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ing, as nine, ten, or twelve months old, let a fufficient quantity of blood be drawn from him, for this practice is requifite in all inflammorty cases, such as the present is; he fhould be alfo kept soluble in body, and as his fæces are commonly bilious, inject some emolient clyfter, as a decoction of linfeed with the yolk of an egg, or oil of sweet almonds, fuppofitories are not so useful; yet if the circumftances demand them, they may be used. Thus the fever will be diminished, and still more by purging the patient, when his age will bear it, as about nine, twelve, or fifteen months; let it be done with compound fyrup of fuccory, or peaches, adding, according to the child's age, the tincture or powder of rhubarb, or an infufion of fenna. To the phyfic you may also add an emetic, as ftibiated folubile tartar, or a dram of emetic wine. The dofe of the former cannot be fo well determined; becaufe of the different proceffes, whereby it is made; for of fome emetic tartar, eight, nay, ten grains, are the dofe, whilft four make a great dofe of another; fo the phyfician fhould always inform himself of the apothecary of the common dofe of his tar

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tar emetic: but the manner of preparing the emetic wine, being much the fame in all places, it's dofe is more fixed. The emetic has place, in particular, in convulfions, lethargy, &c, which attend, dentition, and it may be fafely given to children, nay, to the most delicate: for the great quantity of thick and vifcid humours lodging in their ftomachs, greatly obtunds the activity of this remedy, and renders its action very gentle: after the use of these remedies, abforbent powders, may be called in to our affiftance; fuch as prepared red coral, powder of crabs-eyes, and the powder against the epilepsy; for these are useful, particularly, in the convulfions of children; at the fame time the patient and nurfe may use cooling broths, of which they are to drink plentifully. Let the nurse's milk be thin, cooling and recent; which qualities, if the milk of the present nurse has not, let her be changed.

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CHA P. XIV.

Of the WATCHINGS of CHILDREN.

ATCHINGS, as well as the three following diseases, make up the third

clafs of the diforders of children, mentioned in the beginning of this treatise.

Though Watching, and want of reft, is very prejudicial to perfons of all ages; yet it is ftill more fo to children, than to others, both because of the tenderness and fenfibility of their brain, which fuffers the more by this indifpofition; and because it is very unnatural to children to watch too long: for we may say, that they fleep all the time during their infancy, the common computation in general, being eighteen hours of fleep in every twenty-four hours, efpecially, foon after their birth; confequently, Watching and its fymptoms are to be very much apprehended in children: as fome children may have a continual and uninterrupted Watching, whilft others fleep now-and-then; we may therefore make two fpecies of Watchings, the one perfect, the other imperfect.

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In order to explain the nature of Watchings, it would be requifite to give an idea of fleep. But as the phyfiology of the last is too long, and would lead us too far from our prefent purpose, I fhall decline it, obferving only in general, that during fleep, the mind does not exercise it's functions; and that the animal fpirits intended for these actions reft likewife. In Watching on the contrary, all these functions are put into action; the animal fpirits are abundantly fecerned, and violently agitated. As to the causes of this abundant fecretion, as I don't well know them, I shall say nothing of them with refpect to infants: for in adults, I may have more room to speak of the matter. As to the agitation of the fpirits, it may have many causes; as the painful impreffions made on feveral parts of the body; for inftance, fcholic pains, or thofe of the stomach from acrid breast-milk, through the vicious regimen of the nurse, who puts herself into violent heat, drinks too much fpirituous liquors, or commits other errors. The bad ftate of the inant's 'ftomach, his indigeftions, and other caufes

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creating wind, will produce painful diftenfions, &c. of the ftomach. The fame thing may be understood of wind pent up, or of acrid humours, worms, &c. in the guts. Excoriations, inflammations, &c.. of the skin will produce the fame effect; as will alfo lice, itch of the head, crinones, thrushes in the mouth, ftone in the bladder; in a word, all things which create pain, and render the infant reftlefs.

SYMPTOMS. From this description of the diforder, evidently appear it's fymptoms. Watching produces the emaciation of the patient; for ftatical experiments made on transpiration, prove that this excretion is much more plentiful the longer we watch ; to this effect the pain also contributes, and the infant confequently pines away. Thefe symptoms induce a fever proportional to their intenfity: a diarrhæa frequently fupervenes through indigeftions and acrid crudities. Convulfions alfo arife, which are rather fymptems of the causes, than of the disorder.

DIAGNOSTICS. The Watching of children is manifeft of it felf, and may be farther known from its symptoms: infants are always difpofed to fleep, if fome painful im

preffions

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