Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children Part 32

Take of--Finely-powder Peruvian Bark; '' Prepared Coral; '' Prepared Chalk; '' Myrrh, of each half an ounce '' Orris root, a quarter of an ounce:

Mix them well together in a mortar, and preserve the powder in a wide mouthed stoppered bottle.

The teeth ought to be well brushed with the above tooth-powder every morning.

If the teeth be much decayed, and if, in consequence, the breath be offensive, two ounces of finely-powdered charcoal well mixed with the above ingredients will be found a valuable addition. Some persons clean their teeth every morning with soap; if soap be used it ought to be Castile soap; and if the teeth be not white and clean, Castile soap is an excellent cleanser of the teeth, and may be used in lieu of the tooth powder as before recommended.

There are few persons who brush their teeth properly. I will tell you the right way. First of all procure a tooth brush of the best make, and of rather hard bristles, to enable it to penetrate into all the nooks and corners of the teeth; then, having put a small quant.i.ty of warm water into your mouth, letting the princ.i.p.al of it escape into the basin, dip your brush in warm water, and if you are about using Castile soap, rub the brush on a cake of the soap, and then well brush your teeth, first upwards and then downwards, then from side to side--from right to left, and from left to right--then the backs of the teeth, then apply the brush to the tops of the crowns of the teeth both of the upper and of the lower jaw,--so that _every_ part of each tooth, including the gums, may in turn be well cleansed and be well brushed. Be not afraid of using the brush; a good brushing and dressing will do the teeth and the gums an immensity of good; it will make the breath sweet, and will preserve the teeth sound and good. After using the brush the mouth must, of course, be well rinsed out with warm water.

The finest get of teeth I ever saw m my life belonged to a middle-aged gentleman; the teeth had neither spot nor blemish, they were like beautiful pearls. He never had toothache in his life, and did not know what toothache meant! He brushed his teeth, every morning, with soap and water, in the manner I have previously recommended. I can only say to you--go and do likewise!

Camphor ought never to be used as an ingredient of tooth-powder, it makes the teeth brittle. Camphor certainly has the effect of making the teeth, for a time, look very white; but it is an evanescent beauty.

Tartar is apt to acc.u.mulate between and around the teeth; it is better in such a case not to remove it by sealing instruments, but to adopt the plan recommended by Dr Richardson, namely, to well brush the teeth with pure vinegar and water.

PREVENTION OF DISEASE, ETC

359. _If a boy or a girl show great precocity of intellect, is any organ likely to become affected_?

A greater quant.i.ty of arterial blood is sent to the brain of those who are prematurely talented, and hence it becomes more than ordinarily developed. Such advantages are not unmixed with danger; this same arterial blood may exite and feed inflammation, and either convulsions, or water on the brain, or insanity, or, at last, idiocy may follow. How proud a mother is in having a precocious child! How little is she aware that precocity is frequently an indication of disease!

360. _How can danger in such a case be warded off_?

It behoves a parent, if her son be precocious, to restrain him--to send him to a quiet country place, free from the excitement of the town; and when he is sent to school, to give directions to the master that he is not on any account to tax his intellect (for a master is apt, if he have a clever boy, to urge him forward); and to keep him from those inst.i.tutions where a spirit of rivalry is maintained, and where the brain is thus kept in a state of constant excitement. Medals and prizes are well enough for those who have moderate abilities, but dangerous, indeed, to those who have brilliant ones.

An over-worked precocious brain is apt to cause the death of the owner; and if it does not do so, it in too many instances injures the brain irreparably, and the possessor of such an organ, from being one of the most intellectual of children becomes one of the most commonplace of men.

Let me urge you, if you have a precocious child, to give, and that before it be too late, the subject in question your best consideration.

361. _Are precocious boys in their general health usually strong or delicate_?

