growing up of the teeth, which it is necessary to favour, by lessening the resistance of the gums, which oppose their rising up; it is right therefore to compress the gums against the teeth, which are to pass through them, to do which the nurse should pass and [Page 17]repass her finger, over the edge of the gums, and press, and rub them more or less strongly, as circumstances may require; for these compressions which are very proper to calm the painful tickling, the infant feels in the gums, answer the principal view with which they are proposed, the forcing a passage through the gums, for the teeth; the infant is so desirous to prevent this disagreeable sensation, that he gnaws his fingers, and rolls in his mouth, whatever he can get hold of, from this circumstance people have invented the use of corals, which should be tied with a ribband round the waist, to prevent their being lost, or being thrust too far down the child's throat: Breeding of teeth is fatal to many children, but not naturally so, for whatever fits, fever, or other dangerous symptoms, attend this work of nature, are generally the effects of too great fullness, or the corrupt humours of the body put into agitation, by the stimulus of the pain the tooth causes, in forcing its way thro' the gums, which never happens without some pain, and possibly a little fever, but if the blood and juices are perfectly sweet and good, both will be but flight, and pass off imperceptibly without any bad consequence whatever, and healthy children sometimes breed their teeth without any such bad [Page 18]attendants, which gives us reason to think the evil is not natural, but commonly brought on thro' the imprudent management of the nurse.
CHAP. VI. On the Diseases of Children in General.
CHILDREN are subject to many diseases, peculiar to the state of infancy, besides those they are liable to in common with grown persons, and whoever examines with attention, those symptoms in children, which plainly occur to the senses, and compares them with the simplicity of their diet, and the extreme delicacy of their constitution, will find that the method of treating the disorders of children with propriety, is by no means so difficult as is commonly imagined, for the diseases of infancy are few in their kind, and differ only in degree from one another. If we consider the nature of the fluids in children, we shall find that they never degenerate from their natural state, into any thing else than an acid acrimony, for whatever disorder they labour under, their excrements have almost always a sour smell, and the same may be observed of [Page 19]their belchings, in short all the complaints of infants spring from an acid cause. But little can be learnt in the diseases of infants from their pulse, or urine, our whole intelligence must proceed from the nurse; who can easily tell whether the child has been troubled with a vomiting, with restlessness, pains in the belly, sour belchings, hiccups, or cough, whether they are costive or loose, the colour of their stools, whether white, green, or bilious, whether they are remarkably thirsty, and consequently feverish, whether they have the thrush, or convulsions in any part of their bodies, whether there appears any swelling in their belly, or any other part, whether they have any eruptions, or spots on the skin, or whether the skin is yellowish, or red. These enquiries are in general sufficient to enable the persons who have the care of children to prescribe for them with success, for with respect to the pulse, it is in children naturally so very quick and so easily disturbed by the most trifling accident, that persons unacquainted with this circumstance, would think them always in a fever. Besides children when sick are so peevish, and fretful, that scarce any of them can be prevailed on to hold their arm steady, long enough for a physician to feel their pulse, in short so many accidents quicken or disturb the circulation of the blood in young [Page 20]children, that the judgement from their pulse is too precarious, to be in any respect depended upon. Nor can any thing more certain be gathered from their urine, because in children in health, it is always very thick, so that any ignorant person upon inspecting it, would be apt to suspect the child to be very much disordered, while on the contrary he enjoys a perfect, state of health, besides the urine of children is seldom to be examined, unmixed with the excrements. The causes which immediately relate to the production of childrens diseases may be referred to the following heads, 1st. to cold, 2dly. to thick milk, 3dly. to allowing them too early to eat meat, 4thly. to giving them spirituous liquors: Cold catched in the evening, is certainly the occasion of those feverish indispositions, with which children are so often afflicted, therefore proper care should be taken, to provide children with cloaths sufficiently warm, suitable to their age, to defend them from the injuries of the air. Too thick milk may be occasioned from many different causes, but this vitious quality of the milk from whatever cause it arises, must produce many bad effects, and inevitably lay the foundation of fatal obstructions. Persons of all ages should be careful with regard to their diet, but the diet of infants, should [Page 21]be managed with the greatest caution, because they most easily suffer from errors of this kind, and want strength, to resist their pernicious consequences, the using children too soon to eat flesh, is the cause of those indigestions, which constantly attend that voracious age, and if their food be crude, and hard to be digested, their humours must likewise be crude, from whence not only worms will be bred, but a variety also of perplexing, and untoward symptoms, under which they frequently pine and languish. Wine and spirituous liquors are serviceable to old people, to supply the natural warmth, which is always languid in that state of life, but on this very account, must be prejudicial to children, since they are much warmer than grown persons, and every kind of spirituous liquor, vitiates the tone of their stomach, spoils their appetite, burns up their nerves, and destroys their delicate structure, by continual feverish heats.
