SCIENCE IN THE SICK-ROOM. 5 oi 



Upon the proper arrangement and care of the bed will largely 

 depend your patient's comfort. This should be low and narrow 

 enough for you easily to reach him from either side. The bedstead 

 should be of iron or brass, with springs of woven wire, permeable by 

 the air in every part. This is the only kind which you can be sure of 

 keeping thoroughly clean. On this should be a hair mattress, never a 

 feather bed. Make the under sheet as tight and smooth as possible, 

 and take especial pains to keep it thoroughly dry and free from wrin- 

 kles, crumbs, and other inequalities. Neglect in this particular will 

 give rise always to much discomfort and sometimes to serious troubles 

 in the form of pressure-sores which are extremely difficult to cure, 

 but nearly always preventable by care. Very heavy or very much 

 emaciated patients, and those suffering from affections of the brain, 

 are particularly liable to these. It is often advisable, especially where 

 a bed is prepared for long occupancy, to put next to the under sheet 

 one of rubber, covered with a second folded sheet, or draw-sheet. This 

 can be easily and frequently changed with but very slight disturbance 

 to the patient. The bed-coverings should be such as are warm with- 

 out being heavy, as their weight is often found oppressive. In some 

 cases even slight pressure is unendurable. The weight of the clothes 

 may then be supported by a wooden frame-work underneath. 



All bedding should be frequently renewed, and always well aired 

 and warmed before being used. If you have a patient entirely con- 

 fined to bed, it will add greatly to his comfort if you can give him 

 two beds, each provided with its own complement of sheets, blankets, 

 etc. Let him occupy one during the day, and be transferred to the 

 other for the night. If they are of equal height, this can be easily 

 done, and the smooth, fresh condition of the unused bed will do more 

 than any narcotic toward securing for him a good night's rest. 



To prop a patient up with pillows, begin by slipping one as far 

 down as possible against the small of the back. Put the next and 

 succeeding ones each behind the last ; this will prevent them from 

 slipping. Aim to raise the head, and support the shoulders without 

 throwing them forward so as to interfere with the free play of the 

 lungs. Two or three small pillows, which can be moved from place 

 to place as occasion requires, will be found of great service. 



About the person of your patient, no less than about his room, 

 labor to secure the most scrupulous cleanliness. Neglect of this too 

 often arises from a fear that the patient will take cold ; but it entails 

 a greater risk than this to leave him in clothing saturated with morbid 

 effluvia, and with the pores of his skin clogged by the noxious products 

 of disease. No patient is ever too ill to be kept clean. If proper 

 precautions are used and unnecessary exposure avoided, no danger 

 need be apprehended. 



The proper administration of food is often the great problem of 

 the sick-room. There must be due regard to the kind, quality, and 



