Babies - Respiratory Diseases : Part 2

The Mother and Her Child
by William S. Sadler, M.D., Lena K. Sadler, M.D.

(Page 30 of 42)

A most convenient article with which to examine an infant's throat is a small pocket flashlight. The pillars of the throat or the tonsils or both may be much inflamed, and since tonsillitis, diphtheria, and scarlet fever all begin with a sore throat, it is wise early to seek medical counsel in order that the differential diagnosis may be promptly made. We urge the mother, as a rule, not to attempt to diagnose severe cases of sore throat. Send for the physician.

Tonsillitis is a severe form of sore throat which, fortunately, rarely troubles tiny infants; but for every sore throat, while waiting for medical help to arrive, lay your plans to empty the bowels, diminish the quantity of the food, swab or spray the throat, and later closely follow the physician's advice concerning the general treatment of the child.

Adenoids

Adenoid growths appear as grape-like lymphoid formations located in the upper and posterior-nasal pharynx. These adenoids secrete a very toxic, thickened fluid, which slowly makes its way down along the back wall of the throat, and reddens and inflames first the anterior and posterior pillars of the throat and then often inflames and enlarges the tonsils.

Adenoids not only obstruct the respiratory passage way to the throat and lungs, but they also exert a harmful influence on the general physical and mental development of the child.

It is nothing less than criminal for heedless parents to allow adenoid growths to remain in the child's post-nasal pharynx. The little fellow's face is disfigured, more or less for life, his mentality dulled, while he is compelled to breathe through his mouth.

An almost miraculous change often follows the complete removal of these obstructive adenoids - the child takes a renewed interest in everything about him. More oxygen finds its way to the tissues, his face takes on better color, he gains in weight, in fact, there appears to be a complete rejuvenation mentally and physically.

The signs or symptoms of adenoids are mouth breathing, restlessness at night, snoring, recurring colds, nasal discharge, swelling of the glands of the neck, poor nutrition, loss of appetite, bed wetting, impaired hearing, lack of attention, and mental dullness. The removal of adenoids is neither a serious or difficult procedure, and they may safely be removed at any age.

Diseased Tonsils

Tonsils which remain permanently enlarged and show signs of disease and debilitation - filled crypts - may be removed as early as the fourth or fifth year, if necessary. If proper treatment does not improve the tonsils as the child grows older, their removal should seriously be considered. The tonsils may serve some special secretory or defensive function during the first few years of life and we think best, therefore, not to advise their removal - except in extreme cases - until the child is at least four or five years old.

When it is necessary to attack the tonsils, they should be thoroughly dissected out - not merely burned or clipped off. If they are properly removed, the danger of heart trouble, rheumatism, and many other infections may be considered as greatly lessened.

After five years of age the normal tonsils should begin to shrink, and at about the beginning of adolescence they should be no larger than a small lima bean, hidden almost completely out of sight behind the pillars of the throat. While healthy tonsils may serve some useful purpose even in the adult, it is almost universally conceded that the thoroughly bad and diseased tonsil is utterly useless to the body - only an open gateway for the entrance of infection.

Bronchitis

A very common disorder of early infancy and childhood is bronchitis - an inflammation of the bronchial tubes - accompanied by severe coughing. Its tendency to pass into pneumonia renders it a disease for skilled hands to treat - a disorder hardly safe for even the well-meaning mother to undertake to manage without medical advice and help. And since bronchitis is usually accompanied by alarming symptoms of high fever, weakened heart, embarrassed breathing, mottled or blue skin, green stools, troublesome cough, disturbed sleep, "stopped up nose," and "choked up throat," it is of utmost importance not only to seek medical aid early, but also that the mother, herself, should have definite ideas concerning the proper manner of doing the following things in the line of treatment:

1. Making and applying a mustard paste. 2. The fashioning of an oil-silk jacket. 3. Improvising a steam tent. 4. Flushing out the colon, and a score of other things which the watchful doctor may want given any moment.

Mustard Pastes are prepared by mixing one part of mustard and six parts of flour in warm water and applying to the chest between two pieces of thin muslin. It is left on just seven minutes and then talcum powder is thickly sprinkled on the moist, reddened skin; this powder quickly absorbs all the moisture and leaves the skin in a good condition - ready for another paste in three hours if it is so ordered.

About the Author

Dr. William S. Sadler M.D. was a well-known American psychiatrist and college teacher in the school of medicine at the University of Chicago. For over sixty years he practiced his profession in Chicago, thirty-three years being associated in practice with his wife, Dr Lena Kellogg Sadler. The doctors were pioneers in the research on the mysterious Urantia Papers.