To lay a rational foundation for the cure of the diseases incident to infants, the tenderness and weakness of their constitution must be considered, and to these the medicines must carefully be adapted, the milder the remedies made use of, the greater the probability of success, for as their diet is simple, so ought their medicines to be simple too, it has been already observed that most [Page 22]of their disorders arise from acidity, the method of cure therefore depends entirely on removing this cause, which is effected by giving them testaceous powders, such as prepared oyster shells, prepared coral, and the like, which are of a perfectly mild nature, and efficaciously absorb any prevalent acidity, they are also anodines, and never fail to give ease to children, when griped, much more certainly than the syrup of white poppies or diacodion, which tho' so often advised by old nurses, can never be given with safety; the only inconvenience attending the free use of these testaceous powders, is that they are apt to occasion a costiveness, which is always prejudicial to young children, the use of them therefore requires every now and then, a little manna, or a sew grains of rhubarb, which is particularly suited to childrens constitutions, for it gently and safely evacuates the febrific matter, purges the stomach and whole body, of any vitiated humours, and restores the tone of the bowels; but perhaps no other remedy, is equal to a fine insipid powder, called Magnesia Alba, which at the same time, that it corrects, and sweetens all acidities, even more effectually than the testaceous powders, is likewise a very gentle purgative, and keeps the body moderately open without [Page 23]any other assistance: It may be given children from a scruple to a quarter of an ounce in a day, a little at a time in all their food, till the acidities are quite destroyed, and the disorders arising therefrom entirely removed, it has been very frequently administred with surprizing benefit, even when children have been reduced to the last extremity, by diseases proceeding from acidities, and may be easily procured at almost every apothecaries shop, at a very moderate price.
CHAP. VII. On the particular Disorders incident to Children.
Bruises.
THE childs head is frequently bruised in birth, whence arises a considerable swelling, this also sometimes happens by the too rough handling of the midwife, to remove this complaint, the parts must be every now and then, embrocated with a little of the following embrocation.
Take spirits of wine camphorated, oil of St. John's wort, and red port wine each one ounce, balsam of peru forty drops, mix [Page 24]them together. If there mould be a fracture, or dislocation of any part, it must be reduced as soon as possible by the assistance of a surgeon.
Extreme Weakness.
It is sometimes after a difficult birth, very hard to distinguish, whether the child be alive or dead, in this case it is common to burn something under its nose, to hold sal volatile drops to the nostrils, and rub a little on the temples, to shake the child well, and give it a few gentle strokes on the buttocks, or to spirt a little warm wine into its mouth, and rub it well with warm cloths, when it revives, a drop of spirits of hartshorn, or sal volatile, may be given in a spoonful of water.
Bearing down of the Fundament.
The falling down of the fundament, arises from a relaxation of the gut called rectum, some children are troubled with it, all the time of their early infancy, it is seldom dangerous, and nothing but time can make a perfect cure, some persons imagine, that if the gut is of a deep red colour, and sometimes blackish, or brown, that it is inflamed [Page 25]and likely to mortify, but as these are the natural colours of the internal membrane of the bowels, the nurse must be careful to avoid using penetrating applications, with a view to prevent the bowels mortifying. The method of returning it into the body, is by laying the child on its belly, and gently pressing the gut, with the infant's buttocks, but if this does not succeed, and the gut hangs out a considerable way, the nurse should then gently apply the finger moistned with a little fresh butter, to the end of the gut, and by little and little, inclose it in its own cavity, in a proper direction, and then drawing out the finger with care, repeat the same operation if the first did not entirely replace the bowel; to prevent a return of this complaint, restringent fomentations must be applied frequently, the following is as good as can possibly be contrived for that purpose.
Take oak bark in gross powder a pound, balaustine flowers half a pound, boil them together in three pints of water till one half is wasted away, then strain of the liquor, and dissolve in it four ounces off allum.
