Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-08-03
WORMS IN CHILDREN
CAN Be PREVENTED
Thorough Cooking Of Meats and
Personal Cleanliness Are
Deterrents.

Tn is is the twcnty-fourth art icle oil
series for the Mothers column contrib
uted 10y the medical consultant oil the
state Reconstruction Committee, ana
submitted by the commission through
the clearing house of the Delaware state
program. IL deals with worms.
These parasites aIc common IN young
children and often go entirely unrecog-
n,zed for SO long a period that rather
scvore anemia may have set IN, which
viii require n long course OF treatment 70
remedy. Early rccongltion OF the cohui-
tion rs therefore essential.
Tape worms are probably the common
est Of all worms and are. the easiest TO
recognize. They come from three ordinary
sources-thc eating of improperly cooked
nr uncooked beef, pork and hsh PROPER;
thorough cooking of these three foods VIII
destroy any danger of worms. once the
child Is infected with them, the condition
NAV Toe recognized by the symptoms
md the diagnosis easily confirmed Dy
finding portions or links of the worms IN
The stools.
The SYMPTOMS are an increased appe-
tltc. increase in the size of the abdomen
picking of the nose \ child suffering from
worms is constantly hungry. lie eats
three or four times rs much as normal
child but does not show n corresponding
growth or development. To confirm your
slspicions of the presence OF these paia-
sites. look i'm the stools and see II any
links or portions of the worm are present
II not. give the child a dose OF castor OIL
and then sec II they show. II they DO
scc a physician nj once. for while the cure
for this condition is comparatively simple,
the remedy il not safe in the hands OF ono
InpNpcrlcnccd IN handling y
In some eases. worms are iou1 The
bed having crawlcd out IN th night.
tftcr giving the remedy, the 5 should
hc carefully examined to sec that the
whole worm comes away The head must
be looked for particularly, for If this Is lett
behind. II will grow and develop INTO
another worm The search for the head
rcuuiies care. because i IS smaller than
the rest of the parasite and frequently
escapes notice.
Another of the common variety of
worms Is the round worm These are oh
tanned by swallowing the eggs contained
IN soil or water The first sign noticed
may bc the appearance of the worm IN the
tool or crawling ont Of tho mouth or nose
~ vomItcd up from the stomach. They
may produce appendicitis or other disease
uf the intestine.
Children who arc infected with round
worms should hc taught to be perfectly
lean. partIcuarv after visiting the
toilet and thus prevent the spread Of tho
eggs to other children.
The treatment of the round worms
should be left 10 physician for tho reason
mentioned above N regard to the treat
ment of tape worms
The last of the Commoner worms inject
ug children IS the pin. thread. OF seat
or
20 sec than the others and consequently
frequently overlooked. 1t IS contracted
al the same WAY as the round worm and the
same preventive measures should be
taken. namely cleanliness. The most com
nom symptom is itching of the huttocks
,lue a. the worms crawling about They
can be seen in the stools if they are looked
Tor. The treatment is to be left TO the
physician.
No child would ever suffer from worms
Il the meat is properly cooked and # ordi-
nary precautions are taken IN regard to
the diet water and milk supply.
Note The Mothers Column will be
discontinued until Fall The above article
completes the series dealing with the dis
cases and complaints of infancy and
early childhood. The next article. which
will appear early in September will begin
a series on prenatal care and advice, and
will be issued. as this series has been.
Nv the Medical Consultant Of the State
Reconstruction Commission.