The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-08-15
NURSING.
How IN Invalid Should be. Nursed In COun-
try Home.

"nen woman Is ILL., ner mar shoulo
pc carefully cared Tor from the Begin
Ring OF the illness. If 1t is neglected
and allowed to become tangled. il is
verv aiAicplt To maka e. erooth ana
"a - 7. '-- - ~
sAuy asA AiusC De ParCeo ~ Ine
pScK' gently compeo every morning,
and arranged in two braidS, with the
ends securely tied with n piece of old
ribbon. Two braida ara haitian than
ara tcr thar oo, \. g., ~. - a..
80 80 "~. 70 ~i~"A 0u' Va 'uo
way on eacn sioe, not TO interfere
with the head resting comfortably on
the pillow.
In fever. or in any disease affectino
the brain where Il ~ Sas;rahle 70 Lee5
the head cool, it is well to have a soft
hair pillow, or one stuffed with cut
rags, or paper torn into small pieces.
Being less soft than the usual feather
one, the head would not sink into it,
and SO would not be kept as warm.
Some people particularly object to q
hard pillow. and then II should NOT be
used, as the discomfort would more
than counterbalance the good derived
from it. When the forehead is hot, it
is q great relief to use frequently some
cooling lotion. Put few Jumps of ice
In q bowl, and pour on them little
alcohol; dip a single thickness of old,
thin cotton into the liquid, and Law it
on the forehead. The cotton must not,
on any account, be doubled, as the
cooling effect is produced by the evap-
Grafton of the alcohol, and the more
quickly this takes place the more effect
nal it is. II ice can not be procured,
battle the face with equal parts of alco-
hol and cold water, taking care not to
get it into the eyes, and fan until it is
dry. When the eyes are affected,
and cold applications are ordered.
kept small squares of fine linen. or
pieces of an old handkerchief, on a
lump of ice, or, If this is not to be had.
in basin of fresh spring water. When
one is placed on the eve, remove il be-
fore 1t is entirely dry, and put it away
10 be burned. If there is any discharge
from the eye, this is particularly neces-
sary. No piece should be used q second
time.
In injuries to the head, ice Ia often
used to lessen the tendency to inflam-
nation, and it is not ALWAYS easy or
possible in the country to get an ice
bag to hold it. The best substitute is
o piece of India rubber cloth, about
half yard square. Crack the ice in
small Jumps, put it in the middle of the
cloth, and, gathering the corners
loosely together, tie q string tightly
around it, ike q pudding prepared to
boil. Leave plenty of room for the ice
so it will adjust itself easily to the
shape of the head. Snow is much bet
ter than ice, when it can be obtained.
rs 1t is more easily arranged. Soft
towels should be kept wrapped around
the ends of the rubber cloth where It
Is tied, to absorb any water that may
escape, and it should be watched. that
none may drip under the pillow or into
the bed, unobserved.
Hot lamentations, although soothing
the pain Of the sufferers, are often the
cause of much discomfort to the nurse
applying them. Unless she knows how
to do 1t properly she will certainly
scald her hands in wringing the cloths
out of the boiling water, and many
biisters will bear witness to her deyo-
ton. II the following directions are
carefully followed 1t will be seen to be
perIectly possible to avoid this
catastrophe and vet do the
work effectuslly. Place q strong
towel in q basin, letting the
two ends project over the rim, put q
thick piece Of flannel, doubled three or
four times, in the middle of the towel,
and pour the boiling water ON it; take
the dry ends Of the towel, one in each
hand: and twist the flannel firmly in
II lifting 1t out of the basin. Every
drop OF water can be squeezed from It
IN this way without touching it with
she hands. When it is sufficiently dry,
open the towel. and the flannel is ready
for application. If turpentine or laud-
anum Is ordered, it can be sprinkled on
she cloth before 1t is laid on the patient.
A piece OF rubber cloth placed over it
Will help to retain the heat, and it will
not have to be changed as often as il
uncovered. When hops are used, they
should be sewed in flannel bag when
dry, and then wrunp ont of BOILING
have two fannels, that one may be
ready to put ON the moment the other