Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-10-23

relating to the household, and bespsak Fer
these extracts from Dr.. Harris g Hampton
Tract cageful consideration
! THE SICK RooM.-There is something
given off from the bodies and in the excre.
mental matters Of sick people which tends
to produce disease. All diseases Of the
bowels and all the fevers seem to have this
tendency. Therefore all such matters
should be dlsinfected as soon as wooded.
The apartment or the ward in which the
sick lay should be both cleansed and disin-
fected, during the sickness and immedi-
ately after the removal of the patients.
The clothing and vessels used by the sick
of any fever or infectious malady should be
thoroughly disinfected in the sick chamber,
before removal.
| Fresh AIR.-Every person must have
/ from 20 TO 100 cubic feet of fresh air sup
were to be placed in small room measur-
ing ten feet from floor to ceiling and being
ten feet square, the supply of fresh air
| brought into such an apartment should be
sufficient to refill it every ten minutes if
the person were seriously sick, ard at least
every forty minutes If perfectly well, while
! tie external atmosphere was pure and
cool Only let this requirement Of from
% to 100 cubic feet Of fresh air every min.
ute be remembered by every person who
wonld keep the blood and the surface of the
body bathed with fresh sufficiently for
the necessities of health. This amount of
ventilation can he kept up night and day
| without any perceptIble or chilling cur
rent. In one of the great church ediices
on Fifth avenue, New York, the forced
volumes of fresh air are sent to the seat of
every one in a congregation OF / 500 per-
sons, at the rate Of nearly 100 cubic feet
every minute, without any noticeable cur
rent. 1t should be kept in mind that the
blood flows constantly through the lungs,
spread through hundreds OF square yards
of mucous membrane, for the purpose of
being washed IN fresh air and absorbing
pure oxygen to cleanse and inyigorate the
body. This real internal cleansing is
necessity of health and safety which 10
human being has right to interfere with
or diminish.
DIsINFEoTANTs. -Disinfectants are not
substitutes for cleanliness and the use of
water and fresh air. We dizinfect those
things and places which cannot at once be
cleansed and ventilated sufficiently TO pre-
vent decay, nuisance, disease and infec-
ton. The chemical and other agents which
are employed for this sanitary purpose are
termed disinfectants, but they are not
alike, and viii not be applicable alike un-
der all circumstances. The sulphate of
zinc white vitriol) is powerful and easily
applied disinfectant, and entirely safe to
use. 1t is colorless, produces no stain, and
readily dissolves. In the sick-room, and
whenever the boiling Of the clothing
from the patients is necessarily de-
layed, the infectious virus in them
can be destroyed by packing them
In solution of 4 ounces OF salphate of
zinc to the gallon of water. In the care of
contagious and infections dieases it is best
to have this white zinc vitriol on hand for
disinfecting clothing But the boiling of
all clothing and cloths which have been
upon or exposed to the sick, is a sanitary
duty not to be neglected. Carbonate of
soda lsal sodal, or the borate of soda
(oorax), viii serve very well as a disinfect-
ant if the solution IS as strong as can be
made in cold water. but the zinc solution
is surest and cheapest. Chloride of lime,
or caTbolie acid, are useful where they
can most properly be employed, but the
lime Injuries and may destroy clothing, and
the carbolic acid is offensive to smell, and
unless of a very pure quality it stains.
The chloride and the earbelic acid must
never he used together. Whatever re-
quires extra cleansing by washing, and
particularly when such things have been
exposed to an infectious disease, should be
washed in boraX or sal soda water Car
bohc Acid may be diluted at the rate of
from ten to forty parts OF water to one of
the best fluid acid. Use this solution for
the same purpose as copperas is used also
to sprinkle upon any kind OF garbage or
decaying matter, and on foul surfaces OF
any kind. For sprinkling foul or I'M
healthy streets and alleys, cutters and foul
places, mix one to three parts of this crude
carbolic acid with 100 parts of the cop
peras solution, and sprinkle the entire
surface every four or five days during the
summer and autumn. 1t is chiefly val
liable to prevent putrefaction. To
and sewers, and especially the vessels,
grounds, or places In which the discharges
from the sick with any fever or diarrhGal
diseases are evacuated or cast away, dis
solve eight or ten pounds of sulphate Of
nun Ltii &C VI IOut StAlOAS VI hdttI, anu
add pint OF best fluid carbolic acid iif it
is desired, and good quality is at HANDY,
stir or agitate it briskly, to make CON-
plete solution. Use this disinfectant as
follows To keep priyies and water clos
cts from becoming infected or offensive,
pour pint of this solution into every wa
ter-cioset pan or privy-seat, every evening.
To disinfect masses OF filth. privies, sewers
or drains, gradually pour in the solution,
hour by hour, until every part of the mass
or foul surface has been thoroughly disin-
fected.
IMPURE FooD. = Various articles that
are used for food are liable to become i'm
pure. Even fresh milk and cream so rap
idly absorb foul vapors and so readily take
up and hold the contagious poison OF ty-
phoid and scarlet fevers that care is neces-
sary in preserving the perfect purity OF
milk. The cieanness and sweetness Of
meats and of all breadstuff should be pre-
served. II in the presence of decaying
matter and putrid gases, meats, ana es-
peeialiy fish and butter, quickly become
unwholesome. Some people try to restore
such hurt food to sweetness by immerSing
it in water containing an equal quantity of
Jumps of charcoal, but it Is better to pre-.
vent the defilement and putresence alto
gether.
GRoUNDs The pathways and grounds
about dwellings, and all roadways, are
best kept clean and free from nuisance
when SO graded and sloped as to give easy
surface drainage for the water; but there
must be under drainage to make grounds,
paths and house-lots dry. The removal OF
all decsying matter-an animal and vegetable
from the vicinity Of dwellings and
streets is a sanitary duty. The freshness
and healthfulness of paths and grounds lie
improved by an occasional layer of fine
gravel but never by sawdust, chips or
planks Decaying wood, vegetables, even
chips and ssw-dust, are unwholesome.
CLOTHING. The modern practice of
boiling as well as washing ali undergar-
ments is the best sanitary rules for such
clothing. The frequent ventilation and
brushing of all other garments, and long
exposure to light and wind, with most
thorough brushing OF all bedding and up.