SECTION XI
THE SCOUT AIDE
Introduction.
The six following subjects, Home Economics, Child Care, First Aid, Home Nursing, Public Health, and Personal Health are grouped together, and for proficiency in all of them a special badge called "Scout Aide" is awarded.
This badge will probably be regarded by the outside world as the most important decoration the Girl Scouts can win, and all Scouts who will try for it should realize that those who wear it will represent the organization in a very special sense and will be eager to prove their practical knowledge and ability in the important subjects it stands for.
No young child could pretend to represent all this medal stands for. Any grown girl or woman should be proud to own it.
Practical knowledge of Personal Health, Public Health and Child Care will add to the efficiency and happiness of this nation, and the women of today have a better chance to control these things than ever before.
Home Nursing and First Aid will save lives for the nation in the two great emergencies of illness and accident.
Household Economics, the great general business and profession of women, if it is raised to the level of the other great businesses and professions, and managed quickly, efficiently and economically, will cease to be regarded as drudgery and take its real place among the arts and sciences.
When the girls of today have learned to do this, the women of tomorrow will be spared the criticism of waste and extravagance that our nation has had to bear. If Girl Scouts make good as far as this medal is concerned and become real "Scout Aides" the Scout reputation is secure.
1. THE HOME MAKER
By Sarah Louise Arnold
Formerly Dean of Simmons College
The Keeper of the House. Every Girl Scout knows that good homes make a country great and good; so every woman wants to understand home-making. Of course that means "keeping" a house; and of course that means that Girl Scouts should try for the Housekeeper Merit Badge, the "Home Maker."
Now "making a home" doesn't mean just having it, owning it and holding its key. It means making it a good place to live in, or helping to make it so. This sounds like the House that Jack built; but all this belongs to the making of a home.
Planning Your House. When you plan a house of your own you must think what it needs most. You would choose, first of all, to have abundant air, fresh and clean; a dry spot where dampness will not stay; sunshine at some time of day in every room of the house, which you can have if your house faces southeast; and you must be able to get a good supply of pure water. You will want to make your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer, so you will look out for windows, doors and porches.
Think what must be done in a house: eating, sleeping, working, resting, by the whole family. How many rooms must you have? Draw a plan of some house in your neighborhood that seems good to live in. Make up your mind what you like best in that house.
Furnishings. Then houses must be furnished with the things that the family needs. The furniture will be for use. You must ask every piece what it is good for. What will you do with it? Could you get along without it? Some things you would use constantly, others once in a while. Which would you get first if you were planning carefully? How much would it cost to furnish the house for which you have drawn the plans: to furnish the kitchen, the living room, the bedrooms? Make a list of the furniture needed (not just wanted) for each room with the cost of each piece.
It is worth while for you to go to look at furniture in stores and to think about buying it. Then you will discover that a piece of furniture that looks well in the store might not look at all well in your house, for furniture must "suit" the house and the room into which it goes. It must "fit," we say. No other furniture will do. So the Girl Scout will make up her mind what will fit her house; and of course this means also what will fit the family purse. For the keeper of the house must not let into her house one single thing that she cannot afford to buy. She will take pride in that.
So when you make a list of furniture—with its price—make sure that everything you choose, suits, or fits, your house.
The Cellar. Most houses are built over cellars, for purposes of sanitation, heating and water supply, as well as for storage.
The Girl Scout who lives in the country probably knows all about cellars for they are much needed there. The city girl may live in an apartment and may never think of a cellar.
Look at the cellars of two or three houses. How are they built? Did you plan for one in your house?
The cellar should be well ventilated, having light as well as air. Its windows should be screened; the floor should be dry and if possible made of cement; the walls should be whitewashed. Ashes should be kept in a galvanized iron barrel, to prevent fire.
A cellar should be a clean place, corners and all.
The Kitchen. The kitchen is a work-shop; it should be sunny and airy.
Look out for windows to let in the fresh air and sunshine. And while you are thinking of windows, be sure that they can open at the top and bottom to let sweetness in, and drive bad odors out.
Your kitchen should hold things that are necessary, and nothing else. It should be easy to keep clean, having painted walls, and the floor should be of hard pine or else covered with linoleum. When a Girl Scout takes care of the kitchen she is in honor bound to keep all the corners clean and to leave no dust nor crumbs of food anywhere about. She will take great pains to keep flies out of the kitchen and so will have her windows screened.
A good kitchen is provided with a sink and if possible with running water; and it must have a good stove, with a place for keeping wood or coal if either is used.
The Kitchen Floor. The floor of the kitchen should be made of hard wood. Maple or hard pine will make a good floor. A hard-wood floor can be dressed with shellac or with oil. The wood absorbs this dressing so that water will not soak in. A floor which has been shellacked should be wiped with warm water. Not much water will be needed. The oiled floor can be wiped and dried, then oiled lightly from time to time.
Linoleum or oilcloth may be used to cover an old floor. If the floor is rough it should be made even by planing before the linoleum is put down, and the cracks should be filled. If you can't get linoleum you can paint your floor with a hard floor paint. Be sure to get a paint that dries hard. The linoleum should be frequently washed with warm water and soap and then rinsed carefully before it is dried.
The Kitchen Stove. The chief business of the kitchen stove is to provide heat for cooking. It must hold a fire, and so must be made of something which will not burn. Stoves are usually made of iron. Fire will not burn without air, so a place must be arranged to let air into the stove, and just enough to make the fire burn clearly and furnish the right amount of heat. That is what the front dampers or slides are for. The fuel, wood or coal, is held in the fire-box. The heated air makes the top of the stove hot for frying, broiling or boiling, and the oven hot for baking.
The smoke and gases from the fire must not come out into the room to blind our eyes or suffocate us; the chimney is built to take care of the smoke and gases, and there must be a way for them to get into the chimney; the stove pipe is for this. But the game you have to play with your stove is to let the smoke and gases run up chimney, but to save all the heat you can for the work to be done. So your stove is supplied with dampers. When the fire is new, and there is much smoke or gas, you open the damper into the stovepipe, and in the stovepipe. Try to get a picture of the way the heated air goes from the fire-box up into the chimney. We call this direct draft. Of course a great deal of heat runs away through the chimney, and so your fuel is wasted. Now if you want to save heat, and particularly if you want to bake, and must have a hot oven, you will close the oven damper that has made the short easy way into the stovepipe. Then the heated air must find another way to get to the chimney, and it has to go around the oven to do this. While the hot air is finding its way around the oven, it heats it, ready for your baking. We call this the "indirect draft." Look over your kitchen stove and see how this happens. Take off the covers, open every door, and examine every part.
Stoves must be carefully managed. The fires must burn readily and the cooking must be done with the least possible amount of wood or coal. This means a clean stove, free from ashes and with a clear draft. Wood or coal will burn freely in the air. They will stop burning if there is no draft.
Learn to manage your draft. Remember that stoves are made with a damper, in order to control the current of hot air. If the oven damper is closed this heated air must pass over and around the oven before it gets to the chimney and so heat the oven. If it is open the hot air can immediately escape up the chimney.
When starting the fire leave the damper open. As soon as it is burning well, close it so that the oven will be heated. Your stove should also have a damper in the pipe, to save the heat which would otherwise run up the chimney. If there is none, have one put in. There are also dampers or slides in front of the stove to control the amount of air going in.
The housekeeper must learn how to manage her stove; she must get acquainted with it, for every stove has its own way. Draw a picture or plan of the stove that you know best. See if you can tell plainly how to build a fire in your stove. If you use natural gas or a kerosene stove tell how that should be managed.
Gas and Oil Stoves. Cooking may be done on an iron stove with either coal or wood as fuel, or the stove may be planned for burning gas or kerosene. The coal fire must be fed several times a day with coal and the ashes must be removed to keep the fire burning clearly. Wood burns out quickly and must be replaced often. Both wood and coal stoves mean almost constant care for the housekeeper.
Gas gives less trouble. It comes in pipes from outside the house. This means that somebody else—the gas company—provides the supply. You turn on the gas when you want to use it and turn it off, if you are wise and thoughtful, the moment it is not needed. The gas company measures the amount of gas that you use by its meter, and you pay for every bit that you burn or waste. The important thing, then, is to use as little gas as possible in order to pay for as little as possible. You would rather pay twenty-five cents for a thrift stamp, than for gas that had burned simply because you had forgotten to turn it off. Be sure that gas is turned completely off at all places and never have a low light burning, as the flame may be blown out and the unburned gas escape. This would be dangerous and might even kill persons in the house.
The kerosene stove may be used instead of a gas stove in houses which are not piped for a gas supply. If wicks are used they must be carefully trimmed, so that they will be clean and even. A kerosene stove needs frequent cleaning. It should be kept free from dust and from drippings of oil.
The Fireless Cooker
When a Girl Scout gets to thinking about all the work to be done in a kitchen she will ask some very important questions. How much work is to be done? How long does it take to do it? Can time be saved by doing it in a better way? How can I save labor? Save time? Save money?
The Girl Scout will find the answers one at a time, if she does her own work. And if you do your own work you will at once call for a fireless cooker. The name sounds impossible, for you have always cooked with a stove, and, of course, a fire. How can you cook without a fire?
The women of Norway taught us how. When they went out to work in the fields or on the farm they took the hot kettle of soup off the stove and hid it away in a hay box. The hay kept the heat in the kettle instead of letting it escape; so the soup kept on cooking, and when the women came home from their work in the fields there it was, all steaming hot and ready for dinner.
Everyone has noticed how some things carry or conduct heat and other things don't. That's why we use a "holder," when handling a hot dish or stove lifter or tea-pot. The "holder" does not carry the heat to the hand; it keeps it away. So the hay packed around the hot kettle kept the heat in the kettle, refusing to "conduct" it away. Therefore the soup went on cooking.
Your English cousins use a "cosy" to cover the hot teapot or coffee pot. This "cosy" is made of quilted cotton; and looks like the quilted hood that your great-grandmother used to have. This keeps the heat in the tea or coffee, so that you can have a second cup for the asking.
America was slow to learn from her thrifty cousins, but at last she adopted the fireless cooker; and this is what it does:
The fireless cooker, a case packed with some material which refuses to conduct heat, is used to continue the cooking of foods after they have been made hot on the stove. When securely covered in the cooker they will go on cooking for several hours because the heat is retained by the protecting case. A Girl Scout may buy a fireless cooker, paying from $5 to $25 for it, or she may make one, which will cost less than one dollar. Of course this is a challenge to make one. You may be very sure that if you make a fireless cooker you will understand all about it. To make a fireless cooker you will need:
(1) A cooker or container, which should be an agate pail with a close fitting cover. The sides should be straight up and down, the bottom just as big as the top. You can choose a small one holding two quarts, or a gallon pail which would be large enough for anything an ordinary family would be likely to cook.
(2) A case, which must be at least eight inches wider than your container, for the packing must extend at least four inches around the pail on every side. You may use a round case like a big wooden candy pail, which you can usually get at the ten cent store for ten cents; or it may be a galvanized iron can with a cover like the one ordinarily used for garbage; or it may be a box shaped like a cube.
(3) For packing you may use crumpled newspapers tightly packed in; or ground cork, which is used in packing Malaga grapes, is fine, and you may be able to get it from a fruit store. Excelsior is good, and perhaps you will find that in the shed in some packing case; while, if you live in the country, you may be able to get Spanish moss. This should be dried, of course. And then there is hay—which our Norwegian cousins use.
Let us try paper. Pack the box or can four inches deep, with crumpled paper, making a very even layer. Put a piece of pasteboard much larger than the bottom of your pail upon this layer and set your pail in the middle of it. Now pack the paper tightly around the pail up to the very top, using a stick of wood or mallet to press it down.
Now you must make a cloth cover for your pail in the shape of a tall hat. The rim of the hat must reach out to the edges of your case and be tacked there. Take out your pail, fit this cloth cover into the hole and tack the edge evenly to the box.
You must now make a cushion to fill the rest of the box, packing it full of the crumpled paper. Make hinges for the lid of your box and put some sort of fastener on the front to keep the lid down tight.
Now you have your fireless cooker. When your oatmeal or your stew, or your chicken, or your vegetables have boiled ten or fifteen minutes on the stove in your agate pail, clap on its cover, set it into the nest, push the cushion into the top of the cooker, clamp down the lid, and your work is done, for the cooking will go merrily on all alone by itself in your fireless cooker.
While you are making your fireless cooker, remember that the thermos bottle is made on the same principle. And remember, too, that your non-conducting packing material will keep heat out just as well as it keeps heat in. In the summer time you may wish to keep your ice cream cold for a while in your fireless cooker. Perhaps you will see how this might help on a hot summer's day and what a comfort a fireless cooker might prove in a sick room.
The Ice Chest. How It Is Made
In taking care of food we must be provided with a cool place, for the storage of milk, butter, cream, and all cooked food that may spoil. In summer this is especially important; in an apartment, and in most city houses the ice chest is needed all the year around; in the country, it is needed only in the warm months.
The ice chest is built much as the fireless cooker is made. Its case is usually made of wood, its packing material must be non-conducting, and its lining must be some smooth surface through which water cannot pass. Some ice chests are lined with zinc and some with porcelain tiles. In some ice chests, food and ice are kept in the same box, which usually opens at the top; in other chests there is a separate chamber for the ice. From the ice chamber a drain pipe carries away the water which drips from the melting ice.
Every ice chest must be kept clean and sweet. It should be looked over every day and washed carefully at least once a week. No crumbs of food should be left on the shelves. If you spill anything, wipe it up clean at once.
The drain pipe must be kept clean. A long wire brush is used for this. If you are buying an ice box, get one with removable pipes, which are easily cleaned. If there is any odor from the chest, scald with water and soda, a teaspoonful of soda to a quart of water. Rinse with fresh cold water.
If your ice chest drips into a pan which must be emptied daily, have a regular time for emptying it. An overflowing pan in an apartment may damage the ceiling below. If it drips into a pan which drains itself, be sure that the drain is kept clean and the entrance to the pipe unclogged. Clean the drip pan whenever you clean the ice chest.
It is a good plan to keep food in closed containers like fruit jars. Wide dishes take up too much space. Containers should be tall rather than broad.
Put no hot dishes in the ice box; it wastes the ice.
The Iceless Refrigerator
An "iceless refrigerator" sounds like a "fireless cooker." This is an arrangement made to keep food cool in the summer when there is no ice. A wooden cage with shelves is covered with a cloth cover and placed near a window or out of doors. If in the house it should stand in a large pan to prevent the dripping of water on the shelf or floor.
A piece of the cloth cover should rest in a pan of water. If this is not convenient a strip of cloth can be sewed to the cover endwise and this piece should be placed in a pan or bowl of water which should be set on top of the cage. This water will be sucked throughout the cloth cover of the refrigerator until it is wholly wet. As the water evaporates from the cover the air inside the refrigerator is cooled.
The iceless refrigerator works well on days when dry air is moving about. It does not do well on damp, quiet days.
Another simple refrigerator which does very well for a little milk or a pat of butter is a clean, earthen flower pot, turned upside down in a shallow pan of water. This will keep very cool the food which it covers.
The Kitchen Sink
Next to the stove, the sink is the most important piece of kitchen furniture.
The best sinks are of enamel or are made of porcelain. They have a fine wire drainer so that nothing solid will go into the trap and plug the pipes. The Girl Scout uses boiling water, and plenty of it, to flush the sink. She takes pains that no grease gets into the drain to harden there. When grease is accidentally collected, soda and hot water will wash it away, but it should never collect in the pipes.
The Keeper of the House takes pride in a perfectly clean sink.
Taking Care of the House and the Things in It
Taking care of a house and its furniture means keeping the house clean, neat, and orderly, and keeping everything in good repair. This means a great deal of thought on the part of the Keeper of the House. For there are many sorts of work to be done, and there is a right way of doing every bit of it. By paying attention a Girl Scout may learn very fast, and become very helpful and competent.