Red Gum.
Children have commonly little red eruptions in the face, which are called the red [Page 26]gum, and which nurses look upon to be natural, and that the children will be unhealthy who have it not, this happens from neglecting to procure a proper discharge of the first excrements, it must by no means be discouraged, by the application of cooling topics externally; the testaceous powders, or the magnesia alba given freely, in the manner already described, under the head of the diseases of children in general, and keeping the child moderately warm, will soon remove this complaint.
Thrush.
The thrush appears in the following manner, a great many little whitish ulcers affect the whole surface of the mouth, viz. the lips, gums, cheeks, tongue, palate, throat, they even affect the stomach and bowels; if these ulcers are of a pearl colour, clear, white, few in number, superficial and fall off easily, they are of the best sort, but if they are opake, like bacon, yellow, brown, black, hard, running together, and constantly appearing again, and corrosive, they are attended with great danger.
Give the child the following powder in its food, or any liquid, three times in a day. Take oyster shells prepared, in fine powder, four scruples, and divide it into nine papers: [Page 27]one paper is to be given three times in a day; every other day give the following purge.
Take syrup of roses solutive, a quarter of an ounce, and mix therewith, from three to six grains of powder of rhubarb, according to the strength and age of the child: the mouth and throat, are to be touched with the following mixture every hour, by the means of a feather.
Take of the juice of the greater houseleek and virgin honey each equal parts, boil them together a little while to clarify them, then add as much roch allum, as is sufficient to make it taste rough, this mixture is recommended by the great Mr. Boyle, as a certain specifick in this disorder.
Convulsions.
Children are very subject to convulsive motions, which most frequently arise from indigestion, an acidity of the juices, and a slimy matter adhering to the coats of the stomach, the cure must be begun by giving the child according to its age, from one grain to four grains of the powder of ipecacoanha, which will vomit the child very gently, without the least danger, and will bring away without forcing the child to [Page 28]drink much of any liquor, whatever foulnesses the stomach is overloaded with, after which the following powders must be given three times in a day.
Take prepared oyster shells in fine powder, a drachm, Russia castor a scruple, mix them together, and divide the powder into six papers, in the intervals of the fits, leeches may be applied behind the ears, after the use of the powders for a day or two, the following purging powder must be given, a paper every hour till it operates.
Take oyster shell powder, and cream of tartar each half a drachm, mix them together, and divide them into three papers, if these do not give the child a stool or two, by the time the whole quantity is taken, a glyster of sugar'd milk should be administred, and repeated a second time, if necessary. Blisters are seldom of any great service in these disorders. The purging powder should be repeated two or three times to prevent a return of the convulsions.
Cough.
As a cough proceeds from an obstruction of perspiration, the cure must be begun by giving the child according to its age from three to ten grains of rhubarb, to promote a [Page 29]discharge by stool, after which a small spoonful of this julap, may be given frequently.
Take hysop water four ounces, syrup of balsam of tolu three ounces, oil of sweet almonds one ounce, spirits of hartshorn five drops, mix them together, or a paper of the following powder may be taken pretty often in a day. Take spermaceti, and sugar candy each one drachm, aniseed powder half a drachm, mix them together, and divide them into six papers. If the cough obstinately resists the use of these medicines, a gentle vomit of ipecacoanha, which may be given from one grain to four grains, according to the age of the child, generally produces the most happy effects.
Excoriations.
Little children by reason of the sharpness of their urine, are very apt to gall and fret, about their thighs, and groin, to remove which, the parts should be first washed with a little warm water, to dissolve the acrimonious salts lodged in the skin, after which, a little fullers earth may be applied to the parts affected, or they may be dabbed several times in a day, with the following lotion. Take half a drachm of compound ceruss powder, and dissolve it in two ounces [Page 30]of plantain water, the nurse must keep the child dry and very clean; if the excoriations are very bad, they should be drest twice in a day, with a little turners cerate spread on a fine rag
Ruptures.
The ruptures of children are not so dangerous, nor so hard to be cured, as those of grown person: they are owing to particular relaxations of the skin, and the tendinous fibres of the navel, and the rings of the belly; the straining which children practice when crying, forces the bowels of the lower belly, with violence against the navel, and rings of the belly, which not having yet acquired a sufficient degree of resistance, give way, and open a passage for the intestines, &c. to pass thro'; they are with ease reduced, and by the application of a proper truss, which may be had of Mr. White truss maker in Fleet-street, the tendinous fibres, the navel, and the rings, obtain a greater degree of strength, in proportion as the child increases in growth.
