SCIENCE IN THE SICK-ROOM. 499 



tention or a sense of expectation. If you have anything to say which 

 you do not wish your patient to hear, say it somewhere else than in 

 his presence. 



The first and greatest requisite in a sick-room is purity of air. 

 This is only to be attained by constant and thorough ventilation. 

 Ventilation is the displacement of impure by pure air. To secure 

 this, there should be two apertures to the room, one for the egress of 

 the foul air, and one for the admission of fresh air. The best possible 

 arrangement is that of an open window and an open fire-place. If you 

 do not wish a constant fire, keep a lamp burning at the mouth of the 

 chimney to create a draught. Arrange a blind or screen so that the 

 air will not blow directly upon your patient, and you may keep the 

 window open day and night without danger of chilling him. Do not 

 make the common mistake of confounding cold air with pure air. You 

 may keep the room at any desired temperature, and still have the 

 atmosphere perfectly fresh ; or you may lower the temperature to 

 any extent without removing a particle of the poisonous impurities 

 with which the air is laden. Keep your patient as wai-rn by means- 

 of external appliances as his comfort demands, but never shut out 

 the fresh air. Fresh air can only come from outside the house. 

 Opening a door into a passage or an adjoining room, itself imper- 

 fectly aired, is not ventilation. Fresh air, may, however, be admitted 

 to the sick-room through an adjoining apartment, first thoroughly 

 ventilated. This is sometimes the best method of procedure. It re- 

 quires, of course, more care to keep a small room well aired without 

 objectionable draughts than a large one. 



Stationary basins should never be used in the sick-room. The per- 

 fect system of house-drainage has yet to be invented, and the danger 

 from leaky and defective traps is so great that the only safe way is to 

 avoid them altogether. If you have such arrangements in the room 

 which you propose to devote to your invalid, cork up the overflow- 

 holes or, better, stop them with plaster-of -Paris and fill the basin 

 with water, which must be changed from time to time, or cover it en- 

 tirely with a board. The increased healthfulness of the atmosphere 

 will more than compensate for the extra trouble which will be occa- 

 sioned by adherence to this precautionary measure. 



No cooking should ever be done in the sick-room. Neither should 

 damp towels or articles of clothing be aired and dried there. All ex- 

 creta should be promptly removed. Upon attention to these details 

 depends that which should be the first care of every person in charge 

 of the sick that the air they breathe should be as pure as that outside. 



The room, then, which we select for our invalid should be sunny, 

 quiet, the one which affords the best facilities for ventilation and 

 warmth, and without sewerage. 



In the arrangement of the room, the same regard for the comfort 

 and welfare of its occupant should be maintained. 