First, there's the Dish Washing.
Dish Washing
In making ready for dish washing scrape every plate carefully to remove crumbs that would get into the dish water. Try using crumpled tissue paper to remove milk, grease, or crumbs before the dishes are put into the pan. Save tissue paper, and paper napkins for this.
Pile in separate piles, all dishes of each sort; wash first glass, then silver, then cups, saucers, plates, then the rest; do not put bone, ivory or wooden handles of knives into the water. Use hot water and soap for dish washing, then rinse with clean hot water.
Dish towels should be cleansed after every dish washing; wash clean in hot soapy water, then rinse all the soap away in clean water. Cooking utensils should soak in cold water until time for dish washing, unless they can be washed as soon as used.
Use a tray for carrying dishes to the closet or pantry instead of travelling with a handful back and forth. Strain the dish water before pouring it down the sink. Be sure that no greasy water is put into the sink. Let the grease rise and cool; skim it off and dispose of it after the dishes are washed.
| RIGHT | WRONG |
HEIGHT OF SINK
Taking Care of Rooms
Keeping a house in order means having everything in its place in every room. It means sweet, fresh air in every room; it means removal of dust and litter. A good housekeeper "tidies" her rooms as she goes along, always picking up anything that is out of place and putting it where it belongs. But she also has a method in doing things. Perhaps she sweeps the entire house every day or every other day, or perhaps she puts one room in order on one day and another on another and so on. The important thing is to have a regular plan.
The Living Room
Taking care of a living room means cleaning the floor and the rugs; dusting the walls, the pictures; cleaning, dusting, and sometimes polishing the furniture. Open the windows top and bottom, dust and brush them inside and out; use a soft brush or a dust mop to take the dust from the floor. Use a carpet sweeper for the rugs unless you have electricity and can use a vacuum cleaner; collect the sweepings and burn them.
Dampen one quarter of your cheese-cloth duster and roll it inside the rest of the duster, then wring. This makes a dampish cloth for dusting the base-boards, window sills, and other woodwork as well as the furniture. Where the furniture is highly polished, or would be injured by water, use oil on the duster instead. Dust after the dust has settled, not when it has been stirred into the air. Shake and replace doilies or covers.
Be sure that the pictures hang straight after dusting and that every piece of furniture is put in its right place. See how long it takes to clean the room; then study to find out how the time can be shortened.
Do not keep useless furniture nor have too many things in your room.
The Bathroom and the bath tub require daily cleansing. In the ordinary family every one who uses the tub should leave it perfectly clean for the next one who needs it. All the furnishings of the bathroom should be kept sweet and clean. Use a flush closet brush daily, scalding it after using it. And remember that fresh air and sunshine are cleansing agents. Get them to work for you.
The Bedroom. Your bedroom needs all the fresh air it can get. The Girl Scout sleeps with her windows open. As soon as you have dressed in the morning throw the windows wide open again, if they have been closed. Open the bed, so that both sheets may be reached by the fresh air. Shake up your pillows and put them on a chair near the window. Leave your night clothing spread or hung where it will be well aired. Let your room have a fresh air bath!
You know already how to make a bed. You will remember that all the bedclothing must be smooth and even, when the bed is made. You are lucky if you have a sister to help you make your bed, for this piece of work is easier for two than for one. You will see that the mattress is lying straight. Once a week you (the two of you) will turn the mattress, end over end one week, and side over side the next week. Then your mattress will wear evenly, and not have a hollow in the middle where you sleep all the time. Then you two will lay the mattress cover straight, and tuck it in firmly, so that you will have no hard wrinkles to sleep on. The under sheet, smooth and straight, must be tucked in all around. You will make the bed as smooth as the table. Now the upper sheet, which is the hardest thing to manage in bed making, must be neatly tucked in at the foot. But you must allow eight inches at the top to be turned over the blankets and spread. Now the blankets, straight and smooth, and evenly tucked in at the foot. Then you may choose between tucking in the sides after folding the top sheet down over the blankets, and afterwards covering the whole bed with the spread, letting the sides and ends hang down; and laying the spread even with the blankets, tucking in the sides, and turning down the sheet over all. Try both ways.
Now, shake and pat the pillows, making them very smooth and quite square-cornered; then lay them or stand them neatly at the head of the bed, meeting exactly in the middle; and your bed is fit for a queen, or a tired Girl Scout after a tramp!
With the bed neatly made, everything must be put in its proper place. The furniture and window sills must be dusted with a clean cheese-cloth duster; and the bare floors must be nicely dusted with a dry floor-mop, or a cloth pinned over a broom. If there are rugs, use a carpet sweeper, if you have one, or a broom. If you do any broom sweeping, however, you will do it before you dust.
Now a last look to see that the room is tidy, every chair in place and the shades even at the windows, and your room is ready for the day. Of course any Girl Scout who wants a Homemaker's badge will do all these things;—not guess or suppose how others do them and how long it takes. That is the honest way to learn. So find out how long it takes to put your room in order. There is only one way to find out.
Fighting Germs
Keeping clean in these days means keeping free from troublesome germs as well as visible dirt. Germs thrive in dampness and darkness. They can be overcome by sunshine. For thorough cleanness, the house needs fresh air and sunshine as well as sweeping and dusting. The Girl Scout must remember to let the fresh air blow through every room in the house every day. She should sleep with her windows open. She is fortunate if she can sleep out of doors.
Of course she is in honor bound to have no dark, damp, hidden, dirt-filled corners in any part of her house, not even in shed or cellar. Let in the light and clean out the dirt.
Fighting the House Fly and Mosquito
House flies carry disease. They breed in filth, human waste, animal droppings, decayed animal or vegetable matter, and are so made that they carry filth wherever they go. Since the fly alights wherever it pleases, it carries dirt from outside and distributes it wherever it CHOOSES.
Clean up all heaps of rubbish where flies may breed. Keep your garbage pail absolutely clean. Disinfect outdoor water-closets and cover with gravel or slacked lime. Get fly traps to set on your porches. Kill all flies that come into the house, especially the early ones, in the spring. Keep your windows and doors screened.
Fight mosquitoes just as you fight flies. Leave no still water even in an old tin can, for the eggs of mosquitoes are deposited in still water and hatch there. The mosquito, like many other insects, has an intermediate stage between the egg and the grown mosquito. During this stage it swims about in quiet water. Mosquitoes in great numbers may be growing in old cans or bottles, rain-filled and hidden away under the bushes in your yard. Watch for such breeding places; clean up your yard and banish the mosquito.
Taking Care of Waste
All waste must be carefully disposed of. It should never accumulate in the kitchen; but the important thing is to have no real waste. See that everything is put to the utmost use. If you live in the country, chickens and pigs will take the parings, the outer leaves of vegetables, etc., and you can bury or burn waste. If you live in the city the garbage man will collect all waste.
The garbage can must be kept thoroughly clean. It should be rinsed and scalded whenever it is empty, so that there will be no bad odors about the kitchen. Find out how garbage is taken care of in your town. How can you help to keep your neighborhood clean? What should be done if there is carelessness about garbage?
Taking Care of Woolen Things
Housekeepers must fight moths as well as flies. The clothes moth loves to lay its eggs in wool. It is very keen in searching out bits of wool and finding a place for its baby to thrive. Unless you have a care it will lay its eggs in your best winter dress which you forgot and left hanging in the hot summer days.
When the baby worm pokes its head out of the egg, it begins to feed upon the wool; and when some cold winter morning you get your dress you will find holes neatly cut where the little worm has gnawed, and beside the holes the little woven cradle which the tiny creature spun for itself, and in which the crawling worm changed to the flying, silvery moth.
The housekeeper must therefore, carefully brush and pack away all woolen things before the moths arrive. After the garment is cleansed and brushed it may be folded in newspapers carefully pinned at the ends, so that no crack is left for the moth to get in it, or it may be laid in a cedar box; or in any plain box with moth balls or camphor. Every box should be labelled so that you know without opening it what is in it.
Watch edges of carpets and rugs for the carpet beetle and the "Buffalo bug." The last bothersome creature may eat your cotton dresses in your closet. All clothing must have care.
Make a list of the woolen things that must be taken care of if the house is closed in summer and what personal clothing must be packed away for the summer even if the house is not closed.
Storage of Food
Taking care of food so that it will "keep" well is just as important as the careful buying of food. Much waste, and therefore loss of money and labor, comes from carelessness in the storage of food. The bright Girl Scout will keep her eyes open to see how foods are taken care of in the house; which foods must be kept in the cellar; which ones must be stored on the shelves of dry closets; which ones come in sealed parcels; which in paper bags; which in boxes; which in barrels. There must be a place in the house for keeping all these things. So you need to think which foods must be kept in the house and which must be bought from day to day. And in the house which you plan there must be ample space for closets and shelves, for keeping properly all that must be stored. No one can say which things must be kept in the house by every family. If the Girl Scout happens to live in a crowded city where rents are high, she will have little storage space, and will not keep so many things on hand. If she lives in the country, miles from a store, she must have a "store" of her own. So keep your eyes open, Girl Scout, and see what is being done in your part of the world. That is what eyes are made for.
Heating the House
A house may be heated by a furnace, by stoves, or even by open fires in the fireplace, as in old days. Heating the house makes the chimney necessary. This must be carefully arranged for in planning your house. Heating by stoves is the most common arrangement. In the large city or town, the furnace is used. This is merely a big stove in the cellar or basement, so planned that its heat is distributed through the house. By this means one big stove does the work of many little ones, and warms the whole house.
The furnace may use its heat to turn water into hot steam, which is sent through all the house through the iron pipes and radiators. Or the water in the boiler may be made quite hot, though not turned into steam, and sent through the house in the same way, by means of pipes. Or hot air from around this big stove or furnace may be sent through big pipes directly to the various rooms. This means dust and dirt, and we are learning to use steam and hot water instead of the hot air system.
The fireplace is almost a luxury. It is found oftenest in country houses where wood can easily be got and stored. The town or city home may have its open fire, however. Everyone loves an open fire; and when you plan your own house, you must manage to get one if you can. The hearth is the heart of the house.
Labor Saving
The housekeeper must learn how to do her work in the least possible time; she must save steps. Look at the house that you have planned and see whether everything you need to use is within easy reach. Look carefully at the closets where you keep things. Are they big enough? Are they in the right place? Suppose your water comes from a well which is a long way from the house. What difference will it make? What would you do about it?
The Water Supply
The water supply of every home should be carefully guarded. If the water is defiled or contaminated by germs of typhoid fever, diphtheria, or other diseases, whose bacteria may be carried by water, the disease may be spread wherever the water is used.
No earth closets or human or animal waste should be in the neighborhood of the well. Water should come from high ground and clean places with no possibility of gathering infection on the way to the house. Great pains should be taken to keep drinking water absolutely clean. All drinking vessels should be washed and scalded and the rims should never be handled.
In the country every home has a private water supply and takes pains to guard it. In the city there is a common water supply and everyone is responsible for keeping it pure. Where does the water come from that supplies your city or town? How is it kept clean? Who takes care of it?
Whenever there is any question about the purity of common drinking water, the table supply should be boiled, for safety. Boiling will destroy any bacteria that could produce disease. This boiled water should be used for rinsing dishes as well as for drinking.
Girl Scouts will interest themselves in municipal or neighborhood housekeeping, for that is a responsibility which all share together.
Learning to take care of one's own home is a good beginning, if one is to share in providing good conditions for the neighborhood.
Little Things Worth Remembering
The stove should be cleaned with crumpled newspaper whenever the kitchen is put in order. All ashes should be neatly brushed off.
In lifting ashes from the ash pan with a shovel use a newspaper to cover the pail into which the ashes are poured, so that the dust will not scatter over the room. Don't dump them and raise dust; and never put hot ashes into a wooden box or barrel.
Watch the floor of closets and see that no dusty corners are hidden out of sight.
Air and dry soiled clothing before putting it in the laundry basket. If damp clothes are hidden away they will mildew.
Learn to make out a laundry list and to check it when the laundry comes home.
Save the soap chips and use a soap shaker.
Get all the help you can from older housekeepers in your neighborhood. Ask them how they do things and why. Your mother may know something better than anybody else does.
The Girl Scout asks questions and learns why things are done as they are. She may think out a better way some day, but first she must pay attention to the old way.
Sing at your work; it goes better so. Besides, joy belongs with housekeeping and your song helps to keep her there. Always sing if the work drags, but let it be a lively song!
Making Things Clean and Keeping Clean
Making things clean is a most important duty of the Keeper of the House. But don't forget, Girl Scout, that keeping things clean is a constant duty. You know many a body who "cleans up" with a lot of stir once in a while, but who litters and spills and spreads dirt and lets dust collect in corners all the rest of the time.
"Keeping clean" is the housekeeper's regular business, and "cleaning up" never need stir up the whole house.
For keeping clean, soap and water must always be had. The soap loves to wrestle with grease. The water softens and rinses away both dirt and soap. You will use a scouring soap or powder to clean stained or dirty metal or glass; and you should cover water-closets and other out-of-door places for refuse with clean slaked lime now and then to keep them clean.
Ten Ways of Removing Stains
1. When you have raspberry or blueberry or strawberry stains on your white handkerchief or blouse or skirt, do not be too much disturbed. Hold the stained part firmly over an empty bowl, with the spot well in the centre, and ask some one to pour boiling hot water over the spot and into the bowl. The stains will disappear like magic. Then the wet spot may be dried and pressed with a hot iron, and the damage is repaired.
2. Peach stains are much harder to remove, but they should be treated just as the others were treated. Often several applications of hot water are necessary for these stubborn stains. But you must not lose patience. And you must not use soap. The stain will fade out at last under the hot water.
3. Ink stains are a great bother, especially to the school girl who carries a leaky fountain pen. Do not let them get dry. They will be much harder to remove. Sometimes cold water, applied immediately, will remove the ink, if the spot is rinsed carefully. Use the cold water just as the hot water is used for the peach stain. If that does not remove it try milk. If the milk fails, let the spot soak in sour milk. Sometimes it must soak a day or two; but it will disappear in the end, with rinsing and a little rubbing.
4. Ink stains on a carpet are a serious matter. Let us hope that no Girl Scout will be so unlucky as to upset an ink bottle on a friend's carpet or rug. If she does, she should know the best way to set about removing it. This should be done as quickly as possible before the ink dries, or "sets." Take cotton, or soft tissue paper or blotting paper, and absorb all that has not soaked in. You will see that the "sooner" is the "better" in this case. Try not to increase the size of the spot, for you must keep the ink from spreading. Then dip fresh cotton in milk, and carefully sop the spot. Do not use the cotton when it is inky; that will smear the carpet and spread the stain. Use fresh bits of cotton, dipped in clean milk, until the stain has disappeared. Then rinse with clean water in the same way, and dry with dry cotton.
5. The spots made on silk or woolen by acids may be removed by touching with ammonia or baking soda, dissolved in a little water. The bright yellow spot on a black dress will sometimes run away like lightning when touched by the wet cork of the ammonia bottle.
6. Egg stains on the napkin, or sometimes, unfortunately, on a dress front, must be removed before washing. Use cold water alone. The egg will dissolve and can be rinsed out. Hot water will cook the egg and it will be hard to remove.
7. Liquid shoe blacking is almost worse than ink. It must be treated in the same way, and at once.
8. Coffee and tea stains will wash out with either warm water or soap and water. A black coffee stain on a fresh tablecloth may be removed like the berry stains, by the teakettle and bowl method.
9. Grease spots may be removed from washable fabrics by soap and water. For silk and woolen, gasoline should be used. Use gasoline in daytime only, to avoid lamps or gas in the neighborhood; and never near a fire. Use carbona instead of gasoline or benzine when possible, as it cannot burn. Remember that all grease or sugar spots should be removed before putting a woolen garment away. Moths always seek them out, and they will find them if you don't.
