During an attack of acute dysentery the patient should be kept absolutely quiet in bed, and should not be allowed to rise for the movement of the bowels, making use of a bedpan instead. Throughout the active stage the diet must be strictly confined to easily digestible food, and in most cases it is wisest to give only predigested fluid articles. Peptonised or pancreatinized milk, or boiled milk, pressed-meat juice, whey, or raw egg albumin beaten with sherry and flavored with nutmeg are recommended. Many patients do best upon a diet of raw scraped beef or meat balls.

In cases of acute dysentery, and especially in the amoebic form, the loss of strength, anaemia, and emaciation progress very rapidly, and the strength must be supported by stimulation, for which brandy is preferable to whiskey.

During convalescence the diet must be very cautiously increased, and confined to food which is promptly and completely digested, leaving but little residue. For this purpose animal food should be chiefly eaten, while fish, tender beefsteak, roast beef, boiled or broiled chicken, eggs, custard, blanc-mange, dry toast, junket, well-boiled rice, or wine jelly, may be given. All fruits and vegetables must be forbidden, and butter and cream should be taken sparingly.

If the disease occurs in infancy, the child, if possible, should be fed at the breast. Otherwise all milk and water given should be Pasteurized. Beef tea and mutton broth may be allowed in moderation, and special care should be observed not to overfeed.

1 Diet used at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. 2 W. Oilman Thompson, M.D.: " Practical Dietetics." New York. D. Appleton & Co.

Diet For Acute Colitis (Dysentery). Massachusetts General Hospital

Purge and starve one day, then: lean meat, 100 gms., 3 times daily; albumin water of 2 eggs, 6-8 times daily. Continue for 4 days, then add: skimmed milk, 16 oz.; toast (no butter), 3 slices with maple syrup; rice, 50 gms. daily. After 10 days increase toast, give butter, macaroni, tapioca, cream cheese and Indian meal mush.

Chronic Dysentery. Thompson

Chronic dysentery is often best treated by an exclusive milk diet of from two and a half to three quarts a day, with rest in bed or on the lounge. In other cases rare steak or roast beef or chicken and egg albumin may be allowed, with dry toast, zwieback, or crackers. The milk and meat diet may be advantageously combined.

In Osier's opinion, if there is much ulceration of the colon, meat is not well borne, and it is better to keep the patient upon a diet which will give but little residue, such as boiled or peptonised milk.

The stools must be examined every day or two to ascertain the presence of undigested fragments of milk curds or meats, oil globules, mucus, blood, etc. If improvement does not occur, the patient may be put upon a diet of egg albumin or Sanatogen with beef juice, or some of the preparations of beef meal or peptonoids, with pancreatinised milk. Return to solid diet must be very gradual, and may be conducted on the lines directed for convalescence from typhoid fever.

1Diet used at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. 2W. Oilman Thompson, M.D.: "Practical Dietetics." New York. D-Appleton & Co.