Hints From a Trained Nurse
By Housekeeper
TEACH your children to breathe through their noses; if one finds it absolutely necessary to breathe through his mouth, something is wrong, and a physician should be consulted without delay. The difficulty is very probably caused by adenoids, a growth at the back of the nose, which can be removed by a simple surgical operation. If neglected, they are likely to prove more troublesome as time goes on. Insist that children wash their hands thoroughly before eating. This is not for esthetic reasons, but as a precaution against disease. Do not let them eat sweet things between meals, but give them bread and butter or fruit; if they are really hungry, they will enjoy it, if not they are better off without anything. The sugar consumed by the average American child is the cause of defective teeth, inadequate digestion, and irritable nerves in after-life, even if the ill effects are not at once apparent. Teach them never to drink from a common cup; there is no more rapid way of spreading disease than by the train tumbler and the school dipper. Do not let them have ice water, but encourage them to drink as much pure, cool water as possible. The importance of this last can not be overestimated. In my professional career I have seen wonderful cures result from this simple remedy. Many times a prescription reads, “To be taken in half a glass of water,” because the doctors know how hard it is to persuade the average person to take water enough. Two quarts a day is none too much. Train your children to drink milk slowly, and always to eat something with it. It is particularly dangerous to allow them to gulp down milk when they are overheated and thirsty. The result is a well-nigh indigestible curd, which causes intense pain, and in some cases death.—Housekeeper.