10. Paint can be removed by soaking the spot in turpentine. This dissolves it, and a bit of rubbing shakes it out. A brush helps, when the paint spot is on a woolen garment, after the turpentine has done its work.
Remember: All spots and stains should be removed before washing the garment.
GOOD MANNERS AND SOCIAL FORMS
It is easier to meet people socially if we are acquainted with the simple forms of introductions, meeting and parting, and so forth. A girl who is entertaining her friends will be more successful in doing so if she plans ahead how she can welcome them and has all the necessary preparations for a substantial good time, at hand. This planning also makes it possible for her to be less occupied when the time comes, and to have a good time herself.
Stand where guests can see you at once when they enter.
Always introduce a younger person to an older one, as "Mrs. Smith, may I present Miss Jones, or Mr. Brown?" A man is always presented to a woman, or a girl, as "Miss Brewster, may I present Mr. Duncan?"
If you have many guests, ask some of your friends to join you in watching to be sure that no one is left out, so that the evening may be a success for every one. It is sometimes difficult for a hostess to do this alone.
If you ask other girls to help you ask each to do a definite thing, as to arrange for wraps, sing or play, pay special attention to some older person, etc. This saves confusion, as the Pine Tree patrol does in camp.
A few intimate friends need no plan to make them have a good time, but with a large number it is usually better to plan games, music, charades, or some other form of entertainment.
When invited to a house at a certain time, be prompt. Promptness is always a mark of courtesy, as it means consideration for the time and convenience of others. One should also watch carefully the time of leaving, and not stay about unless specially detained.
TABLE MANNERS
Accept what is offered or placed before you, with a quiet "Thank you." If you are asked what you prefer, it is proper to name it.
Do not drink while food is in the mouth.
Take soup quietly from the side of the spoon, dipping it into the plate from instead of towards you, to avoid dripping the soup.
Break bread or roll, and spread with butter only the piece which you are about to eat.
Use knife only as a divider, the fork to take food to the mouth. Where one can dispense with a knife, and use only the fork to divide food, do so. When not using either, lay them together across the side of the plate, not resting on the table cloth.
A spoon should never be allowed to rest in a tall receptacle such as a cup or glass, as it is likely to overturn the receptacle. Place the spoon on plate or saucer.
At close of meal, fold napkin, that table may be left in orderly condition. When napkins are to be washed at once, or when they are paper napkins, they need not be folded.
Do not begin a course until all are served.
Sometimes it is better to serve the hostess first, and sometimes it is the custom to serve the guest first, that is the guest of honor who sits on the hostess' right. When the host or hostess does the serving, the guest is served first.
Do not be troubled if you use the wrong spoon or fork, and never call attention to anyone else's doing so. No matter how you feel, or what the blunder or accident may be, such as spilling something or dropping a plate, never show displeasure to either servant or guest. Good breeding and pleasant atmosphere are essential to all entertainment.
Good breeding means first of all thoughtfulness of others, and nothing shows lack of breeding so quickly as a lack of such politeness to those who happen to be serving us in hotels, at home, in shops, or when travelling, or anywhere else.
When acting as waitress, stand at the left of the person to be served, so that the portion may be taken with the right hand.
Preparing the Meal
Plan the cooking so that the food that is to be served may be kept hot; for instance, soup may be kept hot on the back of the stove or where there is less heat, while the meat or vegetables are being cooked. Food that is to be served cold, should be kept in the ice-box or standing in water until the last moment and served in chilled dishes. In placing the food on the dishes and platters care should be taken to make it look attractive.
Setting the Table
When setting the table keep in mind how many courses there will be, and therefore, how many knives, forks, and spoons are needed. Have everything clean, and lay everything straight. Air room well. Wipe table, and if a tablecloth is used, cover table with a felt silence cloth. If a tablecloth is used, it should be laid with the fold in the center of the table. If a centerpiece and doilies are used, they should be laid at even distances. Clean white oil cloth and paper napkins make an attractive looking table. At each cover the knife, edge in, is placed at the right with the spoon, and the glass is placed at the right in line with the end of the knife. The fork is at the left and bread and butter plate and small knife are at the left opposite the glass. Put the napkin between the knife and fork.
Salt, pepper, water, bread and butter should be on the table, and if necessary, vinegar, mustard, sugar, pickles, etc.
When possible a few flowers add to the appearance of the table.
Have as much ready as possible before sitting down at the table. See at least that (1), glasses are filled; (2), butter portioned; (3), chairs placed.
Hard and fast rules as to table setting do not exist. Local customs, the amount of service at hand, and common sense must govern this. The captain, assisted by the council, must be the judges.
THE GIRL SCOUT COOK
By Ula M. Dow, A. M.
In charge of Division of Food, Simmons College
The Girl Scout who has earned the Cooking Badge may be a great help at home if she has learned to work quickly and neatly and may get much amusement both at home and on camping parties. If the first trial of a process is not a success, the Scout should have patience to try again and again until her result is satisfactory. If she has learned to prepare a few simple dishes well she should have courage to try unfamiliar recipes which are found in any good cook book. If she is to be ready to take responsibility when it is necessary, she should be able to plan the meals in such a way that nothing is wasted and that the family is satisfied and well-nourished.
When working in the kitchen the Scout should wear a clean, washable dress, or a washable apron which covers her dress. She should be sure that her hair is tidy, and she should remember to wash her hands before beginning work. She should try to use as few dishes as possible and not to spill or spatter. She should remember that her cooking is not finished until she has cleaned up after herself, has washed and put away the dishes, washed the dish towels and left the kitchen in order.
What to Have for Breakfast—Breakfast is in most families the simplest meal of the day and the easiest to prepare. Some people are satisfied with fruit, cereal, toast or muffins, coffee for the adults, and milk for the children. Many families, however, like the addition of a heartier dish, such as boiled or poached eggs, fish hash, or minced meat on toast. If a hearty dish is served at breakfast this is a good time to use up such left-overs as potato, fish, or meat.
Simple Breakfast
Apple sauce or sliced peaches.
Oatmeal or cornmeal mush.
Toast or muffins.
Coffee (for adults).
Milk (for children).
Hearty Breakfast
Apple sauce or sliced peaches.
Oatmeal or cornmeal mush.
Toast or muffins.
Coffee (for adults).
Milk (for children).
Poached eggs or minced lamb on toast.
Fruit—Raw fruit should be carefully washed and prepared in such a way that it can be easily eaten. Berries may be cooked with no other preparation than washing. Fruits, such as apples and pears, should be washed, pared, quartered, and cored before cooking. Any fruit which becomes dark on standing after it is cut may be kept light colored by dropping the pieces into a pan of water until they are ready to be cooked. If this is done most of the water should be drained off before they are cooked.
Dried fruits, such as prunes, which have a wrinkled skin should be soaked for a short time in cold water before they are washed. Otherwise it is impossible to get them clean. After washing they should be covered with cold water and soaked over night, or until they are plump. They should be put on to cook in the water in which they are soaked and cooked until tender. Sugar should then be added if they are not sweet enough.
The most common method of cooking fresh fruit is to boil it gently with just enough water to prevent it from burning. Sugar should be added just before the cooking is finished, the amount depending on the acidity of the fruit and the taste of the family.
In sampling food, the cook should remember that the rest of the food is to be eaten by other people. She should never taste from the cooking spoon, but should transfer her sample to a tasting spoon which is not returned to the kettle.
Cereal—Cereals, such as oatmeal, cornmeal, and cracked wheat, should be cooked in a double boiler. A double boiler can be improvised by setting a pail or pan into a kettle of boiling water. Cereals for breakfast may be cooked the day before and reheated in the double boiler, but should not be stirred while reheating. A tablespoonful or two of cold water on top will prevent a hard skin from forming while standing. All prepared cereals are better if cooked for a longer time than the package directions indicate. It is hardly possible to cook any grain too long. The fireless cooker is especially valuable for cooking cereals, but a longer period of time must be allowed than for cooking in a double boiler. A home-made fireless cooker, described in another place, is interesting to make. Ready-to-serve cereals are very expensive compared with those cooked at home.
Cracked wheat, 1/4 cup to 1 cup water; 3-12 hours.
Rolled oats, 1/2 cup to 1 cup water; 1/2-3 hours
Cornmeal, 3 tablespoonfuls to 1 cup water; 1-4 hours.
Use 1/2 teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water. Have the water boiling rapidly. Add the cereal gradually. Let the mixture cook directly over the fire 5 minutes. Place over boiling water or in the fireless cooker to cook slowly for a long time. Keep covered and do not stir. The time of cooking given in the table means that the cereal is eatable after the shorter time mentioned, but is better if cooked the longer time.
Toast—Good toast is worth knowing how to make. The cook should not be satisfied with toast which is either white or burned.
Toast is most easily made from stale bread, which should be cut in one-third to one-half inch slices. A single slice of toast may be made by holding it over the fire on a fork. In camp a forked stick answers every purpose. The easiest way to make several slices is to put them in a wire toaster and hold them over hot coals. Begin carefully and hold the bread some distance away from the fire, turning it often until it dries. Then hold it nearer the coals until it a golden brown on both sides. With a new coal fire or wood fire toast must be made on a toaster on the top of the stove to prevent the bread from being smoked. If the top of the stove is being used for other things, the drying may be done in the oven.
Muffins—Any good cook book has numerous recipes for muffins, most of which, can be made easily if the directions are followed exactly.
Cornmeal Muffins (for four persons):
Four tablespoonfuls butter or oleomargarine, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 1-1/3 cups flour, 2/3 cup cornmeal, 3 teaspoonfuls baking powder.
Cream the butter, add the sugar and the egg well beaten. Sift the baking powder with the flour and cornmeal and add to the first mixture, alternating with milk. Bake in buttered muffin pan 25 to 30 minutes. This mixture makes good corn bread if baked in a shallow buttered pan.
Coffee—If the family drink coffee, they will want coffee for breakfast no matter what other items of the menu may be varied. It should be served only to the grown-up members of the family. Coffee of average strength is made as follows:
One-half cup coffee finely ground, 4 cups cold water, 2 eggshells.
Mix the coffee, the crushed eggshell, and 1/2 cupful of cold water in a scalded coffee pot. Add the remainder of the water and allow the mixture to come gradually to the boiling point. Boil 3 minutes. Draw to the back of the range and keep hot for 5 minutes. Add 1/8 cupful of cold water and let stand 1 minute to settle. Strain into a heated coffee pot in which the coffee is to be served at the table.
A method for making coffee used by the guides in the White Mountains is as follows:
Boil the water in an ordinary pail, remove the pail from the fire, pour the dry coffee gently on the top of the water, cover tightly and move it near the fire where it will keep warm but will not boil again. In about thirty minutes the coffee will have become moistened and sunk to the bottom of the pail. If the coffee is slow in becoming moist, time may be saved by removing the cover for a moment and pressing gently with a spoon on the top of the coffee, but the mixture must not be stirred. It is essential that the water be boiling when the coffee is added, that the cover be absolutely tight, and that the coffee be kept hot without boiling. Half a cup of coffee to four cups of water makes coffee of average strength.
Milk—The little children of the family should have whole milk at every meal. The older children should have milk at breakfast and supper time. There is no food so good for children who want to be well and strong. A part of the family supply of milk is sometimes skimmed to give cream for use in coffee and on desserts. The cream contains most of the fat in the milk, but the skimmed milk which is left is still a very valuable food, containing the substances which make muscle and bone, and every bit of it should be used in the cooking or for making cottage cheese. The waste of milk is the worst possible extravagance.
Eggs—Eggs may be prepared in countless ways, and the ambitious cook will find much amusement in trying some of the suggestions in the cook books. Eggs are an entirely satisfactory substitute for meat and fish, and are therefore often served for the main dish at dinner or supper. Many people like an egg every morning for breakfast, but this is a rather extravagant habit. If eggs are served for breakfast they are usually cooked in the shell, poached or scrambled. The men of the family sometimes prefer their eggs fried, but this is not a good method for the children. Only fresh eggs can be poached successfully, so that this is a good test for freshness.
Poached Eggs—Oil the skillet and fill it to within a half inch of the top with water. Break each egg into a saucer and let the water boil after the egg is placed in it. The egg is done when the white is jelly-like and a slight film is formed over the yolk. Remove the egg with a griddle cake turner to a piece of buttered toast. Sprinkle lightly with salt. If the eggs are not absolutely fresh, the white will scatter in the water. If the first egg to be cooked shows this tendency oiled muffin rings may be put in the pan to keep the rest of them in shape.
Soft Boiled Eggs—A soft boiled egg has much the same consistency as a poached egg. It is easier to manage because the shell is unbroken, but it is harder to get it of just the right consistency because the contents of the egg are invisible. Most people are very particular to have the egg just hard or soft enough to suit them, and it is necessary for the cook to practice to be sure of uniform results. Drop the eggs carefully into a kettle of boiling water, draw the kettle back on the stove so that the water does not boil again and (for a soft egg) allow the eggs to remain for five minutes. If the eggs are very cold they should remain longer.
Use of Left-overs for Breakfast—If the family likes a hearty breakfast this is a good meal at which to use bits of left-over meat which might otherwise be wasted. Meat may be chopped or ground, reheated in the gravy which was served with it, and served on toast. Lamb is especially good minced on toast. To make hash mix equal quantities of meat and chopped potato and brown nicely in a greased frying pan. Such mixtures should be tasted to make sure that they are salted enough. Some people like a very small amount of onion with any of these made-over meat dishes.
DINNER
What to Have for Dinner—If all the members of the family are at home at noontime it is usually more convenient to have dinner then, but if members of the family are away or hurried at noontime it may be better to have dinner at night. Dinner may consist of several courses, but if the mother or the daughter of the family prepares the meal, the family is usually perfectly satisfied with two courses.
The main course of a simple family dinner consists of meat, fish, eggs or a cheese dish served with potato, rice or macaroni, and a vegetable such as string beans, green peas, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes or corn. If the family likes salad, the vegetables are often served as a salad. This is a very good way to use up small amounts of vegetables which are left from the day before. Often little remainders of two or more vegetables may be very attractively combined in this way.
Some families like hot bread at dinner, and hot breads, such as baking powder biscuit (described under supper), or corn bread (described under breakfast), are particularly good with some combinations. Examples are baking powder biscuit with meat stew or fricasseed chicken and corn bread with bacon and eggs or ham. If fish is served in a chowder, buttered and toasted crackers are usually served. An occasional chowder for dinner is an excellent way to use up any surplus of skimmed milk which may be on hand.
The kind of dessert served at dinner, besides depending on the taste of the family, depends on the amount of money which is spent for food and whether there are young children in the family. Pie and ice cream, which are favorite desserts in many families, are expensive. Little children should not have desserts which contain a good deal of fat, such as pie or doughnuts, or which are the least bit soggy, as some steamed puddings are inclined to be. The most economical desserts and those best suited to the children are baked puddings made with milk and cereal, such as Indian pudding, rice pudding, and those made with cereal and fruit, such as Apple Betty or peach tapioca. If there is skimmed milk on hand the possibility of using it in a milk pudding should be considered. Chocolate bread pudding and Apple Betty made a very attractive use of left-over bread. Dessert should always be chosen with reference to the heartiness of the first course. A main dish which is not very filling can be balanced by a more substantial dessert.
Simple Dinners:
1. Hamburg steak.
Baked potato.
Squash or baked tomatoes.
Apple Betty.
2. Roast chicken or roast lamb with dressing and currant jelly.
Mashed potato and gravy.
Peas or string beans.
Orange jelly and whipped cream.
