The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-01-18
WHAT KILLED THE BABY.
A Sanitary Lesson In Keeping
With the weather.

In a recent issue Of Home Science ap-
pears the following little sketch from real
life, which is worthy of attention;
awiie, what can it be that smells so
bad in the rooms upstairsY nave nEtic-
ed Il now for several mornings while
dressing" .,,,,, -,
Or mn,,se somewhere about the flooring
~ n The closets. l have noticed it my
So,i sereral times early in the morning
orJ in the evening, but during the day
have not obseryedit. But ! will have q
thorough clearing out and cleaning Of
| all the closets, and so, perhaps, find the
dead animal" :,
"Well, / hcpeso, for am halfinclined
10 think that lhe-headache and feeling Of
lassitude have experienced the last few
DAYS must be attributed to this unpleas-
ant odor; it even has nauSeated me the
last two mornings SO that ! could not en-
Joy my breakfast"
HAnd now, as you speak Of il, | have
also been suffering with headache and
bad taste, and feeling Of WEAKNESS and dull
ness for some days past, and little Katy
seems quite unwell to-day-foverish and
worrisome. Wont you stop on your way
down town and have the doctor call; for
really am afraid she is going to have
some fever, she appears so dull and list
less"
Seated at the breakfast table, endeav-
oring to force down some breakfast against
a rebellious stomach, husband and wife
are suddenly alarmed by the shrill call Of
the nurse to hurry up stairs, for the baby
is in it," "Run for tho doctor" is now
the cry. He comes, looks wise, feels the
pulse, asks some hurried questions:
aWhat has the baby eaten-candies, rails
ms, apples or too much OF some, to i, in
digestible food? No, nothing Of the kind.
Perhaps, then, it is teething, and the re-
ilex irritation Of the dental nerves has al
fected its brain, producing commissions.
Get hot water and mustard, quickly, while
| cut its gums"
The ft soon passes over, but baby is
still very feyerish, and continues so day
after day. The rooms are not ventilated
so frequently by opening the windows and
doors, as the baby is too i'll to bear the
light and exposure to cold air, while
father and mother are both complaining
Of illness. Baby's fever gradually pros
trates its feeble vitality, and it succnmbs.
The doctor is puzzled, can't say what was
the cause, or call the fever by any name
except typhoid or low facilitating fever
that has exhausted the little patient.
Now the mother sickens and presents
something OF the same kind OF fever; it is
new form, such as books do not exactly
describe; puzzles the doctor, who sees his
patient gradually sinking, notwithstand-
Ing s,imulants and tonics, antipeiiodics
or other medicines. A consultation is
asked, and fortunately practical SANTA
rian is called in. He suggests that there
must be some local causes for this
special fever. "Has any bad odor been
noticed" 10, yes, for some time
past; but We supposed il was n dead
rat. Could not find it, however.
"Well, my dear sir, there must be some
thing wrong about the drainage.pipes OF
your house, some leak OF poisonous gases.
This matter must be looked into. Send
for your plumber, and / will examine
the conditions with him, for il you leave
it to him alone he will probably find
nothing wrong" Plumber arrives, and
search commences from top Of
house to bottom; all the waste
pipes are found well trapped and
sound, apparently; descending to
the cellar we find one OF the joints OF the
main waste, or soil pipe, just wherei it en-
ters the ceiling Of the cellar; without
proper packing, the morter soft and pull
verified, and very offensive odor escap-
ing from il, which passes along the pipe
which is let into the side wall, and thus
It enters between the flooring and ceiling,
and escapes through the floor cracks and
foot-boards Of the sidewalks into
the rooms above. The practiced santa
rian is now satisfied OF the source OF the
poison that has already claimed one VIC
lin and is holding on with death-grip
to the other; the two who have been most
constantly exposed to its influences day
and night. Fortunately, his advice and
warning are needed and the defect RENE!
died. Pure air in abundance is admitted,
the poison diluted and eradicated, and by
the help of good constitution and prop
er treatment the patient recovers. This
is the true history Of many cases Of mys-
,erious ieyers and ailments and deaths!
Look to it that there is no point Of es-
cape, except through properly con-
structed ventilating pipe, for any OF the
poisonous gases Of tho house draining
system