St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-11-08

sick to ask for it. Mouth washes relieve
thirst, as do bits of ice, barley water,
orange juice, albumen water, crust coffee,
or toast. water.
The best way of keeping cracked ice is
to tie a flannel over a bowl and let the
water drip through into the bowl as the
ice melts. In this way the patient does
not have to fish round in the bowl of
water if he wants a piece of ice, and also
it keeps longer. Some times riusing the
mouth with hot water relieves thirst
more than all the drinks ard ices.
Great care should be taken in the care
of a patients mouth. II the lips get dry
they should Ike kept from cracking by the
frequent application Of Listerine or any
ointment which is not disagreeable to
the taste. The mouth gets foul in fever
unless constantly cared for. The teeth
should be washed off every four hours
and the tongue kept clean. A convenient
way of applying the mouth wash which
nurse and patient both appreciate, is by
means OF a fountain syringe, douching or
irrigating the mouth and throat while
the patient turns on his side with his
head over a basin, or if you haven't a
syringe take a small square OF cloth and
wind it over the foreflnger and dip in
solution and wash out the mouth.
In cases of typhoid fever you may be
required t o give baths, but in such cases
the doctor will teach you to take ten.
perature and pulse. | will describe to
you our method OF giving baths as you
may be called upon to give them some
time.
Their effects or symptoms as seen in
typhoid fever are that the patient com
plains less of discomfort, he sleeps better,
his pulse is stronger, he is less likely to
show marked stupor or delirium and is
less liable to pneumonia and bed-sores.
The good done by cold baths is not
only in lowering the temperature, hut by
stimulating the patient, rousing him
from his stupor and stirring up his circu-
lation. The stimulation is greater when
the patient is rubbed during the bath.
Everything ought to be ready before you
begin the bath as the waiting will tire
your patient.
You will need for the bathrubber sheet,
blanket, sheet, bath thermometer, elm
ical thermometer, two sponges, ice, alco-
hol and towel. Whiskey or brandy is
usually given before and after the bath
which lasts twenty minutes if the pulseis
good and the temperature isnot brought
down before that.
If a cold bath is ordered, it should be
Coz F., it cool, 76o F., or if tepid, 800 f.
Keep the bath thermometer in the water
so that when it gets too warn you can
put in ice to keep the right temperature.
First remove the pillows, turn the pa
tient to one side, plat a rubber sheet
leugthwise for halt its width, spreading
out the other half over the bed and a
blanket over that in the same way, be-
hind the patients back; roll him over
onto the halt spread out, and then pull
out the part of the sheet which had been
plated so that the rubber and blanket
cover the bed. The rubber sheet should
be banked up on the sides so that the pa.
tient is in a deep trough, deep enough to
hold considerable water. Simply throw
a sheet over him. The sheet is turned
down to expose whatever part OF the
body is being bathed. Place a wet
cloth or ice cap on the patients head
Take n sponge and squeeze pretty dry
rub quickly over face, neck, chest, aldo
men and extremities, following III,
arteries toward the heart. After tn,
first shock more water is taken in tn,
sponge and using quick strokes more
time is given to each part, and finally The
rubbing is done with the sponge drip
ping. The other sponge is kept either
under the arm, at the wrist, in the groin,
or under the knee where the arteries
come near the surface. A cloth wet il
the cold water should be kept over tn,
abdomen, wetting often. The sponge il
the hand is wet after every few strokes
so that the patient is sponged witt
water which is no warmer than the tenn
perature prescribed. Turn the patient
over and go over the back in the sam,
way. Care must be taken with the frs
bath, for what one person may stanC
and like, may send another into collapse
If the patient gets blue or the pulse weak
stop the bath and give stimulants ant
heaters. Most patients get to like TIN
baths. When the bath is finished tn
water is taken up from the rubber shee
with sponge, the patient dried and tn
rubber removed. Put on dry shirt AM
{ give him a drink OF milk or broth.
One must be constantly on the watcl
| for bed.sores. They may be prevented b,
rubbing with alcohol and water, equa
= parts, and powdered with comfort pow
5 der, borated talcum being preferable
1, keeping the sheets dry and smooth an,
{ changing the position so as to reliev
, pressure. The occurrence Of a bed.sore i
occasionally inevitable.
? The patient should not be allowed t,
sit up until the doctor gives his permits
{ sion, as the heart may be too weak afte
a long illness to withstand the increas
of work which an upright position woul,
give. The first step toward getting
] patient up is to bolster up his pillows
the next is the bed-rest. If you haven
one a kitchen chair turned upside dow,
does very well to support the pillows a
his back. After he has had the bed-res
: for a lew days he is ready to get into
n chair for a short time, perhaps 6itee
minutes or halt an hour. Each day h
S can sit up a little longer.
n To make a mustard paste take on
e part mustard and from one to five time
S the quantity of -four, according to tn
S strength desired. Mix into a paste wit
tepid water and spread OF a thin clot.
t large enough to fold over on all sides
t Hot water or vinegar, oftentimes recon
mended will weaken the active principl
oil the mustard. 1t should be kept o
c from fifteen to thirty minutes and watch
t ed carefully that it is not left on lon
S enough to blister as the ore produced
o very painful and slow to heal.
A poultice applied for the relief of tn
internal organs or to hasten maturatio