The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-10-23

william Brady, NATIONAL NeWws
paper Service, SEQ West Akadieom
Street. Chicago, III.
PREVENTION AND CORRECTION
OF BOWLEG
Bowleg is the opposite deformltv
10 knock knee, the knee being OUT
ward away from It's fellow, by BEND
ing Of the femur (thigh bo11e) OF
the tabia (shin bone) or both, and
In some cases there Is also some
twisting Of the slbia inward which
turns the toes In (pigeon toes.)
Rarely bowleg Is caused by injury
or by paralysis affecting the 1iga-
ments Of the knee Joint, but prac-
tically the cause In most cases u
ricketts,. M
Ricketts,, although most frequent
and most pronounced In infants
from six to eighteen months Of eye,
is by no means limited to babies. A
great many children from two to
eight years Of age have ricketts, and
some youths and even few adults
have it--rickets In adults is called
ostemalacia, (Which means soften
ing Of bone)- osteomalacia being
usually seen in prospective or nurs-
Ing mothers.
Cause Of ricketts, Is deficiency In
intake, assimilation, utilization ana
retention Of calcium and phosphor-
us, and deficiency Of irtake Of as
siimilation Of vitalnin D, which reg.
ulates or controls calcium and
phosphorus metabolism or nutrt-
ton.
Il Is q mistake to regard ricketts,
as O bone disease, however. In
most cases Of ricketts, there Is no
evident bony defor7nity. Ricket5 Ii
as much o nerve, muscle, hgament,
tooth or gland disease as It Is .
bone disease. It Is constitutional,
nutritional, affects the blood
growth, development.
Aside from seeing to IL that the
infant or young child gets adequate
daily rations Of foods that supply
calcium and phosphorus "details In
the BRADY Baby Book'-tor copy
send ten cents and three-cent.
stamped envelope bearing your ads
dress) and viatmin D. good preven-
tive measures against bowleg and
other weaknesses or deformities OF
ricketts, are the following:
All the active exercise the body
or child wants, whether In creek
ing about, walking, running or any
kind Of play.
Within reason mother or father or
both should plan to have few min
utes playtime with the baby twice
day-while the baby rolls, sqtiirrlS
and kicks about on blanket, per-
haps, after the regular morning
and evening bath. .
Better avoid putting any kind
Of shoes on the baby when the ba-
by Is beginning TO walk. Socks II
necessary for warmth, but other"
wise keep the baby's feet and legs
bare until the baby Is at least 10
months old.
Short Of sunburn, give the young
baby or child all the sunshine or
skyshine daylight h Q child'g
naked skin will comfortably stand
ct all seasons Of the year. As long
as the child seems to enjoy the
exposure, as long as the child's
feet or hands feel warm TO your
touch, you may be sure the Tex
posure" Is fine for the child's
health and development. Whether
there Is direct sunshine or only
diffuse daylight, there Is more or
less ultraviolet In the light, and
this generates HtaTnin D In the
child's body.
All infants today receive or
should receive 0 daily ration Of VI
tamin D in one form or another 70
supplement the diet. II Is no long.
er necessary TO feed fish liver oil
or extracts or concentrates Of such
fish oils TO infants or children;
vitamin D Is vitanin d, no matter
what the source, and tastelesS or
at least not unpleasant repara-
lions Of vitamin D are now avail
able TO people who are not hypno-
tized by the quaint superstitionS
OF the old timers.
As soon as @ child u capable o.
playing with Q pushmobie, . tra'
cycle or velocipede, . scooter, Q
bicycle, by all means give the child
one. Such exer . se Of the legs (and
whole body 49, fine to promote
good development anc prevent
weaknesses and deformites.
It Is questionable whether mas
sage or rubbing Of bowed legs IN
childhood does any good. II 4
harmless, n the parent wants u
try II.
Moderate bowling Of the legs In O
child two or three years Of age
needs no other treatment than the
general antirachitic measures al
ready described. II the bowling Is
more marked, 1t may be advisable
that special splints or braces DO
applied (of course only by the ply
sician), TO be worn under the ply
sician's regular supervision and as
adjusted by the physician from
time to time.
Bowling in children over five
years Of age may be corrected only
by corrective operation - the bent
bones must be fractured (green
strick fracture) or partly broken
under general anesthesia and reset
in corrected position, and so retain
ed by suitable plaster cast splint or
similar means for aDout six weeks.
This treatment Is Of course the only
means of correcting bowleg In youth
or adult.
Copyright 1913, John r. Ollie 0al