PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. Having a firm belief in the proverb that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," the author has endeavored, in the succeeding pages, to point out a series of hygienic rules which, if applied to the nursling, can hardly fail to maintain good health, give vigor to the frame and so lessen susceptibility to disease. He feels, too, that intelligent parents are ever ready to be instructed and willing to coöperate in the great work of preventing disease—the highest aim of scientific medicine. While every woman of ordinary brain-power can do much to keep her baby well, she should recognize that years of training and experience are necessary to acquire the ability to put the full value upon symptoms, and to handle the tools of medicine. Therefore, little or no reference has been made to drugs or methods of medical treatment. The first chapter is written with the object of X PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. hinting to the mother when, by deviations from the features of health, she may expect the onset of disease and call in professional counsel. The last is offered, not as a complete guide to the practice of physic, but simply for the sake of giving information upon questions that often arise in the nursery. The child's doctor, in our day, regulates his patient's diet, clothing, bathing and exercise, and looks into the hygiene of the nursery before he orders medicines, and if the mother has sound ideas upon these subjects she is no mean assistant. The author's thanks are due to Dr. W. M. POWELL for efficient aid in the preparation of the manuscript and index, and to Dr. ALLEN J. SMITH for the illustrations. PHILADELPHIA, September, 1888. LOUIS STARR. HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY. CHAPTER I. THE FEATURES OF HEALTH. Every ill child presents certain well-defined alterations in the manner of performance of the various functions of his body. Thus, the pulse and respiration may be altered in character and frequency; the surface temperature may be elevated; the color and condition of the skin may be changed; the appetite may be diminished; weight may be lost, and so on. These alterations from the normal state are termed symptoms. Healthy children, on the other hand, as uniformly show evidences of their well-being, which, for want of a better name, may be called the features of health. Of these, every mother should have a full knowledge, so that by appreciating variations she may anticipate the complete development of disease, and early summon skilled aid, at the time when it is of most service. Early life must be divided into two periods, namely, infancy and childhood. Infancy is the |