History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

Pediatrics 247occurred and often persisted for several months before recovery. Outbreaksof impetigo also were not infrequent, nor was it unusual to have cases ofdiphtheria, scarlet fever or other contagious diseases develop in children'swards. However, gastrointestinal disturbances and pneumonia accountedfor most pediatric deaths.Nutrition in PediatricsBefore 1900, scientific methods for artificial feeding of infants had madelittle progress and nutritional diseases were numerous. Rickets was common,and scurvy was not infrequent up to the end of the century. Therewere no infant welfare societies and school children with adenoids, enlargedtonsils, anemia and sometimes tuberculous glands of the neck werenot at all unusual. There was as yet no tuberculin testing of children, norwere there sanitaria for those who should have had institutional care.While growth and development of his crops were recognized as prerequisitesfor the successful fanner and similar aims were foremost in animalindustry, comparable attention to the rearing of children did not appearuntil near the close of the nineteenth century.Substitutes for breast feeding passed through a long stage of experimentation,during which there was much disagreement among physicians. Rawcow's milk, condensed milk, boiled milk, certified milk and pasteurizedmilk were recommended. Goat's milk also had a short period of popularitylater. Evaporated milk and irradiated milk were unknown in the nineteenthcentury.During the years when there was no pasteurization of milk, water suppliesalso were unprotected and artificial feeding of infants was to a greatextent a haphazard procedure. Moreover, outside of large cities, out-houseswere not uncommon and, when not strategically located, drained into thewells from which the family obtained their drinking water and the waterwith which they washed their milk cans.Since growth and development are dependent on normal nutrition, theproper feeding of infants is undoubtedly the most important objective ofthe pediatrician and one of the principal factors in extending life expectancy.The scientific discoveries in the field of food and milk bacteriologyduring the last half of the igth century and the paths of progressfor improvement in sanitation formed the framework for the monumentalachievements in the century that followed. To understand this weshould speak of Louis Pasteur, who was the "father of bacteriology." Hisfamous studies on fermentation and the solid foundation he establishedfor the germ theory have had a profound effect on the entire world. Hisaccomplishments were directly beneficial to the health of mankind, andespecially to children. To those engaged in pursuits on which their liveli-