The Eugenic Marriage, Volume IV | Page 9

these older children where the
serious symptoms are absent. The children are not sick enough to go to
bed, but they appear to have a "heavy cold" with, at first, a tight, hard
cough, which is usually worse at night. Later the cough turns loose and
the same expectoration occurs as in the severe type. It is these cases of
mild bronchitis which do not receive the proper care and treatment that
develop into the so-called "winter cough," which lasts for months.
Treatment.--(See page 497 under heading, "Catching Colds.") Children
who acquire bronchitis easily and frequently, should be built up. Cod
liver oil should be given all winter. The sleeping apartment of these
children should not be too cold, but it should be well aired through the
day and well ventilated throughout the night. Flannel night clothes
should be worn and the feet should be kept warm always. Mild attacks
of "cold in the head" should be treated vigorously and not neglected.
The following "Don'ts" may be profitably studied when your child or
baby has bronchitis:--
Don't keep the windows tightly closed; fresh air and good ventilation
are absolutely necessary to the patient.
Don't use a cotton jacket or oil silk.
Don't wrap the child up in blankets and shawls.
Don't carry the child around; keep it in bed.
Don't dose the child with syrupy cough mixtures.
Don't overheat the room.

Don't let friends bother or annoy the baby.
Don't reduce the diet unnecessarily.
The child should be put to bed. The temperature of the room should be
70 degrees F. all the time. The windows should be opened top and
bottom according to the weather, and the room should be well aired
every day, the patient being taken to another room while it is being
done. The child should have its usual night clothes on, nothing more. If
the child is not very sick and insists on sitting up, a bath robe can be
worn but it should be always removed when it sleeps. It is advisable to
change the position of the baby from time to time. Have it rest on one
side, then on the other, as well as on the back. Give a dose of castor oil
at the beginning of the sickness and keep the bowels open during the
disease.
Diet.--The diet will depend upon the severity of the disease. If the fever
is high and the cough persistent, the strength of the food of nursing
infants should be reduced. We can reduce the strength of the food by
giving the child a drink of cool boiled water before each feeding and
shortening the length of each feeding. Older children may be given
toast, milk with lime water, cocoa with milk, broths, gruels, custards,
cereals and fruit juices.
Inhalations.--The value of inhalations in bronchitis is very great. The
ordinary croup kettle, which can be bought in any good drug store, is
the best method of giving them. Full directions come with each kettle
as to the best way to use it. The best drug to use in the kettle is creosote
(beechwood). Ten drops are added to one quart of boiling water and the
steaming continued for thirty minutes. The interval between steaming is
two hours and a half in bad cases day and night. In mild cases the night
treatments can be dispensed with. Sheets rigged up over the top and
sides of the crib, in the form of a tent, is the most desirable way to give
the inhalations.
External Applications.--Counter-irritation by means of mustard pastes
are the best applications. They should be put back and front--one on
back and one on the chest, overlapping at the sides beneath the arms.

They should cover the entire body from the waist line to the neck.
These pastes are made as follows:--Mix the mustard (English) and the
flour in the following proportions, using a quantity according to the
size of child and area to be covered; one tablespoonful mustard to three
tablespoonfuls of flour. Mix with lukewarm water until a paste is
formed, not too thick and not too thin. Spread on a cloth (put plenty on)
and cover with one layer of cheesecloth and place the cheesecloth side
next the skin. In order to guard against burning the skin it is advisable
to rub the skin with vaseline, before and after putting on the paste. The
paste should be left on until the skin is uniformly red. It may be applied
from two to four times in the twenty-four hours according to the
severity of the case. Mustard pastes are most effective during the first
two or three days of the disease.
Drugs.--Drugs are of very little value in the treatment of bronchitis. In
the first stage of the disease, when the cough is hard and