CHAPTER VII.
FOOD FOR THE SICK.
THE feeding of persons in health is of great importance, but when one succumbs to disease, then feeding becomes a question of supreme moment. The appetite in health is usually a safe guide to follow, but is so perverted by disease conditions that it is unwise to consider its cravings. If these cravings are indulged, the food longed for is almost always a disappointment, as all things taste about the same, until the time of convalescence.
Never consult a patient as to his menu, nor enter into a conversation relating to his diet, within his hearing. The physician in attendance studies the symptoms so closely that he is able to determine what is required to meet the needs of the case. He orders nourishment given regularly, usually in small quantities, at frequent intervals. Appreciating the value of sleep, he never allows his patient to be awakened for feeding, unless the exigencies of the case create this demand.
In acute cases of disease, food plays a very important part towards recovery. The quantity and kind taken must vary greatly, according to the nature of the disease. Sometimes it proves expedient in cases of diarrhœa or dysentery to have the patient abstain for days from all food, except a very thin, starchy gruel, the object being to starve the germ which causes the disease; then, again, a patient, after a surgical operation, where there is a great loss of blood, needs a large supply of food.
Where the temperature is high, metabolism goes on so rapidly there is always a demand for a large quantity of
