Cleanliness, as at other times, applies to the baby’s food, clothing and surroundings. Many doctors think it safer to have all milk boiled during the summer, and of course require flawless technique in its preparation and administration. The baby’s soiled napkins should be placed immediately in a covered receptacle containing water, and not left for even a moment where they can be reached by flies. They should be washed, boiled and dried in the open air and sunshine as promptly as possible.
The baby should be protected from flies and mosquitoes by screens in the windows and netting over his crib and carriage, both because they make him restless and irritable and because flies particularly are carriers of filth and disease—the kind of disease that kills so many babies during the summer. Accordingly the nurse must always regard flies with a deadly fear.
The baby should be kept away from dusty places and from cats and dogs. And since babies will put their fingers in their mouths it is a wise precaution to wash their hands several times a day.
The baby should be in the country, in the mountains or at the seashore if possible during the warmest part of the summer at least, but if he is in town there is much that the nurse can do to keep him cool and comfortable. His clothing at this time must be adjusted to his condition and the temperature of the moment just as it is in cold weather. A thin shirt, band, diaper and cotton slip will usually be enough for out-of-door wear, while in the house he may often dispense with the slip and sometimes with everything but his diaper.
During excessively hot days, the baby should have two or three cool sponge baths, in addition to the soap and water bath, one of the sponges being given before he is put to bed for the night. He should sleep on a firm mattress, preferably curled hair but never feathers, and in the coolest, best ventilated room available. During the day it is usually best to take him out-of-doors early in the morning and late in the afternoon, but to keep him indoors during the warmest part of the day, when it is likely to be cooler indoors than out, particularly if the blinds are closed. Quite naturally the nurse will have to take into consideration the size, arrangement and location of the baby’s home in her effort to keep him in cool, quiet, shady places and out-of-doors as much as possible.
He must not be played with, held on hot laps nor subjected to the entertainment and attention which misguided but well-meaning mothers and friends are so eager to lavish on a hot, fretful baby.
Very often during warm weather a fine rash known as “prickly heat” appears on the back of the baby’s neck and spreads over his head, neck, chest and shoulders. This rash is due to too warm clothing or to the hot weather or to both. Less clothing and frequent baths will often give relief, but if the baby is very uncomfortable, he may be greatly soothed by being immersed in cool baths containing soda, bran or starch in the following proportions:
Soda bath. Two tablespoonfuls of baking soda to one gallon of water.
Bran bath. A cheese-cloth bag about six inches square, partly filled with bran, is soaked and squeezed in the bath water until it is milky.
Starch bath. About eight ounces of cooked laundry starch to one gallon of water.