Curious Children Research Articles

POISONING DUE TO LYE

Corrosive burns of the esophagus constitute one of the most difficult problems in pediatric practice. 1 Lye is used by poor people as a detergent and in the home manufacture of soap. These people do not realize until it is too late that a solution of lye which will eat the stains from the boiling kettle will have a much more dire effect on the oral or esophageal mucosa. As shown by the following series, in 86 per cent of the instances of the accidental use of lye the blame could be directly placed on an adult who carelessly left powdered lye or a solution of lye in a familiar container within the reach of a hungry, thirsty or curious child. In 5 per cent of the instances a child was given a drink from a glass not known to have contained lye, and in 9 per cent the patient

BURN OF EYES FROM CONTENTS OF GOLF-BALL CORE

During the last few years cases of severe, permanent injury due to corneal and conjunctival burns have been reported from all over the country. The burns referred to have been caused by the liquid contained in the small rubber core of certain golf-balls, which have been cut open by curious children. Almost invariably the history is that some child finds an old golf-ball with its covering partly off. He removes the rest of the cover and rubber and then comes to the core ball; this he bounces until it bursts, or punctures it with a knife. The contained fluid spurts out onto his clothing and into his eyes. There are apparently two makes of golf-balls on the market, each containing a different, highly caustic substance. Dr. R. L. Emerson of Boston very kindly analyzed the semifluid mass contained in one of the golf-balls, said to be of similar make to