What if it is in the nostril?  Place baby upon the table with its face toward a good light and use a hair pin bent right and pass this slowly and carefully behind the object, and pull slowly forward; or compress the empty nostril and have the child blow the nose strongly.  If not removed easily, see a physician.

COLIC.

This is a very common disturbance in children, and is always due to disturbed digestion.  It occurs in both nursed and bottle-fed babies, and may appear in the healthiest baby from error in the last meal, or error of diet or habit in the mother.  Some mothers cannot under any circumstances secrete good nourishing milk, suitable for their children, and continued stomach and bowel disturbances with colic and emaciation follow its use.  Such mothers should not nurse their baby.

What are the causes of colic?  As before stated, it is due to indigestion

What causes indigestion?  In nursing babies this may be due to some irregularity in the health or habits of the mother, or change in her dieting, and if the colic is not persistent the cause is not hard to find.  Worry, trouble, sorrow, anger, overwork, and errors of diet in the mother often cause this trouble or the child may nurse too fast, too long, too much, or too often, or the milk may be too rich.  If so, give baby an ounce of hot water before nursing.  Hand-fed children are too often over-fed, and this produces indigestion.

What are the symptoms of colic?  The child screams sharply; the cry comes suddenly and returns every few minutes; he draws up his legs and feet; the muscles of his face contract and he has other signs of pain.  The belly is usually hard and tense.

What can I do for colic?  First warm his feet and hands by placing them against a hot-water bag, or holding them before the open fire, turn him on his stomach, letting him lie on a hot-water bag or hot piece of flannel; pat his back gently to help up the wind and give him a little hot water with a medicine dropper and a few drops of essence of peppermint may be added to the water.  If the colic continues, put ten drops of turpentine into a half teacupful of warm water, and inject this slowly into the rectum, and at the same time gently rub the abdomen so as to start the wind.  If the wind is in the stomach, give him one-half a soda mint tablet dissolved in a tablespoonful of very warm water, or a little soda.  If the attacks are frequent, the foods are too strong; use less cream or milk and more water.  Regulate the mother’s diet carefully if the baby nurses, and she should take some exercise out of doors, if possible, and try not to be nervous.  Cereals, cocoa, milk, eggs, gruels made of corn, oatmeal; most fruits, not tart, and vegetables, with some meat, make a good diet for a nursing mother.  The bowels must move freely every day at least once.

[All about baby 609]