HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Chronicle (Levin), 24 April 1946, Page 3

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

the Department of Health.)

INFANT VOMITING

(Bv

When an infant vomits, there may be cause for alann. On the other liand, it may be of no monient. Here are some of the causes. Overfeeding at eacli feed is couutered by returning the excess straight away, undigested, and without upsetting baby in any way. This is easily rectilied by shortening the feeding time as indicated by test feeding results, and by giving a litt'le boiled water just before the feeding time. If the baby is bottle fed, vomiting may lie due to dirty bottles or teats or stale .milk, but this cause is quickly elimiuated by cleanliacss and a safe milk supply. Some babies get t'he bad habit of bringiug up food, vomiting part of it and re-swallowing the remainder. This is rare in breast-fed babies, occurring in bottle-fed ones from the fourth month or later. The infant regurgitates part of the feed into the month, loses some, takes the balance down agaia, and goes on doi-ng this until it loses a large part of the feed. The way to break this bad habit is to thicken the fecds with some patent food until they will hardly run off a spoon, and "so .make regurgitation ditiicult. Distracting the attentiou as the cliild prepares to "ruminatc" — so this habit is called .■ — is the other line of attack. Svvallowing air bubbles mealtimes is another bad habit that causes vomiting. ■Tt begins with the wrong feeding rate — too small or too large a holc in the teat, or throitgh the now rare habit of dummy sucking. When the air is brouglit up there 's some vomiting. This habit is ckecked by rectifyiug the rate of feeding, and by using a small gag to kecp the lips open in really bad cases so that air can't be swallowcd. Wrong feeding may be a cause of vomiting — too much fat, or too much carbohydrate. In tliese conditions the bowel will be upset and Plunket nurse or doctor will need to be consulted. With any obstruction or spasm in the alimentary tract vomiting oceurs, accompanied by coustipation, and. much distress, calling for the doctor 's aid. Lastlv, vomiting may mean the child is sickeaing for one oi the common iafectious troubies of childhood, if no, other cause seems to apply.