A treatise on the diseases of children : and management of infants from the birth / by Michael Underwood, M.D. ; three volumes in one.

  • Michael Underwood
Date:
May, 1806
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on the diseases of children : and management of infants from the birth / by Michael Underwood, M.D. ; three volumes in one. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    be peculiarly attended to ; and when a purging has taken place, ought to be suited to the nature of the stools. In the third volume of this work, ample notice will be taken of the article of children's food; at present, I shall only observe, that cow's milk is often found to disagree with them when their bowels are disposed to be too open; at which times, a little lean mutton broth, or beef-tea is abundantly preferable. On the same account, rusks and biscuit-powder are more suitable than bread ;* but at oth- er times, I believe, either the Uxbridge, or the French roll, which are already half digested by a previous fermen- tation, are more easily dissolved in the stomach, if there be not a predominant acid in the first-passages. But where there is an habitual disposition to purging, I know of no diet so proper for infants who do not suck, or who cannot have enough of the breast, as flour slowly baked for a long time, till it breaks into a soft, greyish-coloured powder-]-, and afterwards mixed with boiled cow's milk, the scum being first taken off; the flour and milk should then be boiled a little time together, till the whole appears like a thin custard. This is a very light and soft food, and suf- ficiently restringent; and I have often known more good from it, than from all the absorbent medicines ever devis- ed, and have received more thanks for the prescription, as it proves a permanent remedy. The powder of arrow- root likewise, boiled in water, and then mixed with milk, is an admirable remedy when it can be procured genuine. When the watery-gripes, or indeed any violent purging, * Rusks are preferable to tops and bottoms, as they are called, which have more butter in them. f To this end, the Hour should be put into 4.small jar properly covered, and be taken out of the oven several times, and stirred up from the bot- tom and sides of the jar, that it may not run into hard lumps, but the whole fce equally baked.