POTT'S DISEASE
Pott's disease, or tuberculosis of the bone, often results in an angular spinal deformity. This curvature, unlike the lateral curvature, is a sequela of an actual disease of the bones. It is always very serious and demands early treatment from skilled hands. Early in the disease there is a peculiar stiff, tottering gait. The little child holds the spine rigidly, and in picking up objects from the floor bends the knees instead of the spine. If the trouble is in the upper spine, the shoulders are held high and the head is stiffly poised, it is never rotated; in looking about the entire body turns.
Medical aid should be secured early. The X ray not only locates the difficulty but also determines the extent of the process. If the spine be put to perfect rest, outdoor life begun, a diet rich in fats established, the results are often wonderfully successful.
Another tubercular condition is seen in the much dreaded hip-joint disease which parents should always be on the lookout for. The earliest symptoms are crying out in the night suddenly, unnatural standing on one leg (to relieve the strain on the diseased hip) and so-called "growing pains." Call in a physician very early and institute proper treatment. A posterior curvature of the spine is often associated with a bad case of rickets. It is of temporary duration, and usually clears up when the symptoms of rickets have been eradicated. It involves only the back muscles—not the vertebral bones.
The young mother is often very much concerned over the misshapen head of the child as a result of a prolonged labor; and it does seem quite miraculous to see a head, more nearly resembling an egg than anything else, become beautifully round and shapely by the end of two or three days.
Protruding ears may be encouraged to lie more flatly by the wearing of a specialized bonnet at night. When the babies are too young to turn themselves they should be turned first to one side and then the other, while care should always be exercised in properly straightening out a curled under ear or an overlapping ear.