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

Without the slightest Disguise or crcuml0cutioD,
Miss Florence Nightingale here lays down the law
for the care and management of the sick, in the va
rious stages and aspects of disease, explaining the
most repulsve details in the homeest language,
and speaking with the authority of experience in
manner that leaves no room for appeal from her de-
cison. Her book is, perhaps the most ubHincnng
application cf common sense to pract cal arrange
merts to be found in the language. OF the perfectly
unsOphistcated mode with which she deals Win tue
subject our readers may form idea from the iOi-
lowing specimens:
KEEP THE AIR PURE.
TIE very first OF nurslng the nls a"S .S ,Io'
thing upon which nurse attention must DC Aeu tue
first essential 10 patient, without WhGu al ue Io'
Won can DO for him e as nothing with which mad al
most said you may leave all the rest alone IS thls 10
EprP THE AIR HE BREATHEs AS PURE As ThE EArEN
IA. AIR WITHOUT CHILLING hin. Yet what ls 50 III
lie attended to? Even where it is thought OF at all,
fbe most extraordinary misconceptions reign about IT.
Even in admitting air into the patients room or ward
few peoIle ever think where that air comes FROM IL
NAV come from corridor into which other wards are
ventilated from hall always unsired always full OF
the fumes Of gas dinner OF various kods OF musiness
from sn underground kitchen, sink, washhouse, water
clotet, even, as my self have had sorrowi1l eX-
peience from open loaded with iith and with
Ills the patients ward Is aired as II Is called
posoned should rather be said. Always air from the
air without, and that, too, through those WINDOWS,
through which the air comes tresheet. From closed
court especially if the wind do not blow that way air
may come sagnaDt as any from hall or corIldor'
Again thing have often seen both in private houses
and Institutions room remains unnhsote1i Tue llie-
place is carefully fastened up with board; the win
dovs are never opened probably the shutters are kept
always thut perhaps some kind of stores are Kept IN
the room breath of fresh air can by possibility en-
ter into that room, any ray OF sum- The ar ls as
staenant musty aud corrupt It can by possibility be
made Ii is quite ripe to breed smallpox, scarlet fe-
yer, diphtheris or anything else you please.
CLEANLINESS.
Without cleanliness, within aud without your house,
ventilation is comparatively useless. In certain foul
districts Of London poor people used to object TO open
their windows and doors because Of the foul smells
that came in. Rich people like TO have their stables
and Sunob near their houses But does il ever occur
to them that with many arrangements OF this KIND II
would be safer to keep the windows shut than open
You cannot have the air of the house pure with dung
heaps under the windows. These are common all over
London And yet people surprised that their chill
dren brought up in large "well.ared nurseries aud
bedrooms suffer from children's epidemics. If they
studied Nature laws in the matter of childrens health
they would not be surprised. There are other ways
Of having filth inside house beside having dirt in
heaps. Old papered walls of years standing, dirty
CARPETS uncesDsed furniture just AS ready sources
of mpurity 10 the air there were dung-heap IN
the basement. People 50 unaccustomed from edn-
cation ard habits to consider how to make home
healthy that they either never think OF II at all, and
take every disease as matter of course, 20 be re"
signed to- when il as from the hand of Prov-
deDoe or if they ever entertain the idea oil Preserv-
ING the health Of their household as duty they are
very apt to commit all kinds Of "neglgences and ig-
norances" in performI it.
INFECTION
We must not forget what, in ordinary language, is
called Injection thing OF which people are gen.
orally 30 afraid that they frequently follow the very
practice IN regard to il which they ought to avoid.
Nothing used to be considered 80 infectious cona-
gious smallpox and people not very long ago used
to up patients with heavy bed-clothes, while
they kept up large fires aud shut the windows.
Smallpox, Of course under this regime is very in
fectous." People are somewhat wiser now in their
management of this disease. They have ventured to
cover the patients lightly and TO keep the windows
open; and we hear much less of the infection" of
smallpox than we used TO do. But do people in
DAYS act with wisdom on the subject of "infec
ton In fevers-scarlet fever, measles &c-than their
forefstbers did with smallpox Does not the popular
idea of infection" involve that people should take
grester of themselves than of the patient that,
for instance il is safer not TO be too much vita the pa
tent, not 70 attend too much TO bis wants Perhaps
the best illustration Of the utter atsurdy Of this view
of duty in attending on infectious diseases is at
forced by what very recently the practice If 1t is
not 90 now in some Of the European lazarets-in
which the plague patient used TO be condemned to
the horrors Of fifth, over-crowdDg and want of ven
tilation, while the medical attendant ordered to
examine the patients tongue through an opera-glass
and totoss him lancet to open his assesses with
True nursing ignores Infection except to prevent it.
Cleanliness AND fresh air from open windo VS. with
renting attention to the patient are the only defense
= true nurse either asks or needs.
Wise and humane management Of the patient is the
best safeguard ~ rst infection.
Trere not few popular opinions in regard to
which 1t i useful at times 10 ask question or two
For example il is commonly thought that children
must have what commonly called childrens cpl
denies" "cuuent contagious" &c; in other words,
that they are born to have measles, whoOp ngcough,
perhap, scarlet fever just they born to cut
their teeth, if they live.
Now, do tell ui, why must child have measles!
Oh because you say, we cannot keep it from iniec-
tion-cther children have measles-and 1t must take
tkem--and it is safer that il should.
But why must other children have measles And
if they lave why must yours have them too
yen believed in aud observed the laws for preserv-
ms the health of houses which nculcate cleanliness,
ventilation withdrawing, and other MEANS and
which, 10y tie way, are l0rs, as implicitly AS you be-
heye in the popular opinion for it is nothing than
an opinion, that your child must have cbildrens cpl
deG;cs don't you think that upon the whole your Guild
would he more likely TO escape altogether!
WHAT II Is TO BE IN CHARGE.
How few men, or even women, understand, either
In great or in little things, what it if the being i'll
.lkaree"-I mean, know how 10 carry out charge"
From the uOst colossal caamtes, down TO the most
trbg accidents results are often traced or rather no.
racs0l 20 such want of one Sin charge, or OF
his kDowiDg how to be Sin charge" short time
ago The bursting of fuunelcasing on board the finest
and stronzes chip that ever built her trial trp
de stroyed several Lives and put several hundred IN
eoeaTdy--not from any undetected hawn her new ana
unfried workout from tap being closed winch
ouobt not 10 have been cosed-from what every child
this simply because no seemed to know what II Is
10 be in charge" or rho was in charge. Nay more
the Jury az the Inquest actually altogether ignored the
same ,nd apparently considered the tap in charge,
for ,bty gave rs a verdict accidental DEATH"
This tne meaning of the word, On large scale