TUBERCULOSIS. LEPROSY 95 



handkerchiefs and always burned ; these should be 

 small and should never be put into the pocket, but 

 rolled up tightly in paper immediately after using. 

 Kissing, caressing, or shaking hands should be for- 

 bidden. Dry dusting should never be done, but all 

 furniture and woodwork wiped off daily with a 

 dusting cloth wet with a 5 per cent solution of car- 

 bolic acid. Floors should be bare and washed every 

 day if possible. 



The practice of establishing the tuberculous pa- 

 tient in a tent or upon a broad porch is not only the 

 best possible thing for the patient, but for the safety 

 of the family. Even in the city or large towns such 

 patients may be made comfortable for six or seven 

 months of the year. 



The infection of old houses and apartments with 

 the tubercle bacilli must become a recognized fact, 

 the old woodwork, especially floors, and old wall 

 paper probably being the lurking places. In Paris 

 statistics were compiled showing that certain blocks 

 and localities of the city had been furnishing a con- 

 tinuous stream of tuberculous patients for many years, 

 proving, without doubt, that the old buildings were 

 the source of danger. 



Clean hands and clean handkerchiefs are the nurse's 

 best protection while caring for tuberculous patients. 



