263. During the winter time my child’s hands, legs, etc., chap very much: what ought I to do?
Let a teacupful of bran be tied up in a muslin bag, and be put, over night, into either a large water-can or jug of rain water; and let this water from the can or jug be the water he is to be washed with on the following morning, and every morning until the chaps be cured. Rain water ought always to be used in the washing of a child; pump water is likely to chap the skin, and to make it both rough and irritable. As often as water is withdrawn, either from the water-can or from the jug, let fresh rain water take its place, in order that the bran may be constantly soaking in it. The bran in the bag should be renewed about twice a week.
Take particular care to dry the skin well every time he be washed; then, after each ablution, as well as every night at bedtime, rub a piece of deer’s suet over the parts affected: a few dressings will perform a cure. The deer’s suet may be bought at any of the shops where venison is sold. Another excellent remedy is glycerin, which should be smeared, by means of the finger or by a camel’s-hair brush, on the parts affected, two or three times a day. If the child be very young, it might be necessary to dilute the glycerin with rose-water: fill a small bottle one-third with glycerin, and fill up the remaining two-thirds of the bottle with rose-water—shaking the bottle every time just before using it. The best soap to use for chapped hands is the glycerin soap: no other being required.
264. What is the best remedy for Chapped Lips?
Cold-cream (which may be procured of any respectable chemist) is an excellent application for chapped lips. It ought, by means of the finger, to be frequently smeared on the parts affected.
265. Have the goodness to inform me of the different varieties of Worms that infest a child’s bowels?
Principally three—1, The tape-worm; 2, the long round-worm; and 3, the most frequent of all, the common thread or maw-worm. The tape-worm infests the whole course of the bowels, both small and large: the long round-worm, principally the small bowels, occasionally the stomach; it sometimes crawls out of the child’s mouth, causing alarm to the mother; there is, of course, no danger in its doing so: the common thread-worm or maw-worm infests the rectum or fundament.
266. What are the causes of Worms?
The causes of worms are—weak bowels; bad and improper food, such as unripe, unsound, or uncooked fruit, and much green vegetables; pork, especially underdone pork; an abundance of sweets; the neglecting of giving salt in the food. One frequent, if not the most frequent, cause of tape-worm is the eating of pork, more especially if it be underdone. Underdone pork is the most unwholesome food that can be eaten, and is the most frequent cause of tape-worm known. Underdone beef also gives tape-worm; let the meat, therefore, be well and properly cooked. These facts ought to be borne in mind, as prevention is always better than cure.
267. What are the symptoms and the treatment of Worms?