Danger in the Nursery

On the shelves of most modern nurseries, a whole pharmacy full of drugs contributes to Mother's ease and Baby's health. But used with the least bit of carelessness, some of the most common items can cause serious illness and even death. Last week two separate research teams indicted two of the more familiar nursery materials:

sbPOWDERED MILK FORMULAS are nourishing and simple enough to concoct:one cup of powder, one quart of water, and the bottles are ready. But through misguided generosity, mothers sometimes mix a thick formula that is far too concentrated. Instead of more nourishment, the infant gets an indigestible lump of protein in his stomach and may suffer nausea and diarrhea. The lumps have long baffled doctors; they have even been mistaken for kidney tumors, and hasty operations have been performed on the overfed patients. Doctors have now learned to identify the lumps by X ray, and a pair of Louisville physicians, describing the phenomenon of lactobezoar (hardened milk) in the A.M.A. Journal, report a nonsurgical method for dealing with the condition. The prescription is as simple as it is effective: switch to a formula of regular or skimmed milk and the lump will begin to dissolve. In a few weeks, all traces of trouble will vanish.

sbBORIC ACID, once a favorite remedy for minor irritations such as diaper rash and prickly heat, can be fatal. Most insidious are the cases in which frequent application allows boric acid to be absorbed into the body through broken or irritated skin or through mucous membranes. Since the body is slow to eliminate the chemical, it accumulates in the liver and kidneys; in infants it sometimes causes nausea, convulsions and death. For years pediatricians have been wary of boric acid. Now a research team at St. John's University College of Pharmacy in New York City has developed a simple, effective urine test that can be performed by a doctor in his office and can spot a boric acid buildup before it is too late.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.