Watery Head.
This is a disease peculiar to infancy, and is almost always fatal, tho' Placentinus affirms, that he has seen children cured of [Page 31]this terrible disorder, by a constant use of dry nourishment, and stomachic medicines: the head should be fomented with linen cloths, dipped in lime water, several times in a day, and repeated for some time together, this topical application, has been successful in an external watry head, tho' cauteries applied to the nape of the neck, and hind part of the head, seem to bid fairer to be attended with success, and effect a cure, than any thing else whatever.
Difficult Breeding the Teeth.
Amongst all the disorders to which children are subject, there are none as Hippocrates observes, which occasion such grievous symptoms, as difficult dentition, there is great reason to expect the breeding of the teeth will be difficult, if the child is continually crying, thrusts its fingers into its mouth, and bites the nurses nipples; if unequal swellings are perceived in the gums, where the teeth are expected to appear, if the mouth and whole body are very hot, and the child starts much in its sleep, slavering much, and a looseness are no bad signs, when a child is cutting its teeth. The bad and dangerous disorders arising from difficult dentition, are restlessness, gripes, costiveness, green stools, [Page 32]thrush, fevers, suffocating coughs, convulsions, and epilepsies, which often end in death.
The cure must be begun by applying a leach behind each ear, and when the swelling of the gum shows it is time to cut it, which is known by a white speck appearing on the swelling, it should be cut quite down to the tooth, with a penknife, instead of a lancet, to prevent its uniting too soon, and forming a hard cicatrix. There can be no danger happen to the child from this operation, but on the contrary, many have died for the want of it. The most effectual method of treating the fever, occasioned by difficult breeding the teeth, is to give the child according to its age, from two, to six drops of spirits of hartshorn in a spoonful of any simple water, every four hours, this may be repeated five or six times, the other symptoms must be treated as directed under those respective articles.
Gripes.
Young infants are often troubled with this complaint, a juniper berry, or a little aniseed powder, should be boiled in its victuals, or a carminative glyster prepared with chickens guts, with a few fennel seeds boiled with it, may be given, if they [Page 33]proceed from the curdling of the milk, in the childs stomach, the Magnesia alba, mixt with half its quantity of rhubarb, should be given, a few grains very frequently. If worms are the cause, the medicines given under the article of the worms, will be most proper. HARRIS, and BOERHAAVE.
Watery Gripes and Vomiting.
A looseness in young infants, is not easily known from the consistence of their excrements, which are commonly fluid among those that suck; the most certain signs, are the offensive smell, the different colour, and a certain peculiarity in the stools, a loss of appetite, heat, gripes, restlessness, weakness, falling away, and lowness of spirits; if the disorder is moderate it ought not to be immediately stopped, but the infant should take in its pap, night and morning, from two to four, or six grains of the following powder: Take Magnesia alba, and rhubarb in fine powder, each an equal quantity, and mix them together; but if it be violent, continues long, and is attended with immediate danger, astringent medicines must be given, such as the following mixture: Take simple cinnamon water, four ounces, red coral prepared, a drachm and an half, compound powder of bole without opium, a scruple, syrup of diacodion one ounce, [Page 34]mix them together, and give a small spoonful after every loose stool.
A few grains of rhubarb must also be given the child every third day, to prevent the ill consequences that might attend a too sudden stoppage of the looseness, for rhubard is almost a specifick in disorders of this kind, for it not only evacuates the morbid humours, but also restores the tone of the intestines, strengthens digestion, and acts upon the whole constitution in the nature of an alterative. With regard to vomiting, if the stomach will not retain any kind of food, the child may safely take from one to four or six grains, of powder of ipecacoanha, for this will puke very gently, and does not require so much to be drank after it, as some other vomits do, and yet clears the stomach of crudities, viscidities, and all other bad humours.
Wasting away, or Atrophy.
