St. Landry democrat., 1885-07-11
MaRAsMuS
@he Disease which OfSeR Attacks RaA@s;
Fed Infants

The wasting disease of infancy that
occurs in handled babies, is not un%
common cause of death in early life.!
The infant docs not digest its food. 1t.
gradually becomes thin and spare, and!
after a longer or shorter time, dies, asfi
if ST had been starved" This WASTE
ing disease, called "'nrarasmus," finds
large place in the mortality returns
of all civilized communities. And yett
it is a. curable disease, if recognized;
at an early day. 1t may make a
rapid course, and still may be checked
by wise .eare in feeding, exposure to-
pure air., and moderate exercise. This
? disease is the result of innutritious diet,j
or inability to digest, absorb and as:
simulate nutritious food 1t may be
difficult for some mothers to realize
that the human body is constantly
changing its Constituents, and SO needs
a. constant supply of new ones, or it
dfninishes in size and strength. The
infant, in this disease, wastes, not be-
cause it is rot fed, but because it has
not the power of converting food to
bloed.
II may be fed fromsmilk that is poor
in quality and small in quantity, and SO
grows thinner; or it may be fed with
starchy food. that it can not digest, or
which can afford but very little nour-
ishn1ent if it could. The stomach may
be regularly filled, and still the food
consumed does not supply the needs OF
the various tissues. The nutrition of
an infant or an adult. even, depends
upon the power of the digestive organs
to extract it. Many infants lives are
lost because their mothers do not real.
ize that food is not always nutritious
even TO adults.
For proper nourishment four kinds
of substances are needed, and these
kinds should be given to infants in
such q form that they can. be easily di+
>gesteG and assimilated. Food that
does not yield to- the digestive and
assimilative forces of the. infant not
only does no good, but does harm.
They distress it. The perfect food fo1
infants, containing the four kinds OF
elements: that infants must have, OF
die, is milk This perfect food pre-.
pared for the little tinites by the 1nfinitd
contaiRs rogenousmatterin the curds
fat in the cream, and also proper
amount of sugar, and several SaltS
that are essential to- good nutrition.
In the mothers milk the infant finds
these constituents combined in exactly
the proportions fitted to supply the
needs of the various tissues of the
body, and promote their growth. The
milk of other animals differs from that
of human. Cows milk contains d
larger percentage of curd and cream
than human, but less sugar. A sturdy
infant may not need human milk, but
may grow in form, and strength on
| cows Still if cows, milk must be
given, it is wise to sosprepare it that Ii
may closely resemble the natural,
| maternal milk, that was made ex-
pressly for it.. Experience and OBJ
servation show that no kind of milk
| no kind of food is So useful to infants
under-a all conditionRas that the mother
can, OF should be, able to yield. The
great objection to- cows milk for Ia
| fancy is, that it forms denser curds
| than human and so. is less digestibles
| Diluting it with water does not lessen
the hardness of the curds. Human
milk form a; light and hocculent
ourd,, that easily digests The motheE
may observe, if she will, that her I'M
FAINT, if under four months of age Is
fed on cows milk, passes from its bow.
els daily hard ourds under the tnhu~
ence of the, gastric juice, the casein
particles forming compact Jumps in
the infantile stomach. This differences
| in the curds, causes much suffering in
the infant, wh0,is fed on cows; milk!
Not only infants are unable to,digess
cows milk, but some adults. We had
a friend, w2ro, could not easily, digest
it without following the drinking of il.
| with a tumbler of sour cider.
| The recently born infant has but little
power to, digest starchy food: Saliva
and pancreatie juice convart starch
into sugar, But infants can, not secrets
i saliva or panereatic juice until the end
! of the third month after birth. These
! two fluids ON which the digestion Of
starch depends are neaHly completely
i wanting in early infancy. "Infant
i foods, ;" so-ealled, are composed, more
or less, of starch that can nos be easily
or we'll digested. TIE starch in then1
is so much undigested as to irritate the
mucous membrane Of the intestines and
cause hatuIency and pam ana ulGl-
mately may induce vomiting and diar-
rhea, keeping the infant restless, suffers
ing and crying, and deprived of proper
sleep.
The ignorant mother often supposes
that the cause of all this suffering is
hunger, and so gives it more food Of
the same sort, that is sure to increase
the discomforts and suffering. The in.
FAINT gets SO little nourishment from its