Very slight disturbances will often increase the pulse rate out of all proportion to the severity of the condition. The heart will beat very much faster just from the handling of the child in making the analysis, or as a result of any excitement or crying. It may be very difficult to count the pulse because of its rapidity.
Often a very moderate incoördination will result in a marked increase in the pulse rate and especially is this true in cases in which there is slight fever.
An increase of the heart action does not, necessarily, mean that heart place should be adjusted. This increased action may be due to the natural adaptation because of handling or to nervousness at the presence of strangers. Especially is this likely to be true of the child that is old enough to notice things. It is not uncommon to have the pulse beat increased as much as 25 beats per minute in this way.
During sleep the pulse may be slightly irregular, even when the child is normal. In cerebral disturbances it will be slow and irregular. In cerebral tumor it may be as slow as 40 or 50 beats per minute. In acute incoördinations the pulse rate may be very greatly increased. With incoördinations in such families as the poison, fever, degeneration, and some incoördinations in the spasms family, the pulse rate may be very high, even when the condition is not at all alarming. It is well to take this into consideration when observing a case so that the chiropractor will not be misled in making the analysis and that the objective symptoms may be of greatest value to him.
Zones Involved
In analyzing an infant it is well to keep in mind the zones in which incoördination is most commonly found. In the majority of cases these zones will include the gastro-intestinal tract, the respiratory tract, the kidney zones and the brain. Very frequently there will be incoördinations of the pharynx, tonsils and mouth.
The incoördinations found in the digestive tract will include all forms of indigestion and dysentery. Such incoördinations as pneumonia and bronchitis will involve the respiratory tract. From the kidneys there are the various conditions involving the poison family due to improper elimination. Meningitis and all forms of cerebral incoördinations as well as conditions of the eyes and ears are common to infancy and childhood.
It must be remembered that with an infant grave symptoms may develop in a very short time, likewise recovery may take place very quickly following even the most alarming symptoms. However, no chances should be taken for it is not uncommon for an infant previously in good health to become sick very suddenly and die within a few hours. Therefore, in handling children most careful attention should be given and conditions should always be regarded more or less serious until developments prove otherwise. The chiropractor must realize that his success in handling infants does not depend entirely upon his observations of the case, for with every patient there must be a thorough and complete analysis of the spine. The only value to be received from the observations is that they may lead him to specific regions of the spine.
The Child’s Cry
It is not uncommon for an infant to cry with no apparent localized cause. This crying may continue for hours with no other symptoms. There will be no indication of colic or other symptoms to denote the seat of the pain. The crying is constant and, while in some cases may be quite violent, yet there are no paroxysmal attacks; this indicates that the pain is constant. It is easily distinguished from a hunger cry in that the child usually refuses to nurse. If the crying persists for hours there will be more or less exhaustion. Such cases are very pitiful and draw heavily upon the sympathies of the chiropractor as well as upon other attendants. In such cases the first thing to do is to strip the infant of all clothing and look for open safety pins, rough places in the clothing, such as folds or wrinkles; foreign objects, as small buttons, for example. Usually, however, this will be done before the chiropractor is called. It may be an advantage for the chiropractor to observe the infant very carefully for a few minutes after the clothing has been removed, in an effort to locate the seat of the pain. However, this is not so very important because first, in most of these cases it is practically impossible to determine the location of pain, and second, because a very careful palpation of the child will always reveal the causative subluxation. In making the analysis the chiropractor should give himself plenty of time to make a thorough palpation. He should not be in too great a hurry to adjust the child merely because of his anxiety to relieve the crying. He must not allow the incessant crying of the child to work upon his nerve and destroy his efficiency in caring for the patient. In these cases the subluxation may be located in any part of the spine, although it is less often found in the cervical region. If there is a subluxation in the cervical region, great enough to produce this constant crying, there is very likely to be cerebral symptoms. In these cases the subluxations are usually quite exaggerated and very often the hot box becomes the determining factor.