HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 14050, 3 May 1946, Page 5

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

INFANT VOMITING

(By the Department of Health)

When an infant vomits, there may be cause for alarm. On the other hand it may be of no moment. Here are some of the causes. Overfeeding at each feed is countered by returning the excess straight away, undigested, and without upsetting baby in any way. This is easily rectified by shortening the feeding time as indicated by test feeding results, and by giving a little boiled water just before the feeding time. If the baby be bo/tle fed, vomiting may be due to dirty bottles or teats or stale millC hut this cause is quickly eliminated by cleanliness and a safe milk supply. Some babies get the bad habit of bringing 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 mouth, loses some, takes the balance down again, and goes on doing this until it loses a large part of the feed. The way to break this had habit is to thicken the feeds with some patent food until they will hardly run off a. spoon, and so make regurgitation difficult. Distracting the attention as the child prepares to “ruminate” —so his habit is called —i s the other line of attack.

Swallowing air between mealtimes is another bad habit that causes vomiting. It begins with the wrong feeding rate —too small or too lai ge a hole in the teat, or through the now rare habit of dummy sucking. When ’the air is brought up there’s some vomiting. This habit is checked by rectifying the rate of feeding, and by using a small gag to Keep the lips open in really bad cases so that air can’t be swallowed.

Wrong feeding may be a cause of vomiting—too much fat. or too much carbohydrates. In these conditions the bowel will be upset and Plunket nurse or doctor will need tc be consulted. With any obstruction or spasm in the alimeniaiy tract vomiting occurs, accompanied by constipation, and much distress, calling for the doctor g aid. lastly, vomiting may'"mean the child is sickening for one of the common infectious troubles of childhood, if no other cause seems to apply.