FAINTING
Consciousness is quickly restored to the fainting child by lowering the head—laying him flat on the floor—while an assistant raises the legs perpendicularly. Cold dashes of water may be slapped on the chest with a towel, while the face is bathed or sprinkled with cold water. Consciousness is usually quickly restored by the above suggestions, in connection with plenty of fresh air.
A sudden blow on the head occasionally results in a severe condition known as concussion of the brain. There is a partial or complete loss of consciousness lasting from a few moments to an hour or two. Pallor of the skin and a sense of bewilderment accompany concussion of the brain.
Rest, quiet, and darkness should prevail until the physician arrives and makes an examination. External heat to the extremities may be applied, but no stimulants are to be administered until so ordered by the physician.
It is wise to seek medical advice in the case of odd or unusual behavior after a fall on the head.
CHAPTER XXXV
DIET AND NUTRITION
Most interesting is the study of the food as it passes through the processes of digestion, absorption, assimilation, and oxidation—all definite and important parts of the great cycle through which everything we eat passes on its way from the table to the tissues. Elimination is the last step in nutrition, and is the process by which the body rids itself of the broken down cells and other poisonous and useless wastes. These various phases of bodily nutrition may be expressed in a single term—metabolism.
What we eat and how much we eat must be carefully planned, for our body temple is really made of what we eat. If you were erecting a beautiful mansion you would not think of allowing cheap, trashy, and inferior building materials to enter into the construction of your home. Neither should you permit unfit and inferior materials to become a part of the daily dietary of your little boy or girl, thus to become a part of their bodily structure.