In the treatment of eczema, when the children are breast-fed, it is well to remember that the real cause of the eczema may be in the mother. If the mother is constipated, or if her diet is too liberal, if she is drinking beer, or an excess of coffee, or is not taking exercise, the eczema may be caused by one or other or all of these.
For eczema of the scalp the remedy to use is white-precipitate ointment, 1 part; vaseline, 4 parts. Mix together and apply.
POOR BLOOD. SIMPLE ANEMIA
Causes.—There is what may be termed an unnatural tendency toward poor blood during infancy and childhood. The explanation of this anomalous condition is, that the tax or strain put upon the blood to provide for the growth of the child is severe, and is in addition to the great demands made upon it in the exercise of its regular duties. We must, therefore, always take this special duty into consideration, when the question of recuperation, convalescence, feeding, and the administration of blood foods and tonics comes up.
It is not necessary to specify the diseases from which a child may suffer and recover, in an anemic condition. Any disease may leave a child with temporarily poor blood. The conditions which most frequently produce anemia in childhood are improper feeding and unhealthy surroundings. It is not fully appreciated how seriously these conditions can affect the health of growing children. There is one condition that every mother should be warned against, namely, the possibility of unduly prolonging breast-feeding. Children should be weaned at the end of the tenth month. By prolonging the breast-feeding a mother can undermine the vitality and strength of her baby and so impoverish its blood as to invite disease. A bottle-fed baby should be put upon a mixed diet at the same time. To continue feeding a child exclusively on milk for a year or two after weaning, simply because "it will not take anything else," is criminal. Any woman guilty of such stupidity should never have become a mother. Once again it must be emphasized that every child must have an abundance of fresh air, must not be confined in close, hot, unsanitary rooms, and must have a daily, satisfactory movement of the bowels to be a healthy child with good blood in its body.
Symptoms.—Children suffering from poor blood are flabby, constipated, hungry, weak specimens of childhood. They are under weight, complain of headache, pains, disturbed sleep, are nervous and irritable. They tire quickly, are short of breath, and may have a tendency to faint easily. The hands and feet are cold, the pulse is small and irregular. They may have attacks of nose-bleeding and of bed-wetting.
Chlorosis.—Chlorosis is that form of anemia, of poor blood, which occurs in young girls about the time their sickness begins. It is most frequently seen between the fourteenth and seventeenth years, and more often in blondes than in brunettes. The cause is not known. It is thought to be due to constipation. Any occupation which is deleterious to health has a distinct influence on the condition. Employment in factories, confinement in badly ventilated rooms, bad or insufficient food, great grief, care, or a bad fright, mental strain, overstudy, may all produce, or contribute to the production of chlorosis.
Symptoms.—The symptoms of chlorosis resemble those of simple anemia. Children suffering from anemia are pale; girls with chlorosis have a peculiar greenish yellow tint in the skin. They are short of breath, they have vertigo, palpitation, disturbances of digestion, constipation, cold hands and feet, and scanty or arrested monthly periods. They have various nervous disturbances, such as headache, pains in various parts of the body, neuralgia, especially over the eyes, hysterical attacks, and sometimes cholera. Ulcer of the stomach is sometimes seen in this condition.
The disease lasts for a year or longer; it frequently lasts a number of years. Relapses are frequent.