Special Treatment.—­In ordinary cases little treatment is needed except to keep the throat and nose free from excessive secretions.  The urine should be examined daily, and the bowels should move once or twice a day.  Cold water should be given frequently after the nausea has passed away.  Milk is the usual food, but must not be given during the vomiting stage.  Equal parts of milk and water can be given after the vomiting stage, if the patient will not take pure milk.

During the vomiting stage very little water even can be given.  The greatest danger in scarlet fever comes from the throat complications and the high fever.

When the fever is high the patient suffers from delirium.  A temperature of 105 is dangerous and such patients must be bathed well in water, commencing at 90 degrees and rubbed well all over while in the water, allowing the temperature of the bath to fall to 85 or 80 degrees while so doing; bath to last five to fifteen minutes.  Bathe the head with water, at the temperature of 50 degrees, all the time the temperature is at 103 degrees or higher.  Always use the thermometer to determine the temperature of the water.  Weakly children often do not stand the bath well, so you must exercise discretion in giving it often.  The temperature must be kept down to 102 to 103-1/2, and baths must be used often to do so.  Where baths cannot be used, frequent washing with water at 60 to 70 degrees must be adopted without drying the child afterwards.  A mother should always remember that a feverish, restless child needs a bath or a good washing with cool soap and water.  If the bowels and kidneys do not act freely enough give the following: 

Epsom Salts        2 ounces
Cream of Tartar    2 ounces

Mix and give one-half teaspoonful in water every three hours until the bowels move freely.

This is the dose for a child one year old.

[Infectious diseases 175]

Dropsy in Scarlet Fever.—­In this case you must have a doctor.  A simple way to make a dropsy patient sweat is to place the patient upon a cane seated chair, pin a blanket around the neck, covering the whole body.  Under the chair place a wooden pail half full of cool water and into this put a brick baked as hot as possible; or you can introduce steam under the blanket while the patient is sitting on a chair, or lying in bed, taking care not to scald the patient.  This will cause sweating, and relieve the dropsy and also congested kidneys.

How Soon May a Scarlet Fever Patient Associate with the Healthy?—­It is best to wait a few weeks after scaling ends.  Give the patient a bath in a one to 10,000 corrosive sublimate solution first.