Under the term "food fever," Eustace Smith has described a condition in children characterised by the following clinical features. The child is suddenly attacked with acute fever, associated with manifestations of gastro-intcstinal derangement, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, furred tongue, and general malaise. The stools are frothy, ill-formed, and offensive. The fever lasts, as a rule, some days, but may persist for a week or two. This condition is chiefly seen in children of a neurotic or gouty temperament, and occurs between the ages of three and twelve years.

This condition is one of acute gastric and intestinal catarrh, its distinctive feature being the liability to recurrence. It arises from indiscretions in the dietary, especially the excessive consumption of farinaceous foods and sweets, which undergo fermentative changes in the bowels, with resulting absorption of toxins, which are responsible for the fever.

The dietetic treatment consists in restricting or cutting off for a time farinaceous foods and sweets. Starvation for the first twenty-four hours may be advisable, and so long as the fever is high, the patient should be on a febrile diet. The diet generally should be selected from skimmed milk, fish, tongue, chicken, meat, eggs, stale bread, toast, rusks, and green vegetables. Plain milk, farinaceous puddings, pastry, sweets of all kinds, acid fruits, sweet drinks, and root vegetables should be withheld during the attack. The administration of Malt extract may prove advantageous. A suitable diet sheet is appended: -

Dietary During An Attack, Which May Last For A Week Or Longer In Modified Form

Breakfast

Cup of skimmed milk, 8 ounces, diluted with hot water (no sugar).

Slice of tongue or ham.

Stale bread and butter, or toast and butter.

10.30 a.m. - Dry rusk, with butter; drink of water.

Dinner

Soup, beef-tea, chicken tea, consomme of veal or beef unthickened. A helping of fish or poultry, or chop or steak, plainly cooked, and plain clear gravy. Green vegetable (sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, boiled onions, or leeks); no white soup.

(Avoid puddings, bread and butter, and biscuits and butter).

Tea

Cup of skimmed milk, or weak tea made with skimmed milk. Slice of toast, or dry biscuit or rusk.

8 P.M. - Cup of carefully skimmed beef-tea, with half-slice of toast.

After the attack is over, the return to the use of starchy foods must be made very gradually, and it should be remembered that these subjects have a limited power of digesting carbohydrate foods; these are sometimes classified as cases of intestinal indigestion.