The manner of nursing or swallowing frequently affords important information. A baby whose nose is much obstructed or who has pneumonia can nurse but for a moment, and then has to let the nipple go in order to breathe more satisfactorily. If it gives a few sucks and then drops the nipple with a cry, we must suspect that the mouth is sore and that nursing is painful. If it swallows with a gurgling noise, often stops to cough, and does as little nursing as possible, we suspect that the throat may be sore. The ceasing to nurse at all, in the case of a very sick baby, is an evidence of great weakness or increasing stupor, and is a most unfavorable symptom.
THE URINE
Urine that is high-colored and stains the diaper, or that shows a thick, reddish cloud after standing, may accompany fever or indigestion. Sometimes the urine under these conditions is milky when first passed. In some babies a diet containing beef juice or other highly nitrogenous food will produce the reddish cloud, or even actual, red, sandlike particles. A decidedly yellow stain on the diaper occurs when there is jaundice. A faint reddish stain seldom indicates blood. The amount of urine passed is scanty in fever, in diarrhea, and especially in acute Bright's disease. In the latter disease the urine is often of a smoky or even a muddy appearance. The possibility of the occurrence of this symptom after scarlet fever must always be kept in mind, in order that a physician may be summoned very quickly, since it is a serious matter.
THE STOOLS
We find that the passages are often putty-colored in disorders of the liver, frequently bloody or tarry in appearance in bleeding within the bowel, and liable to be black after taking bismuth, charcoal, or iron, and red after krameria, kino, or haematoxylon. Infants who are receiving more milk than they can digest constantly have whitish lumps in their stools, or even entirely formed but almost white passages. The presence of a certain amount of greenish coloration of the passages is not infrequent. This is usually an evidence of indigestion, but passages which are yellow when passed and turn to a faint pea green some time later are not an indication of disease.
[3] From Griffith's Care of the Baby, copyrighted by W. B. Saunders Company.
WHEN BABY GETS SICK
When baby shows that he is sick, take his temperature as directed elsewhere, cut down the feeding to at least one half, or, if his temperature is around 102 F. give him nothing but rice water or barley water. If he is constipated give him a cleansing enema, and if hot and feverish a sponge bath may be administered. He should then be put into a bed with light covers and wait further orders which the doctor will give on his arrival. Give the baby no medicine unless ordered to do so by the physician.
Known to every physician who undertakes the care of children, is the failure of many well-meaning mothers to call him early. The mother attempts the care of the baby herself, and not until the condition gets beyond her knowledge and wisdom does she seek medical advice. In the early hours of an approaching cold, the beginning of intestinal indigestion, or at the beginning of bronchitis, if the physician can see the child early, prolonged illness may be avoided as well as unnecessary expense and many heart-breaking experiences.