The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-09-01
DEATH in THE NURSING BOTTLE.


| the present season averages seven to eight
| hundred per week, mostly children, every
| humane person feels the necessity of in.
| creased vigilance to combat every evil which
tends to increase "the slaughter of the inno-
cents" High temperature is one of the
causes which we are powerless to combat
Dirty streets and filthy houses we must leave
to the Board Of Health.
Poverty of the parents, which prevents
their providing suitable food and medicine
for their little ones, is another cause Of our
great infantile mortality, against which we
can and ought to do something. But igno-
rance is another cause, too often overlooked,
against which We are not powerless if we or
gaaize for action. The daily papers warn old
and young against the dangers of uHripe fruit
and stale watermelons; but people will in
dulge, and we must allow the American citi-
zen, however young, to exercise his inaIiena-
BILE right to take his own life in this way.
II But there is another prolific source Of in
FAINT mortality to which we wish now to direct
special attention, namely, the patent nursing
bottle. 1t consists Of rubber tube, one end
of which is held in the chiid's mouth; the
other end, passing through the cork, is at
tached to glass rod which descends to the
bottom Of q bottle of so.called milk. We
might write a column on the dangers that re-
side in the milk, unless special care has been
taken to obtain it fresh or by sui ably dilut-
ing pure condensed milk. But this danger is
well known, and our business at present is
with the bottle, or rather its dirty tube, which
should never be used more than once, then
thrown away and new one bought
Even when new, these white tubes, i'm
as they are with oxide of zinc, are
not unobjectionaole; far worse are they when
saturated with sour milk, germs of putrefac-
ton, decay and disease. Some of their child |
Yankee inventions have reached |
Berlin, and have called forth the following
from practising physician of that city:
"The supposed advantage of thsSe bottles
consists in this, that they can be placed beside
the infant in bed, while other bottles must be
held in the hand all the time. What sensible
mother or nurse would leave q child with
bottle without watching it?
The danger. of the bottle consists in this,
hat it is absolutely impossible to cleanse it.
When sucked on, little particles of milk be-
'ome attached to the tube and cork; these
hurdle and soon turn sour. If some of this
deposit be placed under microscope, we see
bacteria, organic beings which
Indicate decomposition and decay At every
neal the child draws in thousands of these
What 1t finds in the mouth, esophagus, and
tomach; and the result is diarrhrea, cholera in
lntttn,, etc.
II will here expressly remark that the usual
Method of placing the apparatus in water, or
merely rinslng it out with stream of water,
J in no way sufficient. Some dealers sell a
suitable little wire brush with the bottle,
ut even this does not answer the purpose,
or the apparatus is not clean by long way
fter drawing the brush through it several
ines; and who will take the trouble to clean
SO thoroughly eight or ten times day -,
low much time it would require! !
Another disadvantage is that the bottle is
ir tight, and a partial vacuum is formed. {
'hich renders sucking so difficult as to
xhaust the child, and it stops before its hun
or is satisfied Hence, parents, ye who are .
ompelled to feed your children with bottle,
lrow away this apparatus, which can only =
ring destruction upon your children, and .
Their select bottle with glass mouthpiece,
hich is filled from below, or take large =
,bber mouthpiece, which is perforated by q !,
nall hole and can be drawn directly over !,
lie neck of the glass bottle. This large Il
outhpiece or nipple can be readily turned 7
side out and Thoroughly cleaned and rubbed
i;h dry salt. "-Scientifc American =,