Babies - Skin Troubles : Part 1

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

(Page 32 of 41)

One of the earliest skin troubles that the average normal child suffers from is prickly heat - a tiny, red-pointed rash always accompanied by sweating and usually resulting from over-dressing, stuffy rooms, and other conditions that make the child too warm. Prickly heat produces more or less discomfort but usually little or no itching. Ordinarily, a sponge bath followed by the application of talcum powder is sufficient to give relief in mild cases; but severe or neglected cases should be treated by means of bran baths, a cupful of bran being tied up in a gauze bag and suspended in water until the water assumes a milky color. Soda baths, two tablespoons to a gallon of water, are also very soothing. A baby should never receive any friction with a towel after such baths, but should be rolled up in a clean linen towel and simply patted dry.

Chafing

Great care should be exercised in the choice of baby's soaps. Among a number of soaps that might be mentioned castile soap is, perhaps, as good as any. Frequent sponging is required to wash off the irritating perspiration; cool clothing, plenty of talcum powder, a dose of calcium magnesia, and a regulated diet are necessary to clear up the trouble.

Chafed skin, particularly between the buttocks or in other folds and creases, should be kept free from soap. Either the starch or bran bath may be tried, while olive oil should be frequently and lightly rubbed over the chafed part. A bit of sterile cotton placed between the folds to prevent friction is often all that is necessary to correct the difficulty.

Dandruff or milk crust which is often seen on young babies' scalps has been described in detail elsewhere. It should early receive the Vaseline rub at night which will often loosen up the hardened crusts. It may be gently removed in the morning with soap and water unless the case has gone on to great severity. In such neglected cases the mother should not undertake to correct the difficulty alone. Taken early, when the scalp is covered with tiny flakes known as milk crust, it can be quickly relieved.

Eczema

Eczema is a very troublesome disease, particularly in infants; there are so many forms of it that there is neither time nor space in this volume to describe them individually. This disease may be produced in children by either internal or external causes - from friction on the skin, from coarse, rough woolen clothes, or from starched garments, or from lace or starched bonnet strings which rub into the folds of the skin. Irritating soap, the contact of soiled diapers, cheap toilet powders, and discharges from the nose and ears may also be responsible for the disease. The particular internal causes are over-feeding, digestive disturbances, the too early use of starches which create fermentation in the intestinal tract. In the most frequent form of eczema the skin becomes red and then there appear tiny vesicles (water blisters) which soon rupture and "weep." This fluid which oozes from these tiny, ruptured vesicles, in connection with the perspiration and exfoliation of old skin, forms heavy crusts upon the face which are both unsightly and annoying.

Another form of eczema is simply a very badly chafed condition accompanied by intense itching, and commonly known as "dry eczema." A very disagreeable form is the pustular variety. One poor little sufferer that was once brought to us had so many pustules on his head that one could not put a ten cent piece on his scalp without touching a pustule. The treatment of these cases, in order to be effective and leave the child's head in normal condition, must be administered with the utmost patience every day for weeks. A doctor's help is always required in combating this sort of skin trouble. If the cause is external, then the clothes should be changed. All irritation should be removed - the clothing must not be allowed to scratch the skin. The child must not scratch himself. If necessary, little splints may be placed on the inside of his arms to prevent his bending the elbows if the eczema is on the face, while the little sleeves may be pinned to the side of the dress to resist the movement of the arms.

Eczema Treatment

The diet should be most carefully looked into. The nursing mother will earnestly look into every article of food she herself is eating, and carefully avoid all foods that produce fermentation or decomposition. The mother's urine should be examined and its acidity noted; if it is above normal she should take some alkaline such as ordinary baking soda or calcium magnesia. If it is a bottle-fed baby, any form of flour should be removed from the food and the quantity of the milk reduced. All this, of course, is done under the direction of the physician. Repeated doses of castor oil may be given.

The name of the medicinal agents that have been used in the treatment of eczema, is legion. Perhaps one of the most widely used is the early varnishing of the affected skin with ichthyol, which is swabbed on after the skin has been cleansed with olive oil. Allow this to almost dry, and then sprinkle on talcum powder which smoothes over the dry varnish of ichthyol. This is worn every night and during the day, in bad cases, even when the eczema is on the face. It is renewed each day, and is preceded by the olive-oil bath. No water or soap is ever used in eczema. Fortunately, the Eskimo has taught us that the skin really can be cleansed with oil as well as with water. In the appendix will be found two prescriptions, number one and number two, that have proved very beneficial in some of the most severe forms of eczema.

Hives and Freckles

Hives, a crop of little raised red papules closely resembling lesions caused by the sting of a mosquito, may make their appearance upon the skin of the child, remain a few hours, and then disappear. Hives are usually due to digestive disturbances and may be caused by such foods as strawberries, nuts, pastries, pineapple, certain sea foods, mushrooms, etc. A good cathartic, the taking of alkaline, such as baking soda or calcium magnesia, with a bran or starch bath, or possibly a soda bath, will usually correct the difficulty. The same treatment may be used in nettle rash or prickly heat.

Freckles seem to run in families. Broad-brimmed hats or sunbonnets may be worn, but under no circumstance should a little girl be bidden to remain in the house and shun the beautiful, sunshiny outdoors just because she freckles easily. Do not apply any lotions to the freckled face without medical advice, for great harm may be done the tender skin of the child.

Ringworm

Often upon the scalps of young children may be seen circles - rather, patches - which are slightly rough to the touch, and which cause the hair to fall out and the spots to remain bald. They are known as ringworms of the scalp. The affection may likewise appear on the body or the face, presenting a ring of reddened skin with a scaly border. Ringworm on the scalp is hard to treat and medical help should be secured, for, in spite of all that can be done, the disease often runs its course, leaving round bald spots over the head. Ringworm of the face, taken early, is helped by carefully painting with tincture of iodine. The mother should constantly bear in mind that ringworm is a "catching" disease, so that all handkerchiefs, towels, and clothes are to be kept separate. The disease known as mange which so often attacks dogs, is nothing more than ringworm, and children often contract the disease from dogs. Ringworm, whether it be on children or dogs, may be greatly helped by the use of tincture of iodine and other appropriate remedies.

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.