The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-05-28
Home Nursing
Fever And Foods

Fever And Foods
ETNHE HOT wind from the sage-brush
plain blew fretfully against the
little house and sand gritted
against the hot window pales.
The sick woman on the bed in the
suItry little bedroom tossed on the
creaking bed. The man in the kitchen
moved about heavily, fumbling with
pots and pans which sometimes slipped
from his grasp, looking from the door
way frequently for the doctor who
seemed to be taking such very long
time to arrive.
Finally he came, a tall, keen-eyed
young man who rode his horse as well
as any cowboy, shuffling in the saddle
as the horse Hoped through the sand
in the way that told Of long months on
the plain.
His cherry entrance broke the mo-
notony. Before he even asked about
his patient he drained dipper Of the
bitter alkali water, made a wry face
dashed some water on his wrists and sat
down on the cabin door step.
Nov tell me about it," he said, and
the man told the familiar story Of slow
burning fever, restless nights, broken
sleep, half delirium and absolute nausea
at the thought of food.
The doctor examined his patient,
smoke of the nurse he would send out
to the ranch as soon as he could, and
told the man what to do in the mean
time.
an the first place, just take off
these blankets" he said, land fold 'em
away some place"
"She said she was too hot, but told
her she'd catch cold il took them of"
murnured tho man, obeying the doctor
and with clumsy fingers dragging the
rough blankets off the bed.
woman's; face and hands were bathed,
the heat of her parehed skin absorbing
the water without the aid Of a towel.
A bit clumsily the doctor helped her
husband brush and braid her haid and
moved the bed into corner where it
got a faint suggestion OF air from the
window which he had promptly opened,
though some cheese-cloth had to be
tackled across it to keep out the sift-
ing sand.
s'Now about food" began the doctor.
The man looked at him il horror.
"Food?' he said. my old mother
always allowed that one should feed a
cold and starve a fever"
Eyes, so did mine," said the doctor.
"But those days are gone forever.
There was a current belief once that
if you fed a patient who had a high,
temperature, the temperature would be-
come higher, because a larger supply
of material would be provided for the
body to burn up Today we know
that food which can be properly di-
gested and absorbed viii not cause q
rise in temperature. But two important
facts must be considered. When a per-
son has fever or a high temperature
the digestive juices which help digest
food are diminished The peristaltie
action of the stomach and intestines is
weak. So the food must be chosen care
fully. Milk, ice cream, junket, custaHd
and the white of egg are foods which
may be given with judgment to pa
tient with a temperature. Some doc
tors even give baked potato.
"An the water a patient wants is
usually given, providing the water is
pure and palatable, and preferably boil
ed, then cooled. Ice water should never
be given to a patient suffering from
fever of any kind. It chills the stom-
ach and shocks the system. However,
the nurse will be out tomorrow. In the
meantime" smiled the doctor, ''the
great thing to do is to keep your pa
tent ~ comfortable as possible Don't
pile ~ he bedclothes and shut the win
dopfs ia summertime to prevent any
one froRn Catching coId'