On the wasting diseases of infants and children / by Eustace Smith.

Date:
1884
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the wasting diseases of infants and children / by Eustace Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

    200/424 page 172
    coTivTilsive attacks, often gives rise to a suspicion that the fits are due to hydrocephalus, and very active treatment is resorted to, often with the most disastrous results. Rickety children will not bear lowering measures at any time, and to reduce the strength while convulsions are actually present, is only to increase the number and the intensity of the fits. If symptoms of scurvy are noticed, the child should be placed without loss of time upon an anti-scorbutic regi- men. All tinned and preserved foods should be at once discontinued, and fresh milk, raw meat jaice or pounded raw meat, and a proper proportion of vegetable should be substituted for his former unwholesome diet. The flower of broccoli, young French beans, vegetable marrows, asparagus heads, and Spanish onion, if thoroughly boiled and afterwards passed through a fine sieve, may be given safely to a child of twelve months old. A certain quantity of fresh fruit can be also allowed; and lemon juice is usually well borne by scorbutic infants. If the strength be much reduced, port wine or the St. Raphael Tannin wine may be given, diluted with water. For medicine, the child should take cod's liver oil, and quinine dissolved in lemon juice and sweetened with syru]D ; or five to ten drops of the tincture of perchloride of iron well diluted. For spongy gums Dr. Cheadle recommends the gly- cerine of tannin and carbolic acid (fifteen drops of each to the ounce of water) to be applied with a brush. The child should occupy well ventilated rooms, and should pass much of his time in the open air. For local applica- tion to the limbs wet compresses closely applied and covered with dry clothes should be made use of. If the epiphyses have separated, splints will be required.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3