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145
There were 50 admissions, comprising the following kinds of case:—
Dyspepsia and Malnutrition due to Difficulty in
Artificial Feeding 20
Malnutrition due to Faulty Environment 17
Rickets 6
Food Refusal 2
Coeliac Disease 2
Cretinism 1
Nervous Unrest 1
Pyloric Stenosis x
50
Difficulty in artificial feeding is always the most frequent cause for
admission. Sometimes it is due to mistakes in feeding on the part of the
mother, which have temporarily spoilt the child's power of digestion,
sometimes to a constitutional inability to digest foods like cow's milk
or a dried milk, which are suitable to most infants. A quicker result is
obtained by admitting the child to the Observation Wards than by
treating it as an Out-Patient. The method of procedure is, in the first
place, to give a rest to the child's digestion, which has usually been
overworked. During this stage enough has been learnt about its
peculiarities to give an idea as to what kind of food it would be likely to
thrive on. As soon as a suitable diet has been found the child is kept on
it until it has put on plenty of weight and become thoroughly strong
and well. Attention then has to be paid to the question whether the
food is suitable for preparation at home; if it is not a further change in
the now strong and thriving child can be carried out safely. When the
child goes home it is in a thoroughly healthy condition, with a good
digestion, able to manage a simple feed which the mother can easily
prepare.
Among the older children the commonest diagnosis is Malnutrition
due to Faulty Environment. Lack of fresh air, lack of sunshine, inadequate
or ill-chosen food are common faults from which they suffer.
In the Observation Wards these faults can be readily corrected. The
children are put on a generous but easily digestible diet, with addition of
cod-liver oil, or anything else that may be necessary. They are kept out
of doors as much as possible, and are treated in the Light Department.
The six cases of Rickets are allied to these, since this disease is due to