46
persisted for some iirae, which may be from few
days to a few weeks- !'
In the early stages, Indigestion may manifest
itself only as a sease of heaviness or fullness of the
stomach or a sort of unea-sy ieeling. Real hunger
will be absent, though there may be a craving for
highly spiced or appetising foods. Inclination to
activity will be lacking. If treatment is begun at
this early stage, cure will be only a matter of a day
or two. Often/ missing the next meal will be
sufficient.
TREATMENT : Fasting for a day or two, as might
be necessary, is the best remedy. Break the fast
with a glass of fruit juice or vegetable soup. Apply
a cooling abdominal wet bandage (to be described
later) in the afternoon or whenever there is
discomfort and keep it on for about three hours/ or
as long as it is pleasant to keep it on* A spinal
bath with a cold trunk pack may be taken when
the day is warm. Some people who are unaccus-
tomed to a fast may feel giddy during that time.
t That the stomach and intestines are insensitive to ordinary
irritation, may b© illustrated by a familiar example : When
something pungent1 (Chillies for example » is swallowed/
the irritation is fell only in the mouth, throat and the anus
( at the time of passing stools }, that i&, in the beginning
and end of the alimentary canal. Surprisingly enough/
the irritation is absent in the middle region, comprising
the stomach and intestines* The reason is that the
middle and end'parts ofthe alimentary canal are controlled"/;
by nerves which are connected with the spinal nervous
syscem and the brain, whereas the stomach and intestines
ate controlled by the sympathetic nervous system which,
:,.i$not connected with the bjain. Pungent articles do
1 ijrritate th© mucus membranes ol th© stomach and
intestines, l^utthe irritation is not convened to the brain
auid.therefore not, felt by us. But when the irritation
, is too fregaesxt,;: the, tension of the'.walls, of-, the stomach,
aiiay.lie disturbed/.leading, in, ,turn to adisturbance in th&
',,'internal pressure'1 /It-I» omy InC'" £ttc-h oases .Jhiatt.. &ain, is