Bringing up Baby II

As the weeks went by, I was still unhappy, turning into a grizzling, fretful 'nervy' baby. I never seemed to sleep for more than half an hour at a time, and I'd wake, screaming, at the slightest sound. What a disappointment I must have been! At least now that I was bottle fed, Dad could help out a bit more, as they took it in turns to walk the floor with me. All too often though, I'd fall asleep in their arms, only to jerk awake as soon as I was gently lowered into my crib.

The Baby Health Sister had no answers, though it was clear she thought it was all Mum's fault. Finally, we were referred to a doctor in Horsham.

Dr. G. Forsyth was an Honorary Medical Officer at Horsham Base Hospital, with a special interest in paediatrics. He had seen quite few babies and young children with symptoms similar to mine - irritability, an over developed 'startle reflex,' weight loss, insomnia, skin rashes, and - importantly - unusual redness of the palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. This condition was called Pink Disease.

Dr. Forsyth had recently presented a paper on this to the Melbourne Pedriatic Society, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, November 1939.

Struck by the similarity to pellagra, he theorised that Pink Disease was caused by a deficiency of one or more of the B vitamins, and had found considerable success in treating his patients with large doses of the vitamin. His article says, in part: "Our experience in the Wimmera .... has led us to believe that Vitamin B is lacking in many diets in our locality. A study of the average diet reveals that very little food is eaten raw. White bread is the staple cereal food, and despite the fact that the district is largely a cereal-producing area, whole meal is rarely included in the family diet. The grain is sent to the mills, and the relatively vitamin-deficient  white flour is used for baking, whilst the bran, rich in Vitamin B, is fed to the stock and poultry. Moreover, vegetables are being cooked with soda, which is particularly destructive of Vitamin B, and the water, containing much of the Vitamin residue, is poured down the sink."

 So I was dosed with Vitamin B, and sure enough, it worked! In just a few weeks, I was sleeping and gooing and chuckling and gaining weight, and generally being a Good Girl. Mum was convinced that the doctor was right, and from then on, only wheatmeal porridge and wholemeal bread were eaten in our house. I was never given Milk Arrowroot biscuits, a common filler for infants, and every effort was made to supply me with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

 On medical advice,  I was also given all sorts of supplements - wheat germ oil, Irradol A (based on Malt extract, yum) and Hypol. To this day I love the taste of them all, and can happily swig wheat germ oil straight from the bottle. And I recovered, becoming very healthy and growing tall – unusually tall for my age – the supplements may have had something to do with that.

Some years later, medical researchers decided that Pink Disease was really caused by mercury poisoning from teething powders (now banned in most countries). Mum used to wax indignant about this theory, saying there had never been a teething powder in the house. So who knows what I really had, or what caused it? I still take a Vitamin B supplement though, as without it my 'startle reflex' asserts itself, and I fancy my palms are a bit pink....

Of course, I went on to experience all the usual childhood ailments, but seemed to survive them better than most. I think that, after the initial problem, I was so well fed and supplemented that I couldn't help but grow into a healthy adult.

And Mum and Dad finally had a baby they could enjoy.