| MEDICAL INTRO |
| BOOKS ON OLD MEDICAL TREATMENTS AND REMEDIES |
THE PRACTICAL
HOME PHYSICIAN AND ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MEDICINE The biggy of the late 1800's. Clearly shows the massive inroads in medical science and the treatment of disease.
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ALCOHOL AND THE HUMAN BODY In fact alcohol was known to be a poison, and considered quite dangerous. Something modern medicine now agrees with. This was known circa 1907. A very impressive scientific book on the subject. |
DISEASES OF THE SKIN is a massive book on skin diseases from 1914. Don't be feint hearted though, it's loaded with photos that I found disturbing. |
Part of SAVORY'S COMPENDIUM OF DOMESTIC MEDICINE:
19th CENTURY HEALTH MEDICINES AND DRUGS |
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Attention to the Child.
Attention to the Child:
So soon as the necessary attentions to the mother permit, the
child should be washed and dressed. The first step consists in
thoroughly lubricating the infant's body with sweet oil, or fresh
lard, since with soap alone it is impossible to remove from its skin
the unctuous material which naturally covers it. It is best to
anoint but a portion of the infant's body at a time, keeping the
rest covered meanwhile; then this portion may be thoroughly
washed with soap and water itself, covered, and another part of
the skin treated in the same way. The object of this measure is,
of course, merely to prevent a chilling of the child by evaporation
from its skin ; hence, in warm weather or a warm room, one may
adopt the more expeditious plan of oiling the entire body, and the
immersing of the child in a basin of warm water, where the soap
may be applied. One precaution is always necessary: care to
avoid the entrance of soap into the infant's eyes. The navel-string
is now also dressed by wrapping it with a piece of well-oiled muslin
or plain cotton wadding. The flannel bandage is now applied over
the navel-string, and the woolen clothes, already prepared, put on.
The infant should then be applied to the breast immediately ; if it
refuse to nurse, it may be tempted by applying a little sweetened
milk to the nipple. This immediate application of the child to the
breast is of extreme importance for both mother and infant; any tendency on the part of the womb to relax, and thus permit the escape of
blood-" flooding "-is likely to be at once arrested by the nursing of the child ; the milk channels of the breast are opened, and
the dangers of an undue accumulation of milk-" milk fever "-
in the third day diminished. The child derives from the first nursings very little nourishment, it is true, but a much needed laxative,
which stimulates its digestive organs. It should not be forgotten,
if there be any signs of flooding, that the most efficient means for
checking this, which a layman can use, are the application of the
child to the breast and the kneading of the womb. It sometimes
happens that the nipple is so retracted, either from the pressure
of the dress during pregnancy or other cause, that the child fails
in its efforts to nurse; in this case, it is usually easy to secure a
proper protrusion of the nipple by filling a soda-water bottle with
hot water, pouring out the contents, and then applying the neck of
the bottle around the nipple. During the cooling of the bottle, the
contraction of the contained air results in the desired protrusion of
the nipple ; the breast-pump may be employed for the same purpose. This difficulty is seldom serious if properly managed. At
other times the infant, especially if prematurely born, seems unable
to nurse-a most unsatisfactory condition, in which the only remedy
is to attempt an artificial nursing, by milking the breast into the
mouth of the child.
The most serious difficulty with which the infant has to contend at the beginning of his career is the persistent habit of nurses,
of substituting for the natural and proper diet which nature ordains,
the various mixtures which they themselves prescribe. It should
be remembered and insisted upon, that although during the first
two days the secretion of the mother's breast does not resemble
milk, yet it contains just the essentials for the infant's nourishment,
and that the introduction of sugar and water or catnip tea into the
immature stomach of the child may have unpleasant results. If it
be absolutely necessary to furnish some artificial nourishment, a
mixture of cow's milk and water, three parts to one or thinner still,
a little sweetened, will be the best and most convenient substitute ;
but everything else should be abandoned so soon as the mother's
milk is sufficiently abundant to nourish the child. So the castor oil
and other laxatives so dear to the average nurse's heart are, to say
the least, unnecessary for the child. Except under special conditions, which will be presently noticed, every mother should expect
and be encouraged to nourish her own offspring ; and this, too, not
simply for the benefit of the child, but also for her own interest; for
the act of nursing promotes the return of the womb to its natural
size, which ordinarily happens during the first two months after
delivery ; a failure to nurse is often accompanied by an incomplete
reduction in the size of the womb and the subsequent derangement
of the sexual organs. Again, it is well known that the process of
nursing affords a certain protection against recurrence of menses,
and against conception. The child should be accustomed from its
birth to take the breast at regular intervals, which may be at first
two or three hours, and gradually extended as the infant becomes
older. In this way time is afforded for the breasts to fill with nutritious milk, while the mother secures opportunity for necessary
sleep ; and on the other hand the child's digestive organs obtain
the needed intervals of repose.
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