, the latter being the chief point of
observation.

~Fats as Cause.~--When the fats are causing the disturbance, the rise
of temperature is apt to be high, but not of long duration. The baby
vomits frequently, the vomitus being acid in reaction and odor, the
latter due to the presence of fatty acids, butyric acid, etc. Diarrhea
often develops in a more or less acute form. In these cases there is a
loss of sodium and other alkaline salts in the feces, and a consequent
excess of ammonia in the urine, resulting in acidosis. Acid
intoxication has been known to develop as a result of this loss of
alkaline salts. The chief symptoms of this condition are rapid and
deep respiration, stupor or restlessness, and cherry-red lips.[84]

~Symptoms of Excess Fat in Diets.~--The general symptoms in infants
receiving an excess of fat in their food take the form of loss of
appetite, with more or less loss of weight, or failure to gain. When
the cases are not chronic, soft curds may often be seen, which are at
times mistaken for casein curds, but may be distinguished from them by
their translucent appearance and their solubility in ether. The color
of the stools due to the excess of fat under the above-mentioned
conditions is shiny and gray. In the majority of cases, especially of
a more chronic character, the stools are apt to be large and dry, at
times hard and crumbly. The fat in such stools is combined with
magnesium and calcium salts, forming the characteristic "soap
stools."[85] The combined loss of these salts in the feces has a
definite effect on the general metabolism and nutrition, giving rise
to rickets.

~Regulating the Fat.~--The treatment consists chiefly of regulating
the amount of fat in the formula, and of cutting it out altogether in
the beginning when the symptoms show acute acid conditions. In many
cases, if the baby is given breast milk, the trouble disappears. At
other times it is necessary to substitute a foreign fat such as olive
oil for the butter fat. Dr. Ladd in the Children's Hospital in Boston
treated many babies who manifested an intolerance for butter fat with
"Homogenized Milk," which consisted of skimmed or separated milk and a
certain percentage of olive oil, placed in an apparatus which brought
about a more complete division of the fat, causing it to mix with the
milk as an emulsion closely resembling human milk.

Fat intolerance is most difficult to overcome, the baby being apt to
relapse into the