The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher Part 20

The brain in infants is very moist, and hath many excrements which nature cannot send out at the proper pa.s.sages; they get often to the ears, and there cause pains, flux of blood, with inflammation and matter with pain; this in children is hard to be known as they have no other way to make it known but by constant crying; you will perceive them ready to feel their ears themselves, but will not let others touch them, if they can prevent; and sometimes you may discern the parts about the ears to be very red.

These pains, if let alone, are of dangerous consequences, because they may bring forth watchings and epilepsy; for the moisture breeds worms there, and fouls the spongy bones, and by degrees causes incurable deafness.

_Cure_. Allay the pain with all convenient speed, but have a care of using strong remedies. Therefore, only use warm milk about the ears, with the decoction of poppy tops, or oil of violets; to take away the moisture, use honey of roses, and let aqua mollis be dropped into the ears; or take virgin honey, half an ounce; red wines two ounces; alum, saffron, saltpetre, each a drachm, mix them at the fire; or drop in hemp seed oil with a little wine.

SECT. VI.--_Of Redness and Inflammation of the b.u.t.tocks, Groin and the Thighs of a Young Child._

If there be no great care taken to change and wash the child's bed as soon as it is fouled with the excrements, and to keep the child very clean, the acrimony will be sure to cause redness, and beget a smarting in the b.u.t.tocks, groin and thighs of the child, which, by reason of the pain, will afterwards be subject to inflammations, which follow the sooner, through the delicacy and tenderness of their skin, from which the outward skin of the body is in a short time separated and worn away.

_Cure_. First, keep the child cleanly, and secondly, take off the sharpness of its urine. As to keeping it cleanly, she must be a sorry nurse who needs to be taught how to do it; for if she lets it but have dry, warm and clean beds and cloths, as often and as soon as it has fouled and wet them, either by its urine or its excrements, it will be sufficient. And as to taking off the sharpness of the child's urine, that must be done by the nurse's taking a cool diet, that her milk may have the same quality; and, therefore, she ought to abstain from all things that may tend to heat it.

But besides these, cooling and drying remedies are requisite to be applied to the inflamed parts; therefore let the parts be bathed in plantain-water, with a fourth of lime water added to it, each time the child's excrements are wiped off; and if the pain be very great, let it only be fomented with lukewarm milk. The powder of a post to dry it, or a little mill-dust strewed upon the parts affected, may be proper enough, and is used by many women. Also, unguentum alb.u.m, or diapompholigos, spread upon a small piece of leather in form of a plaster, will not be amiss.

But the chief thing must be, the nurse's taking great care to wrap the inflamed parts with fine rags when she opens the child, that these parts may not gather and be pained by rubbing together.

SECT. VII.--_Of Vomiting in Young Children._

Vomiting in young children proceeds sometimes from too much milk, and sometimes from bad milk, and as often from a moist, loose stomach; for as dryness retains so looseness lets go. This is, for the most part, without danger in children; for they that vomit from their birth are the l.u.s.tiest; for the stomach not being used to meat, and milk being taken too much, crudities are easily bred, or the milk is corrupted; and it is better to vomit these up than to keep them in; but if vomiting last long, it will cause an atrophy or consumption, for want of nourishment.

_Cure_. If this be from too much milk, that which is emitted is yellow and green, or otherwise ill-coloured and stinking; in this case, mend the milk, as has been shown before; cleanse the child with honey of roses, and strengthen its stomach with syrup of milk and quinces, made into an electuary. If the humours be hot and sharp, give the syrup of pomegranates, currants and coral, and apply to the belly the plaster of bread, the stomach cerate, or bread dipped in hot wine; or take oil of mastich, quinces, mint, wormwood, each half an ounce; of nutmegs by expression, half a drachm; chemical oil of mint, three drops. Coral hath an occult property to prevent vomiting, and is therefore hung about the neck.

SECT. VIII--_Of Breeding Teeth in Young Children._

This is a very great and yet necessary evil in all children, having variety of symptoms joined with it. They begin to come forth, not all at once, but one after the other, about the sixth or seventh month; the fore-teeth coming first, then the eye-teeth, and last of all the grinders. The eye-teeth cause more pain to the child than any of the rest, because they have a deep root, and a small nerve which has communication with that which makes the eye move.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

In the breeding of the teeth, first they feel an itching in their gums, then they are pierced as with a needle, and p.r.i.c.ked by the sharp bones, whence proceed great pains, watching, inflammation of the gums, fever, looseness and convulsions, especially when they breed their eye-teeth.

The signs when children breed their eye-teeth are these:

1. It is known by the time, which is usually about the seventh month.

2. Their gums are swelled, and they feel a great heat there with an itching, which makes them put their fingers into their mouths to rub them; a moisture also distils from the gums into the mouth, because of the pain they feel there.

3. They hold the nipple faster than before.

4. The gums are white when the teeth begin to come, and the nurse, in giving them suck, finds the mouth hotter, and that they are much changed, crying every moment, and cannot sleep, or but very little at a time.

The fever that follows breeding of teeth comes from choleric humours, inflamed by watching, pain and heat. And the longer teeth are breeding, the more dangerous it is; so that many in the breeding of them, die of fevers and convulsions.

_Cure_. Two things are to be regarded:--one is, to preserve the child from the evil accidents that may happen to it by reason of the great pain; the other, to a.s.sist as much as may be, the cutting of the teeth, when they can hardly cut the gums themselves.

For the first of these, viz., the preventing of those accidents to the child, the nurse ought to take great care to keep a good diet, and to use all things that may cool and temper her milk, that so a fever may not follow the pain of the teeth. And to prevent the humour falling too much upon the inflamed gums, let the child's belly be always kept loose by gentle clysters, if he be bound; though oftentimes there is no need of them, because they are at those times usually troubled with a looseness; and yet, for all that, clysters may not be improper.

