Babies - Digestive Disorders : Part 1

The Mother and Her Child
by William S. Sadler, M.D., Lena K. Sadler, M.D.

(Page 27 of 43)

In this chapter we will consider the diseases which commonly occur during infancy and early childhood relative to digestion and the alimentary tract. Irregularity of feeding, feeding between meals, feeding too much at any given time, as well as feeding the wrong kind of food may cause stomach disturbances and intestinal troubles.

Vomiting

In a previous chapter, "The Feeding Problem," a common stomach disturbance, vomiting, was gone into quite thoroughly, and in passing to other disorders, we wish to remind the mother that vomiting should always be taken seriously. The interval between meals should usually be lengthened, the time spent in feeding shortened, and it is often necessary to withhold all milk and food of any kind for twelve or eighteen hours, giving only boiled, unsweetened water. Vomiting frequently ushers in some acute disease, and in remote cases, when it is very persistent, it may indicate inflammation of the brain. Complete rest is essential, trotting on the knee, suddenly changing the baby's position, or other quick movements must all be avoided. A physician should see the sick one and determine the cause of the trouble.

Colic

Cases of ordinary colic are usually relieved by heat to the abdomen and feet, drinking hot water in which there has been dissolved a pinch of ordinary baking soda, or a portion of a soda mint tablet, or by the use of the photophore, as previously described. The treatment of such ordinary colic need not be given further consideration here because it has been described at length in a former chapter; but we do call the attention of the mother to a more serious form of recurring colic which so often accompanies chronic intestinal indigestion and malnutrition.

In most instances the food is radically at fault and should be reduced to a mixture which can more readily be digested and assimilated by the child. Often whey mixtures, peptonized foods, or buttermilk may be indicated. The weight of the baby, the age of the baby, and the color of the stools, must all be taken into account in the preparation of this easily digested food. Weak mixtures should be given at first and then gradually and carefully the quality may be strengthened until the normal formula is again used for the baby.

Injections into the bowel of water, to which has been added one level teaspoon of soda to the pint, will often give relief in this form of colic.

Chronic Indigestion

While this condition may occur at any time during babyhood days, it often makes its appearance during the last half of the first year and up to the fifth year. It is accompanied by mucus in the stools, chronic flatulence, constipation or diarrhea, or the alternating of the two, restlessness at night, distention of the abdomen ("pot bellied") accompanied by pain, a coated tongue with a fetid breath, and loss of appetite. It is a pitiable picture - the weight is usually reduced and the child gives the appearance of being decidedly undernourished. This condition is usually occasioned by errors in diet, whether it be over-feeding or feeding of the wrong element of food, and, since the diet is usually responsible for the condition, in the line of treatment diet is a prime factor.

All fats must be taken from the food, sugars should be avoided, and the amount of starchy foods, such as flour, potatoes and bread, should be greatly reduced. Buttermilk, skimmed milk, eggs, green vegetables, and fruit juices should be given. In the older child, if grains are used, they should be well toasted or baked.

Jaundice

It is altogether common and physiological for the newborn baby to pass through a few days of yellow skin which usually clears up in the second or third week, but it should not recur. Occasionally this yellow tint deepens, the whites of the eyes are yellow, the urine passed leaves a yellow stain on the diaper, while passages from the bowels are white or clay colored. If the child shows symptoms of ill health other than the yellow tint, it should receive medical attention.

Older children troubled with jaundice should receive the following treatment: The photophore as described elsewhere should be applied to the liver and abdomen (the liver is on the right side), and this should be followed by the application of what is known as a heating compress, consisting of three layers - a cloth wrung from cold water, a mackintosh, and then two thicknesses of blanket flannel - which are all applied when the skin has been made red by the application of heat. (If the photophore is unavailable, a hot-water bottle may be applied.)

The flannel is pinned snugly on the outside as the wet cloth goes next to the skin with the mackintosh between. This should remain on the abdomen for three or four hours, after which the hot application is again made to the liver and abdomen. The administration of broken doses of calomel is sometimes indicated in obstinate cases in connection with these applications of heat to the liver. Hot milk or mineral water may be taken with dry toast. In a day or two the color should clear up, the stools should be normal again, and the treatment may be discontinued.

Worms

Irritation about the rectum which cannot be otherwise explained is usually suggestive of pinworms. These seat worms or pinworms are very much like little pieces of cotton thread - one-fourth of an inch in length. They grow and thrive in the lower part of the large bowel. Simple and effective treatment is as follows:

About the Author

Dr. William S. Sadler M.D. was a well-known American psychiatrist and college teacher in the school of medicine at the University of Chicago. For over sixty years he practiced his profession in Chicago, thirty-three years being associated in practice with his wife, Dr Lena Kellogg Sadler. The doctors were pioneers in the research on the mysterious Urantia Papers.