It is often necessary to get rid of some of the large amount of gastric juice secreted; hence just before the child is to be fed it may be given warm water or very thin food like cracker water or a thin gruel. This will take care of part of the gastric secretion and facilitate the digestion of the milk food that is to follow. Any starchy food should be well cooked before being given to a child.
These acid children need to be kept quiet and should get much sleep. They are bright, the surcharged brain develops an early precocity which senseless mothers do not understand, and they are played with when the brain should be resting. Acid children are poor sleepers as a rule. A wakeful child will develop acidity. Passive exercise, quiet and gentle, like massage twice a day, being carried about, or, better yet, being driven in a carriage, will ensure sufficient exercise, fresh air and sleep at the same time. A ride on or by the side of water where the air is moist helps these children. Their acid condition tends to make them restless and nervous. Quiet motion that soothes and secures sleep should be encouraged. The important thing is that these acid children should get as soon as desirable a bank account of fat that the best development may be secured. Consult Paedohygea or the Feeding and Management of Children for further information on artificial feeding.
HOW TO FEED THE ALKALINE.
The indications for feeding the excessively alkaline child are entirely different. Here we aim to lessen the amount of fluids and particularly the fat, and make more muscle, bone and brain. It is the fat and fluids that increase the adipose tissue. Their quantity must be restricted, and here is the difficulty for these children are great eaters.
When consulted early, we should restrict the expectant mother as to her diet during the ante-natal development of the coming child. She may be encouraged to eat fruits, acid food, and to take less liquids and much exercise. Her diet should be nitrogenous food like meat, oatmeal, graham, etc. She should also be stimulated mentally. Where the mother is a great eater and lethargic in body and mind we may expect an unusually large child.
After birth the food of the alkaline child must be judiciously selected. If it is nursed, the milk can be controlled through the mother. The digestive organs of both are well developed, so that the child will be able to digest strong food and may be weaned early onto milk. In these cases it is the fatty acids that poison, they need close watching. A dose of sour milk will poison them so that the wasting in a few hours is alarming. The tendency in these children is to the gastric catarrh, as we have seen, and this is increased by fatty acids liberated in the stomach. For this reason, as they grow older, although oatmeal gruel and milk is a good diet, still if the meal is not fresh and the milk at all stale it sours on the stomach and the child is made sick. Cream food does not usually agree with these children, but corn starch well cooked and added to the milk usually agrees when they are young. Liebig’s food is well adapted to the digestive capacity of this class of children, who are essentially German in type.
These children take early to bread and milk and like to go to the table. The salivary glands develop so early that they drool much before the teeth appear, and they should be given a crust of bread to chew on. Bread containing much nitrogen or gluten (as whole wheat or rye) is to be preferred. Potatoes they take early to and like, but nothing fattens more rapidly and it is evident that their indulgence should be held in check. These children can take undiluted milk very early, and this should be encouraged. They should also be encouraged to drink cold water in small quantities.
The feeding apparatus for these children, when artificially fed, should be one that will not allow it to be emptied rapidly. It likes to eat fast and will make a great fuss if the food does not come in great mouthfuls. The long tube with a hard nipple should be selected. It is not so necessary to keep this child quiet after it eats as it is the acid child, but that is a good physiological rule to follow under most circumstances.
The inclination of this child is to eat and sleep. It should not be fed as often as the acid child and should be made to go all night without food, but against this it will rebel, for that child likes to nurse all night or feed often and then may be wakeful–illustrating the fact that food supplies the lack of sleep.
It will do the alkaline child no harm, but rather good, to stimulate its brain and mind by attention and its muscles by extra action. The food and water must supply the lack of bony development. It should be early taught to amuse itself and not carried too much nor wheeled about. It should lie where it can use its muscles. As it is heavy it should not be encouraged to walk early.
Editor of The United States Medical Investigator. Member of the Chicago Paedological Society. First President of the American Paedological Society Author of: Diseases of infants and children, with their homoeopathic treatment. Published 1878 and Hand book on the diseases of the heart and their homeopathic treatment. by Thomas C. Duncan, M.D. Published 1898