Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1873-08-28
INFANT DIET.


We published week or two ago an
abstract of rules issued by the Philadel-
phia Society for the guidance of moth
ers in the treatment of teething children
during the hot weather. Our friends of
the press take so kindly and general
an interest in these that we make room
the more gladly for similar abstract of
Schedule Of Directions furnished by
DR.. A. jacob at the request of the Pub
tic Health Association of this city, con-
corning infantile diet during Summer,
giving tia place more willingly as it in
tended to apply to certain cases of
which the more general directions took
no cognizance.
1. Overlooking DR.. jacob is of opin-
ion, does more harm than anything else,
A baby of month or two should be
nursed every two or three hours. A
baby of six months and over, should be
nursed five times in twenty four hours,
and no more. When baby gets thirs-
ty in the meantime, give it drink of
water or barley-water, without sugar.
In case the mothers milk is not more
than half enough. she is to change off
between breast milk and food in case
the baby must depend upon food alone,
the Doctor recommends barley water
the barley to be powdered by being
ground in clean coffee grinder; one
teaspoonful boiled with little salt in n
gill of water for fifteen minutes, strain
ed, and mixed with half as much boiled
milk and lump of white sugar to be
given lukewarm through nursing bot
tie +; bottle and mouth piece to be kept
scrupulously clean. Babies over six
months must be given more milk in
proportion. When babies are costive,
oatmeal is to be used instead of barley.
The food OF baby should be perfectly
sweet, which may be proved by trying
it with small strip of blue litmus pa
per. If the paper turn red make fresh
mess.
Infants of six months may have beef
tea or beef soup once day of o year
old may have crust of bread Or piece
Of rare beef to suck. No candies are to
be given. In the case of Summer COM
plant, fresh air is, with DIR. jacob, as
every other skilled physician, the best
restorative. He prohibits laudanum,
paregoric, soothing sirups, etc. Even
milk, everything to eat or drink, must
be withheld for four or six hours.
With certain other of DR.. Jacobs
rules we must venture respectfully to
disagree. But few babies, however
hardy, could bear the " frequent" cold
baths he recommends in very hot wea-
Their. Two in the day--one cold in the
morning, and q tepid one at night-are
in our opinion sufficient. And the adj.
ministration of whisky to healthy in
FAINT, even as preventative, in the very
hottest weather. and limited to but a
teaspoonful in twenty-four hours, APP
pears to us most unwise resumption
of the old English practice, unsuited
both to American constitutions and eli
mates. He very judiciously, however,
as it appears to us, recommends the use
of mixed milk from number of COWS
for infants diet, rather than from one,
as in case of the necessity for change,
the transition is not so dangerous for
the child.
These rules may, to even mothers,
appear trivial from their simplicity but
so far as diet and hygiene for children
are concerned, it is in the simplicity of
treatment and steadiness of care that
safety lies DIR. jacob belongs, as we
believe, to that most eminent class of
physicians with whom prevention of
disease is more important object than
cure-an object only to be accomplish
ed by the enlightenment of mothers,
until they are able to perform their part,
both before and after birth, in giving
sound bodies to their children. The
people, as in the days of the prophet,
are perishing for lack of knowledge !;
not knowledge of medicines patent or
otherwise, unfortunately, for every wo-
man and almost every man has favorite
dose for every symptom of disease, but
knowledge of plain rules of health.