Savannah morning news., 1886-05-10
PREVENTION BETTER THAN
CURE.
BY CHRISTIE rERHUNE HERR1cK.
[Copyrighted 1885 i


Wholesale, thriving retail business In
the same line is conducted by absent
minded druggists and careless nurses and
mothers. Children especially develop a
talent for running into Unforeseen mis-
chief. One small boy OF an investigating
turn of mind gets into bath tub, sets the
not water running, and is found crouched
shrieking at the end furthest from the
| faucet, unable to get out of the miniature
| cul-desac and in imminent risk of being
badly scalded. Another, still more orig
| lnal, Also climbs into the tub, but varies
the performance by applying his mouth
10 the cold water spout, and turning it on,
and, the suction being so strong as to pre-
vent his withdrawing his lips, is nearly
drowned before rescue comes.
But 1t is In meddling with medicine
bottles that the average child furnishes
most newspaper paragraphs. 1t seems
strange that, with all the terrible acct
dents OF this nature that have occurred.
so few precautions are observed against
their repetition. A dozen instances
might be given where children have man.
aged to get hold of dangerous compounds
with more or less serious consequences.
but two or three will suffice.
The first is OF little girl belonging to
family who were devoted adherents of
the Homeopathic school. The mother
possessed pretty little morocco chest
nlled with tiny walls of white sugared
globules, from which the little ones were
dosed in strict accordance with the ''Text
Book OF Domestic Practice"
During her mothers absence. wee An
ME, the Youngest hope of the home, spied
the familiar case on conveniently low
shelf In the closet. Physic taking had
on unpleasant associations for her. but
rather the contrary, and she lost no time
IN seizlng the collection of diminutive
bottles and retiring with 1t to a quiet cor
ner. Ihe nurse was occupied in another
room and did not discover what miscbief
was going on, until alarmed by the un-
Wonted silence she sought out her charge
and found her just swallowing the last
pellet OF the assortment. CONSERVATION
relgned among the older members of the
no sehold, but contrary to the anguished
expectations OF parents and maid, Annie
suffered no discomfort from her hearty
meal of what she termed 'candV pills.v
Faitbless allOpaths laughed knowinglv
and called the incident an Illustration of
the powers OF homeopathic remedies, but
the family physician explained the mat
ter satisfactorily TO his followers, at least.
by declaring that onemedicine had coun-
teracted the effect of the other and thus
prevented any ill effect.
Arguments, either for or against the
e.
cote; out one moral may certainly be
drawn, to avoid having even sugar pellets
lthln reach Of childish fingers.
r,2at the less tempting doses Of the other
,rao,i,e do not always warn children
a,rav y, Srop bottles may be shown by an
otbay inetan,ee. This was OF a rather older
cSiIdHa little oFrl again. The share of
Mother Ewes curioslC, supposed 10 De
deeply implanted in every IL '"ane e,'' UIeas1
manilests itself sometimes az q "a SurRIls- prs
ingly early age in the woman cbpu. luis
| juvenile delinquent began her 1peIi-
ments by taking draught from a Bo.ie
of snOe blacklng, but as this did not prGe
| 10 her taste, her next essay was with pare |
gOric. Perched on a chair she could
reach the medicine shelf with ease, aud
she found her second pOtation so agreea-
bic that she ventured further and fOrtu-
nately happened upon vial OF ipecac.
She finished this, and having tasted two
or three other less palatabie mixtures,
abandoned further investigations. The
lpecac shortly afterwards produced its
specific effect and the mother was hOrri-
fed at finding her daughter in the agonies
OF what she at first deemed an attack of
black yOmit. A doctor was summoned in
haste, but thanks to the emetic, he found
mis- WORK done for him.
Both these episodes chanced not to re-
suit fatally, as was also true with still
third little girl who swallowed a mouth
full of arsenic under the impression that 1t
was su gar, and was saved by the prompt
administering OF an antdOte. But there
are many sad combinations of the asser-
ton that happy termination does not
always wait upon such cases. The story
Is well known of the three children VINO
ate bread that had been spread with poi
son for rats, the mistake being discovered
only when two of them were beyond the
reach of human aid; of another who drank
a goblet full OF acOnlte with fatal effects:
OF another still who swallowed toe con.
tents of a box OF pills and died 10 convui-
slOnS within couple of hours. But the
enumeration could be continued Inden-
! nuely.
1t is odd that while a child may have to
be cOaXed or cOerced into taking medi-
cine While i'll, yet when it is in health the
very drugs IL fought against should prove
50 strong tenn ptatioa. The theory OF the
perversity Of human nature which has
had TO shoulder so much may possibly
b 'ar this also. Admitting the TACT eX-
piaiuable or not, all that ren aimed is TO
guard against the risks involved by this
mysterious propensity Of juvenile deprav-
ity. Recently an enactment was striven
for providing that all Walls containing
pOisOns should be marked with red labels.
An exchange sensibly remarks, however,
luNl a HtdiAtl Adutl tutdib nbLulng 10 "A
child. Nor do the time-honOred skull and
cr0ss-bOnes that serve as a danger-signal
TO Older ewes convey any significance 10
them. The best method of pre-
yentOn consists in the removal of
opportunity To sin. Put the medicine
chest where the children cannot reach il.
The old fashion that once prevailed in
some country districts of suspending bot
ties Ot physic by strings from the stout
beams tnat ran across the kitchen ceiling
should be maintained in mOdernizsd
form. A hanging cabinet, no matter how
simple 50 long as II is furnished with
good lock, is the only practicable medi-
cine closet. Let the kew be put out OF the
reach Of baby eyes and fingers ANA used
10y 40 one but some responsible person.
The little ones. however, are not the only
persons with whom precautions are ne
cessary. Instances OF gross carelessness
are 80 frequent among grown people as
to awaken a marvel that fatal accidents
are so fey. The only difference is
that whereas in the case OF the chill
dren the fault is committed through ig-
nOrance, in the other absent-mindrd-
ness and heedlessness are 10 blame Even
simple remedies are not TO be handled
recklessly. young girl suffering from
a severe cold Kept u bottle OF cough mix
ture standing on her mantel by the sid
0t one containing glycerine and camphor,
for external use. just before retiring one