As to the other, which is to a.s.sist it cutting the teeth, that the nurse must do from time to time by mollifying and loosening them, and by rubbing them with her finger dipped in b.u.t.ter or honey; or let the child have a virgin-wax candle to chew upon; or anoint the gums with the mucilage of quince made with mallow-water, or with the brains of a hare; also foment the cheeks with the decoction of althoea, and camomile flowers and dill, or with the juice of mallows and fresh b.u.t.ter. If the gums are inflamed, add juice of nightshade and lettuce. I have already said, the nurse ought to take a temperate diet; I shall now only add, that barley-broth, water-gruel, raw eggs, prunes, lettuce and endive, are good for her; but let her avoid salt, sharp, biting and peppered meats, and wine.

SECT. IX.--_Of the Flux of the Betty, or Looseness in Infants._

It is very common for infants to have the flux of the belly, or looseness, especially upon the least indisposition; nor is it to be wondered at, seeing their natural moistness contributes so much thereto; and even if it be extraordinarily violent, such are in a better state of health than those that are bound. The flux, if violent, proceeds from divers causes, as 1. From breeding of the teeth, and is then commonly attended with a fever in which the concoction is hindered, and the nourishment corrupted. 2. From watching. 3. From pain. 4. From stirring up of the humours by a fever. 5. When they suck or drink too much in a fever. Sometimes they have a flux without breeding of teeth, from inward cold in the guts or stomach that obstructs concoction. If it be from the teeth, it is easily known; for the signs of breeding in teeth will discover it. If it be from external cold, there are signs of other causes. If from a humour flowing from the head there are signs of a catarrh, and the excrements are frothy. If crude and raw humours are voided, and there be wind, belching, and phlegmatic excrements, or if they be yellow, green and stink, the flux is from a hot and sharp humour. It is best in breeding of teeth when the belly is loose, as I have said before; but if it be too violent, and you are afraid it may end in a consumption, it must be stopped; and if the excrements that are voided be black, and attended with a fever, it is very bad.

_Cure_. The remedy in this case, is princ.i.p.ally in respect to the nurse, and the condition of the milk must be chiefly observed; the nurse must be cautioned that she eat no green fruit, nor things of hard concoction.

If the child suck not, remove the flux with such purges as leave a cooling quality behind them, as syrup of honey or roses, or a clyster.

Take the decoction of millium, myrobolans, of each two or three ounces, with an ounce or two of syrup of roses, and make a clyster. After cleansing, if it proceed from a hot cause, give syrup of dried roses, quinces, myrtles and a little sanguis draconis. Also anoint with oil of roses, myrtles, mastich, each two drachms; with oil of myrtles and wax make an ointment. Or take red roses and moulin, of each a handful; cypress roots two drachms; make a bag, boil it in red wine and apply it to the belly. Or use the plaster bread or stomach ointment. If the cause be cold, and the excrements white give syrup of mastich and quinces, with mint-water. Use outwardly, mint, mastich, c.u.mmin; or take rose seeds, an ounce, c.u.mmin, aniseed, each two drachms; with oil of mastich, wormwood and wax, make an ointment.

SECT. X.--_Of the Epilepsy and Convulsions in Children._

This is a distemper that is often fatal to young children, and frequently proceeds from the brain, originating either from the parents, or from vapours, or bad humours that twitch the membranes of the brain; it is also sometimes caused by other distempers and by bad diet; likewise, the toothache, when the brain consents, causes it, and so does a sudden fright. As to the distemper itself, it is manifest and well enough known where it is; and as to the cause whence it comes, you may know by the signs of the disease, whether it comes from bad milk, or worms, or teeth; if these are all absent, it is certain that the brain is first affected; if it come with the small-pox or measles, it ceaseth when they come forth, if nature be strong enough.

_Cure_. For the remedy of this grievous, and often mortal distemper, give the following powder to prevent it, to a child as soon as it is born:--Take male peony roots, gathered in the decrease of the moon, a scruple; with leaf gold make a powder; or take peony roots, a drachm; peony seeds, mistletoe of the oak, elk's hoof, man's skull, amber, each a scruple; musk, two grains; make a powder. The best part of the cure is taking care of the nurse's diet, which must be regular, by all means. If it be from corrupt milk, provoke a vomit; to do which, hold down the tongue, and put a quill dipped in sweet almonds, down the throat. If it come from the worms, give such things as will kill the worms. If there be a fever, with respect to that also, give coral smaragad and elk's hoof. In the fit, give epileptic water, as lavender water, and rub with oil of amber, or hang a peony root, and elk's hoof smaragad, about the child's neck.

As to a convulsion, it is when the brain labours to cast out that which troubles it; the mariner is in the marrow of the back, and fountain of the nerves; it is a stubborn disease, and often kills.

Wash the body, when in the fit, with decoction of althoea, lily roots, peony and camomile flowerets, and anoint it with man's and goose's grease, oils of worms, orris, lilies, foxes, turpentine, mastich, storax and calamint. The sun flower is also very good, boiled in water, to wash the child.

FOOTNOTES:

[11] Tent (_surgical_). A bunch of some fibre such as sponge or horsehair introduced into an opening, natural or artificial, to keep it open, or increase its calibre.

PROPER AND SAFE REMEDIES

FOR

CURING ALL THOSE DISTEMPERS

THAT ARE PECULIAR

TO THE FEMALE s.e.x

AND ESPECIALLY THOSE OBSERVATIONS

TO BEARING OF CHILDREN