And if the
mother only cause this habit to be fairly established in infancy, she
will do much towards promoting regularity of her child's bowels
throughout life. The recollection of this fact, and the mother's acting
upon it, is of the greatest importance to the future health and comfort
of her children.
If the bowels are accidentally confined at this age, castor oil is
certainly the best aperient that can be given: it acts mildly but
efficiently, clearing out the bowels without irritating them. The dose
must be regulated by the age, as also by the effect that aperients
generally have upon the individual. Great care must in future be taken
to avoid the cause or accidental circumstance which produced the
irregularity.
When the bowels are habitually costive, much care and judgment is
necessary for their relief and future management. Fortunately this
condition is very rare in youth. The activity and exposure to the air,
usual at this period of life, render purgatives unnecessary, unless,
indeed (as just mentioned), some error in diet, or some unusual
circumstance, render them accidentally confined. Should, however, the
foregoing state exist, medicine alone will avail little; there are
certain general measures which must also be acted up to, and most
strictly, if the end is to be accomplished.
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