the jurisdiction of the physician.

CONSTIPATION

Constipation is one of the most frequent troubles visited upon people
of all ages. "It is not a disease, it is a condition in which the
number of stools is less or the consistency of the stools is greater
than is normal for the individual at the given time."[86] It may be
caused by neglect of the bowels, which should be evacuated once or
twice every day during infancy and once a day after that period. If
the habit of emptying the bowels every day is established in infancy
it adds much to the health and comfort of the individual during the
entire remainder of life. Babies are sometimes constipated as the
result of the opium administered in soothing sirups. Others inherit
constipation, while still others are constipated by the taking of the
wrong kind of food or too little food. In any case it is decidedly bad
to resort to drugs, since the habit of taking cathartics is so easily
acquired and so difficult to overcome.

~Factors Inducing Constipation.~--With artificially fed babies a
formula which contains too high a percentage of diluent and too low a
percentage of solids will cause constipation, chiefly because the
solids are so completely absorbed that they have no residue to form
feces. A formula with too low a fat content in proportion to its
protein and carbohydrates may cause constipation because the latter
two constituents are almost entirely absorbed, and the feces, which is
largely made up of the fat, is correspondingly small. Excess of fat,
however, has been proved to be one of the chief causes of constipation
in infants, as has also been the case with excess starch. Boiling the
milk for the baby at times results in constipation. Hence
sterilization is more frequently to blame for the condition than the
pasteurization of milk.

~Constipation during Second Year.~--During the second year, if the
child is given too much milk and too little solid food, constipation
is very apt to be the result. A maximum quantity of from thirty-two to
forty ounces may be given. In many diseases brought on by
malnutrition, constipation is an obstinate condition to be overcome.
This is especially the case in rickets and anemia.

~Use of Laxative Foods.~--After the baby is a few months old, orange
juice is given between the morning feedings. Malted foods likewise
exert a laxative effect. The higher the percentage of maltose, the
more laxative the food. The nurse must keep this po