EMACIATION
Causes.—Errors in diet, overwork, over-exercise, heredity, nervousness, worry, malformation of the mouth, throat, or stomach, heredity and certain pathological conditions, such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis, anemia, dysentery, etc., in which the breaking down of the tissues occurs more rapidly than they can be rebuilt.
Children are often emaciated on account of their unbalanced diet. They receive an insufficient amount of building food to cover their growth and development requirements. Parents are often to blame for allowing the child to overeat of some of the food constituents at the expense of others. Sugar, for example, is very necessary in the diet of a growing active child, but all sugar and very little milk and eggs will lead to an unbalanced diet which may bring about a condition of extreme thinness later on.
In Adults the constant eating of the wrong foods, overworking and persistent worrying, all contribute to the breaking down of the tissues which ends in emaciation.
Weight is an index to health. Any persistent loss of weight on the part of an adult or loss or even failure to gain in a growing child, are indications that all is not right and immediate measures must be taken to locate and relieve the trouble.
Loss of Weight due to pathological conditions can only be relieved by removing the cause, after which the diet may be adjusted to suit the condition.
Dietetic Treatment is practically the only means of combating and overcoming emaciation, since it is by food alone that the body is built.
Fat-forming foods, which in obesity were prohibited, have a prominent place in the diet for emaciation. Padding the nerves and organs with a layer or covering of fat protects them from the jars and shocks incidental to daily life, besides lending grace and contour to the body.
Foods Which Produce Fat are nutrient beverages of all sorts; milk, malted milk and cream are especially valuable; water, because of its particular properties and functions in the body; and fruit beverages, which are made chiefly of water and sugar, are always included in the dietary. Milk and cream, soups and milk gruels, as well as all dishes made with milk or cream, add materially to the fat-forming quality of the diet. Butter, olive and other salad oils, as well as cereals, potatoes, bread and simple desserts are advised. The diet must be bountiful, the meals frequent, and lunches consisting of milk or cream with crackers will hasten the gain in weight.
Rest, preferably lying down, is absolutely essential. A period of relaxation covering from fifteen to thirty minutes should be taken before or after each meal. The body derives the use of the food for the storage of fat which would otherwise be required to cover its energy expenditures.
Sleep is essential to gain, consequently the patient should retire early and take one or two naps during the day.
Baths should be warm, not hot, followed by a cold shower or sponge.
Exercise must be mild in character; over-exertion precludes a gain in weight and exhaustion undermines the forces which make it possible for the body to store fat as adipose tissue.
Nervous Excitement and Worry must be avoided.
Gastro-intestinal Disturbances should be guarded against, since all the pounds gained through months of treatment may be quickly lost during one acute attack of diarrhea or auto-intoxication.
Massage is advised. The kneading and gentle manipulation of the muscles stimulates them to utilize more food material, besides enabling the patient to eat more by reason of an increased appetite.
The Milk Cure has been used extensively in overcoming extreme emaciation. It consists in the taking of large quantities, ranging from one to two gallons per day. It is given every hour or oftener for a period of one month to six weeks.
Reënforcing the Diet with eggs and lactose is often found of great value in increasing the weight quickly, as is the giving of one-third of a glass of cream and two-thirds of a glass of milk after each meal and at bedtime. The whole scheme of putting on pounds resolves itself into the giving of proper food in larger quantities than are ordinarily given, but dividing it up into frequent meals in order not to upset the digestion and do away with the good already accomplished.