This disease generally arises from an obstruction of the mesenteric glands, whence the natural passage of the chyle being obstructed, the blood is deprived of its due nourishment; the signs of this disorder are a hard swelling of the belly, loss of appetite, [Page 35]and a wasting away of the body as in a consumption. To cure this disease, take salt of tartar, sal prunell, and arcanum duplicatum, each a quarter of an ounce, sal armoniac three drachms; mix them together, and put a little of this powder into the child's drink according to its age, or it may be cured by the following simple method, put two drachms of sliced rhubard, into a quart bottle of small beer, let it be well corked, and in two or three days it will be fit for use, let the child drink no other liquor, as well by night, as by day: when the child has drank the first quart, another quart of small beer is to be put to the same rhubarb, and afterwards another, if necessary, and then the strength of the disease, and of the rhubard, will vanish together, but if the first bottle is likely to purge too much, another pint of beer may be put in after a single pint has been drank, which must all be used before any more is put in.
Yellowness, or Jaundice.
Many children are afflicted with this disorder, soon after birth, and some are born extremely yellow, when the mother has had the jaundice during her pregnancy: if the child is costive, once in two or three days, give it a little syrup of rhubard, sufficient [Page 36]to purge it once, or twice, and on the intermediate days, give it night and morning the following powder in a spoonful of its mothers, or nurses milk. Take bezoar mineral, and saffron, each one grain; powder of red coral three grains, mix them together for one dose. The nurse must be sure not to neglect this distemper, for if proper care is not taken, the child will fall into the watery gripes, which commonly carries it off.
Scabby Eruptions of the Head and Face, and Running of the Ears.
The nurse's principal care in these disorders ought to be, to calm the impatience of mothers, who are not easily persuaded to see their children in this condition, as they imagine whatever renders them disagreeable, should be removed as speedily as possible, but since these disorders are the consequences of a salutary operation, by which nature endeavours to depurate the humours, they should by no means be checkt, since a multitude of fatal examples prove, that the striking in of these eruptions is almost always mortal. The cure of these eruptions ought to be confined to washing the parts affected with warm water, and a few grains of [Page 37]rhubarb should be given every third day, and the following powders should be given in any liquid, night and morning, on the intermediate days.
Take alkalized mercury, and oyster shells prepared, each half a drachm, mix them together, and divide them into ten papers▪ one of which is a dose.
Scald Head.
The same fatal accidents may arise from a too sudden striking in of the humour, in the scald head, as from the other eruptions, to which children are subject: the head should be first shaved, and then covered with a pitch plaister, which should be removed once every week, and the head anointed with a little sweet oil, or fresh butter; internally, a few grains of aethiops mineral, or half a grain of calomel, must be taken twice in a day, and every third morning a dose of purging physick, proportioned to the strength, and age, of the child.
Shingles.
The use of topics in this distemper, which consists of an eruption of watery pimples, which surround the waist like a belt, and [Page 38]occasion an intolerable itching, is attended with the same inconveniences as in the scald head, and other scabby eruptions of children; the child must take a few grains of rhubarb according to its age, two or three times a week, and scabs may be anointed with the following liniment spread on a piece of fine linnen, twice in a day. Take sweet oil and bees wax, each one ounce, spermaceti a quarter of an ounce, melt the was, and spermaceti, in the oil, over a gentle fire, and stir the mixture till it comes to a proper consistence.
Worms.
As soon as children begin to eat fruits, flesh, cheese, &c. they become liable to worms, the signs of which are, a swelling of the belly, paleness, voracity, a stinking breath, itching of the nose, costiveness, fainting, and sometimes a looseness, or epileptic fits, the excrements are often whitish, and the urine frothy, thick, and muddy. The cure is effected by applying a plaister of aloes spread on leather, to the navel of the child, or the belly may be anointed with the gall of an ox made hot, two or three times in a day; inwardly, a grain of calomel made into a pill, with conserve of hips, [Page 39]may be given every night, and must be worked off with ten or fifteen grains of the compound scammony powder, (which may be had at any apothecaries,) every third day, or a few grains of prepared tin, may be given night and morning, and worked off once in a week, with the scammony powder, as above directed.
Epilepsy or Falling Sickness.
