Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-02-29
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. 1t is also common in per-
sons whose teeth are defective Its inn
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 tine same as those which fol-
low the taking On excess of food, but
are felt only when a moderate amount
has been taken. An hour or two after
eating 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 flatulence of the
stomach, the eructations being tasteless,
however, never offensive; often pair
between shoulders or beneath ont
shoulder-biade. and not infrequently liz
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 Otter
foul in the morning, with a bad taste in
tie mouth. All The symptoms men
toned are greatly exaggerated by a 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 a
marked disposition to sleep after meals, OF
unnatural sleepiness at other times, and
decided loss of natural vivacity and en-.
ergy. Acid dyspepsia is that form OF
Indigestion in which the slowness %
digestion is such that the food under.
goes fermentation, forming acids which
irritate the stomach and give rise tc
the same symptoms, much exaggerated,
which haze been mentioned as attend
ing slowness of digestion with several
ObhSAc, tuO VI
burn. regurgitat;on of intensely soul
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 an
naturally loose, grinding of the teeth at
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-
STA. Starchy-food, sugar, fruits, and
especially vegetables of all kinds, cause
great increase of acidity 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
consisting of animal food almost entire
ly may be digested without difficulty.
though milk frequently sours. The di-
gestion being very slow, portions of fer
menting food remain ia the stomach
from one meal to another, so that acid
ity becomes habitual. Patients suffer-
ing with this forn of dyspepsia are
usually very thin and bloodIess. Occa-
sionally, however, we meet with case
of the opposite kind, in which there is
an abundance of tissue, though of a
loose, fabby texture. Women suffer
from ac:dity more than men.-He7ala
of HedIfh