TREATMENT OF THE SICK ROOM 265 



room is occupied for some time, it may be well to wash 

 occasionally all surfaces of furniture, floors, window sills, 

 etc., with corrosive sublimate solution as described above. 

 The patient himself, in case of skin disease, may be bathed 

 and his skin be kept moist with water containing a little 

 glycerine or with vaseline. This will materially diminish 

 the chance of infectious material floating from his skin 

 around the room. All contaminated cloths should be 

 burned immediately, and care should be taken that no 

 one passes from the sick room to mingle with the other 

 members of the family until he has changed his clothes. 



Care after Vacation. After the room is vacated by the 

 patient it is necessary to disinfect it thoroughly before 

 using it again. The disinfection of such a room is a matter 

 of some difficulty and many methods have been adopted 

 for the purpose. One that is perhaps as satisfactory as 

 any is as follows. 



Carpets, curtains, bedding, and all cloth material should 

 be removed and disinfected as above mentioned. All 

 surfaces in the room, including walls, ceiling, floor, tables, 

 chairs, and especially cracks around mopboards and floor, 

 should be washed freely with the corrosive sublimate solu- 

 tion or with the chloride of lime solution. 



If this washing is thorough, including all surfaces in 

 the room, the room will be well disinfected ; but it is 

 wise and customary to complete the process by the use 

 of some gaseous disinfectant. One occasionally used is sul- 

 phur fumes. The best method of applying it is, first, to 

 close tightly all cracks and then to place the sulphur in a 

 metal dish in the middle of the room, preferably putting 

 the vessel in a tub containing an inch or two of water. 



