she hed a heart condition, until a blood
test showed she had anamia. Her low
ltemoglobin content was insnficient to
supply ber lungs with enough oxvgen
while she was engaged in these physical
activities, so that she had to gasp for
hreath.
Anmirmia often goes unnoticed, too,
ameng children who live in sunny ch-
mates, whase skins are tanned all the
year round, so that they always look
healthy. A thirteen-vear-old girl from
Texas came to New York recently, look-
ing robust and tanned to a golden glow.
On her complaints that she became tired
easilv. her mnther took her to a doctor
for a physical check-up. A blood test
revealed that she was profoundly ance-
mic. so much so that she had to be
given blood transfusions immediately.
It was a condition, the physician
thought, that must have had its begin.
ning at least a year before.
The first step in the prevention of
anamia is the examination of the
mother’s blood hefare the end of preg:
nancy. Iron is stored during the last
three months of pregnancy, and there
is usually a supply to carry the baby
along for about sixty days. At birth
the infant has a higher hemoglobin
cannt than an adult. hut this drops to a
low Tevel by the third month. So. when
vour child is three months old. it is
time for his first complete blood count,
with emphasis an the hemoglobin. This
is particularly important in the case of
twins or other multiple births, where
there is certain to be a low hemoglobin
content heranse the mother’s iren
supply has had 10 be shared bv mors
than one affsprine,
A mother mav mknowinely produce
anmmia in her baby by giving him an
exclusive milk diet. This often happens
when the child refuses solid food snd
the mother is satisfied as lone as he has
his quart of milk a day. Tt is trie
that milk is a complete fond. hat it i=
deficient in iren. Your child's iron
requirements for the day are five milli:
arammes; a quart of milk contains only
one-half a millizramme. Let vour baby
acanire a taste for iron-rich foods early
in life. Feoevolk and liver are exeel-
lent for their iron content. Apricots,
beans. natmeal. prunes. spinach. beets,
dates and figs are good sources,
The white ecornnseles nf
constitute the hodv’s defence army.
Nature's remarkable protective svstem
i= such that the white corpuscles in
crease to meel any incoming foe. The
normal white count is from 6.000 to
5.000 per cubic millimetre.
the hloand
A child mav have an increased white
comnt in unsnspected anamia. rheumatic
fever. and appendicitis. Your doctor
determines the tvpe of infection by the
Toe DrienTtAr Wartennmaxn, Magee 1048
rate of increase in the white cells and
by the type of white cell which predom-
inates in the arrangement.
A child who bruises easily may have
purpura, a disease caused by defective
platelets or an inadequate number of
them. The platelets are the small
hodies in the blood which play an im:
portant part in the clotting process.
Purpura may indicate an infection in
the body or it may be caused by a drug.
It sometimes occurs after any of the
sulfonamides have heen taken. Second-
ary purpura is cured when the cause has
been eliminated.
How are blood studies made? The
simplest 1s the matching test for hemo-
globin. The doctor just pricks your
child's fingertip. takes off a drop of
blood and matches it with stand:.rd
colours indicating various percentages
of hwmmoglobin content. (ne busy
pediatrician lets his anxious mothers do
the matching for their own children
while they are awaiting their turn in his
oflice.
Hrmoglobin tests are made alse with
samples of blood in a tube. The newest
method for determining haemoglobin
content 1s by means of electrical tests.
A complete blond count means a calcu-
lation of the number of red cells, the
number of white cells and a differential
smear, which is a picture of the different
Linde and prapartions of white cells
Most mothers are familiar with the pro-
cedure of the nurse sucking up blood
Fegetables Are Important Sources of
from the childs finger into a little
tube. Along toward the middle of the
tule is a tiny bulb which is a mixing
chamber containing a fluid that destroys
the white cells. The blacd is diluted
with the fluid in the chamber. and then
a drop is put on the surface of a glass
lide and a cover laid on. The slide is
marked oT into minute squares so thal
blood cells tr a number of squares may
be counted under the microscope. White
cells are caleulated in the same wav,
but the blond is diloted in the chamter
with a fluid that destroys the red cells
and leaves only the white to be counted
on the squares.
The differential smear is used to
determine which type of white cells is
responsible for an increase in the
ceneral white count, in order to
tell what specific infection may be pres.
ent. A stained blood film is examined
under the microscope, and the types of
white cells are counted in a manaer
similar to the one used with the liquid
drop on the marked slide. It is the
proportions of each type of cell, as well
as the total numbers, that tell the story;
for in some Infections, the proportions
of the different types may be altered,
even though no change may take place
in the total white cell count.
The blood sedimentation rate is a
good index of activity of infection,
particularly in rheumatic disease. This
test is valuable, too, for children about
to undergo tonsillectomies. Tonsils are
removed usually during the spring
months when a child's resistance may
be lowered by an infection continuing
over the winter months, but not suf.
ficiently active to change the white
blood count. Any such infection would
be shown by the sedimentation rxte.
Whole blood is drawn and placed in a
tube. The rate of the descent of the
blaad cells to the bottom of the tube
indicates the state of infection present.
Cirves of the test are taken, When a
child has rheumatie fever, the sedimen-
tation curve 1s made frequently to deter
Iron and Other Minerals in the Diet.
mine when the infection has subsided
so the patient can get out of hed.
Your doctor may feel that it is wise
to have a complete blood count taken
when your child is three months ld,
when he is six years old and then in "he
earlv teens. These are the years of
rapid erowth when the shadow of rheuw
matic fever mav haver. The haxmaoto.
bin test is usually taken at each perio
dic examination. In addition. there
may be special times when a complete
Blood count is needed. It is particu-
larly impartant afier a pralopeed jll-
15