Meat—The best way to learn about cuts of meat is to go often to market and talk to the butcher whenever he has a minute to spare. Some cuts of meat are tough with coarse fibers and much connective tissue. They should be ground if, like Hamburg steak, they are to be cooked by a short process, such as broiling. If not ground, the tougher meats are usually cooked a long time with water and made into a stew, a pot roast, a meat pie, or a meat loaf. These cuts are cheaper, but require more care in preparation than the more expensive cuts. Examples are the bottom of the round, the shin, and the flank of beef. The more expensive cuts, such as the top of the round, tenderloin and sirloin, are more tender, more delicately flavored, and are used for broiling and roasting. Some cuts which seem inexpensive really cost more than they appear to because they contain large amounts of bone or waste fat. The difference between lamb and mutton is a question of the age at which the animal was slaughtered. Lamb is much more tender than mutton, is more delicately flavored and more expensive. There is a similar difference between chicken and fowl. Fowl is much tougher than chicken and requires careful and long cooking to make it tender.
Pan Broiled Hamburg Steak—Hamburg steak may be bought already ground at the butcher's, or one of the cheap cuts of beef, such as bottom of the round or shin, may be bought and ground at home. Many people like a little salt pork or onion ground with the meat.
Make the meat into small, flat cakes and cook in a smoking hot frying pan which has been thoroughly rubbed over with a piece of fat. When one side is seared over nicely turn the cakes (a griddle cake turner or spatula is helpful) and broil on the other side. Place on a hot platter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dot with bits of butter and garnish with a little parsley or watercress.
A rump or sirloin steak may be broiled in a hot frying pan in a similar way. Wipe and trim the steak, place in a smoking hot frying pan and sear both sides. Reduce the heat and turn the steak occasionally (about every 2 minutes) until it is cooked, allowing 8 minutes for a rare steak, 10 minutes for medium cooked steak, and 12 minutes for well done steak, for a steak 1 inch thick. Avoid puncturing the meat with a fork while cooking.
Many people prefer to broil a steak on a broiler. This is practical with gas or electricity or over a wood or coal fire which is reduced to clear coals without smoke or flame. It is very difficult indeed to cook Hamburg steak on a broiler.
Lamb chops may be broiled in either way.
Roast Leg of Lamb—Wash the leg of lamb, place it on the rack in a roasting pan and put in a hot oven with the roaster uncovered. When the roast is well seared (15 to 30 minutes), draw from the oven, sprinkle with salt, pour a little water into the pan, and put on the cover. Finish cooking at a lowered temperature, allowing 20 or 25 minutes for each pound.
A dripping pan may be used in place of a roaster, using a pan of similar size for a cover. A rack may be improvised from a broiler, a toaster or a cake rack.
Beef is roasted in the same way, but is usually cooked for a shorter time (15 to 20 minutes for each pound).
Beef Stew (for four):
21/2 pounds beef shoulder or shin.
2 cups diced potato.
1/3 cup turnip cut in half inch cubes.
1/3 cup carrot cut in half inch cubes.
1/4 onion chopped.
2 tablespoons flour.
Salt and pepper.
Wash the meat, remove from the bone and fat and cut in 1-1/2 inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Sear the pieces of meat in the frying pan in the fat cooked out from the trimmings of fat. Put the meat in a kettle, and rinse the frying pan with boiling water, so that none of the juices will be lost. Add the bone, cover with boiling water and boil five minutes. Lower the temperature and cook until the meat is tender (about three hours). Add the carrots, turnips, onions, pepper and salt in an hour, and the potato in 15 minutes before the steak is to be served. Remove the bone and any large pieces of fat. Stir two tablespoons of flour to a smooth paste with a little water and thicken the stew.
Such a stew may also be made with lamb, mutton, or veal, using other vegetables as desired. Celery and onion are better than turnip and carrot with veal.
Chicken—If a chicken is purchased at the market it is usually delivered dressed. This means that the head has been cut off, the entrails removed, and the coarser pinfeathers pulled out. Many times, however, it is necessary to know how to do this oneself.
To Dress and Clean a Chicken—Cut off the head and draw out the pinfeathers. Remove hair and down by holding the fowl over a flame (a gas flame, an alcohol flame, or a piece of paper flaming in the wood or coal range), constantly changing the position until all parts of the surface have been exposed to the flame. Cut off the feet. Wash the fowl thoroughly, using a small brush, in water to which a little soda has been added. Rinse and dry. Make a slit down the back of the neck. Remove the crop and windpipe. Draw down the neck skin long enough to fasten under the back. Make a straight cut from 1/2 inch below the tip of the breastbone to the vent. Cut around the vent. Slip fingers in carefully around and fully loosen the entrails. Carefully draw out the entrails. The lungs, lying in the cavities under the breast, and the kidneys, in the hollow near the end of the backbone, must be taken out separately. Remove the oil sack and wash the chicken by allowing cold water to run through it.
To clean giblets (the gizzard, the heart, and the liver) proceed as follows: Separate the gall bladder from the liver, cutting off any portion of the liver that may have a greenish tinge. Remove the thin membrane, the arteries, the veins and the clotted blood around the heart. Cut the fat and the membranes from the gizzard. Make a gash through the thickest part of the gizzard as far as the inner lining, being careful not to pierce it. Remove the inner sack and discard. Wash the gizzard carefully and boil in water to use for giblet sauce.
If the chicken comes from the market dressed it should be washed carefully and any pinfeathers removed which were overlooked by the market man.
To Stuff, Truss and Roast a Chicken—When the chicken is clean and prepared as directed, fill it with stuffing (described later), a little in the opening at the neck, the rest in the body cavity. Sew up the opening with a few long stitches. Draw the skin of the neck smoothly down and under the back, press the wings close against the body and fold the pinions under, so that they will cross the back and hold down the skin of the neck. Press the legs close to the body. Thread the trussing needle with white twine, using it double. Press the needle through the wing at the middle joint, pass it through the skin of the neck and back, and out again at the middle joint of the other wing. Return the needle through the bend of the leg at the second joint, through the body, and out at the same point on the other side; draw the cord tight and tie it with the end at the wing joint. Thread the needle again and run it through the legs and body at the thigh bone and back at the ends of the drumsticks. Draw the drumstick bones close together, covering the opening made for drawing the chicken and tie the ends. Have both knots on the same side of the chicken. When cooked, cut the cord on the opposite side and draw out by the knots.
Lay the stuffed and trussed chicken on its back on a rack in a roasting pan. Lay a strip of salt pork on breast. Place in a hot oven until the chicken begins to brown, then lower the temperature and cook the chicken until very tender. Baste often with the drippings in the pan. From 3 to 4 hours will be required for a five-pound chicken. If a fowl is used it should be steamed for 3 or 4 hours and then roasted for 1/2 hour.
Stuffing—For a large chicken mix thoroughly 4 cups of finely broken stale bread, 1-1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of poultry dressing and 4 tablespoons of fat. Pour over the mixture hot milk or water, stirring lightly until the mixture is moist.
Giblet Gravy—If the chicken was properly roasted the drippings in the pan should be nicely browned, but not burned. Make a gravy from these drippings and the water in which the giblets were boiled. To do this pour the water into the pan, set the pan over the fire and stir until the contents of the pan are dissolved. Thicken with a smooth paste of flour and water, using two tablespoons of flour for every cup of liquid. Boil until the flour tastes cooked. Strain. Add the giblets cut in small pieces.
Vegetables—All vegetables should be clean, crisp and firm when ready for cooking. Vegetables are prepared and cooked in a variety of ways, but almost all vegetables should be carefully washed as the first process. It is convenient to keep a small brush for washing the vegetables, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beets, which must be scrubbed to get them clean. Vegetables which are to be eaten raw, such as lettuce and celery, should be washed with special care, wrapped in a clean, wet cloth and put in the ice box to keep them crisp.
Baked Potato—Select smooth potatoes of even size. Scrub them carefully and bake them in a hot oven. The time required is from 45 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes and the temperature of the oven. When the potatoes are done, slash each one with a knife to let the steam escape, and serve immediately.
Mashed Potato—Wash the potatoes, pare, cover with boiling salted water (1 level teaspoon of salt to a pint of water), and cook until tender (30 to 45 minutes). Drain off the water and return to the fire a moment to dry. Mash the potatoes, add butter, salt, pepper and hot milk, and beat vigorously until light and creamy. For three cups of potato use 2 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of hot milk. Pile lightly in a hot dish and serve immediately.
Steamed Squash—Wash and cut in one-inch slices. Steam until tender, scrape from the shell, mash thoroughly, season with salt, pepper and butter, and serve.
String Beans—Snap the ends from the beans, remove any strings, cut into short pieces, wash, cover with boiling salted water (1 level teaspoon to a pint) and cook until tender. The time required will vary from one hour to three hours, depending on the age and kind of bean. Drain the beans, season with salt and butter, and serve.
Canned string beans should be rinsed, reheated in as little water as possible, drained, and seasoned.
Baked Tomatoes—Select smooth tomatoes of even size. Wash the tomatoes, cut a thin slice from the stem end and remove a spoonful of pulp. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and scraped onion, fill the cavity with buttered crumbs, place in a pan (preferably one which can be used as a serving dish at the table), and bake in a moderate oven until the tomatoes are tender. Serve in the dish in which they were cooked or remove them carefully to the platter on which the Hamburg steak is being served, arranging them in a ring around the meat.
The buttered crumbs are prepared by melting a tablespoon of butter or oleomargarine and stirring in six tablespoonfuls of dry bread crumbs.
Desserts—Most desserts are easy to make if the directions given in the cook books are followed exactly. Many people take pride in making delicious cake or pie, who are careless about making good toast or baking a potato well.
Apple Betty—Prepare well-sweetened apple sauce and thin slices of lightly buttered bread cut in small triangles. Fill a shallow baking dish with alternate layers of apple sauce and toast, beginning with apple sauce and ending with toast. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and cinnamon and heat in the oven. Serve with cream.
Orange Jelly—Swell 1-1/2 tablespoons of powdered gelatin in half cupful of cold water. Mix 1 cupful of orange juice, 1/4 cupful of lemon juice, 1/2 cupful of sugar and 1-1/4 cupfuls of boiling water. Add the gelatin and stir carefully until it is dissolved. Strain into a wet mould and chill until the jelly is firm. Unmould the jelly and serve with whipped cream or a custard sauce. To unmould the jelly, run the point of a knife around the edge of the mould, dip the mould quickly in warm water, place an inverted serving plate on top of the mould, turn both over and lift the mould carefully.
SUPPER OR LUNCH
What To Have for Supper.—Supper shows more variation between families than other meals of the day. Some men insist upon meat, even though meat is served for their dinner, but this is rather extravagant unless there is left-over meat which should be used. Hash and minced lamb on toast, which were suggested for the hearty breakfast, would be equally well liked by most families for supper. Many families prefer for supper some milk dish such as macaroni and cheese or a cream soup served with either stewed or fresh fruit or followed by a fruit or vegetable salad. Hot rolls or baking powder biscuits are a very attractive substitute for plain bread if someone has time to make them at the last minute. If the mother and daughter do all the work of the family, they usually like to have on hand cookies or cake, which can be used for supper rather than to have to prepare some special dessert. Cold meat has the advantage that it is ready to serve with little preparation, but many other dishes such as the macaroni and cheese and the creamed soup, suggested in the menus, may be made when dinner is being prepared and simply reheated for supper.
A hot drink at night usually seems desirable except on hot days in the summer. If tea is served for adults, the children should have cocoa or milk.
If dinner is served at night, luncheon is served in the middle of the day. The suggestions made in regard to supper apply equally well to luncheon.
Little children should have their hearty meal in the middle of the day and a light meal at night no matter what arrangement of meals the rest of the family may have.
Simple Suppers
| 1. Macaroni and cheese or cold meat |
| Stewed or fresh fruit |
| Cookies |
| Bread and butter |
| Tea (for adults) |
| Milk or cocoa (for children) |
2. Cream of potato soup |
| Vegetable or fruit salad |
| Baking powder biscuit |
| Tea (for adults) |
| Milk or cocoa (for children). |
Macaroni and Cheese.—For macaroni and cheese the macaroni must be cooked and white sauce prepared. Break three-quarters of a cup of macaroni in inch pieces and cook in two quarts of boiling water to which a tablespoon of salt has been added. The water must be boiling rapidly when the macaroni is added and must be kept boiling constantly. When the macaroni is tender, drain it in a strainer and run enough cold water through it to prevent the pieces from sticking together. To prepare the sauce, melt two tablespoons of butter or oleomargarine in the top of a double boiler, stir in two tablespoons of flour and a half teaspoon of salt and pour over the mixture a cup and a half of cold milk. Cook this mixture directly over the heat, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Then place the dish over the lower part of the double boiler, containing boiling water, and let it continue cooking for fifteen minutes. Put a layer of the boiled macaroni in a buttered baking dish and sprinkle with cheese, either grated or cut into small pieces. Pour on a layer of the sauce. Follow this by layers of macaroni, cheese and sauce until the dish is full. Cover with buttered crumbs and bake until the crumbs are brown. To make the buttered crumbs, melt one tablespoon of butter or oleomargarine and stir in six tablespoons of crumbs.
The macaroni and cheese may be prepared in the morning if desired and baked at supper time in a moderate oven. It should be left in the oven long enough to become thoroughly hot. If there are little children in the family a dish of creamed macaroni should be made for them without the cheese.
Cream of Potato Soup—
3 potatoes
1 quart milk
2 slices of onion
3 tablespoons flour
11/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tbsp. butter or oleomargarine
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water. When soft rub through a sieve. Scald the milk with the onion in a double boiler, remove the onion, unless the family likes it left in, add the salt, celery salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, stir the flour into it and then add this mixture to the hot milk, stirring briskly. Cook for ten minutes over boiling water in the double boiler.
A good creamed soup may be made from almost any vegetable, substituting vegetable pulp for the potato. Celery soup and corn soup are very good. With these and most other vegetables, the celery salt should be omitted. Onion salt is very useful.
Creamed soups are very good made from skimmed milk if there is a supply in the house which should be used.
Salad—The pleasure in a salad is in its crispness, attractiveness or arrangement, and pleasant combination of flavors. A salad may be arranged in a large dish and served at the table if it is the chief dish of the meal, such as chicken salad or fish salad, but it is usually arranged in individual portions and made to look as dainty and pretty as possible. All fresh vegetables and fruits used should be crisp and cold and thoroughly washed. Canned or leftover vegetables or fruit may often be used.
To wash lettuce.—Handle delicately. Remove leaf by leaf from the stalk, examining for insects. Pass the leaves backwards and forwards through clean water until all sand is removed. Fold in a wet cloth and keep in the ice-box until it is used. The lettuce leaves should be dried when they are used.
French Dressing.—Mix 3/4 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. Add oil and vinegar alternately, beating constantly with a fork until 5 tablespoons of vinegar and 10 tablespoons of oil have been used. A quick way to make French dressing is to mix all the ingredients in a bottle with a tightly fitting stopper and shake vigorously until the ingredients are blended. Some persons prefer less vinegar, and reduce the amount to 2-1/2 tablespoons vinegar to 10 of oil.
Cooked Salad Dressing.—
| 3/4 tablespoon sugar | 1/4 tablespoon flour |
| 1/4 tablespoon butter | 1/8 teaspoon mustard |
| 1 egg yolk | 1/4 teaspoon salt |
| 1/4 cup vinegar | Dash of red pepper. |
Heat the vinegar in the upper part of double boiler over direct heat. Sift the flour, mustard, salt and pepper thoroughly. Pour the boiling vinegar gradually upon the mixture, stirring constantly. Return to the upper part of the double boiler and cook over hot water until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add the butter and remove from the fire. Chill before using.
