Chronic Bright's Disease

Description

This section is from the book "Mrs. Rorer's Diet For The Sick", by Sarah Tyson Rorer. Also available from Amazon: Mrs. Rorer's Diet For The Sick.

Chronic Bright's Disease

No matter what the origin of the disease, dietetic treatment is the same. Osier says, "care in food and drink is the most important element in the early treatment of these cases." All highly-seasoned foods, meat broths and meat and eggs must be wholly excluded. Whether or not the patient needs albumin must be determined by the physician or nurse in attendance. An uninstructed caretaker, cannot feed a case of Bright's disease, without danger to the patient; for the volume of albumin in the urine is not an infallible guide to dietetic treatment.

In many cases the patient may be kept, to his advantage, for two or three months on an exclusive diet of skimmed milk. The quantity will vary, according to the age and condition of the patient, but as a rule three quarts of milk a day will be sufficient, or two quarts of milk and one quart of barley water; rice water and German flour gruel may be alternated with barley water.

If barley water is added to the milk, there will be but little danger of constipation. If it should occur, however, orange juice or a small cup of French coffee early in the morning, will correct it. This diet may seem severe at first, but if the patient is made to understand that life depends on the diet, he will submit, if his life is worth the living.

Keep the throat and mouth clean and free from odor. After each feeding swab with Listerine and water, or vegetable gelatin and lemon juice or Irish moss water.

As the patient improves, add milk soups, milk gruels, tapioca custards, sago custards, rice pudding, various nut dishes, carefully-cooked topground vegetables, excepting cabbage; boiled or broiled fish; a little boiled or broiled chicken, stewed chestnuts, with sauce thickened with yolk of eggs, and milk toast. Give pure soft water between meals.