Page:The physical training of children (IA 39002011126464.med.yale.edu).pdf/112

 being absolutely necessary to give such food—whether it agree with him.

What to do.—In the first place, if the gums are red, hot, and swollen, let them be lanced; in the second, if the secretions from the bowels are either unhealthy or scanty, give him a dose of aperient medicine, such as castor oil, or the following: Take two or three grains of powdered Turkey rhubarb, three grains of pure carbonate of magnesia, and one grain of aromatic powder. Mix. The powder to be taken at bedtime, mixed in a teaspoonful of sugar and water, and which should, if necessary, be repeated the following night. In the third place, if the food he be taking does not agree with him, change it (vide answer to question 33). Give it in smaller quantities at a time, and not so frequently; or, what will be better still, if it be possible, keep him, for awhile, entirely to the breast. What to do.—Do not let him overload his stomach either with breast-milk or with artificial food. Let the mother avoid, until his sickness be relieved, greens, cabbage, and all other green vegetables. 109. What are the causes, the symptoms, the prevention, and the cure of Thrush?

The thrush is a frequent disease of an infant, and is often brought on either by stuffing him or by giving him improper food. A child brought up entirely, for the first three or four months, on the breast, seldom suffers from this complaint. The thrush consists of several irregular, roundish, white specks on the lips, the tongue, the inside and the angles of the mouth, giving the parts affected the appearance of curds and whey having been smeared upon them. The mouth is hot and painful, and he is afraid to suck: the moment the nipple is put into his mouth he begins to cry. The thrush sometimes, although but rarely, runs through the whole of the alimentary canal.