Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-04-23

| forms and flavors, then the patient
will probably weary of them. perhaps
refuse to eat them. Fortunate Is the
woman who knows how to prepare
simple foods attractivey, making old
| friends appear as new acquaintances.
! But there are certain "don'ts'' that
must be observed when cooking for
! the sick.
Don't give an invalid or little child
fried food of any kind. 1t is hard to
digest. and tie digestive organs Of
| both sick people and children are
| weak.
J Don't include pork III the invalid's
| bill Of fare. A little crisp bacon or
bacon gravy may be allowed occa-
sionally.
Don't serve highly seasoned food.
| The sense Of taste is generally very
! keen in sickness. and the natural sea-
! soning Of food Is often enough. Be-
sides. spices may weaken by overstim-
ulation the digestive glands. DO not
use pepper. mustard or vinegar and
use salt sparingly.
children. Always cook them in water
which has not quite reached the boil
ing point.
Don't cook milk directly over the
fire: it is almost sure to burn. Even
if it does not, milk should not be boil
ed for the same reason that an egg
should not. Boiling temperature makes
the albumen tough and indigestible.
Don't cook cream soups or boiled
custards directly over the fire. Use
double boiler to keep the temperature
below boiling.
Don't serve insuficiently cooked ce-
reals. Rice, oatmeal and cornStarch
should be cooked for long time over
hot water Rice requires about two
hours and oatmeal at least four hours
steam cooking.
Don't serve fried potatoes. When
they are allowed they are much better
baked. because they are more quickly
digested in that form.
Don't serve cheese and don't cook
butter too long. In making cream
soups add the butter just before serv-
ing.
Nurses Care Of Herself.
The woman who is acting as nurse
in her home is very apt to neglect her.
self. It may be hard for her to do 9TH
erwise, especially if there are other de-
mands on her time and strength. But
If the patient needs constant care then
1t is almost imperative that the person
who Is caring for him should be re-
lieved of other duties and responsible
ties. His recovery demands this, for
the nurses mental and physical condi-
ton has often marked effect on the
patient. If the nurse is tired out, has
been obliged to do without sufficient
sleep for several nights. she is not like
~ to be herself. She will be nervous,
easily excited, perhaps irritable and
utterly unfit to give her best effort to
her task.
She should have regular hours for
sleep, when her rest will be unbroken
for at least seven hours out Of each
twenty-four. Then a short time should
be allowed every day for outdoor exer-
else. Constantly breathing the air Of
even wei! ventilated sickroom soon
tells on even robust health. The nurse
should have also good, nourishing,
easily digested food at regular hours.
When sickness comes into the family
such matters as guarding the health
Of the nurse and keeping the other
members Of the household in good
health are often overlooked, and sin
gle case Of illness very often becomes
two or three just because of this neg
lect. Everything should be done to
hasten the recovery OF the patient as
well as preserve the good health of the
rest of the family.
The nurse should wear comfortable
clothing-a washable dress and broad
| soled shoes-and If the disease is at all
infectious she should be careful to
wash her hands each time she touches
the patient. Professional nurses learn
very early in their training the impor-
lance of disinfecting and using every
precaution to prevent further develop
ment of the disease germs. but the in
experienced sometimes find it hard to
realize how very powerful and insidi-
Gus are these minute germs.
It is not at all necessary for the
home nurse to be versed in drugs and
medicines, nor should she be required
to put on complicated bandages. pre-
pare dressings or administer treat
ments which require professional skill
and experience. All such matters will
be undertaken by the physician when
a trained nurse is not employed. But
the woman who knows how to put on
a simple bandage, how to stop an or
binary attack Of nosebleeding. what
to do when some one faints and also
is familiar with simple remedies for
simple ailments will always find the
knowledge useful. In fact. 1t is part
Of the all round woman's education to
know these things and be able to ap-
NY them in common sense way.
The Care Of Little Children.
hnH nf1yy.