What Mothers Should Know About the Care of Children During Illness—A Sick Child Should be in Bed—The Diet of the Sick Child—A Child is the Most Helpless Living Thing—The Delicate Child—How to Feed the Delicate Child—How to Bathe the Delicate Child—Airing the Delicate Child—Habits of the Delicate Child—Indiscriminate Feeding—Poor Appetite—Loss of Appetite—Treatment of Loss of Appetite—Overeating in Infancy—What Correct Eating Means—Bran as a Food—Breakfast for a Child at School—Lunch for a Child at School—Bran Muffins for School Children—Bran Muffins in Constipation—Hysterical Children—What a Mother Should Know About Cathartics and How to Give a Dose of Castor Oil—Castor Oil—Calomel—Citrate of Magnesium—When to Use Castor Oil—When to Use Calomel—Vaccination—Time for Vaccination—Methods of Vaccination.—Symptoms of Successful Vaccination.
WHAT MOTHERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CARE OF CHILDREN DURING ILLNESS
Every child has a certain amount of vitality and resistance. When illness comes it should be our duty to maintain the vitality and resistance to the highest degree. We should, therefore, irrespective of the nature of the illness, surround the child with all the conditions that will minister to the preservation of whatever strength and vitality the child has. Experience has taught us that there are certain requirements that should be carried out in the general management of sick children.
A Sick Child Should be in Bed.—In the first place a sick child should be in bed. There is no exception to this rule. It is impossible to do justice to a child if you allow him to dissipate his strength and exhaust himself moving from place to place while he is sick. A mother should not forget that it is she who must exercise wisdom and decide what is best for her child. The judgment of a sick person is not to be relied upon, and it would be wrong to submit to the whims and fancies of an ailing child, if these are known to be medically disadvantageous to its best interests.
Quiet surroundings are essential in all acute illnesses. The nurse should be congenial to the child. If the patient demands the presence of the mother she should remain, but she should not try to entertain him or interfere with the nurse.
The clothing of the patient should be the ordinary night-dress which is worn in health. In no disease is any special kind, or quantity of clothing required.
The temperature of the room should be 68° F. Thermometers are cheap and an exact knowledge of the degree of heat in a sickroom is an essential requisite. Nothing drains the vitality during sickness quicker than varying degrees of heat and cold. It uses up nerve force and energy and renders the patient irritable and difficult to manage.
The strictest attention should be paid to the ventilation of the sickroom. We are learning more and more that fresh air is essential to the speedy cure of all diseases and to the general well-being of the patient. A direct, continuous communication between the sickroom and out-of-doors is imperative. It is a splendid measure to use two rooms for the patient and to change him twice daily, and to air thoroughly the unused room.
The sickroom itself should be large and in a quiet part of the house. In summer time the windows may be wide open, in winter months the degree of ventilation can be regulated by the thermometer.
Many mothers fail to appreciate that drinking water is an important requisite in all ailments of childhood, should be given freely, but it should be known to be absolutely pure. The same rule applies to sponging the patient. It must be done every day; sometimes it is necessary to do it more often, but if so it will be so directed by the attending physician.