Mayonnaise.—
| 1 egg yolk |
| 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 2 tablespoons vinegar |
| 1/2 teaspoon mustard |
| 2/3 teaspoon salt |
| Dash of cayenne pepper |
| 2/3 cup of oil (olive oil, cotton seed oil or other edible oil). |
Have the ingredients chilled, Place the mixing bowl in crushed ice. Mix the egg yolk, mustard, salt and cayenne pepper. Add a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice, then a teaspoon of oil, drop by drop, until all the ingredients are used. Constant beating is necessary throughout.
Fruit and Vegetable Salads.—Good combinations for salad are (1) potato and beet, (2) carrot and green peas, (3) tomato and celery, (4) asparagus and pimento. Combinations of fruit and vegetables are, (1) apple and celery, (2) orange and green pepper. Combinations of different kinds of fruit and nuts or cheese are especially good. Examples are, (1) pineapple and orange, (2) white cherries stuffed with nuts, (3) banana rolled in chopped nuts or (4) half pears (cooked or raw) with a ball of cream cheese and chopped nuts in the cavity made by the removal of the core.
Magazines which devote a page to cooking usually have in their summer numbers pictures of salads from which suggestions in regard to arrangement may be taken.
Baking Powder Biscuit.—
| 2 cups flour |
| 4 teaspoons baking powder |
| 1 teaspoon salt |
| 3 tablespoons shortening |
| ¾ to 1 cup milk or milk and water. |
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, twice. Put in the shortening, then add the milk gradually, mixing with a knife. The dough should be as soft as can be handled without sticking. Turn onto a lightly floured board, roll lightly 3/4 inch thick and cut with a floured cutter. Bake in a hot oven 12 or 15 minutes.
Tea.—People who like tea have very decided ideas about how strong is should be and how long it should be steeped. The following gives tea of moderate strength.
Scald the teapot and put in 4 teaspoonfuls of tea leaves. Pour over them four cups of boiling water, cover and steep 3 minutes. Strain into a teapot and serve at once.
Cocoa.—The children of the family should never have tea. On a cold night cocoa is a very pleasant variant from the usual glass of milk.
Mix 4 tablespoons of cocoa with 3 tablespoons of sugar and a little salt. Add 1 cup of boiling water and cook until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add a quart of milk and heat to boiling. This may be done more safely in a double boiler. Just before serving beat with an egg beater.
General Suggestions
If the Girl Scout who is preparing for her examination will look back over the menus which have been suggested, she will notice that milk is emphasized. It is absolutely essential that the children in the family shall have milk. If the family do not like milk to drink, it should be remembered that every bit which is used in cooking serves the same purpose as if it were taken from a glass, but little children do not ordinarily get enough milk unless they drink some. Fruit should be served at least once a day and better twice, and some vegetable other than potato should be not only served but eaten by the family. Children who are not taught to like vegetables when they are little sometimes never learn to like them, and it is really important to eat vegetables, not only because they contain important substances for growth, but because it is only good manners to learn to like all the ordinary foods which are served. Anyone who has cooked knows how discouraging it is to feel that some member of the family does not like the food. There is a temptation in the city where fruit, vegetables and milk are high, to use too much meat and but little of these foods. It has been suggested recently that in forming an idea as to whether the money is being spent to the most advantage, the money spent for fruit and vegetables, for milk and cheese, and for meat and fish should be compared. In a well-balanced diet these amounts should be nearly equal. An increasing number of people are becoming lacto-vegetarians, which means that they eat no meat or fish, but balance their absence by using more milk, eggs and cheese.
Before starting to prepare a meal the Scout should not only have her menu in mind, but should have an idea how long it will take to prepare each dish so that everything will be ready to serve at the same time with all the hot dishes very hot and all the cold dishes very cold. If all the dishes of the meal require about the same length of time in their preparation the ones should be started first which can be most easily kept in good condition.
Enjoyment of a meal depends quite as much on neat and comfortable service as it does upon good food. The table cloth, napkins, dishes and silver should be clean and the dishes should be arranged so that there is as little danger as possible of accident. This is the reason, for example, for the rule that a spoon should never be left in a coffee or tea cup. This arrangement is usually more comfortable if nothing is placed on the table which is not going to be actually used at the meal, except that a few flowers or a little dish of ferns in the center of the table is very much liked by most people, if there is room for it. It often happens that the family see more of each other at meal times than at any other time in the day and everyone should try to make meal time a pleasant, restful, good-humored time.
Household Weights and Measures
The careful housewife soon becomes skilled in weighing and measuring the various goods she buys and uses. At the store she is on guard against short measures, and if she does not market in person, she has machines at home to test what is delivered. The following table is given for frequent reference use by the Girl Scout while earning her badges in Homecraft. She will also find it useful in learning to judge weights and distances for her First Class test.
Table of Household Weights and Measures
(Reprinted by permission of publisher from "Housewifery,"
by L. Ray Balderston, M. A.
J. B. Lippincott, 1919)
| 1 lb. coffee = 40 cups of liquid coffee |
| 17/8 cups rice = 1 lb. |
| 22/3 cups oatmeal = 1 lb. |
| 22/3 cups cornmeal = 1 lb. |
| 1 cup of liquid to 3 cups of flour = a dough |
| 1 cup of liquid to 2 cups of flour = a thick batter |
| 1 cup of liquid to 1 cup of flour = a thin batter |
| 1 teaspoonful soda to 1 pint sour milk |
| 1 teaspoonful soda to one cup of molasses |
| 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar plus ½ teaspoonful soda = 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder |
2. THE CHILD NURSE
There always are and always will be children to be taken care of. There is no way in which a girl can help her country better than by fitting herself to undertake the care of children. A Girl Scout thinks for herself, and knowing the Health Laws, she knows the important things to consider in caring for children:
1. The care necessary for the child's bones.
2. When it should exercise its muscles.
3. Its rest.
4. The air, sun and food and water which it needs.
5. How to keep it clean.
Bones—Great care must be taken in handling a baby. Its bones are soft and easily injured, and for this reason a baby should not be handled more than necessary. When very young its entire spine should be supported, and no undue pressure made upon the chest, as often happens if the baby is grasped under the arms. In lifting a young baby from its bed, the right hand should grasp the clothing below the feet, and the left hand should be slipped beneath the infant's body to its head. It is then raised upon the left arm. An older child should be lifted by placing the hands under the child's arms, and never by the wrists. If children are jerked or lifted by the arms, serious injury may be done to the bones. The bones, when a child is growing, are partly composed of soft tissue which is easily destroyed, and further growth is prevented. Many children are brought to the hospitals with injuries done to their arms from being jerked across the street. Do not let a child walk too soon, especially a heavy child. Bow legs and knock knees come from standing and walking when the bones are soft.
Exercise—At least twice a day an infant should be allowed for fifteen or twenty minutes the free use of its limbs by permitting it to lie upon a bed in a warm room, with all clothing except the shirt and diaper removed. In cold weather leave on the stockings. Later, when in short clothes, the baby may be put upon a thick blanket or quilt, laid upon the floor, and be allowed to tumble at will.
Rest—Healthy children never sleep too much. A new born baby should sleep nine-tenths of the day. A child should have a nap during the day until four years old, and, if possible, until seven or eight years old. It should go to bed before six. It should have a crib or bed to itself, placed where it will have fresh air, but protected from draughts, and its eyes protected from direct rays of light.
Air and Sun—A little child is in its room so much it is very important that fresh air and sunlight should be brought to it there. Rooms may be well aired twice or three times a day, removing the baby to another room while the windows are open. The child may be placed in its crib or carriage before on open window, dressed as if for the street. After children are three months old they may be taken out, but the sunny part of the day should be chosen, between 10 a. m. and 3 p. m. in cold weather. At night the windows should be partly opened, but care should be taken that the infant does not become chilled. Be careful that sheet and blankets do not get over a baby's head. The clothes may be pinned to the side of the bed.
Food and Water—Even little babies should be given water twice a day. The water should be boiled, cooled and kept covered. It is hardly possible for children or older persons to drink too much water. During hot weather a child needs more water than during cold weather.
Mother's milk is the only perfect food for an infant during the first nine or ten months. If it is necessary to give artificial food from a bottle, the greatest possible care must be taken. The milk used should be the best obtainable. To obtain clean milk it is necessary that everything that touches it be clean, sterilized when possible, and that the cows, and men who handle the milk be healthy. In New York City all milk is classified according to its cleanliness and butter fat content. The cleanest and richest milk is called "certified milk" and is sold raw. The other milks are classified according to cleanliness. Grade A, B and C are all pasteurized. Only certified and Grade A should be used for infant feeding. You know that sterile means free from germs or bacteria. Milk or water may be made comparatively sterile by boiling. Pasteurized milk is milk which has been heated to 155° Fahrenheit, kept at that temperature for thirty minutes and cooled quickly by placing the bottles in cold running water.
Punctual feeding makes good digestion, and even if the baby takes an extra nap it is better to wake a healthy baby to give him his meals at regular hours than to let his digestion get out of order. Between meals a little water which has been boiled and cooled and kept covered will wash out its mouth as well as refresh the child. The average infant is fed every three hours until it is five months old. After that it is fed every four hours until it is fifteen or sixteen months old, when it is shifted to three meals a day with perhaps a cup of milk in long intervals. Solid food, such as zwieback and milk or cereal, is begun at seven months, and by thirteen or fourteen months the child will be eating cereal, bread, broth, beef juice, potato, rice, vegetables, etc. Candy is harmful for children, and even older children should eat candy only after meals. Raw fruit, except orange juice, is apt to be upsetting in summer.
Keep the baby and everything around him clean. The baby's food is the most important thing to keep clean. The cleanliness of the bottle, when it is necessary to feed the baby from one, is very important. Choose a bottle of fairly heavy glass with rounded bottom and wide mouth, so that it may be easily cleaned. Short rubber nipples which clip over the neck of the bottle and which can be easily turned inside out, should be selected, and discarded when they become soft, or when the openings become large enough for the milk to run in a stream instead of drop by drop. Remove the bottle from the baby's mouth as soon as empty, rinse at once in cold water and then fill with a solution of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), about one teaspoonful to a pint of water. Before rinsing wash in hot soapsuds, using a bottle brush, rinse well in plain water, and boil for twenty minutes, placing a clean cloth in the bottom of the basin to protect the bottle from breaking. Before using new nipples they should be scrubbed inside and out and boiled for at least five minutes. After using they should be carefully rinsed in cold water and kept in a covered glass containing a solution of boric acid (one teaspoonful dissolved in a pint of boiling water), and at least once a day be turned inside out and thoroughly washed with soap and water, then rinsed. Nipples should be boiled twice a week.
Bath—A baby should have a bath every day, not sooner than one hour after feeding. The room should be warm; if possible there should be an open fire in the room. The temperature of the water for a baby up to six months old should be 98°. Then it should gradually decrease, next temperature being 95°, until at the age of two it should range between 85° to 90°. Before a baby is undressed the person who is bathing the baby must be sure that everything needed for the bath and dressing is at hand. The hand basin or small tub of warm water, a pitcher of hot water in case it is needed, castile or ivory soap, soft wash cloths, towels, brush, powder, fresh absorbent cotton, boric acid solution, and the baby's clothes laid out in the order in which they will be needed in dressing the child, the soft flannel bandage, the diapers, the shirt, flannel petticoat, dress and shawl.
For some people it is easier to handle a baby when laid on a bed or table than on one's lap, having under the child a soft bath towel or canton flannel large enough to be wrapped around it. Its nose may be cleaned with a bit of absorbent cotton rolled to a point, using a fresh piece for each nostril. To bathe the eyes use fresh pieces of absorbent cotton dipped in boric acid solution. Wash the baby's face carefully so that the water does not drip into its ears. Dry the face carefully. Wash the head gently and thoroughly with soap, being careful to rinse completely. Soap the baby's body before putting it into the bath. As a soapy little baby is difficult to hold, support him firmly all the time he is kicking and splashing, by placing the arm or hand at the baby's back between its shoulders. Wash particularly, under the arms, the creases in the back of the neck, between the legs, fingers and toes. The bath should be given quickly and the baby lifted out in the bath towel or flannel, covered and dried quickly, using a soft towel. Rub the baby very slightly. All the folds of the skin should be dried and well powdered: under the arms, behind the ears, about the neck, legs, etc. Do not put too much powder on, as it forms a paste. Dress the infant and lay it on its crib while putting away all the things used for its bath. It is perfectly proper for a baby to exercise its lungs by crying, so do not be alarmed, but be sure that its clothing is comfortable and that the child is clean. Garments worn at night should always be different from those worn during the day. The garments next to the skin should be of wool or part wool, except the diaper, which should be soft cotton, and when new, washed several times before using. Wet diapers should be rinsed in cold water and dried before using a second time; about every twenty-four hours diapers should be washed, scalded, rinsed in cold water and hung in the air to dry.
Daily Routine—Child Under Two Years of Age
A baby needs to be kept quiet. Do not make loud noises near it. Do not play with infant too much. Leave it to itself to grow. Keep the baby clean, everything about it tidy. Do not give a child pointed toys or playthings small enough to go into the infant's mouth. Tie toys to the crib or carriage so that they do not fall on the floor.
Things to Remember
Emphasize "tidy as you go," sleep, water, bowel movements, exercise for older children, especially in cold weather, nothing in mouth, do not use pacifiers, tying toys to crib or carriage, a baby over two years of age should not be fed oftener than every four hours.
Bowel Movements
At least once a day.
Should be medium soft, not loose, smooth, and when on milk diet, light in color.
If child is constipated, give one teaspoonful of milk of magnesia clear, at night.
See doctor if child is not well.
Feedings
Children from birth to five months should be fed every three hours.
Children over one and a half years old need three meals a day, dinner in the middle of the day.
Little children need to be kept very quiet. No confusion or loud noises around them. They will then grow better and stronger.
Colds
Never neglect a cold. Do not "pass it on" to a child by coughing, sneezing, talking or breathing into its face. Do not kiss anyone when you have a cold. Never allow the handkerchief used by a person with a cold to touch a child. If you must handle a child when you have a cold, wear a piece of gauze over your mouth and nose, and be sure to keep your hands clean. Be very careful with the handkerchiefs used; see that no one touches or uses them. It is preferable to use gauze or soft paper for handkerchiefs and burn them. When a child has a cold put it to bed. Keep quiet as long as there is any fever. Give a cathartic, such as castor oil, as soon as cold appears. Reduce the child's diet and give plenty of drinking water. Consult a doctor. Do not let the child go out until thoroughly well.
3. THE FIRST AIDE IN ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES
General Rules
The sorrow and unhappiness of the world is increased enormously every year by injury and loss from accidents, more than half of which might be prevented if someone had not been careless, or if someone else had taken a little trouble to correct the results of that carelessness before they caused an accident.
It therefore becomes the plain duty of Girl Scouts not only to be careful but to repair, if possible, the carelessness of others which may result in accident.
Let us review briefly some of the many small things in our daily lives which cause accidents, and therefore suffering and loss.
1. Carelessness in the Street. As, for example, taking chances in getting across in front of a car or automobile; running from behind a car without looking to see of some vehicle is coming from another direction; catching a ride by hanging on to the rear end of cars or wagons; getting off cars before they stop; getting on or off cars in the wrong way; being too interested to watch for open manholes, cellarways, sewers, etc.; reckless roller skating in the street, throwing things like banana peels on the street or sidewalk where people are likely to slip on them; teasing dogs, or trying to catch strange ones; many dogs resent a stranger petting them and use their only means of defense—biting. Other examples will occur to you of carelessness in the streets which space does not allow us to mention here.
Wait until the car stops before trying to get off. In getting off cars you should face in the direction in which the car is going. A simple rule is to get off by holding a rod with the left hand and putting the right foot down first. This brings you facing the front of the car and prevents your being swept off your feet by the momentum of the car.
If you see any refuse in the street which is likely to cause an accident, either remove it yourself or report it to the proper authorities to have it removed at once.