This distemper comes on very unexpectedly, depriving the child of all sense in a moment, tho' sometimes it is preceded by a weight in the head, flashing of the eyes and a noise in the ears, a cramp in the arms, legs, or back, from whence, ascending to the head, like a cold blast of air, it seems to bring on the fit; the belly is swelled, the extremities, neck, and back, become quite stiff, or are strangely contorted, the child gnashes its teeth, foams at the mouth, dashes its head on the ground, and beats its breast violently, and the eyes, lips, and face, are strangely distorted, the oftner these fits are repeated, the more violent they become, till at length they are quite unsupportable, and deprive the child of its memory, judgment, and reason, and at last prove fatal: It is properest to begin the [Page 40]cure of this disorder, with an emetic, the safest and best of which, is the powder of ipecacoanha, a few grains of which must be taken according to the childs age, and worked off with weak chamomile tea, a purging potion composed of syrup of buckthorn, should be constantly taken, four days before the new moon, the powder of misletoe of the oak, taken a few grains twice in a day, or the following electuary will do great service: Take of peruvian bark in powder one ounce, valerian root half an ounce, and mix them into an electuary, with syrup of orange peels. The dose is the quantity of a nut, morning and evening, for three months together, and then repeat it three or four days before the new and full moon. Bleeding, vomiting and purging, should precede the use of this electuary; but if this disorder proceeds from worms, it must be treated as directed under the article of worms.
Scarlet Fever.
The Scarlet Fever chiefly attacks children towards the close of summer; they are chilly, and shake in the beginning, but are not very sick, the skin is covered with [Page 41]small red spots, which are more numerous, large, and redder than the measles, and continue two or three days, after which, the scarf skin falling off, the true skin appears marked with branny scales. Take of burnt hartshorn finely powdered, and compound powder of crabs claws, each half a drachm, cochineal two grains, fine sugar a drachm, make them into a fine powder, to be divided into twelve equal parts, one of which is to be taken every six hours in a spoonful or two, of the following julap: Take simple alexiterial water four ounces, syrup of orange-peels one ounce, mix them for a julap. Apply a small blister to the nape of the neck, and every night, give a tea spoonful of syrup of diacodion, and after the fever is gone off, purge the child, three or four times, with a few grains of the compound scammony powder; if the child is costive, there is no danger in giving a glyster of sugar'd milk every second day.
Measles.
This disease begins like the small-pox, with a shivering; the second day, a fever comes on attended with great sickness, thirst, loss of appetite, a slight cough, heaviness of the head and eyes, with a continual drowsiness, [Page 42]and an effusion of tears, which is a certain sign the measles are at hand. These symptoms increase 'till the fourth day, when little red spots like flea-bites, appear in the forehead and face, which are composed of small red pimples rising a little higher than the skin, as may be felt by pressing them lightly with the finger. These spots extend themselves over the whole body; but in these parts they are large and red, and do not rise above the surface of the skin. If the cough is violent, blood must be taken away in the beginning of this disorder, according to the age, and strength of the child. Take compound powder of contrayerva one drachm, and half a drachm of nitre, mix them, to be divided into eight papers, one of which may be given every six hours, in a little barley-water.
To appease the cough, nothing is better than oil of almonds, mixed with an equal quantity of syrup of balsam, half a spoonful of which should be given frequently. The diet ought to be the same as in the small-pox, taking particular care, to keep the body lax, through the whole course of the disease. The child must be well purged after this disorder, should be removed into the country-air, and drink asses milk for some time.
Small-Pox.
The symptoms which appear before the eruption of the small-pox, are, a shivering succeeded by an intense heat, a violent pain in the head and back, a stupor and drowsiness, and sometimes convulsions, which in children is a sign that the small-pox will be favourable. The diet should be very slender, moistning, and cooling, the body ought to be kept moderately open in the beginning, which is of great importance. The child should be kept in bed, moderately warm, but care must be taken not to over load the child with cloaths, nor keep it too hot. Cordials are almost always pernicious, small-beer sharpened with orange-juice, pippin-liquor, barley-water, and milk-pottage, may be drank plentifully during the whole course of this disease. After this distemper as well as the measles, the child must be well purged, and follow the other directions given under that disorder.
Chicken-Pox.
This disorder seldom requires the use of medicine, whenever it does, the directions given for the small-pox, are also proper for [Page 44]this distemper. A few doses of purging physick, are generally the only medicines necessary to be made use of.
Hooping-cough.
So called, because from the convulsive motion, children when they cough, make a noise like hooping. Bleeding is sometimes necessary, and the body should be kept open, by taking a few grains of rhubarb every third day: gentle vomits are also of service, such as ipecacoanha wine; from five to twenty drops of paregoric elixir, may be taken in a glass of water, two or three times in a day; or take an handful of hoglice, and bruise them in half a pint of whitewine, press out the juice, and sweeten it with white sugarcandy; a spoonful of this is to be given several times in a day.