Delicate: nature seems to have given a delicate body to compensate for the advantages of a talented mind. A precocious youth is predisposed to consumption, more so than to any other disease. The hard study which he frequently undergoes excites the disease into action. It is not desirable, therefore, to have a precocious child. A writer in "Eraser's Magazine" speaks very much to the purpose when he says, "Give us intellectual beef rather than intellectual veal."

362. _What Habit of body is most predisposed to scrofula_?

He or she who has a moist, cold, fair, delicate and almost transparent skin, large prominent blue eyes, protuberant forehead, light-brown or auburn hair, rosy cheeks, pouting lips, milk-white teeth, long neck, high shoulders, small, flat, and contracted chest, tumid bowels, large joints, thin limbs, and flabby muscles, is the person, most predisposed to scrofula. The disease is not entirely confined to the above; sometimes she or he who has black hair, dark eyes and complexion, is subject to it, but yet, far less frequently than the former. It is a remarkable fact that the most talented are the most p.r.o.ne to scrofula, and being thus clever their intellects are too often cultivated at the expense of their health. In infancy and childhood, either water on the brain or mesenteric disease; in youth, pulmonary consumption is frequently their doom: they are like shining meteors; their life is short, but brilliant.

363. _How may scrofula be warded off_?

Strict attention to the roles of health is the means to prevent scrofula. Books, unless as an amus.e.m.e.nt, ought to be discarded. The patient must almost live in the open air, and his residence should be a healthy country place, where the air is dry and bracing; if it be at a farm-house, in a salubrious neighbourhood, so much the better. In selecting a house for a patient predisposed to scrofula, _good pure water should be an important requisite;_ indeed for every one who values his health. Early rising in such a case is most beneficial.

Wine, spirits, and all fermented liquors ought to be avoided.

Beef-steaks and mutton-chops in abundance, and plenty of milk and of farinaceous food--such as rice, sago, arrowroot, &c., should be his diet.

Scrofula, if the above rules be strictly and perseveringly followed, may be warded off; but there must be no half measures, no trying to serve two masters--to cultivate at the same time the health and the intellect. The brain, until the body becomes strong, must _not_ be taxed. "You may prevent scrofula by care, but that some children are originally predisposed to the disease there cannot be the least doubt, and in such cases the education and the habits of youth should be so directed as to ward off a complaint, the effects of which are so frequently fatal."--_Sir Astley Cooper on Scrofula_.

364. _But suppose the disease to be already formed, what must then be done_?

The plan recommended above must still be pursued, not by fits and starts, but steadily and continuously, for it is a complaint that requires a vast deal of patience and great perseverance. Warm and cold sea-bathing in such a case are generally most beneficial. In a patient with confirmed scrofula it will of course be necessary to consult a skilful and experienced doctor.

But do not allow without a second opinion any plan to be adopted that will weaken the system, which is already too much depressed. No, rather build up the body by good nourishing diet (as previously recommended), by cod-liver oil, by a dry bracing atmosphere, such as, either Brighton, or Ramsgate, or Llandudno; or if the lungs be delicate, by a more sheltered coast, such as, either St Leonards or Torquay.

Let no active purging, no-mercurials, no violent, desperate remedies be allowed. If the patient cannot be cured _without_ them, I am positive that he will not be cured _with_ them.

But do not despair; many scrofulous patients are cured by time and by judicious treatment But if desperate remedies are to be used, the poor patient had better by jar be left to Nature: "Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies; but let me not fall into the hand of man."--_Chronicles_.

365. _Have you any remarks to make on a girl stooping_?

A girl ought never to be allowed to stoop: stooping spoils the figure, weakens the chest, and interferes with the digestion. If she cannot help stooping, you may depend upon it that she is in bad health, and that a medical man ought to be consulted. As soon as her health is improved the dancing-master should be put in requisition, and calisthenic and gymnastic exercises should be resorted to. Horse exercise and swimming in such a case are very beneficial The girl should live well, on good nourishing diet, and not be too closely confined either to the house or to her lessons. She ought during the night to lie on a horsehair mattress, and during the day, for two or three hours, flat on, her back on a reclining board. Stooping, if neglected, is very likely to lead to consumption.