2. Carelessness at Home. As for example, starting the fire with kerosene; leaving gas jets burning where curtains of clothing may be blown into the flame; leaving clothing or paper too near a fire; throwing matches you thought had been put out into paper or other material which will catch fire easily; leaving oily or greasy rags where they will easily overheat or take fire spontaneously; leaving objects on stairs and in hallways which will cause others to fall; leaving scalding water where a child may fall into it or pull it down, spilling the scalding water over himself; leaving rags or linoleum with upturned edges for someone to fall over; and innumerable other careless things which will occur to you.
3. Disobedience, playing with matches; building fires in improper places; playing with guns; trying the "medicines" in the closet; throwing stones; playing with the electric wires or lights; playing around railroad tracks and bridges: We could multiply the accidents from disobedience indefinitely. Remember, a caution given you not to do something means there is danger in doing it, which may bring much sorrow and suffering to yourself and others.
It is a very old saying that "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," but it is as true today as it was hundreds of years ago.
After the Accident
When the time for prevention is past, and the accident has happened, then you want to know what is the best thing to do, and how best to do it in order to give the most help and relief immediately, before expert help can arrive, and to have the victim in the best condition possible for the doctor when he comes, in order that he may not have to undo whatever has been done before he can begin to give the patient relief from his suffering.
1. Keep cool. The only way to do this effectually is to learn beforehand what to do and how to do it. Then you are not frightened and can do readily and with coolness whatever is necessary to be done.
2. Send at once for a doctor, if you have a messenger, in all except the minor accidents. This book will help you learn to judge of whether a doctor will be necessary. If in doubt send for a doctor anyway.
3. Prevent panic and keep the crowd, if there is one, at a distance. The patient needs fresh air to breathe, and space around him.
4. Loosen the clothing, especially any band around the neck, tight corsets or anything else that may interfere with breathing.
5. Keep the patient flat on his back if the accident is at all serious, with the head slightly down if his face is pale and he is faint, or slightly raised if his face is flushed and he is breathing heavily, as though snoring.
6. If there is vomiting, turn the head to one side in order that the vomited material may easily run out of the mouth and not be drawn into the windpipe and produce choking to add to the difficulties already present.
7. Remove clothing, if necessary, gently and in such manner as to give the patient the least amount of suffering. Move any injured part as little as possible. At the same time, as a secondary consideration, injure the clothing as little as possible. If, as often, it becomes necessary to cut off the clothing, it may be possible to rip up a seam quickly instead of cutting the cloth, but saving the clothing is always secondary to the welfare of the patient. Little or no consideration should be shown for clothing where it is necessary to keep the patient motionless, or where quick action is needed.
8. Transportation. There are three methods for emergency transportation of accident victims which can be used according to the degree of the injury:
(a) Fireman's Lift. If it is necessary for one person to carry a patient, it is easily possible to lift and carry quite a weight in the following manner:
First, turn the patient on his face, then step astride his body, facing toward his head, and, with hands under his armpits, lift him to his knees, then clasp your hands over the patient's abdomen and lift him to his feet; then draw his left arm around your neck and hold it against the left side of your chest, the patient's left side resting against your body, and supporting him with your right arm about the waist. Then drop the patient's left hand and grasp his right wrist with your left hand and draw the right arm over your head and down upon your left chest; then stooping, clasp his right thigh with your right arm passed between the legs (or around both legs) and with a quick heave lift the patient to your shoulders and seize his right wrist with your right hand, and lastly, grasp the patient's left hand with your left hand to steady him against your body. (Work this out with a companion as you read it.)
(b) A seat made of four arms and hands (which you have no doubt used in your play), may be used for the lesser injuries. If the patient can, he supports himself by putting his arms around the necks of his carriers, each of whom in the meantime grasps one of his own wrists and one of his partner's. This makes a comfortable seat for carrying. If the patient needs supporting, a back may be improvised by each carrier grasping the other's arm below the shoulder to form the back and their other hands clasped to form the seat. A better seat may be made with three hands clasping the wrists, while the fourth arm is used as a back, by one clasping the other's arm below the shoulder. This does not provide a very secure back, however, as it is not easy to hold the arm against much of a weight from the patient's body.
(c) Improvised Stretcher. When the patient shows any sign of shock, is unconscious, has a serious fracture of some bone or bones, has a serious injury to any part of the body, or is bleeding excessively, he must be carried lying down. It may be that there will be no regular stretcher at hand. In that case one must be improvised. A serviceable one can be made from ordinary grain or flour bags by cutting the two corners at the bottom and running two poles inside the mouth of the bags and through the holes.
A workable stretcher can be made from coats by turning the sleeves inside out, passing the poles through the sleeves and buttoning the coat over the poles. This brings the turned sleeves on the inside. A five-bar gate or a door, if it can be gotten without delay, also make satisfactory emergency stretchers.
A stretcher may also be made out of dress skirts, with or without poles. Put the skirts together, bottoms slipped past each other, and slip the poles through, as with the bags. If no poles are available, roll the edges of the skirts over several times to form a firm edge, and carry with two or four bearers, as the size and weight of the patient make necessary.
Minor Injuries and Emergencies
Minor injuries may or may not need the aid of a doctor, and you must learn to use judgment as to the necessity of sending for one. We will consider these minor injuries in groups to remember them more easily.
1. (a) BRUISES; (b) STRAINS; (c) SPRAINS
(a) A Bruise is produced by a blow which does not break the skin, but does break the delicate walls of the capillaries and smaller veins, thus permitting the blood to flow into the surrounding tissues, producing the discoloration known as "black and blue."
(b) A Strain is produced by the overstretching of muscles or ligaments, or both, but not tearing them. It may or may not be accompanied by breaking of capillary walls with discoloration. Any muscle or ligament may be strained.
(c) A Sprain is produced by the overstretching of the muscles or ligaments or both about a joint. There may also be some tearing of the fibres or tearing loose from their attachments. This always breaks capillaries or small veins, making the surface black and blue. This discoloration usually appears some time after the accident, because the broken blood vessels are far below the surface.
Treatment—For bruises and strains it is seldom necessary to call a doctor. Apply cold, either by wringing cloths out of cold water and applying, or by holding the injured part under the cold water tap. Do this at intervals of several hours, until the pain is lessened. The cold may be alternated with hot water which must, however, be quite hot, just enough not to burn, as lukewarm water is almost useless. Some patients will prefer to use only hot water. The water followed by applications of tincture of arnica, witch hazel, or alcohol and water, half and half, and bandaging will be sufficient.
If, however, there has been no black and blue at first, as in a bruise, but it begins to show later, and the pain continues severe, and there is a good deal of swelling, then you should send for a doctor, as more than first aid is needed.
In case of sprain, send for a doctor, and in the meantime elevate the joint and apply hot or cold water, or alternate hot and cold, as patient prefers. This will give relief by contracting the blood vessels.
2. (a) BURNS; (b) SCALDS; (c) SUNBURN; (d) FROSTBITE
(a) Burns are produced by dry heat, as a fire, acids, alkalis, etc., and may be of all degrees, from a superficial reddening of the skin to a burning of the tissues to the bone.
(b) Scalds are produced by moist heat, and may be of the same degrees as those produced by dry heat.
(c) Sunburn is produced by the sun, and is usually superficial, but may be quite severe.
(d) Frostbite is produced by freezing the tissues and is usually not dangerous. The more severe types will be treated later under Freezing.
Treatment—(a) Burns; (b) Scalds
1. Except in the minor burns and scalds, send for the doctor at once.
2. The first thing to do is allay pain by protecting the injured part from the air.
3. For a burn produced by fire, cover with a paste made of baking soda and water, or smear with grease—as lard, carron oil (mixture of linseed oil and lime water—half and half) or vaseline or calendula cerate. Cover with a piece of clean cloth or absorbent gauze and bandage loosely or tie in place. Gauze prepared with picric acid, if at hand, is a most satisfactory dressing. It can be purchased and kept on hand for emergencies.
4. In burns from alkalis or acids, wash off as quickly as possible and neutralize (make inactive the acids with baking soda, weak ammonia or soapsuds; the alkalis with vinegar or lemon juice). Afterward treat like other burns.
(c) Sunburn is an inflammation of the skin produced by the action of the sun's rays and may be prevented by gradually accustoming the skin to exposure to the sun. It is treated as are other minor burns.
(d) Frostbite—Prevention—1. Wear sufficient clothing in cold weather and keep exposed parts, such as ears and fingers, covered.
2. Rub vigorously any part that has become cold. This brings the warm blood to the surface and prevents chilling.
3. Keep in action when exposed to the cold for any length of time. The signs of danger are sudden lack of feeling in an exposed part, and a noticeably white area. Chilblain is an example of frostbite.
Treatment—The circulation of the blood through the frozen part must be restored gradually. This must be done by rubbing the part first with cold water, which will be slightly warmer than the frozen part, and gradually warming the water until the circulation and warmth is fully restored. Then treat as a minor burn. If heat is applied suddenly it causes death of frozen parts.
3. SPLINTERS, SMALL CUTS, SCRATCHES AND PIN PRICKS
None of these injuries will usually require a doctor if properly treated in the beginning. The bleeding from any of them is not sufficient to be dangerous. But whenever there is a break in the skin or mucous membrane there is danger of infection by germs, and this is what makes the first aid treatment in these cases so important. A tiny scratch is sometimes converted into a bad case of blood poisoning by not being properly treated at first.
Splinters should be removed by using a needle (not a pin) which has been sterilized by passing it through a flame (the flame of a match will do if nothing better is at hand). After the splinter is out, the wound is treated like a cut or scratch.
The germs which produce poisoning do not float in the air, but may be conveyed by any thing which is not sterile, as, for instance, the splinter or the instrument that did the cutting, scratching or pricking. They may be carried to the scratch by our hands, by water, or cloth used for dressings.
Treatment—Wash your own hands thoroughly with soap and water, using a nail brush. Clean the injured part well with disinfectant, as, for instance, alcohol and water, half and half, or peroxide of hydrogen—paint the spot with iodine, and cover with sterile gauze (if this is not to be had, use a piece of clean cloth that has been recently ironed), and bandage in place. If the bleeding is severe, a little pressure with the bandage over the dressing will stop it. Use the same precautions if the wound has to be re-dressed.
4. STINGS AND BITES OF INSECTS
The poison injected by the sting or bite of an insect is usually acid, and the part should be washed at once with a solution of ammonia or soda (washing soda) to neutralize the poison. Then apply a paste of soda bicarbonate (baking soda) or wet salt and bandage in place. If the sting is left in the wound it must be pulled out before beginning treatment.
5. FOREIGN BODIES IN THE (a) EYE (Cinder) (b) EAR (Insect), (c) NOSE (Button)
(a) Eye—If a cinder, eyelash, or any tiny speck gets into the eye it causes acute pain, and in a few minutes considerable redness.
Treatment—Do not rub the eye, as this may press the object into the tender cornea so that it can be removed only with difficulty and by a physician. First close the eye gently, pull the eyelid free of the ball, and the tears may wash out the speck. If this is not successful, close the eye, hold the lid free, and blow the nose hard. You may then be able to see the speck and remove it with a bit of clean cotton or the corner of a clean handkerchief. If the object is lodged under the lid, and the foregoing efforts do not dislodge it, proceed to turn the lid up as follows:
Ask the patient to look at the floor, keeping the eyeball as stationary as possible. Take a clean wooden toothpick or slender pencil, wrapped with cotton, place on the upper lid about one-fourth of an inch from the edge, grasp the eyelashes with the other hand, give a slight push downward toward the cheek with the toothpick, a slight pull upward on the lashes and turn the lid over the toothpick. Remove the speck and slip the lid back in position. Wash the eye with boric acid solution.
If you are still unable to dislodge the body, discontinue any further efforts, apply a cloth wet in cold boric acid solution and send for the doctor. Anything done to the eyes must be done with the greatest gentleness.
If an acid has entered the eye, neutralize it with a weak solution of soda bicarbonate in water. If an alkali (lime) is the offending substance, neutralize by a weak vinegar solution. Follow in each case with a wash of boric acid solution.
(b) Ear (Insect); (c) Button in Nose—Foreign bodies in the ear and nose are not very common.
But sometimes a child slips a button or other small object into these cavities, or an insect may crawl in. Drop in a few drops of sweet oil and if the object comes out easily, well and good. If not, do not keep on trying to extract it, for fear of greater injury. Send for the doctor.
6. IVY AND OAK POISONING
There is a poison ivy (or poison oak) which is very poisonous to some people, and more or less so to all people. The poison ivy has a leaf similar to the harmless woodbine, but the leaves are grouped in threes instead of fives. The poison given off by these plants produces a severe inflammation of the skin. In the early stages it may be spread from one part of the body to another by scratching.
Treatment—Wash the irritated surface gently with soap and water, and then apply a paste of soda bicarbonate or cover quickly with carbolated vaseline. Another remedy is fluid extract grindelia robusta, one dram to four ounces of water. Sugar of lead and alcohol have also been found useful. For severe cases consult a doctor, especially if the face or neck or hands are affected.
7. (a) FAINTING; (b) HEAT EXHAUSTION
(a) Fainting is caused by lack of blood in the brain, and usually occurs in overheated, crowded places, from fright or from overfatigue.
Symptoms—1. The patient is very pale and partially or completely unconscious.
2. The pulse is weak and rapid.
3. The pupils of the eyes are normal.
Treatment—1. If possible put the patient flat on his back, with the head slightly lower than the rest of the body.
2. If there is not room to do this, bend the patient over with his head between the knees until sufficient blood has returned to the brain to restore consciousness.
3. Then get the patient into the fresh air as soon as possible.
5. Loosen the clothing about the neck.
6. Apply smelling salts to the nose.
7. When the patient has recovered sufficiently to swallow, give him a glass of cold water, with one-half teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia if necessary.
(b) Heat Exhaustion is exhaustion or collapse due to overheating where there is not sufficient evaporation from the surface of the body to keep the temperature normal.
Symptoms—1. The patient is usually very weak.
2. The face is pale and covered with a clammy sweat.
3. The pulse is weak and rapid.
4. The patient is usually not unconscious.
Treatment—1. Remove the patient to a cool place and have him lie down.
2. Loosen the clothing.
3. Give him a cold drink to sip.
4. Put cold cloths on his head.
5. Send for the doctor.
6. If necessary, give stimulant as in fainting.
8. (a) CHOKING: (b) HICCOUGH
(a) Choking—Choking is produced by something lodged in the throat, does not require artificial respiration, but a smart slap on the back to aid in dislodging whatever is blocking the air passage. It may be necessary to have the patient upside down, head lower than feet, to aid in getting out the foreign body. This is a comparatively simple matter with a child, but is not so easy with an adult. When the object is not too far down the throat it may be necessary for someone to use his fingers to pull out the offending substance to keep the patient alive until the doctor can arrive. In this case wedge the teeth apart with something to prevent biting before trying to grasp the object.
(b) Hiccough—This is usually due to indigestion or overloading of the stomach. Holding the breath for one-half minute will usually cure it, as it holds quiet the diaphragm (the large muscular and fibrous partition between the chest and abdomen), and overcomes its involuntary contractions which are causing the hiccoughs. A scare has the same effect sometimes. If the hiccoughs still continue troublesome after these simple remedies try to cause vomiting by drinking lukewarm water, which will get rid of the offending material causing the hiccough, and relieve the distress.
9. NOSE BLEED
The ordinary nose bleed will soon stop from the normal clotting of the blood and does not require treatment.
(a) Keep head elevated, with patient sitting up if possible. Do not blow the nose, as this will dislodge any clot which may have formed, and the bleeding will begin again. Any tight collar around the neck should be loosened.
(b) If the bleeding seems excessive, apply cloths wrung out of ice water to the back of the neck and over the nose.
