SICKNESS IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN: CROUP, HEAD LICE, AND INTUSSUSCEPTION
This condition is really a narrowing of the air-passage through the larynx, the voice box in the neck where the vocal cords are located. If the narrowing is severe, the air cannot reach the lungs, and the child begins to choke. The narrowing is caused by spasm and swelling of the larynx. These may be the result of certain bacterial infections or very severe allergy, but they are most often caused by a virus. Fortunately, the disease is rarely fatal. Hut it can be terribly frightening to both the child and the parent.
Occasionally, a severe attack of croup may represent an emergency before the doctor can be summoned. The spasm can be relieved by moving the child to a room where there is moist air, or a croup tent can be improvised for his room.
The attacks of croup tend to repeat themselves, usually in two or three successive nights. Consult your doctor as to what you can do to prevent further attacks
Head lice
The head louse is a tiny insect that lives on the scalp and sucks blood for its food. The eggs of the louse are called nits. They are contained in silvery, oval-shaped envelopes that are attached to the shafts of the hairs. These nits can be seen when they are plentiful, and are just large enough to be combed out by a very fine steel comb.
When the lice bite the scalp, they cause itching that leads to scratching. This, in turn, produces infections of the scalp with inflammation of the lymph glands of the neck.
Effective preparations, along with careful shampooings, can be used under a doctor’s supervision. The hair need not be cut or shaved.
It is very important not to make a child with head lice feel inferior or self-conscious. Avoid making the diagnosis known to him or his playmates. It can be passed off as ‘dermatitis’ or ‘infection of the scalp.’
Intussusception
Intussusception is a less common illness. But it does happen frequently enough for you to be on guard against it. It results from the telescoping of a part of the intestine into the section ahead of it. The child appears to be healthy. Then paroxysms of abdominal pain set in, with vomiting and restlessness. Within 12 to 24 hours, bloody mucus, instead of the usual faecal matter, is passed by the rectum. On the second day, fever as high as 106° to 108° F. (41° to 42° C.) may appear.
Death can occur within two to four days after the onset, unless the condition is relieved. Treatment by surgery cures the condition completely and, almost always, permanently.
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