366. _If a boy be round-shouldered and slouching in his gait, what ought to be done_?

Let him be drilled; there is nothing more likely to benefit him than drilling. You never see a soldier round-shouldered nor slouching in his gait He walks every inch like a man. Look at the difference in appearance between a country b.u.mpkin and a soldier! It is the drilling that makes the difference: "Oh, for a drill-sergeant to teach them to stand upright, and to turn out their toes, and to get rid of that slouching, hulking gait, which gives such a look of clumsiness and stupidity!" [Footnote: A. K, H. B., _Fraser's Magazine_, October 1861.]

367. _My daughter has grown out of shape, she has grown on one ride, her spine is not straight, and her ribs bulge out more on the one side than on the other; what is the cause, and can anything be done to remedy the deformity_?

The causes of this lateral curvature of the spine, and consequent bulging out of the ribs that you have just now described, arise either from delicacy of const.i.tution, from the want of proper exercise, from too much learning, or from too little play, or from not sufficient or proper nourishment for a rapidly-growing body. I am happy to say that such a case, by judicious treatment, can generally be cured--namely, by gymnastic exercises, such as the hand-swing, the fly-pole, the patent parlour gymnasium, the chest-expander, the skipping rope, the swimming bath; all sorts of out-door games, such as croquet, archery, &c.; by plenty of good nourishment, by making her a child of Nature, by letting her almost live in the open air, and by throwing books to the winds. But let me strongly urge you not, unless ordered by an experienced surgeon, to allow any mechanical restraints or appliances to be used. If she be made strong, the muscles themselves will pull both the spine and the ribs into their proper places, more especially if judicious games and exercises (as I have before advised), and other treatment of a strengthening and bracing nature, which a medical man will indicate to you, be enjoined. Mechanical appliances will, if not judiciously applied, and in a proper case, waste away the muscles, and will thus increase the mischief; if they cause the ribs to be pushed in in one place, they will bulge them out in another, until, instead of being one, there will be a series of deformities. No, the giving of strength and the judicious exercising of the muscles are, for a lateral curvature of the spine and the consequent bulging out of one side of the ribs, the proper remedies, and, in the majority of cases, are most effectual, and quite sufficient for the purpose.

I think it well to strongly impress upon a mother's mind the great importance of early treatment. If the above advice be followed, every curvature in the beginning might be cured. Cases of several years'

standing might, with judicious treatment, be wonderfully relieved.

Bear in mind, then, that if the girl is to be made straight, she is first of all to be made strong; the latter, together with the proper exercises of the muscles, will lead to the former; and the _earlier_ a medical man takes it in hand, the more rapid, the more certain, and the more effectual will be the cure.

An inveterate, long-continued, and neglected case of curvature of the spine and bulging out of the ribs on one side might require mechanical appliances, but such a case can only be decided on by an experienced surgeon, who ought always, _in the first place_, to be consulted.

368. _Is a slight spitting of blood to be looked upon as a dangerous symptom_?

Spitting of blood is always to be looked upon with suspicion; even when a youth appears, in other respects, to be in good health, it is frequently the forerunner of consumption. It might be said that, by mentioning the fact, I am unnecessarily alarming a parent, but it would be a false kindness if I did not do so:--

"I most be cruel, only to be kind."--_Shakspeare_.

Let me ask, When is consumption to be cured? Is it at the onset, or is it when it is confirmed? If a mother had been more generally aware that spitting of blood was frequently the forerunner of consumption, she would, in the management of her offspring, have taken greater precautions; she would have, made everything give way to the preservation of their health; and, in many instances, she would have been amply repaid by having the lives of her children spared to her. We frequently hear of patients, in _confirmed_ consumption, being sent to Mentone, to Madeira, and to other foreign parts. Can anything be more cruel or absurd? If there be any disease that requires the comforts of home--and truly may an Englishman's dwelling be called _home!_--and good nursing more than another, it is consumption.

