Common infective fevers and the use of disinfectants with notes on the health of children. / By William Squire.

  • Squire, William Stevens 1825-1899.
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Common infective fevers and the use of disinfectants with notes on the health of children. / By William Squire. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    at different ages is noteworthy. The average chest measure- ments ot 3,362 children from eight to ten years of age was from 22^ to 23 inches after breathing out, and 24 to 25 inches after drawing a full breath ; of 3,478 children, eleven and twelve years of age, the average was, chest empty, 24 and 24-^ inches ; chest full, 26 and 26^ inches. Rather more boys than girls were measured, they were factory hands; the boys had a somewhat freer chest expansion. My own measurements give 27 and 30 inches for girls twelve years of age. Of the changes produced by illness in children, two or three instances may be given. First, a boy ten years old, after scarlet fever had lost four pounds in weight; this he regained in one month after convalescence, and added another five pounds in the next three months. Second, a weakly boy, eight years old, height forty-six inches, weight forty-two pounds, had gained no weight and but one inch in height during six months' care in London ; he then goes into the country for three months— August, September, and October—gains eight pounds and grows another inch; at nine years old he gets to the proportions of fifty pounds and fifty inches, the average height but not the average weight, until, after another year of care, he became strong and well. Another boy of this age, the same weight but an inch shorter, made no advance, and then, with slight febrile action, began to lose flesh, till his weight in pounds became less than his height in inches ; he did not recover. It may be noted in the table that till the sixth year the height in inches exceeds the weight in pounds, and that, from eight to twelve years, the height in feet and the weight in stones nearly correspond; as growth advances a still further increase of weight over height should occur. A child in the fourth year should be three feet high, and weigh more than two stones ; in the sixth year, three and a half feet high, and weigh three stones; in the ninth year, four feet high and four stones in weight. At adolescence, one stone should be gained for every two or three inches of height; eight stones for five feet four inches; ten stones for five feet eight; eleven stones for five feet eleven inches ; and twelve stones for six feet of height is good weight. The increase of short-sightedness with the increase of educa- tion, is an evil so important to guard against and prevent, that some of the rules to this end will be explained. Young children must have a good light while they are busy ; they should not be long engaged with small objects very near the eyes, close at- tention to threading beads, or toys held to the mouth for blow- ing through, may lead to weak or short sight, or to squinting. A stooping position and too prolonged attention conspire, with other causes, as a child's instruction advances, to produce that