Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-07-03
Yentilating Sick Rooms.

An 1nIant, dS SCOu DIS DOTH ueeuS pure
air more than food. And equally true
is it, that the sick, exhausted by dis
ease, need pure and fresh air. The
sick need special care and many other
things to which we refer in laconic
way, so that mothers daughters and
nurses may keep them constantly in
view, when called to watch and benefit
the sick. Always keep the air of the
sick room fresh and pure and its tenn
perature as uniform as is possible.
The degree of temperature is of less i'm
portance than its uniformity. Opening
the window so as to create draft when
tina sick one happens to be warm and
perspiring is not wise. nor safe. II
they must be opened and a strong
draft of air be allowed to come it must
check the perspiration, That is moisten-
ing the skin, and large amount of
harm must be induced. The sick room
should be so ventilated that foul air
may be constantly flowing out and pure
air be as constantly flowing in. We
know no better way of doing this than
that of raising the lower sash four
inches and fully fitting the
open space with half inch
board, neatly fitting between the
shoulders of the window frame. By
this plan, the outer air will be
continuously coming in between the
upper portion of the lower sash and the
lower portion of the upper. This ar
rangement will compel the outer air to
pass in and up, and strike the ceiling
of the room, lessen the draft and some
what warm the air as it enters and
passes. up and down. AS simple and
eff Gent as this mode of ventilating sick
rooms, living rooms. or school rooms
is, a large per cent. OF parents neglect
it and compel their children to breathe
vitiated air, or expose them to full
blasts of cold outer air. A substitute
is an open fire place to draw the viii
ated air away, if some means are
adopted by which fresh ar may flow in.
In cold, or chilly and damp seasons
of the year, an open fireplace may
answer every purpose. At any rate,
every room in every house, occupied by
the well or ill, should have an open
fireplace to ventilate. Fresh air may
be allowed to enter in various ways, but
usually windows are SO loose that the
outer air will freely enter and drive the
vitiated air away. What we insist
upon as absolutely necessary to health,
is that fresh air should be constantly
entering those rooms that are occupied
by the sick, and that fresh and chilly
air should not blow directly upon
the sick. A less efficient means
of preventing this is to hang
shawl or blanket over an ordinary
clothes horse and place it in such
way that the air can not strike the pa
be of trivial notice, and still every
mt, on1 ,sy,fo
give illustrations of the fact that neg
fecting the proper ventilation of sick
rooms increases the amount of sickness
and the per centage of mortality. If
fresh air confers new life upon the
strong and healthy, it is of special value
to the exhausted and sick. The latter
must be content with the reduced con-
dit;on of the vital powers. They need
the oxygen of fresh air that yields the
aid OF sustaining respirat on.
The mother or nurse, then, can not
be too studious in ventilating the rooms
of those who are entrusted to her charge.
We have often entered a sick room, sup
posed to be sweet and clean, but we
found as we entered from the outer air
that the inner air was neither sweet nor
clean. This sad condition conduced
largely to render the sick child much
more feeble and exhausted, than it
need have been and cut off many
chances of the ultimate recovery.
We hope that those who have the
care of the sick may not forget, that the
fireplace in sick room should always
be kept open, as no cheaper and better
ventilation has yet been found than the
chimney of an open fireplace, especial
ly if the room demands the generation
of heat. A fire in room increases the
draft and puriies the air.