New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1915-09-04
HEALTH COLUMN.

and arms. 1t is caused by over
heating due either to the no
weather or to the fact that tn,
baby is too warmly dressed. TIL,
rash comes and goes with the heat
and causes intense itching. Tn,
remedy for it is to take off al
the clothing and give the baby &
sponge bath in tepid water in
which common baking soda has
been dissolved. Use | tablespoon
full of soda to two quarts Of wat
err. Use no soap, and do not rub
the skin, but pat it dry with d
soft towel. After the skin is
/ thoroughly dry, dust the inhamed
surfaces with plain talcum pow
| der.
This ailment. like all others, is
more readily prevented than
cured. Frequent cool baths, very
little clothing, simple food and
living in cool rooms, or in the
open air will probably save the
summer baby from much of the
annoyance Of prickly heat and
other more serious ills.
Chatting:
Fat babies are very apt to suf-
fer from chatting, especially in hot
weather. 1t appears as redness
Of the skin in the buttocks or in
the armpits, or wherever two skin
surfaces persistently rub together.
Much the same treatment is re-
CURED as in prickly heat. Never
use soap on an inhamed skin. In
stead use a soda, bran or starch
bath. Directions for these baths
are given in a publication called
Infant Care, which may be had,
free of charge, by addressing a
request to the Chief of the Chill
dren's Bureau, y. S. Department
Of Labor, Washington, D. G.
Great care should be taken not
to let the baby scratch the skin,
when it is irritated. Sift togeth-
err two parts powdered cornstarch,
and one part boric acid, and use
it freely on the chafed places.
Remove wet or soiled diaperes at
once. Wash and dry the flesh
thoroughly. then dust the powder
freely between the legs.
Milk Crust:
This is skin disease affecting
the SCALP. in which yellowish,
scaly patches appear on the baby's.
head. These patches should be
softened by amounting them with
olive oil or vaseline at night, and
the head washed with warm water
and CASTLE soa pin the morning.
If the crust does not readily
come away, repeat the process un-
til the scalp is clean. Never use
a fine comb nor the finger nails
to remove the cruts, as the slight
est irritation of the skin will
cause the disease to spread furth-
er. The scales will usually disap-
pear after a few days o careful
treatment.
Constipation:
If the baby does not have at
least one full bowel movement in
"a hours or in 36 at the outside,
he is in need of such care as will
bring about this result. Breast
fed babies often respond to an
increased supply Of laxative food
in the motheres diet. If this is
not sufficient, a six months old
baby may have a tablespoonful of
strained orange juice between
two Of his morning feelings.
Bottle-fed babies may have fruit
juice in the same way and thin
oatmeal Cruel may be substituted
for barley water in making up
the feedlngs, after the baby is
four months old.
Perhaps the best preventive Of |
constipation is to teach the baby
to move the bowels at the same
hour ever yday. This training
should be begun when the baby
is three months old, and should |
be faithfully continued until the
habit is firmly established. Not |
only does this practice establish
in the baby from the beginning of
his life a custom which will great.
~ increase his chances for good