369. _What it the death-rate of consumption in England? At what age does consumption most frequently occur? Are girls more liable to it than boys? What are the symptoms of this disease_?

It is a.s.serted, on good authority, that there always are in England, 78,000 cases of consumption, and that the yearly death-rate of this fell disease alone is 39,000! Consumption more frequently shows itself between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one: after then, the liability to the disease gradually diminishes, until, at the age of forty-five, it becomes comparatively rare. Boys are more p.r.o.ne to this complaint than girls. Some of the most important symptoms of pulmonary consumption are indicated by the stethoscope; but, as I am addressing a mother, it would, of course, be quite out of place to treat of such signs in Conversations of this kind. The symptoms it might be well for a parent to recognise, in order that she may seek aid early, I will presently describe. It is perfectly hopeless to expect to cure consumption unless advice be sought at the _onset_, as the only effectual good in this disease is to be done _at first_.

It might be well to state that consumption creeps on insidiously. One of the earliest symptoms of this dreadful scourge is a slight, dry, short cough, attended with tickling and irritation at the top of the throat. This cough generally occurs in the morning; but, after some time, comes on at night, and gradually throughout the day and the night. Frequently during the early stage of the disease _a slight spitting of blood occurs_. Now, this is a most dangerous symptom; indeed, I may go so far as to say that, as a rule, it is almost a sure sign that the patient is in the _first_ stage of a consumption.

There is usually hoa.r.s.eness, not constant, but coming on if the patient be tired, or towards the evening; there is also a sense of la.s.situde and depression, shortness of breath, a feeling of being quickly wearied--more especially on the slightest exertion. The hair of a consumptive person usually falls off, and what little remains is weak and poor; the joints of the fingers become enlarged, or clubbed as it is sometimes called; the patient loses flesh, and, after some time, night sweats make their appearance: then we may know that hectic fever has commenced.

Hectic begins with chilliness, which is soon followed by flushings of the face, and by burning heat of the hands and the feet, especially of the palms and the soles. This is soon succeeded by perspirations. The patient has generally, during the day, two decided paroxysms of hectic fever--the one at noon, which lasts above five hours; the other in the evening, which is more severe, and ends in violent perspirations, which perspirations continue the whole night through. He may, during the day, have several attacks of hectic flushes of the face, especially after eating; at one moment he complains of being too hot, and rushes to the cool air; the next moment he is too cold, and almost scorches himself by sitting too near the fire. Whenever the circ.u.mscribed hectic flush is on the cheek, it looks as though the cheek had been painted with vermilion, then is the time when the palms of the hands are burning hot. Crabbe, in the following lines, graphically describes the hectic flush:--

"When his thin cheek a.s.sumed a deadly hue, And all the rose to one small spot withdrew: They call'd it hectic; 'twas a fiery flush, More fix'd and deeper than the maiden blush."

The expectoration at first is merely mucus, but after a time it a.s.sumes a characteristic appearance; it has a roundish, flocculent, woolly form, each portion of phlegm keeping, as it were, distinct; and if the expectoration be stirred in water, it has a milk-like appearance. The patient is commonly hara.s.sed by frequent bowel complaints, which rob him of what little strength he has left. The feet and ankles swell. The perspiration, as before remarked, comes on in the evening, continues all night--more especially towards morning, and while the patient is asleep; during the time he is awake, even at night, he seldom sweats much. The thrush generally shows itself towards the close of the disease, attacking the tongue, the tonsils, and the soft palate, and _is a sure harbinger of approaching death_. Emaciation rapidly sets in.

If we consider the immense engines of destruction at work-viz., the-colliquative (melting) sweats, the violent bowel complaints, the vital parts that are affected, the hara.s.sing cough, the profuse expectoration, the hectic fever, the distressing exertion of struggling to breathe--we cannot be surprised that "consumption had hung out her red flag of no surrender," and that death soon closes the scene. In girls, provided they have been previously regular, menstruation gradually declines, and then entirely disappears.