New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-03-17


NOISE ,,L
have often been surprised AZ tae If frends
resulting in cruelty, quite uninIen'ona on mat in
of doctors who WIN 1o,S 70 the room Of the pa
$50 yvbo Il either every moment eXpecuus tue,l w
come in or who has just seen tnein, anu Wy!
are talking about him. III ne Is au au.aoie Pi Nv, -.
Oh ~ to occupy bis attention elsewhere ana not 70
49, W. 'and this makes matters worse-for the strain
non his attention and the effort he makes are 80 great
No. we'll he il not foi hours after II
yrbsnered conversation in the same room, then 1t Is
sbouiey cruel for it impossible that the patients
attention should not be nvountarlly strained to hear
walking on tp.toe doing anything in the room very
slowly are injurious, for exactly the same reasons
firm light quick step, steady quick hand are the de-
siderata; not the slow, lingering, shutting loot, the
timid uncertain touch. Slowness is not genteness,
though it is often mistaken for SUCH quckness, ligh
ness and gentleness ore quite compatible AGAIN, II
friends and doctors did but watch AZ nurses can anu
should watch the fe atures sharpe nng tue eyes grow
ing amC It Wild of fever patients who are listening Tor
the entrance from the corridor of the persons whose
voices they hearing there these would never ruu
the risk again of creating such expectation or lrraon
of mind Such unnecessary noise has undouOtealy III
duced or aggravated derium in many cases. have
known such-n one case death ensued. 1t IL but far
TO say that this death attributed to fright. Twas
the result Of long whispered conversation, within
sight of the patient about an impending operaton but
any ore who has known the more than stoicsm, the
cheerful GOODNESS with which the certainty OF an ope-
ration will he accepted by any patient capable OF bear
ing an operation at all, If It is properly communicated
10 him. will hesitate to believe that was mere fear
which produced as was avered the fatal result in this
instance # was rather the uncertainty, the strained
expectation as to what was 10 be decided upon
| Iced hardly say that the other common cause,
namely for doctor OF friend TO leave the paen! and
communicate his opinion the result OF his visit to the
friends lust outside the patients door, IL the adoin-
ing room, after the visit but within hearing or knowi-
edge Of the patient is, if possible, worst OF all:
Il is think, alarming, peculiarly at this time,
when the female ink bottles are perpetuay impressng
upon us "womau's" particular worth aud general
missoDaness to that the dress OF woman IS daily
| more and more uniting them for any mission" or
usefulness at all 1t is equally untitled for all poetic
| and all domestic purposes. man Is now more
handy and far less Objectionable being in SICK room
than a woman. Compelled by her dress, every wo-
! man now either shuffies waddes-ony man can
cross the floor of sick room without shaking 1t Wha'
| is become of woman's light step the firm, light,
| quick step we have been asking for
Unnecessary noise them is the most cruel absence oil
in all these remarks, the sick are only mentioned as
suffering in greater proportion than the well IRON
| precisely the same causes.
Unnecessary although slight noise Injuries sick
| person much more than necessary noise tof much
greater amount.
All doctrines about mysterious affinities and aver
sions will be found TO resolve themselves very much,
entirely into presence or absence OF care IN these
| things.
A nurse who rustles 4 am speaking of nurses pro
fessiopa and PROFESSIONAL is the horror OF patient,
The fdget of silk and Of ctinolne the rattling OF
keys the creakng of stays and Of shoes will do pa
tent more harm than ali the medicines in the world
will do him good.
The noiseess step of woman, the noiseless drapery
of woman are figures of speech in this day. Her
skirts land well if they do not throw down some piece
of fuInture will at least brush against every article LII
the room as she moves.
HURRY AND BUSTLE.
All hurry or hustle is peculiarly painful to the sick
And when patient has compulsory occupations to en-
gage him, instead of having simply TO amuse himself
| it becomes dOuby Injurious The iriend who remains
standing and 6getting about while patient is talking
busne 10 him. the friend who sits and proses, the
one from All idea Of not letting the patient talk, the
other from idea of amusing himeach IL equally IN
| considerable Always sit down when sex person Is
talking business to Won, show no signs OF hurry, give
complete attention and full consideration il your ad-
viceis wanted and 60 away the moment the subject IS
! ended.
! HOW TO VISIT THE SICK.
Always sit within the patients view 80 that when
YOU speak him he has not painfully 10 turn his head
round in order TO look al yo1 Everybody inyolqn-
tarily looks at the person speaking If you make this
act a wearsOme the part o. the patient yon are
doing him ham, So also if by continuing to stand YOU
make bim continuously rase his eyes TO see you BE
as moonlees O. possible and never gestculate In
speaking 10 the SICK.
Never make patient repeat a message or request,
especially if it be some time after. Occupied patients
are often accused of doing too much OF their own busl
Tess. They are iDstinctiyely right How often you
hear the person, charged with the request OF giving
the message or writing I'll letter. say half hour at
terward to the patient Did you appoint y o'clock"
or "What did you say was the address = or ask per-
haps some much agtating question-thus causing
the patent the effort of memory, still, of de-
cson all again. 1t is really less exertion to him
to write his letters himself This is the almost unver
sal experience of occupied invalds.
This brings us TO another caution. Never speak TO
an invalid from behind nor from the door, nor from
any distance from him, when he Is dong anything
The official poeness of servants in these things is
so grateful TO invalids, that many prefer without
knowing why, having none but servants about them
READING TO THE SICK.
With regard to reading aloud IN the sick room, my
experience is that when the sick too Ill to read to
tbem elves they can seldom bear to be read to. Chill
dren eye-patients and uneducated persons excsp
tODs, where there is any mechanical dlihculty IN
reading. People who ike to be read TO- have gen.
orally not much the matter with them; while IN evers
or where there is much irrabily OF BRAIN the effort
Of Listening TO reading aoud has often brought on de-
rum Ispeak with great diffdence; because there is
an almost universal impression that II is Spdrtng the
sick to read aloud to them But two things are certan
/. Ii the)e is some matter winch must be read TO
sick person, do il slowly People often think that the
way to Get il with least fatigue to him Is to get
over in least time They gabble; they plunge and gal
IOp through the reading. There never was greater
mistake. HOudin the cOnurOr, says that the way to
make story short tell slowly. so II is with
reading to the sick. have often heard patient say
TO such mistaken reader Don't read il to me; tell
il me-" Unconscously he is that this will reg
ulate the plungng, the reading with unequal PAGES,
suIring over part instead of leaving II out alto
geher, if is unmpOrtant, and mumblng another. III
the reader lets his own attention wander, and then
sops TO read ND to himself or finds he has read the
chance Of not suffering. Very few people know how
TO read 10 the sick very few read aloud pleasantly
even as they speak. In reading they sing, they hest
tate they stammer they hurry, they humble; when in
l.. 90 IL DaaA, aud