CONTENTS. Arrangement of a sick-room-Bedstead-Bedding-Bed-making Ventilation and warming-Feeding the sick-Administration of medicine and stimulants - Washing and lifting helpless PAGE symptoms-Rigors-Sleep-Pain-Posture- The Skin-Appetite - Vomiting-Cough-Expectoration- Cleanliness-Baths-Wet-sheet packing-The application of local remedies-Poultices - Fomentations - Enemata - Blisters- Undressing and washing accident cases-Padding splints-Signs Insensibility-Drunkenness-Apoplexy and compression of the HOME NURSING. CHAPTER I. Arrangement of a sick-room-Bedstead-Bedding-Bed-making— Draw-sheet-Nurse's dress and behaviour-Preparation of patient and sick-room for doctor's visit. The Sick-room should be light and lofty, containing about 1500 cubit feet of space. The way to measure a room is to take the breadth and length in feet, multiply them together, and multiply the product by the height; if this sum is divided by the number of occupants, the result will be the exact number of cubic feet to each person. In the case of several persons living in the same room, the number of cubic feet should be not less than 500 per person. Do not by choice nurse a patient in a bedroom which faces north or east, but select one which fronts south or south-west. A room which gets plenty of light makes a great difference to our spirits in health, and we often hear of sick folk whose convalescence may be traced to the time when they changed their bedroom, Be sure that the windows open at the top as well as at the bottom, and that there is a fireplace in the room. Woollen curtains, also shutters, are inadmissible for a bedroom. The floor must be washed and kept scrupulously clean, and only a small strip of carpet or matting put down beside the bed, and in front of the fireplace, such a piece that can be easily removed, shaken, and cleaned every day. The furniture should be as scanty as possible, and of the simplest kind, such as a few cane-bottomed or wooden chairs, and a plain washstand, all of which must be washed occasionally with a sponge or damp cloth. The other necessaries are—a small tea-kettle, a shallow saucepan, a piece of waterproof sheeting a yard and a half square, a small light bed-table made of deal, which may be covered with oilcloth, nailed on, and a graduated medicine glass. A bed-rope hung from the ceiling, or attached to the foot of the bed, to enable the patient to lift himself up or turn about in bed, is also a great comfort. The Bedstead.-Do not attempt to nurse a case of severe illness in a four-poster, but choose a bedstead made of iron of the simplest design, and one easily reached across without any effort. For an adult patient the bed might be of the following dimensions, 6 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. 10 in. The height must vary according to the amount of bedding used; the top mattress ought to be very nearly |