The Ordway new era., 1911-03-17
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NURSING
THE SICK ROOM.

Inc CnOlce OF the SICK room u V0ry
important. A patient in q dark. poor
ly ventilated one has q harder battle
to fight than one in . properly select
ed room. 1t should be on the sunny
side Of the house. well ventilated and
as far as possible from the noise Of
the streets and the odors Of the
Kitchen.
In arranging the room, all unneces.
sary furniture should be removed. O..
socially bric.a-brao. which forms
repository for stray germs. The door
rugs or strips Of carpet should be laid
down to deaden the noise OF foot
steps. Place the bed in . position 20
that the direct light from . window
Aoss not fall On the patients eyes.
Provide an artificial light that also Z
phadsd from the patients eyes. but
which can be turned ON brightly In
ease Of necessity. Sudden changes may
arise In the night. when . good light
% an absolute necessity and few mo-
msnt's delay may mean disaster. In
easss Of diseases of the brain or eyes
ths physician will probably wish to
essp the room darksnsd. Care should
b taken that tho curtain or shads
docs not nap in the wind and 80 annoy
the patient.
The temperature Of the room should
oe kept ~ even ~ possible. Remem.
Der that the temperature usually falls
At night during the time when the VI.
tai powers Of the patient are at the
lowest. that u. In the early morning
hours. Because OF this. care should
be taken TO provide extra covers at
that time. Unless otherwise directed.
It 10 safe to keep the temperature Of
the room for . fever patient at about
90 degrees Fahr. For patients afnict-
ed with other diseases. the thermome.
ter should register about 68 degrees
FAhr. The temperature Of the room
must be regulated by turning the arti.
ncial heat of or on. not by closing
windows that are needed for ventila-
ton. In some cases dry heat from a
furnace Is very Irritating. This may
be remedied by keeping a kettle Of
boiling water In tho room. To keep
the room cool In hot weather 10 not
always an easy matter. Keeping the
blinds down and the windows closed
on the sunny side during the day will
produce very good results. A wet
sheet. hung in tho window or where
. breeze will blow over 1t, often 10 .
material aid In cooling the room. II
an electric fan Is used. care must be
taken that the direct current does not
strike the patient.
Good ventilation 10 necessary In
every disease. Formerly patients were
confined in dark rooms with all doors
and windows closed. It 10 surprising
how many recovered under these con.
ditions. Sunshine and fresh air are
natures two most potent remedies. In
cold weather 1t may not be desirable
TO have the windows open In the pa.
tient's room. but In this case windows
in An adjoining room should be low.
cred and the door between the rooms
left open. Usually though. the room
can be ventilated directly. Raise the
window about six inches from the bot.
tom: nt . board tightly under It.
fresh air will then came in between
the two sashes and danger Of direct
draft on the patient will be avoided.
Every morning the room should be
thoroughly ventilated by throwing
open all windows and doors for few
minutes. Before doing this. the patient
should be covered with one or two
extra blankets and a light covering
thrown over the face. Do not re-
move this extra covering at once when
you close the window. but remove II
gradually as the air In the room re.
gains It's normal warmth.
It 10 better not to keep any plants
or flowers In the room. but II the pa
tient desires a few during the day
they may always be removed at night
Keep all medicine bottles. empty
glasses, ETC.. out Of sight and II pos
sible out OF the room.
All excreta. soiled linen and dress