(c) If the bleeding still continues and is abundant, pack the nostril with a cotton or gauze plug. Pack tightly (with a blunt end of a pencil if nothing else is at hand) and send for the doctor at once.
Major Injuries and Emergencies
1. (a) DISLOCATIONS; (b) FRACTURES
(a) Dislocations—In a dislocation the head of a bone is pushed or pulled out of its socket. A person may be falling and in trying to save himself catch hold of something in such a way that he feels a sharp, sudden, severe pain, and may even feel the head of the bone slip out at the shoulder or elbow.
Symptoms—1. When you looked at the injured part it does not look like the other side.
2. If you attempt to move it you find it will no longer move as a joint does, but is stiff.
3. There is great pain and rapid swelling usually.
4. There may or may not be black and blue spots around the joint.
Treatment—Send for a doctor at once. While waiting for the doctor, place the patient in the easiest position possible, and apply hot or cold cloths, frequently changed, to the injured part.
In dislocation of the jaw it may be necessary for someone to try to replace it before the doctor arrives. The mouth is open and the jaw fixed. The patient may even tell you he has felt the jaw slip out of its socket. Wrap your thumbs in cloth to prevent biting when the jaw snaps back in place. Place the thumbs on the tops of the lower teeth on each side, with the fingers outside, and push firmly down until the head of the bone can slip over the edge of the socket into place. As you feel the bone slipping into place, slide your thumbs out to the inner side of the cheek to prevent biting when the jaws snap together with the reducing of the dislocation.
(b) Fractures—Broken bones—There are two classes of fractures:
1. Simple—In a simple fracture the bone is broken, but the skin is not broken; that is, there is no outward wound.
2. Compound—In a compound fracture not only is the bone broken, but the jagged ends pierce through the skin and form an open wound. This makes it more dangerous as the possibility of infection by germs at the time of the accident, or afterward, is added to the difficulty of the fracture.
Symptoms—As in dislocation, you should be familiar with the main symptoms of a broken bone.
1. When you look at the injured part it may or may not look like its mate on the other side. In the more severe fractures it usually does not.
2. When you try to move it you find more motion than there should be, if the bone has broken clear through; that is, there will seem to be a joint where no joint should be.
3. The least movement causes great pain.
4. The swelling is usually rapid.
5. The discoloration (black and blue) appears later; not at once, unless there is also a superficial bruise.
6. The patient is unable to move the injured part.
7. You may hear the grate of the ends of the bone when the part is moved, but you should not move the injured bone enough to hear this, especially if the limb is nearly straight; the detection of this sound should be left for the doctor.
Treatment—Send for a doctor at once, and if it will be possible for him to arrive soon, make the patient as comfortable as possible and wait for him. However, if it will be some time before the doctor can arrive you should try to give such aid as will do no harm and will help the sufferer.
You must handle the part injured and the patient with the utmost gentleness to avoid making a simple fracture into a compound one, or doing other injury, and also to give him as little additional suffering as possible. You will need to get the clothing off the part to be sure of what you are doing. Rip the clothing in a seam if possible when the fracture is in an arm or leg, but if this cannot be done, you will have to cut the material. Do not try to move the broken bone trying to get off a sleeve or other part of the clothing.
With the greatest gentleness put the injured part, for instance, the arm or leg, as nearly as possible in the same position as the sound part, and hold it in that position by splints. Do not use force to do this. There is no great hurry needed to set a broken bone. The important point is to get it set right, and this may better be done after complete rest of several days, allowing for the passing of the inflammation.
The Most Important "What Not to Do Points" for Fractures Are:
1. If there is reason to think a bone may be broken try in all ways to prevent motion at point of fracture lest it be made compound.
2. Do not go hunting for symptoms of fracture (such as the false point of motion or the sound "crepitus") just to be sure.
3. The best treatment is to try to immobilize the part till the doctor comes.
Splints—Anything that is stiff and rigid may be used for splints. Shingles, boards, limbs of trees, umbrellas, heavy wire netting, etc. Flat splints are best, however. All splints should be padded, especially where they lie against a bony prominence, as for instance, the ankle or elbow joint.
If the patient is wearing heavy winter clothing this may form sufficient padding. If not, then other cloth, straw or leaves may be used. Cotton batting makes excellent padding but if this is not to be had quickly, other things can be made to do to pad the first rough splints which are applied until the patient can reach a doctor or the doctor arrives on the scene of the accident.
In applying splints remember they must extend beyond the next joint below and the next joint above, otherwise movement of the joint will cause movement of the broken part.
The splints are tied firmly in place with handkerchiefs, strips of cloth, or bandages, tied over splints, padding and limb. Do not tie tight enough to increase the pain, but just enough to hold the splints firmly. Do not tie directly over the break. There must be an inner and outer splint for both the arms and the legs.
2. (a) SERIOUS WOUNDS; (b) SERIOUS BLEEDING
Send for the doctor at once, and then stop the bleeding and keep as clean as possible till he arrives.
Dangers—1. In any wound with a break in the skin, there is the danger of infection or blood poisoning, as you have already learned.
2. In serious wounds through the skin, flesh and blood vessels there is also the danger of severe bleeding, with the possibility of the patient's bleeding to death.
Infection—You already know how the germs which can cause the blood poisoning get into the wound.
(a) by the object that makes the wound
(b) from the clothing of the patient through which the wound is made
(c) from the rescuer's hands
(d) from the water which has not been sterilized used in washing the wound
(e) from dirty dressings, that is, dirty in the sense that they have on them germs which can get into the wound and cause infection or blood poisoning.
The first two of these chances the Girl Scout will not be able to control. The last three she can to some extent prevent. Do not wash, touch or put anything into a serious wound unless a doctor cannot be found. Only this sort of thing justifies running risk of infection. Otherwise just put on a sterile dressing and bandage. In reality washing wounds only satisfies the aesthetic sense of the operator without real benefit to the patient in many cases. If a wound has to be cleansed before the doctor comes use boiled water; if this cannot be had at once, use water and alcohol half and half.
1. Always wash your hands thoroughly with water, soap and a nail brush, unless there is necessity for immediate help to stop bleeding which admits of no time to clean one's hands. Be sure your nails are clean.
2. Try not to touch the wound with your hands unless it is absolutely necessary.
3. Many wounds do not have to be washed, but dressing may be applied directly.
4. Having cleansed the wound as best you can, or all that is necessary, apply sterile cloth for dressing. This may be gotten at a drug store in a sterile package ready for use immediately, and is very satisfactory. If, however, these cannot be had, remember any cloth like a folded handkerchief that has been recently washed and ironed is practically sterile, especially if you unfold it carefully and apply the inside which you have not touched, to the wound. Bind the dressing on with a bandage to keep in place until the doctor arrives.
(b) Serious Bleeding:
It is important that you should learn what is serious bleeding and this will often help you to be cool under trying circumstances.
As you learned in your work in minor emergencies, the bleeding from the small veins and capillaries is not usually sufficient to be dangerous, and the pressure of the dressing when put on and bandaged in place will soon stop it. It may sometimes be necessary to put more dressing outside of that already on (called re-inforcing it) and bandage again snugly. But if you have made sure first that there is no large vein or artery cut, you need not be troubled for fear there will be serious bleeding before the doctor arrives.
Bleeding from an Artery: If an artery is cut the blood spurts out, the size of the stream depending on the size of the artery cut. This is the most serious bleeding because the heart is directly behind, pumping the blood through the artery with all its power. If it is a small artery the pressure with the finger between the cut and the heart for a few minutes will give the blood time to clot behind the finger and form a plug. This will stop the bleeding aided by pressure of the bandage. If it is a larger vessel the force in the heart muscle pumping the blood will force out any plug formed by the finger there, as the finger tires too easily.
Tourniquet: In this case it will be necessary to put on a tourniquet to take the place of the finger until a clot can form in the vessel big enough and strong enough to prevent the force of the blood current from pushing it out. This of course can be used only on the legs or arms.
A tourniquet is something put on to make pressure on a blood vessel to stop serious bleeding. There are five points to remember about a tourniquet:
1. It must be long enough to tie around the limb—a big handkerchief, towel or wide bandage.
2. There must be a pad to make the pressure over the artery greater than on the rest of the limb—a smooth stone, a darning ball, a large cork, cloth folded into a large pad or a rolled bandage.
3. The pad must be so placed that the artery lies between pad and the bone on the limb, in order that the pressure may stop the flow of blood by forcing the walls of the artery together between the pad and the bone.
4. Unless the tourniquet is put on tight enough, its application increases bleeding. It is extremely rare to find a tourniquet put on tight enough. In almost every such case removing the tourniquet will stop or partly lessen bleeding. A short stick or handle is needed, about a foot long, with which to twist the tourniquet sufficiently to stop the flow of blood. Usually it cannot be twisted tightly enough by hand alone. Tie the twisted part firmly so it will not slip, after it has been made tight enough to stop bleeding.
5. Remember, a tourniquet stops most of the circulation below it as well as in the cut artery, and must not be left in place too long for fear of injury to the rest of the limb by cutting off the circulation. Usually it should not be left on for more than an hour.
Bleeding from Veins—Bleeding from the veins is not so dangerous as from an artery. The blood from the heart has to go through the little capillaries before it gets into the veins, and therefore the force of the heart muscle on the blood in the veins is not so great as in the arteries. The blood does not spurt out, but flows out as it would from a bottle tipped on its side.
You have already learned what to do to stop the bleeding from the smaller veins, and that it is not serious. From the larger veins, however, it can be very serious, and it may be necessary for you to put on a tourniquet before the doctor arrives in order to save the patient's life.
Almost always bleeding from a vein can be controlled by clean gauze or handkerchief pad and pressure by hand directly over the bleeding wound. Tourniquets are almost never needed in bleeding from a vein. If necessary, it is wisest to apply them in the same way as for arterial hemorrhage and stop the circulation in the whole limb.
It is important to know in a general way where the blood vessels are in order to put the pad over them to stop the bleeding. Roughly speaking, the artery of the arm runs down about in a line with the inner seam of the coat. The large vein lies close beside it, carrying the blood back to the heart. The artery and vein of the leg run about in a line with the inside seam of a man's trousers.
Stimulants—In serious bleeding of any kind do not give stimulants until the bleeding has been stopped, as the stimulants increase the force of the heart and so increase the flow of blood. After the tourniquet is on and bleeding is stopped, if the patient is very weak, he may have a teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia in half a glass of water.
(a) SHOCKS; (b) APOPLEXY; (c) CONVULSIONS
(a) Shocks—In any injury, except the slight ones, the ends of the nerves in the skin are bruised or jarred. They send this jar along the nerves to the very delicate brain. The blood is drawn from the brain into the larger blood vessels, and the result produced is called shock. If you have jammed your finger in a door sometime, perhaps you have felt a queer sick feeling and had to sit down. A cold sweat broke out all over you, and you were hardly conscious for a moment or two. This was a mild case of shock. In more severe injuries a shock to the brain may be very serious.
Symptoms of Shock—1. The patient may or may not be unconscious, but he may take no notice of what is going on around him.
2. The face is pale and clammy.
3. The skin is cold.
4. The pulse is weak.
5. The breathing is shallow.
In any serious injury the shock is liable to be severe and will need to be treated before the doctor arrives.
Treatment—Send for the doctor if serious.
1. Lay the patient flat on his back with head low, so that the heart can more easily pump the blood back into the brain.
2. Cover warmly; if they can be gotten, put around him several hot water bottles or bricks, being extremely careful to have them covered so that they will not burn him. Persons suffering from shock are more easily burnt than usual. Do not put anything hot next him unless it can be held against your own face for a minute without feeling too hot.
3. Rub the arms and legs, toward the body, but under the covers.
4. Give stimulants only after the patient has recovered enough to swallow, and when there is no serious bleeding.
Stimulants—Strong, hot coffee, or a half teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia in a half glass of warm water. The latter may be given if the coffee is not ready.
(b) Apoplexy—When a person has a "stroke" of apoplexy send for the doctor at once.
This condition resembles shock only in that the patient is unconscious. The blow to the delicate brain does not come from the outside along the nerves, but from the inside by the breaking of a blood vessel in the brain, letting the blood out into the brain tissue and forming a clot inside of the brain, and thus making pressure which produces the unconsciousness.
Symptoms of Apoplexy—1. The patient is unconscious.
2. The face is usually flushed—red.
3. The skin is not cold and clammy.
4. The pulse is slow and full.
5. The breathing is snoring instead of shallow.
6. The pupils of the eye are usually unequally dilated.
Treatment—1. Lay the patient flat on his back with head slightly raised.
2. Do not give any stimulants.
3. Wait for the doctor.
(c) Convulsions—This condition resembles the foregoing shock and apoplexy in that the patient is unconscious.
Symptoms of Convulsions—1. The patient is unconscious.
2. The face is usually pale at first, but not so white as in shock, and later is flushed, often even purplish.
3. The skin is not usually cold.
4. The breathing may be shallow or snoring.
5. There are twitchings of the muscles of the face and body or a twisting motion of the body.
6. The pulse may be rapid, but is usually regular.
7. The mouth may be flecked with foam.
8. The pupils of the eye may be contracted or equally dilated.
Treatment—Convulsions come from various causes, and are always serious, therefore send for the doctor at once.
1. Put a wedge of some kind between the teeth if possible, the handle of a spoon protected by a cloth cover, or a rolled napkin does well. This is to prevent biting the tongue, which the patient is apt to do in unconsciousness with convulsive movements.
2. Lay the patient flat on his back, and prevent him from hurting himself in his twisting, but do not try to stop convulsive movement. It will do no good.
3. No stimulant is needed.
(a) SUNSTROKE; (b) FREEZING
(a) Sunstroke—Sunstroke is caused by too long exposure to excessive heat, or to the direct rays of the sun, and is much more serious than heat exhaustion, which you have already studied.
Prevention—Do not stay out in the direct sunlight too long on a hot summer day. Wear a large hat which shades the head and face well, if obliged to be in the hot sun for any length of time. Do not wear too heavy clothing in the hot weather. Leaves or a wet sponge in the top of the hat will help to prevent sunstroke. Drink plenty of cool water between meals.
Symptoms of Sunstroke—1. The patient is unconscious.
2. The face is red.
3. The pupils large.
4. The skin very hot and dry, with no perspiration.
5. The pulse is full and slow.
6. The breathing is sighing.
Treatment—1. Get the patient into the shade where it is as cool as possible.
2. Send for the doctor.
3. Remove the greater part of the clothing.
4. Apply cold water or ice to the head, face, chest and armpits.
Often the patient recovers consciousness before the doctor arrives; give cold water to drink; never stimulants.
(b) Freezing—This is a much more serious condition than frostbite, which you have studied, but only because more of the body is frozen and the tissues are frozen deeper. Much more care must therefore be taken to prevent bad effects after the thawing-out process.
Symptoms of Freezing—1. The patient may or may not be unconscious.
2. The frozen parts are an intense white and are without any feeling or motion.
Treatment—Send for the doctor at once.
1. Take the patient into a cold room.
2. Remove the clothing.
3. Rub the body with rough cloths wet in cold water.
4. Very gradually increase the warmth of the water used for rubbing.
5. Increase the temperature of the room gradually.
6. When the patient can swallow, give him stimulants.
7. When the skin becomes more normal in color and the tissues are soft, showing that the blood is once more circulating properly through the frozen flesh, cover the patient warmly with hot bottles or bricks outside of the bed clothing, or wraps, and give hot drinks. In using hot water be sure it is not too hot.
