Evening star., 1904-01-23
I 1OUSE=
HOLD
HINTS


| nurse, consulting physician, orderly, super
intendent, cook and scullion. Even In
homes of affiuence money is often made
quate to buy the tender, true. loving and
| infinitely patient service that only mother
can give Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Stetson
Gilman to the contrary Notwithstanding.
| In cases of extreme illness the services or
a trained nurse are invaluable, but for ordl-
| nary home nursing. 'gumption, common
sense, adaptability, and, above all, the Will
ing spirit, go far toward making a goou
nurse, even if one is not born "a natural
nurse" One of the first things that must
be taken into account Is the fact that
nearly all inf1ammatory diseases are more
| or less infectious. A heavy cold, even,
runs through a family, while pronounced
grip, pneumonia, tonsilitis or typho1d is
| quite as communicable as scarlet fever or
measles. That the sick one should De I'M
| mediately isolated from the rest of the fam
| lily goes without saying, as well as tnat
| vital factor in the prevention OF the spread
| of pneumonia or kindred diseases lies IN
| the care of the sick room. AS the prlncl-
| pal danger lies in the discharges OF the
patient these must be carefully looked
after AS in tuberculosis, the disposal OF
| the sputum requires particular attention.
| Old cotton or linen cloth or cheese cioth
may be used for expectorat1on ana then
| burned or if a cuspidor is used its con-
tents should be properly disinfected be-
| fore being disposed of. An excellent stock
| disinfectng solution is made by dlssoivlns
| four ounces of chloride of lime i'll one sal-
| lon of water. For diSinfectlng the person
of the nurse or patient, corrosive suoll-
mate solution is best. Dissolve one taplet
in a quart of water, and after thorousniy
washing with soap and water, wipe the
face hands and scalp with the solution,
which may be further diluted for use on
the rest of the body.
With the difficulty experienced in getting
| IL 70
trouble in drying clothes at this season.
any saving in the washing for the SICK
room becomes of distinct advantage. When
the bed clothing is apt to get solled try put
ting a newspaper pad under the lower sheet
If a thick pad is desired take several of the
large Sunday papers, spread out full Wloth
on the table or floor, then with earning
needle and stout thread tack as many TO-
gether as are needed to make the size re-
ouired. Spread smoothly under the lower
sheet. This saves the mattress and under
pad or comfortable. AS soon as soiled roll
up, take out in the garden, or even into the
street at night, and burn. This will be
found much better than the rubber blanket,
and can be renewed as often as desired.
Newspaper, too, makes a light warm
cover when more bedding is needed than
can be found at hand Basic wide layers
together to the required thickness and lay
between the other blankets or comfortables
The same idea can be utilized to advantage
by keeping the air from creeping up into
the baby's sled carriage. Line the bot
tom of the vehicle with thick paper, letting
1t come up we'll around the Sides then cover
with the afghan.
When hot lamentations are required the
newspaper again comes into play. Place
the papers on a stove, lay flannel cloths
wrung out of water as hot as can be borne
on them. and when well heated through and
through lift up and wiring out in dry towels
to save the hands from being burned.
In replenishing the sick room fire put the
coal in paper bags or cone made out Of
newspaper and lay on the fire. This avoids
the noise that distresseS nervous patient.
Ventilation is a most important factor in
the proper care of the sick room, as the ex-
halationS from a sick body are both un-
pleasant and unwholesome for patient and
nurse. Neither perfumery nor carbolic acid
will purify the air. A safe thing to do is to
air the room thoroughly from time to time
by covering the patient warmly, head and
ALL then throwing the windows wide open
for a little while. When constant ventila-
ton is needed pull down the top sash or
raise the lower one few inches and have
board fitted in or frame covered with wire
netting. AT this season this involves the
use OF an extra amount of fuel, but 1t is
money well expended.
In the matter of oiet it is getting to be
considered more and more important that
sary for certain diseases should be given
under the doctors orders.
The old saw, Feed a cold and starve
fever" is not infalible, and variations
must be made to suit conditions. For con-
sumptives, hyper feeding is recommended,
ana no better schedule can be given than
that CON piled by Miss Florence Corbett.
department dietician, public charities. for
corsumptives, in Manhattan Hospital: q
am, breakfast, cereal, milk, bread, butter,
coffee; s am. cod liver oil and one-half
ounce peptonoids; 10 am, eight ounces OF
eggnog; II, dinner, consisting of meat
beef mutton or in some cases rare steak
potatoes baked or boiled, some other vege-
table, bread, butter and a simple pud-
ding; at pm, cod liver oil and peptonoids
again. with two drachms each of sherry
and whisky; at pm, hot beef tea; at
pm, eight ounces Of eggnog; at comes
supper, consisting of one very slightly
cooked egg, cereal pudding, with milk.
bread, butter and tea. To this may be
added little warm liquid food or light
solid taken just before the patient is ready
to go to sleep.
There is no time during the entire twenty
four hours when patients vitality runs
so low as In the very early morning. In
these gray hours many sick slips
| away whose life might have been prolonged
| by the timely administration of sonnet thing
| hot and stimulating. few spoonfuls of
hot broth or matted milk quickens the cir
| culation and brings the courage to keep up
/ lHe HSHt lOF IRE
Nor should the nurse forget herself dur
| ing the night, for one is much more apt to
| contract disease on an empty stomach. She
should have warm and nourishing lunch
| between II and /. No cooking, however,
should be allowed in the patients room,
nor should the nurse ever eat without pre-
| yious thorough and repeated washing of
| the face and hands. No food or fruit that
| has been in the sick room should be eaten
| by any but the patient, and food Should
| never be allowed to stand by the bed.
If one has to feed delirious person tap
| on the lips two or three times and they viii
| automatically open. Fill the spoon and
| pass in well over the tongue, so that it
| Will go directly into the gullet. In feeding
patient take pains to keep the bedcloth-
ing dry and never allow crumbs to get IN
| the bed.
1t is not such very difficult matter to
\ feed a very sick person. as the diet is lin
tied to certain things to be given over and
| over again. 1t is during convalescence that
| the nurse has to rack her brain to provide
-