HEALTH PROBLEMS OF THE SCHOOL AGE CHILD



The problem of dental care is an important one. There are two major causes of either good or poor teeth. One depends upon what has actually been built into the constitution prior to birth and the other is the adequacy and quality of the nutrients provided thereafter. Here again the more raw foods in the diet the better and the less sweets and processed foods the better. Sugar, either as such or in the form of candy, pastry or bottled beverages will induce dental caries through acid fermentation in the mouth. Excessive use of sugar containing foods may even rob the teeth and bones of calcium through the production of calcium sucrate which is excreted by the kidneys.

The tooth brush should be the softest available in the market and that will be none too soft. Moreover, in brushing the teeth one should not confuse this task with that of scrubbing off the front porch. The probabilities are that the tooth brush has ruined more teeth than it has ever saved. Thorough rinsing of the mouth with plain water immediately after taking anything sweet is important in preventing tooth decay.

The use of a dentifrice in cleaning the teeth is relatively unimportant, except that some of them are more or less of a menace either locally or constitutionally. E.B. Nash referred to “Satan’s sly emissaries, tooth pastes and mouth washes”.

Lack of sufficient sleep is the cause of much nervous tension in the school age child. Many of the gadgets of modern civilization have done much toward turning night into day and to rob children of much needed rest and now we have television to further aggravate the situation. It is up to the parents, under medical advice if necessary, to insist upon adequate time for study and more important still a sufficient number of hours for rest and sleep. Sleep is just as important as food in the normal development of the growing child. The lack of it may cause either temporary or permanent derangement of the endocrine system to the detriment of health and happiness and to one’s success in life.

Eugene Underhill
Dr Eugene Underhill Jr. (1887-1968) was the son of Eugene and Minnie (Lewis) Underhill Sr. He was a graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. A homeopathic physician for over 50 years, he had offices in Philadelphia.

Eugene passed away at his country home on Spring Hill, Tuscarora Township, Bradford County, PA. He had been in ill health for several months. His wife, the former Caroline Davis, whom he had married in Philadelphia in 1910, had passed away in 1961. They spent most of their marriage lives in Swarthmore, PA.

Dr. Underhill was a member of the United Lodge of Theosophy, a member of the Philadelphia County Medical Society, and the Pennsylvania Medical Society. He was also the editor of the Homœopathic Recorder.