Regulating the Carbohydrates.—When the disturbances are due to the carbohydrates in the formula, they may be digestional or nutritional. In this form the milk sugar is more apt to be the cause of the trouble than the dextri-maltose preparations which are at times used. In the latter, when the disturbance becomes nutritional, the cause of the trouble can usually be traced to an excess of starch. When the percentage of milk sugar is greater than can be handled by the digestive apparatus of the baby, it is manifested by frequent attacks of colic, with the passage of watery green stools, highly irritating, in character on account of their acidity. In acute cases the loss of weight is often marked, and symptoms of intoxication may develop. The outlook is grave in the very severe cases, but if the baby can survive forty-eight hours after the acute symptoms develop, he is apt to pull through the attack.
Adjusting the Sugars.—The treatment in these conditions consists of eliminating the milk sugar from the formula; in less severe cases dextri-maltose may be substituted. As a rule, coincident with indigestion caused by sugar there will be found to be an intolerance for much fat, so that this must be adjusted as well as the milk sugar. Skimmed milk mixtures, containing a certain amount of barley or oatmeal water, are generally found to be suitable in these cases. Dextri-maltose may be added after a few days in order to maintain the fuel needs of the body. Eiweissmilch is at times used, but whey mixtures are contraindicated on account of their high sugar content.
Dextri-maltose also disagrees at times. The baby has colic and flatulence, the stools are usually loose or watery and dark brown in color. The dietetic treatment consists of an immediate withdrawal of the dextri-maltose preparation and a substitution of milk sugar after a few days.
Evidences of Excess Starch in Formula.—The disturbances arising from an excess of starch in the diet are, as has already been stated, more apt to be of a chronic than an acute character. Vomiting is not a common symptom under these conditions, although colic is frequent. The stools are at times loose and brown, at other times dry and small. The baby at times suffers from diarrhea and at others from constipation. When the disturbance is acute the starch must be entirely eliminated from the formula. If proprietary foods are being used containing starch, whether it is dextrinized or unchanged, they must be at once abandoned, and a formula made up of protein with sugar and fat.
Modified Milk Formulas Suggested by Morse and Talbot for These Conditions
| Fat | 1.00% | or | Fat | 2.00% |
| Milk sugar | 4.00% | Milk sugar | 5.00% | |
| Protein | 0.75% | Protein | 1.25% |
They likewise advise whey and whey mixtures under these circumstances.
Fermentation.—Fermentation is often the cause of infantile indigestion. At times it is acute and may cause a decided elevation of temperature owing to the absorption of the toxic substances formed as a result of the bacterial action. In almost every case of indigestion brought on by fermentation there will be an accompanying diarrhea. As a rule the carbohydrates are more liable to the attacks of bacteria in the stomach than the other food constituents.
Treatment.—The treatment consists first of starvation, no food being given for at least twenty-four hours. Then water or weak tea, sweetened with saccharin, may be given, but nothing else. The medical treatment must be left to the discretion of the physician. When the condition warrants a return to food the formula must be made weaker than that which has caused the disturbance. Malt soup mixtures, buttermilk mixtures, whey and albumen water may be added as the condition of the baby improves. In older children the period of starvation may have to exceed that of infants, but a gradual return to normal diet is made. Weak tea and toast may be given after the first twenty-four hours and well skimmed meat broths, soft-cooked eggs, liquid peptonoids, and malted milk added to the diet as the condition of the child improves.