At the earlier stages it is impossible to anticipate what the child has contracted, whether a mere cold or measles or pneumonia, and it is therefore always a wise and safe precaution to keep the child at home, give it rest, a warm bath, and a careful diet. If possible the child should be isolated in a room by itself and watched carefully. An enema to clear the bowels should be a routine measure. Let the child drink as much water as it wishes.

Fever.

If the face is flushed and the skin hot, dry, and red, the temperature should be taken with a clinical thermometer and the pulse and respiration counted. A rise of temperature, even though small, should be looked upon with keen suspicion, and a child with a fever should under no circumstances be sent to school or allowed to play with other children. If the temperature is above 100° Fahr. the family physician should be sent for promptly to see the child and to give the necessary advice as to what precautions to take. As a rule the higher the temperature is the more dangerous the attack from which the child is threatened.

Eruptions and Rashes.

Children are very susceptible to ephemeral rashes such as hives, herpes and urticaria. These temporary rashes may be due to some article of diet or the irritation of heat or coarse or rough underclothing or irritating dust. Look for the cause and try to remove it. It is not difficult as a rule to distinguish between these temporary rashes and those associated with infectious diseases such as measles and scarlet fever. Unfortunately measles is not very often detected until the rash is present and then there is ample opportunity to infect the whole neighbourhood if the child has been allowed to go about.

Loss of Appetite.

Loss of appetite in a child is by no means always a sign of approaching disease, but it is, nevertheless, a matter that requires investigation. Too often now a-days children are pampered in various ways and encouraged or allowed to overeat, or eat between meals, or commit other dietetic indiscretions. In the majority of cases it is not wise to urge a child to eat, but rather to encourage the child to skip a meal, and then offer plain but wholesome and easily digested food. Tempting the appetite of an overfed child with dainties and tidbits of various kinds is a pernicious practice, which sooner or later upsets digestion and paves the way for dyspepsia.

But we must not forget that the loss of appetite may be a sign of threatening illness, and if there is evidence that the child is not taking sufficient food, careful inquiries should be made, and the counsel of the family physician should be taken Notice the condition of the tongue, whether it is coated or furred, and also the breath, as well as the state of the teeth. A foul breath, a bad taste, or a furred tongue, usually points to some digestive disorder.

An unnatural craving for sweets and dainties is itself a symptom of some disturbance of the digestive organs. The same is true of a capricious or fickle appetite, which is sometimes noticeable in growing children. These conditions can usually be traced to an unwise dietary.

Constipation.

Loss of appetite is not infrequently accompanied by constipation, a very common disturbance in children as well as in adults.

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By Samuel Albert Kadyakale