Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1860-02-17

CARE OF THE SICK.
Miss Florence Nightingale has published
book in England entitled Notes on Nars-
ing" What it is and What it is Not" We
make the following extracts:
1t is an over recurring wonder TO see eau
Gated people, who call themselves nurses
acting thus. They vary their own oo)ects'
their own employments, many Tunes aayi
and while nursing CD some bedridden suite
rer, they let him lie there staring at oeao
wall. without any change OF object to enable
him TO vary his thoughts; and it never even
occurs 70 them at least TO move his bed, so
that he can look out ofwindow. NO, the bed
il 10 he ALWAYS left in the darkest dullest,
remotest part OF the room.
| think il very common error among the
well, to think that with little more self
control the sick might, if they choose, dds
miss painful thoughts" which "aggrayate
their disease" &c. Believe me, almost any
sick person who behaves decently well, ex-
ercises more self control every moment OF
his day, than you will ever know till you are
sick Yourself. Almost every step that cross
es his room is painful to him; almost every
thought that crosses his brain is painful TO
him; and if ne can speak without being say
age, and look without being unpleasant, ne IS
exercising self-control.
SUPPOSE YOU have been up all night, and,
instead of being allowed to have your cup
of tea, YOU were to be told that you ought to
exercise self-control" what should you say?
Now. the nerves of the sick are always IN
the state that yours are in after you have been
up all night.
Never to allow patient to be walked IN
tentionally or accidentally, is sine qua no."
of all good nursing. If he is reused out OF
his fret sleep. he is almost certain to have
no more sleep. 1t is curious but quite IN
telligible fact, that if patient Is walked al.
ter a few hours instead of few minutes
sleep. he is much more like to sleep again
Because pain, like irritability of brain, per-
petuates and intensifes itself. Ii you have
gained respite of either in sleep, yoa have
gained more than the mere respite. Both
the probability of recurrence and ofthe same
intensity will be diminished; whereas both
will be terribly increased by want OF sleep.
This is the reason why patient walked IN
the early part of his sleep looses not only
his sleep, but his power to sleep. A heal
thy person who allows himself to sleep dur
ing the day, will lose his sleep at night
But it is exactly the reverse with the SICK
generally, the more they sleep, the better
will they be able to sleep.
have often been surprised at the though
tlessness (resulting in cruelty quite unlnten-
tional) of friends or of doctors, who will hold
long conversation just in the room or pass
age adjoining to the room of the patient,
who is either every moment expecting them
to come in, OF has Just seen them, and knows
they are talking about him. Ii he is an
amiable patient he will try to occupy his
attention elsewhere and not to listen-and
this makes matters worse-for the strain
upon his attention and the effort he makes,
are so great that it is well if he is not worse
for hours after. If it is a whispered con-
yersation in the same room, then IT is abso-
lutely cruel; for it is impossible that the
patients attention should not be involuntari-
" strained to hear. Walking on tiptoe,
doing anything in the room very slowly,
are injurious, for exactly the same reasons.
A firm, light, quick step, steady, quick
hand are the desiderata; not the slow, lnger-
ing, shutting foot, the timid, uncertcin touch.
Slowness is not gentleness though it is Of
ten mistaken for such; quickness, lightness,
and gentleness are quite compatible. Again,
If friends and doctors did but watch, as nur-
ses can and should watch, the features shar'
pening, the eyes growing almost wild, OF fe-
YER patients who are listening for the en-
trance from the corridor of the persons whose
voices they are hearing there. these would
never run the risk again of creating such ex-
pection or irritation of mind. Such unne-
eessary noise has undoubtedly induced or
aggravated delirium in many cases. l
have known such--in one case death ensued.
1t is but fair 10 say that this death was
attributed 10 fright 1t was the result OF a
long whispered conversation, within sight OF
the patient, about an impending operation;
but any one who has known the more than
stocism, the cheerful GOODNESS with which
the certainty of any operation will be accep-
ted by any patient, capable Of bearing an
operation at all, if it is properly commu-
nicated to him, will hesitate to believe that
1t was mere fear which produced, as was
ayerred the fatal result in this instance
1t was rather the uncertainty, the strained
expectation as to what was to be decided
upon.
l need hardly say that the other common
cause, namely, for doctor or friend to leave
the patient and communicate his opinion on
the result of his visit to the friends just out
side patients door, or in the adjoining room,
after the visit but within hearing or knowl-
edge of the patients, if possible, worst
of all.
1t is, think, alarming, peculiarly at this
time, when the female ink-bottles are per-
petually impressing upon us woman
particular worth and general missionarl-
ness" to see that the dress of women Is
daily more and more uniting them for
any mission" of usefulness at ALL 1t is
equally untitled for oil poetic and all domes-
tic purposes A man is now a more handy
and for less Objectionable being IN a sick
room than a woman. Compelled by her
dress. every woman now either shutfies or
waddles--only man can cross the floor OF
sick room without shaking it. What is be
come of woman's light step?-the firm, light,
quick step we have been asking Tor?
IL