Mouth-breathing is not simply a bad habit, a careless trick on the part of the child.
Many contagious diseases are contracted by the disgusting habit of mouth-breathing, and many cases of cold and catarrhal affections are also attributable to the same cause.
Many persons who, for the sake of appearances, keep their mouth closed during the day, persist in mouth-breathing at night and often contract disease in this way.
We are unable to see adenoids because of their position, but can be reasonably sure of their presence in children where we find symptoms resulting from mouth-breathing as described below.
The collapsed state of the wings of the nose, and wasted condition of their muscles, resulting from long disease, often contributes to the perpetuation of the mouth-breathing habit.
If he persists in this, closes the mouth when he goes to sleep, in time the mouth-breathing will cease, and with it the disagreeable habit of snoring.
Among diseases predisposing to consumption, ordinary colds and bronchitis, influenza, pneumonia, measles, nasal obstruction causing mouth-breathing, and scarlet fever are the most important.
Many of the diseases to which civilized man is subject are undoubtedly caused by this common habit of mouth-breathing.
