Constipation in Babies

"Doctor, will a treatment based on the Toxin Philosophy cure constipation? My baby is very constipated." The Toxin Philosophy which is nature's system, understood and applied carefully by those troubled with constipation will help them to get well and stay well, because nature, the great restorer, will help all who help themselves. The cure is not a faith cure as understood by the herd, but a cure such as has taken place from the beginning of time, and will continue in the same old way so long as time lasts. There is only one cure, namely, Remove the Cause, then health returns.

What is a natural cure or "nature cure"? Learn what causes disease, then stop the cause and nature does the rest. "How is a layman to know what causes his disease when you say in your writings that the leading clinicians declare that they do not even know how or where to begin to search for cause of disease?"

There are many so-called diseases (symptom complexes) that have constipation as a prominent or important symptom; this being a fact, it is not a question of how to cure constipation, but how to manage the various derangements--so-called diseases, or symptom complexes--that are characterized by constipation as one of the pronounced symptoms. It is important to know that constipation never exists as an idiopathic--a distinct personality--a thing within itself--disease. All so-called diseases are symptom complexes.

The simplest type of constipation is found in the babe. Passing Enervation and Toxemia which are basic causes and omnipresent where there is any departure from the normal health standard, overfeeding is first, last and all the time the cause of constipation in children.

Constipation in infants fed by bottle or at the breast, means overfeeding. Overfeeding will soon develop nervousness, restlessness, and a demand for more attention. Those children are fretful and cry easily. The bowel movements are delayed, they become reduced in frequency, from two or three movements in twenty-four hours to one, and the mother or nurse finds it necessary to use simple remedies to secure even one movement each day. Observing mothers, nurses, or doctors will have noticed symptoms of imperfect digestion for some time before real constipation has developed, namely, flatulency, more or less pain in the bowels, white flakes of curded milk mixed with the bowel movements. The amount of curded milk in the fecal matter increases as digestion is impaired until feces are more curded milk than other matter. At this stage the feces are hard, dry, and sometimes lumpy. This is an unfortunate state to bring about in a young child, and positively unnecessary, for the bowel movements should be watched and when the first sign of indigestion (small white flakes of curd) is observed, the amount of food intake must be cut down. If overfeeding is continued until the baby has developed gastro-intestinal catarrh, implicating the gall-duct and gall bladder, evidenced by bright yellowness of bowel evacuations to the extent of dyeing the milk curds yellow, it will require time and skilled nursing to restore health.

Treatment: Oil and other laxatives are given, also suppositories and enemas of oil. Drugs for indigestion, gas and pain are given. Digestives are used to improve digestion, and changes in food are made often, on the theory that the food is disagreeing when it is quantity, not quality. All this doctoring is foolishness and unnecessary.

A fast of one to three days, or until bowels are freed from milk curd, is the proper way to begin the treatment of so-called constipation in babies and young children. Give all water wanted, keep them in bed, warm and quiet. When the bowels are cleared of undigested food by enemas of warm water twice a day, and the babies are feeling comfortable, start feeding. Give the food that they are accustomed to eating but restrict them to one-fourth of the amount they were taking when they developed sluggish bowels. Stop water drinking. I do not approve of water drinking except during the time when they are fasting. Babies up to two, or two and a half years of age, should be fed every four hours--at 6 and 10 a. m. and 2 and 6 p. m., daily. No child should be fed or given water at night. When there is polyuria (excessive urination), water drinking must stop even during the fast. If, however, excessive urination is checked the first twenty-four hours of fasting, then water drinking can be resumed until eating is started again, then stop the water.

When it is proven that one-fourth the regular amount of food is agreeing and being digested--the bowel movements free of curd--then increase to one-half. Drop the ten o'clock regulation food and give one-half a teacup of juice of spinach and orange with water; that is, give as much as the child will take of equal parts of orange and spinach juice with a like amount of water.

When children are old enough to take vegetable salad pulp, run vegetables or fruit, or both, through a vegetable mill and if the mass is too coarse, then rub through a coarse sieve. For instance, run lettuce, spinach, tomato and cucumber (leave cucumber out unless fresh and crisp), through a vegetable mill--grind as fine as possible--add a little oil and a few drops of lemon juice. The proportion may be two-thirds of lettuce and spinach, and one-third tomato and cucumber. Give as much as the child will take.

A fruit salad pulp may be made by running any fresh fruit through a coarse sieve. If impossible to get the fresh fruit, the evaporated fruits, prunes, etc., may be used. A fruit and vegetable salad pulp may be made by combining lettuce, spinach and berries--in winter fresh apples.

The youngest child should never be fed oftener than four times a day, and never at night. The 10 a. m. feed should be fruit juice or fruit and vegetable juices until old enough to take the salad pulp; then when old enough to chew, they should be given as much salad as they want every dinner. Fresh, crisp vegetables and fruit are to be used.

Constipation will never be experienced among children properly cared for, and properly fed from birth. Neither will they develop diseases "peculiar to children." They will not "catch" colds nor the epidemic diseases. They won't catch anything.

It will be noticed that I did not increase the feeding after prescribing one-half of what the children were in the habit of eating at the time they developed constipation. Why? Because they were being fed twice as much food as they required. If they do not gain weight, increase the amount gradually, watching the stools for curd.

A perfectly healthy baby will not be fat. It can entertain itself; will want to be put to bed and will sleep all night and wake up cooing and romping with itself. How different with the neurotic food-drunkard. It has restless nights, kicking off the cover; demands attention and wakes of a morning with a yell equal to an Indian.