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115
The children wear coloured goggles provided by the Council, and
are stripped except for very small pants, which the mothers are asked to
bring with them. A curtained recess is arranged as a dressing room,
being furnished with chairs, and hooks for clothing. Each mother holds
her own child, and, with the nurse, shares the responsibility for seeing
that the goggles are not removed. The mother herself is also provided
with goggles, and is advised to expose her own face, neck and arms to
the light. A large number of the mothers have declared that they feel
much better for this modified treatment.
Each child is exposed for five minutes only on the first occasion,
increasing to seven minutes on the second, and ten minutes on the third,
if there is no marked reaction. If erythema is produced the dose is
repeated without increase at the following session, but so far there has
only been one definite case of sunburn, and that was in an expectant
mother who had a long exposure of the hands, for arthritis. This
patient said her pain was much relieved and begged for a continuance
of the treatment. There is a wire cage surrounding the lamp, and the
children are held at a distance of 2 ft. 6 in. from the arc. Rather more
than half the time is given to exposure of the front of the body, so as to
avoid over exposure of the back of the neck. It is also found to be
more easy to entertain the children when they face the light and a
cheerful atmosphere is felt to be essential.
The temperature and pulse of each patient is taken before and after
treatment. If the temperature is above 100° for any reason, the
treatment is not given. Every child is examined by the doctor at least
once a week, and any unusual symptom noticed by the nurse reported
at once. On one or two occasions when a child was reported to have
vomited, treatment was not given, although it seemed probable that
the vomiting was due to some dietetic error. The light has not had any
regular effect on the pulse rate or temperature, but it was found that if
the child was frightened or fidgety, the pulse rate increased, so that in
the case of small children it was difficult to count; this appeared to be
entirely due to nervous excitement. Means are therefore taken to keep
the children amused and happy: after the first session they always
thoroughly enjoy their light bath, frequently taking much voluntary
exercise and dancing spontaneously whenever the musical box is turned
on. The older children are encouraged to do regular physical exercises
at the end of their sun bath, and the mothers are told to institute similar