This mouth
breathing is mostly due to wrong feeding, especially overfeeding, which
causes swelling of the mucous membrane, thus impeding the intake of the
air through the nose and forcing it through the mouth. The chief
curative measure is obvious. Cut down the child's food supply and give
food of better quality. Remember that children should not be fat.
Normal breathing is rhythmical, with a slight rise of the abdomen and
chest during inspiration and a slight falling during expiration. Watch a
sleeping baby, and you will understand what is meant. The ratio of
breathing to the beating of the heart is about one to four or five.
Whatever accelerates the heart causes more rapid breathing and vice
versa. Breathing is practically automatic, and were we living under
natural conditions we should need to pay no attention to it, but
inasmuch as our mode of life prevents the full use of the lungs a little
intelligent consideration is necessary to attain full efficiency.
The body should be left as free as possible by the clothes and
especially is this true of the chest and waist line. Women sin much
against themselves in this respect. Most of them find it absolutely
necessary for their mental welfare to constrict the lower part of the
chest and the waist line a great part of the time, for really it would
not do to be out of fashion.
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