DIVISION EIGHTH. 



THE SICK-ROOM. 



NURSING THE SICK. 



The services of an intelligent, experienced nurse form a part of 

 ihe treatment of the sick quite as essential as the administration of 

 medicine. To aid her to some extent in the performance of this 

 duty, the following general hints are offered : Particular instruc- 

 tions suited to various diseased conditions are given, when needful, 

 throughout the book, under "Accessory Treatment." Special di- 

 rections concerning infectious fevers are given in the section on 

 " Typhoid Fever." In serious and difficult cases the medical attend- 

 ant alone can furnish instructions adapted to the peculiarity of 

 each case, and it is the nurse's duty faithfully to carry out his direc- 

 tions and to report to him at each visit the effects of the treatment. 



The following points should be kept in view: The apartment 

 should be airy. A spacious, well-ventilated room, allowing an un- 

 interrupted admission of fresh and the free escape of tainted air, is 

 a valuable element in the management of the sick. Fresh air can 

 only be insured by an open window or door, 'or both. 



In ventilating a sick-room, you should be careful as to the 

 source of the air which you let in. Never air a room from another 

 room that has been closed up tight for days previously, nor from a 

 hall which is itself seldom properly airea. The air which you let 

 into the room should not come from a filthy locality, nor from a 

 kitchen, nor underground or basement room. A fireplace or grate 

 in a room is greatly to be preferred to a stove, and the fireplace should 

 never be closed. Some people, as soon as the season for having 

 fires is over, close up the fireplaces of the rooms where a fire is not 

 necessary. This is bad; a fireplace should never be shut up; it 

 serves, when open, whether witn or without fire, as a most impor- 

 tant ventilator, an escapement or draught through which the air 

 may constantly change. By opening a window a little, say at the 

 top, or if this cannot be done, by taking out one of the upper 

 lights, and making a brisk fire in an open fireplace, a fine draught 

 and plentiful supply of fresh air can be obtained and the room kept 

 properly ventilated. And this should always be done, except in 



