Fig. 122.—Apparatus for gavage or lavage. (Tuley.)
The great danger in these cases is the ease of overfeeding.
Lavage or washing of the stomach may be performed in the same way with the above apparatus, when necessary. As soon as the stomach is filled, the tube is lowered and the fluid siphoned out.
CHAPTER XX
THE CARE OF THE CHILD (Cont’d)
Tongue-tie is not met with so frequently as in the old days. If the child can suck and nurses energetically, this complication can be excluded. It may, however, occur. In such a case, the frænum is unusually broad and seems to extend clear to the tip of the tongue, which apparently is bound down to the gum and to the floor of the mouth.
The thin membrane may be snipped with the scissors close to the tongue and then torn back with the finger.
Harelip and cleft palate interfere with nursing and require continual attention to keep mucus out of the throat. Brophy has a rubber flap placed over the nipple of the bottle in such a way as to occlude the split tissue and thus enables the child to get nourishment.
These babies must be fed systematically by gavage, if necessary, until the deformity can be repaired.
Hernia at the navel is a common complication of infancy. It is not due to crying, to improper tying of the cord, nor to neglect by the nurse, as frequently charged. It is a congenital fault, wherein the cord opening does not close, and in time, crying and straining will drive the intestines out of the aperture like a pouch. The defect is revealed by the bulging outward of the navel when the child cries. Ordinarily the breach will close of its own accord.