28 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 



reverse seems also to hold good, for children suffering from whooping cough are 

 peculiarly liable to contract measles. 



The treatment of uncomplicated measles is a very simple matter. The disease 

 itself requires no treatment. There is no antidote for measles ; and in spite of drugs 

 and medicines it will run its course. The chief thing to be aimed at is to take care 

 that while the child is suffering from measles it takes no harm. The patient should 

 be kept in a warm, well-ventilated room, and is probably safer in bed than running 

 about. Happily, the patient often prefers being in bed, so that there is no difficulty 

 in keeping him there. The light should be partially excluded from the room if there 

 is much soreness of the eyes, and these, as well as the nose and mouth, should be 

 kept scrupulously clean by occasional washing with warm water. If thirst is com- 

 plained of, toast and water or lemonade, made without or with very little sugar, may 

 be given to drink. The skin should be sponged once a day with warm water to which 

 a little vinegar has been added. This should be done with the greatest care, since 

 any undue exposure to the risk of catching cold is above all things to be avoided. 

 The food should be bland, nourishing, and simple, and should vary according to the 

 age of the patient. Milk, barley-water, soft puddings of custard and farinaceous 

 articles, beef tea, mutton or chicken broth, bread-crumbs and gravy ; and for older 

 children, a dinner of boiled mutton or chicken may be given. Food should be given 

 at regular intervals, and, as a rule, 110 departure need be made from the regulated 

 times for meals. If drugs become necessaiy, they should be given only by the sanc- 

 tion and under the supervision of a medical man. 



Not only is it necessary to insure that the little sufferer passes safely through the 

 attack, but it is of the greatest importance also to guard against the invalid becoming 

 a centre of infection to others. No child who has had measles should be allowed to 

 mix with other children until the temperature has fallen to the normal amount 

 (98 4 Fahrenheit), and all the other symptoms have entirely subsided. After the 

 rash has disappeared, a little roughness, scaliness, or scurfiness of the skin is liable 

 to prevail in those places where the eruption has been most severe ; and, although 

 this scaling of the skin is far less marked than it is in scarlet fever, no child can be 

 said to be free from infection until it has disappeared. 



When all the symptoms have completely subsided, the child should be thoroughly 

 bathed and washed with soap, and all its clothing, bedding, bed and window curtains, 

 and the clothing of those who have been in attendance upon it, should be thoroughly 

 washed. The carpets, furniture, etc., of the room should likewise be cleaned, and, 

 if possible, thoroughly exposed to fresh air and sunlight. It should always be borne 

 in mind that during convalescence from even a slight attack of measles, children arc 

 in a delicate state of health, and require more than an ordinary amount of care and 

 attention, and a watchful eye should be kept upon them for a month at least, to take 

 early notice of any signs of constitutional weakness. 



Meningitis. (See article Tw 



Mothers' Jfarks. (8ee DOMESTIC SURGERY.) 



Mamp?, otherwise known as ]>arotitis, is a disease which is characterised by a 



