p diarrhea:

~Preparing the Diet.~--Only such foods as are known to agree with the
individual, and these prepared in the simplest manner possible, must
have a place in the dietary.

~Fermentation.~--All foods that are subject to fermentation either in
the stomach or intestines must be withheld, at least until the attack
is well over. Sugar is an example of such foods; saccharin may be
substituted when necessary.

~Avoidable Foods.~--Pork, veal, and shellfish must be left out of the
dietary, possibly for months, since they have been found frequently
not only to bring about a return attack of diarrhea but also to have
been the cause of the original one.

Fatty foods of all sorts had best be avoided as long as there are
symptoms of diarrhea; these foods are handled with difficulty by the
digestive apparatus and impose extra work upon the intestine, which is
already taxed by the disease.

~Restricting Fluids.~--Fluid foods should be more or less limited in
the diet, since they require more effort on the part of the intestines
than the more concentrated foods.

~Proprietary Foods.~--Certain proprietary infant foods[94] are at
times found to be exceedingly valuable, since they furnish food in a
concentrated and digestible form. Among these Mellin's Food, Racahout,
and Imperial Granum may be mentioned.

CHRONIC ENTERITIS

~The Stools.~--When the diarrhea is chronic in character, the
character of the stools indicates the seat of the inflammation. When
there is a great deal of undigested food found in them the upper part
of the bowel is more affected; when the stools contain more mucus than
food the lower bowel is the chief seat of the trouble. The frequency
and fluidity of the stools impose a great strain upon the entire body,
causing a progressive emaciation and anemia.

The treatment is similar to that instituted in acute attacks. The
starvation regime cannot be carried out for a long period. Efforts
must be made to ascertain the cause of the trouble and to overcome it.
This is, as a rule, more easily accomplished with adults than with
infants and children.

~Dietetic Treatment.~--The diet is the chief point of observation and
attention. The same care must be observed as is found necessary in the
after-treatment of acute diarrhea. The patient must be cautioned not
to eat indigestible foods or those which are known to cause trouble in
this respect. She must be warned against eating when over-tired.

ENTEROCO