Care of infants and young children / [A. Dingwall Fordyce].

  • Fordyce, Alexander Dingwall
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Care of infants and young children / [A. Dingwall Fordyce]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    86/192 (page 74)
    There are two affections of the new-born baby which it is important and necessary to mention. These are syphilis and gonorrhoea, known as venereal diseases, because among adults infection is commonly conveyed by sexual intercourse. When a mother suffers from gonorrhoea—a condition which produces a purulent discharge from the vagina—the risk is great that the eyes of the baby will become infected at the time of birth. The proper treatment has already been noted (see Lecture III, p. 54). If the parents, or if either of the parents, suffer, or have suffered, from syphilis, the baby may be born already infected with the disease. Many such babies are born dead, but very often the baby at birth, and for the first month or so, seems very healthy. During the second or third month of life, however, he shows various signs of illness. A rash of unusual colour appears—a colour varying from a purple blue to a brownish yellow. This rash may be very scanty or it may be widespread, and is more marked on the legs, arms, and head than on the trunk. Scales of skin are seen to be peeling off the soles and palms, but there is no itchiness. He has a constant snuffle, and there is much discharge from the nostrils which is often tinged with blood. He also suffers from cracks and sores about his lips and mouth (see plate III., fig. 17).