ENTEROCOLITIS
Seat of Inflammation.—Lower intestine and colon.
Differentiating Characteristics.—More mucus and blood in stools; greater prostration; greater rise of temperature; and less anemia than in chronic enteritis.
Dietetic Treatment.—Practically the same as in other diarrheas.
DYSENTERY
Characteristic Symptoms.—Acute and spasmodic pain, tenderness and distention in the bowels, moderate fever, straining and a constant desire to defecate, small stools containing blood and mucus, loss of weight and marked anemia when condition becomes chronic.
Treatment.—Rest in bed absolutely necessary; the use of the bedpan made obligatory; soreness relieved by hot turpentine stupes or spice poultices.
Dietetic Treatment.—No food for a period of from thirty-six to forty-eight hours, after which fluids and the régime recommended in acute diarrhea are advisable. In chronic dysentery the diet is practically the same. The extreme exhaustion and anemia accompanying these conditions make it necessary to increase the diet carefully but soon to offset as far as possible the devastating effects of the disease.