Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/157

 chintz hangings to the beds, table, &amp;c., let all be removed. Have no superfluous drapery or hangings at all, and, if possible, have the bed moved into the middle of the room so that there is a passage of air all round and under it. Unless the patient is very weak, or the doctor forbids it, he or she should be sponged all over once a day, every part, even to the feet. Another thing—clean sheets, pillow cases, &amp;c., are necessary every day; that is, of course, unless there is extreme weakness, and then the doctor will know best. As each sheet, night dress, &amp;c., is taken off, it must be put into water—not by-and-bye, in an hour or five minutes, but at once. A tub should be ready—half filled with water—to which there has been chloride of lime added. Any linen that has got stained accidentlyaccidentally [sic] should at once have a few drops of the disinfectant mixture or Condy poured on it. The same should be done with any body linen that is stained.

When the patient leaves the sick room it must be thoroughly fumigated and cleansed. Close all windows, the chimney ventilators and doors. Get a pan of hot ashes, and on them sprinkle fifty grains of mercuric chloride, place in the centre of the room, and leave at once, closing the door. Do not return for four or even five hours, and then re-enter with a cloth over mouth and nose, and throw open the windows, open doors, &amp;c. After a night, or at least some hours, burn some sulphur in a pan in the same way, but without closing up the whole place. This process kills all kind of vermin, as well as the typhoid germs. The nurse or attendant should be just as careful of her own health as of her patients, for, if a mother, she must bear in mind that she has other claims upon her. Above all things, she must live regularly. Let her have a cold or tepid bath every day, and clean linen if possible. Her diet should be generous and nourishing, never should she fast too long, or if possible allow herself to become over tired. A nurse makes the greatest mistake when she takes stimulants in place of her proper meals, if she cannot eat, or feels too anxious to sit down to table; then let her take something in place of the ordinary food; an egg, either beaten up with a little warm milk and drunk right off, or break it into a wineglass, add a little salt, and swallow it whole without breaking the yolk; even a drink of milk will stay the stomach for a time. Too much tea is not good for anyone who has to sit up alone much at night, it causes nervousness, and is, I feel convinced, a fruitful source of neuralgia and nervous headache.