St. Landry democrat., 1884-03-01
Slow Digestion.

This, the simple and most common
form of the malady, is sometimes called
simple dyspepsia. 1t is more common
in men than in women, and especially
affects sedentary persons and those
nervous individuals, who eat rapidly,
swallowing their food without proper
mastication. It is also common in per-
sons whose teeth are defective. Its i'm
mediate cause is deficient activity in the
muscular walls of the stomach and in
testines, and also deficient quantity or
quality of gastric juice. The symptoms
are much the same as those which fol-
low the taking an excess of food, but
are felt only when a moderate amount
has been taken An hour or two after
eating a sensation of weight and OPP
preston is felt. The discomfort con-
tinues for some hours, gradually wear
ing off before the next meal. The APP
petite is usually pretty good, but
often the stomach will not be pre-
pared for the reception of food at
meal time, as the work of digesting
the previous meal has not vet
been accomplished. Sometimes there
is considerable fatulence Of the
stomach, the eructations being tasteless,
however, never offensive; often pain
between shoulders or beneath one
shoulder-biade, and not infrequently in
the region of the heart. Palpitation of
the heart often occurs in the night. caus-
ing great alarm on the part of the pa
tient and his friends, who entertain fears
of his sudden death. Sleep is disturbed
and unrefreshing. The tongue is often
foul in the morning. with bad taste in
the mouth. All the symptoms men
toned are greatly exaggerated by late
supper, or by an unusual excess in guam
tity or quality of food. The bowels are
usually constipated, but may be regu-
lar. When the difficulty has been long
continued, there will be observed
marked disposition to sleep after or
unnatural sleepiness at other times, and
a decided loss of natural vivacity and en-
ergy. Acid dyspepsia is that form of
indigestion N which the slowness of
digestion is such that the food under
goes fermentation, forming acids which
irritate the stomach and give rise to
the same symptoms, much exaggerated,
which have been mentioned as attend
ing slowness of digestion with several
others, the principal of which are heart
burn, reorganization of intensely sour
liquid from the stomach, acid eructa-
tons, a white tongue, frequently
with transverse assures, often fab
by and indented at the edges, acid
saliva, causing decay of the teeth, bow
els likely to be either constipated or I'M
n fI1ra 1lXr Iooeo n,.; n Jiy,5r &c +bo too+L ,+
night, and a reddish sedim ent in the
urine. No one patient presents all the
symptoms, but more or less of them
There is quite likely also to be pain at
the pit of the stomach, with soreness on
pressure. On account of the extreme
slowness of digestion, farinaceous food
always aggraVate this form of dyspep-
sia. Starchy-food, sugar, fruits, and |
vegetables of all kinds, cause
great increase of aeidity and heartburn.
In some cases even bread and all sorts |
Of preparations from grains will disa- |
gree. Sugar, or any food containing it,
will give rise to great distress. A meal |
of animal food almost entire
y may be digested without difficulty, |
,hough milk frequently sours. The di-
sestion being very slow, portions of fer
nenting food remain in the stomach
rom one meal to another, so that acid
ty becomes habitual. Patients suffer-
ng with this form of dyspepsia are
usually very. thin and bloodIess. Occa-
'ionalIy, however, we meet with case
II the opposite kind, in which there is
IN abundance of tissue, though of q
Dose, tiabby texture. Women suffer
rom acidity more than men. Herald
If Health.