Rickets.
This distemper most frequently affects children from nine months old, to two years and an half. The child at the beginning is seized with an aversion to motion, of exercise of any kind; the joints grow feeble and weak, and the flesh soft and flaccid; the head is over large, and the child's capacity [Page 45]city exceeds its years. The belly is hard and very prominent; the bones of the arms, and legs, grow crooked, and are knotty at the joints; a cough comes on and difficulty of breathing; the pulse is low and languid, and an hectic fever carries off the child. Take of the best manna a drachm and an half, of dried raisins an handful, common ale a pint; infuse them together for twelve hours, and then strain them; let the child drink a draught of this frequently. The exercises most proper for ricketty children are, those which give the greatest and most equal motion to the body, provided they are not too violent. Children ought to be accustomed to the gentlest kind at first, when they are weak, and afterwards by degrees, to such as give more exercise to the body: Friction above every thing must never be neglected, especially on the back, and those parts which are apt to be the weakest; and the following ointment may be rubbed with advantage all over the back. Take the nerve ointment, and palm oil, each an ounce, oil of mace one drachm, compound lavender-drops two drachms, spirits of sal armoniac forty drops, oil of amber twenty drops, mix them into a liniment, with which the parts affected may be anointed with a warm hand, two or three times in a day: the child may also take [Page 46]two grains of Ens Veneris in a spoonful of wine and water, every night; issues cut between the second, and third joint of the neck, are of great service, to these methods must be joined, cold bathing and exercise, without which, no complete cure can be made.
Scrophula, or Kings-Evil.
The diet in this disorder should be thin and attenuating, light and easy of digestion, and all salt and smoke-dried meats ought to be carefully avoided; as also, all things in general which are hard of digestion, or yield indifferent nourishment; the air should be pure, sweet, and dry, and the body should be kept moderately open. Take a scruple of burnt sponge, and four grains of rhubarb, mix them together for one dose, which is to be taken twice in a day, drinking after each dose, a glass of sea-water; or ten grains of the sea-oak calcined, may be taken night and morning, with a glass of seawater, or warm whey, sweetned with syrup of violets; lime-water is a good auxiliary in scrophulous cases, and sometimes, a great deal of good has been done by the [Page 47]constant use of it, mixed with new milk, without the assistance of any other medicines.
Whitloe.
This disorder, when slight and recent, as experience demonstrates, may be dispersed and removed, by the use of discutient and cooling remedies, without an incision in the diseased part. The most approved method of removing the inflammation and obstruction, is to put the child's finger for a considerable time, in a cup full of spirits of wine and camphor, several times in a day, or frequently to dip the finger in scalding hot water: if the child finds relief by either of these means, it should persist in the use of them, 'till the finger is quite well, and free from pain; if not, a pultice of white bread and milk, or chewed bread and butter, must be applied to the finger 'till the whitloe is ripe, when it must be launced, and drest every night and morning, with a pledget of lint, dipped in some melted yellow basilicon.
Chilblains.
Bathe the parts affected, with spirits of wine and camphor, warm vinegar, or opodeldoc; [Page 48]but if they break, dress them with the following ointment, spread on a piece of fine rag, twice in a day, applying over the dressing, a pultice of boiled or roasted turnips. The receipt for the ointment. Take one ounce of yellow basilicon, and mix with it sixty drops of oil of turpentine.
Warts.
When warts disfigure children, they should be removed by touching them every day, with a feather dipped in spirits of sea-salt, and in order to prevent its acting upon the skin around them, care should be taken to cover it with a diachylon plaister, that has a hole in the middle for the wart to come through; this precaution, which is necessary, for warts spread over the surface of the body, ought to be more scrupulously observed, when these excressences are placed on the eye-lids, otherwise, there is danger of destroying the child's sight, by endeavouring to remove a trifling deformity.
On Vermin ingendring in the Head.
This never takes place but in the children, which are neglected by their mothers or nurses; for it never happens to children [Page 49]which are kept clean and combed every day. It is very necessary, that the mothers or nurses of the lower people, should be more attentive to the fatal consequences of their neglect, for the many children who fall into a dreadful leanness, and at last die of a slow fever, might have been preserved, had the least care of this sort been taken of them, by the applying a little mercurial ointment to the head, and oftner cutting and combing the hair.