Dog Bite[3]
In the case of the dog bite we have a more or less extensive break in the skin and sometimes a deep wound in the flesh, through which the poison of hydrophobia, which is a living virus or animal poison, may be introduced, to be taken up slowly by the nerves themselves, reaching the central nervous system in about forty days. The slowness and method of this absorption renders the use of a ligature useless and unsafe. The treatment for dog bite is therefore as follows:
Immediate. Send for a physician, telling him the reason. While waiting, treat as any similar wound from any cause. If the skin is not penetrated, but scratched only, apply iodine and a sterile or wet dressing. If the skin is penetrated, the treatment should be the same as for a wound made by a dirty nail: that is, a small stick, such as a match, whittled to a point, with a little cotton twisted on the point, should be dipped into tincture of iodine, and twisted down into the full depth of the wound, and then done a second time.
Subsequent. A physician should be consulted immediately, and if there is any suspicion of the dog being sick it should be kept under observation. The body of a dog that has been killed under suspicion of rabies or hydrophobia, should be sent as soon as possible to the proper authorities.
One of the greatest discoveries in medical science is the Pasteur treatment for the prevention of hydrophobia after mad dog bite, and fortunately, provision for this treatment is so widespread that practically every one in civilized regions needing it, can have it, as is well known to all physicians. The fact that the period of development of the disease is so long makes the possibility of prevention greater.
It is never proper to suck a dog bite, because the merest scratch or break in the surface, even if too small to notice, will serve as a portal of entry for the living virus of rabies.
Snake Bite. For treatment of snake bite see [page 297].
WATER ACCIDENTS
When it is possible, Girl Scouts should learn to swim well. It is fear when suddenly thrown into the water that causes so many of the deaths by drowning, and learning to swim well takes away this fear. A Girl Scout should also learn how to prevent accidents, and how best to help the victims of accidents in the water.
Prevention
Below are five rules for preventing drowning accidents.
1. Do not change seats in a canoe or rowboat.
2. Do not rock the boat.
3. Do not go out alone in a canoe, rowboat or sailboat unless you are thoroughly competent to manage such a boat, in a sudden squall or storm.
4. Very cold water exhausts a swimmer much quicker than warm water, therefore do not take any chances on a long swim in cold water unless a boat accompanies you to pick you up in case of necessity.
5. Be careful not to go too far out when there is a strong undertow; that is, a strong current below the surface of the water flowing relentlessly out to sea.
6. Always wade upstream.
Rescue
When a person gives up the struggle in the water, the body goes down, and then because of its buoyancy it comes to the surface and some air is expelled from the lungs, making the body less buoyant. It immediately sinks again, this time a little lower, and again comes to the surface, and more air is expelled. This process may be repeated several times, until sufficient water is taken into the stomach and lungs to overcome the buoyancy of the body and it no longer appears at the surface; but the buoyancy is barely overcome, and therefore the body will float easily. This can easily be utilized in saving the drowning person by making the water carry most of the weight of the body.
To do this, place the hands on either side of the drowning person's head, and tow him floating on his back with the face above the surface of the water, while you swim on your back and keep the body away from you. Remember, if possible, to go with the current and thus save necessary strength. In some cases it may be easier and safer to grasp the drowning person by the hair instead of trying to clasp the head.
Emergencies
Grips—A drowning person is always a frightened person, and is governed by a mad instinct to grab anything which subconsciously he thinks may save his life. Usually he is past any reasoning. He grabs his would-be rescuer with a death grip that is hard to break, but remember he instinctively grabs what is above the surface and will not try to grab below the shoulders.
Wrist Grip—If the drowning person grasps the rescuer's wrists, the rescuer throws both hands above his head, which forces both low in the water, and then turns the leverage of his arms against the other's thumbs and breaks the grip.
Neck Grip—To release a grip around the neck and shoulders from the front, immediately cover the mouth of the other with the palm of the hand, holding the nose between the first two fingers, and at the same time pull the other body toward you with the other hand, meanwhile treading water. Then take a full breath and apply your knee to the other's stomach quickly, thus forcing him to expel any air in his lungs and preventing him from getting more air by the hand on mouth and nostrils.
If the grip of the drowning person does not allow use of the arms, then try to raise your arms to the level of the shoulder, thus slipping his arms to the neck and leaving your own arms free to use, as described.
Back Grip—This strangle hold is perhaps the most difficult to break, and it is necessary to break it instantly if the rescuer is not also to be in the rescued class.
Grasp the wrists of the other and push sharply back with the buttocks against the abdomen of the other, and thus make room to slip suddenly out of the encircling arms.
If this is not successful, do not despair, but throw the head suddenly against the nose of the drowning person and then slip out of the grip before he recovers from his daze.
It is often necessary to dive from the surface in rescuing a drowning person, and this requires practice, and should be learned thoroughly before the necessity for saving a life is presented. Remember that to dive from the surface to a depth of more than ten feet will usually require a weight in addition to the weight of the body. Carry a stone or other heavy object in diving. Then when wishing to rise to the surface, drop it and push against the bottom with the feet. This will send the swimmer to the surface in short order.
In carrying a weight in the water, carry it low on the body, close to the waist line, leaving one hand and both feet free for swimming. Or if for any reason it is necessary to swim on the back, it leaves both feet free to use as propellers.
Artificial Respiration
If the apparently drowned person is to be saved, no time must be lost in the rescue from the water or in getting the water out of him, and breathing re-established after he is brought to land.
If there is a messenger handy send for a doctor at once, but in the meantime lose no time in attempting restoration.
The best method for getting the water out of the lungs and breathing re-established is the Schaefer Method, because it is the simplest, requiring only one operator and no equipment. It can be kept up alone for a long time.
1. Every moment is precious. Immediately lay the patient face downwards, with the arms extended above the head and the face to one side. In this position the water will run out and the tongue will fall forward by its own weight, and not give trouble by falling back and closing the entrance to the windpipe. Be sure there is nothing in the mouth, such as false teeth, gum, tobacco, etc. Do not put anything under the chest. Be sure there is no tight collar around the neck.
2. Kneel astride of the patient facing toward his head.
3. Place your hands on the small of the patient's back, with thumbs nearly touching and the hands on the spaces between the short ribs.
4. Bend slightly forward with arms rigid so that the weight of your body falls on the wrists, and makes a firm steady pressure downward on the patient while you count one, two, three, thus forcing any water and air out of the lungs.
5. Then relax the pressure very quickly, snatching the hand away, and counting one-two—the chest cavity enlarges and fresh air is drawn into the lungs.
6. Continue the alternate pressing and relaxing about twelve to fifteen times a minute, which empties and fills the lungs with fresh air approximately as often as he would do it naturally.
It may be necessary to work for an hour or two before a gasp shows the return of natural breathing. Even then the rescuer's work is not over, as it will be necessary to fill in any gaps with artificial breathing. When natural breathing is established, aid circulation by rubbing and by wrapping him in hot blankets and putting hot bottles around him, being careful that they are protected to prevent burning the patient.
If at any time it is necessary to pull the tongue forward and to hold it to prevent choking, remember to put a wedge between the teeth to prevent biting. Do not give anything liquid by mouth until the patient is conscious and can swallow readily. Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia or Spirits of Camphor may be used on a handkerchief for the patient to smell. The patient should be watched carefully for an hour or two even after he is considered out of danger.
ICE RESCUE
Prevention: Below are two rules for preventing ice accidents:
1. Do not skate or walk on thin ice.
2. Watch for air holes.
Rescue: In trying to rescue a person who has broken through the ice, always tie a rope around your own body and have this tied to some firm object on shore. Do not try to walk out to the rescue as the ice will probably break again under the weight of your body on so small an area as the size of your feet. Always get a long board, ladder, rail or limb of a tree, and either crawl out on this, which will distribute the weight of your body over a larger surface of ice, or lie flat on your stomach and crawl out, pushing the board ahead of you so that the person in the water may reach it. If you yourself break through the ice in attempting a rescue, remember that trying to pull yourself up over the edge of the ice only breaks it more. If rescuers are near it is much wiser to support yourself on the edge of the ice and wait for rescue.
After getting the person out of the water use artificial respiration if necessary and bend every effort to get the patient warm and breathing properly.
ASPHYXIATION
Prevention: Below are seven rules for preventing asphyxiation:
1. When coal stoves and furnaces are freshly filled with coal, coal gas may escape if the dampers are not properly regulated. See that all dampers in coal stoves and furnaces are correctly arranged before leaving them for any long time, as for the night.
2. Do not go to sleep in a house or room with a gas jet or gas stove turned low. The pressure in the pipes may change and the flame go out, or a breeze may blow out the flame leaving the gas leaking into the room.
3. Do not blow out a gas jet.
4. Be careful to turn off gas jet completely.
5. Report gas leaks promptly.
6. Charcoal stoves and braziers are especially dangerous from escaping gas and should not be used in sleeping rooms.
7. Do not go into unused wells or underground sewers without first lowering a lighted candle which will go out at once if the air is very impure, because of lack of oxygen to keep it burning.
Rescue: 1. Remove the patient at once to the fresh air. Gas is lighter than air, and therefore will not be found close to the floor and it will often be possible to crawl out when one would be overcome by the gas if he tried to walk out. For this reason it is sometimes best in trying to rescue anyone already unconscious from gas to tie the wrists together with a handkerchief, put his arms around your neck, and crawl out on all fours, dragging the insensible body with you, under your own body. If you attempt to walk out and carry the patient, cover your mouth and nose with a wet handkerchief, go very quickly, do not breathe until you reach the fresh air.
2. If there is a messenger handy, send for the doctor at once, but in the meantime if necessary, perform artificial respiration as outlined under the Schaefer System in the preceding paragraphs, until the patient is restored to normal breathing.
ELECTRIC SHOCK
This is caused by some part of the body coming in contact with a live electric wire. The seriousness of the shock depends on how heavy a charge of electricity the wire is carrying at the time.
The patient is usually unable to release himself from the wire. The first thing to be done, if possible, is to turn off the current by means of the switch, but if this cannot be done at once, the patient must be rescued by pulling him away from the wire.
Remember his body will easily carry the charge to yours while he is against the wire. Therefore you must "insulate" yourself—that is, put on your hands something that will not let the electricity into your body—or stand on something that will "insulate" you; for instance, rubber gloves or rubber tobacco pouches, dry silk handkerchiefs, other silk garments or newspapers used in place of gloves if necessary. Stand on a rubber mat or on dry boards, or glass, or in dire necessity dry clothes can be used to stand on. They must not be wet as then they will carry the electric current through your body and you must also be rescued instead of rescuing.
Prevention: 1. Do not touch the "third rail" of electric railways.
2. Do not catch hold of swinging wires, they may be "live wires."
3. Report broken wires to the right authorities.
Treatment:
1. Get patient loose from the current.
2. Send for the doctor.
3. Lay the patient flat on his back.
4. Loosen the clothing, and perform artificial respiration according to the Schaefer method if necessary.
5. Give first aid treatment to the burns.
FIRE ACCIDENTS
The first thought about a fire is to get it put out before it spreads any further. There are methods which will do this work effectually and Girl Scouts should learn these methods beforehand thoroughly, in order that when the emergency arises they may act quickly, coolly and effectively.
Fire in Clothing
If this happens in your own clothing, do not run for help, as the draft made by the motion of your body will only fan the flames to burn fiercely.
Grab the nearest thing that will cover you; overcoat, blanket, rug, wrap it tightly around you at the neck first to prevent flames from burning the face and lie down and roll over and over. This will smother the flames quickly. If you can get nothing to wrap around you, lie down and roll slowly over and beat the fire with your hands covered by some part of your clothing not on fire.
If the fire is in the clothing of another, wrap him in the nearest thing available, lay him on the floor and roll him over, smothering the flames as described before.
Woolen material will not catch fire as easily as cotton, therefore, if you have a chance to choose, take woolen material for smothering the flames.
Results
Results of fire in the clothing are sure to be more or less serious burns.
When you have discovered the extent of the burn, if it is at all serious, send for the doctor at once, and in the meantime treat the burn as you have already learned to do in minor burns.
Fire in Buildings
Keep cool, in order to remember what to do, and do it quickly.
Turn in a fire alarm at once. Send some one else if possible who may not know what to do to the fire. The quickest way is by telephone call, "Fire Department," and tell them the exact address of the building where the fire is. Or you may go to the nearest alarm box, smash the glass, open the door, and pull down the hook that sounds the alarm. (Generally the directions are printed on the box.) If you cannot sound the alarm alone, call upon the nearest person to help you. Wait there until the firemen arrive and direct them to the fire. When the firemen come do just as they tell you, for they know exactly what to do.
People trying to escape from a burning building often get frightened and then there is a panic. Panic kills more people than fire. Keep cool, and others will follow your example.
Never jump from a window unless the flames are so close that it is your only means of escape. If outside a burning building put mattresses and bedding piled high to break the jumper's fall and get a strong hold on a rug to catch the jumper, and let many people hold the rug.
If the fire is just beginning, it can easily be put out by smothering it with a rug or blanket; sand, ashes, salt, or a few pails of water will answer the same purpose.
Keep the doors and windows closed if possible to prevent draughts from fanning the flames to fiercer effort.
Remember this point when you go into a burning building, and leave some responsible person guarding the door, in order that it may not be left open by some one in excitement and the flames fanned beyond control.
If you need fresh air in your search for people in a burning building, open a window, put out your head and draw your lungs full of fresh air and then close the window again. In any case it is best to tie a wet handkerchief or towel over the nose and mouth while in a burning building, as this will prevent you from breathing a good deal of smoke.
In searching for persons remember always to begin at the top of the building if possible, and search every room. When on stairs keep to wall side, where air is relatively free from flames and smoke. If a room is locked, try to rouse the people by pounding and calling and then break in the door if unsuccessful in rousing them, and you suspect there is some one there.
Remember, the air within six inches from the floor is usually free from smoke, and if the smoke makes breathing too difficult, you can still accomplish your end by crawling along the floor and dragging the rescued one with you as you learned to do in gas rescue.
Form a bucket brigade from the fire to the nearest water supply; passing the filled pails from one to another rapidly, the last throwing the water on the fire and passing the empty pails back along another line to be filled again and passed on as before.
Fires from Kerosene, Gasoline, Benzine
Prevention.—1. Do not light a fire with kerosene.
2. Do not clean gloves or clothing with gasoline or benzine in a room with a lamp or gas jet lighted.
3. Do not try to dry clothing that has been cleaned with gasoline or benzine near a hot stove or lighted gas jet.
Extinction.—Do not use water to put out a fire of kerosene, benzine, or gasoline, as that only scatters the flames. Smother with blankets, rugs, sand, ashes, salt, or anything which is at hand and can be used; remember that woolen will not catch fire as easily as cotton.
COMMON POISON AND ANTIDOTES
Poisoning—Cases of poisoning happen most often because people do not examine the bottles before taking medicines from them.
Prevention—Disinfectants, liniments and medicines in bottles and boxes should be correctly and plainly labelled.
Bottles containing a poisonous substance should be rough outside, or with notched corks or marked with something beside the label stating that their contents are poison.
Treatment—1. Send for the doctor at once, telling him what kind of poison you think the patient has taken in order that he may bring the right antidote and the right implements to give the quickest and most effective relief.
2. Give demulcent or mucilaginous drinks, as for example, milk, raw egg, one or two tablespoonfuls of salad oil, sweet oil, or barley water—which can be obtained most readily.
3. Give something to produce vomiting, provided the lips are not burned or stained as they are with an acid or alkali. A simple but effectual emetic can be made by mixing two teaspoonfuls of salt or a tablespoon of mustard in a glass of lukewarm water. This may be repeated if necessary.
4. If the patient seems drowsy, suspect opium and keep patient awake at all costs till the doctor arrives.
5. If delirium threatens, dash cold water on the patient's head and face to try to prevent the fit from coming on.
6. When the poison taken has been acid, the antidote should be an alkali, but different poisons require different antidotes, and it would be unwise to trust to one's memory as to the proper one to take in each case. It would be well to have a list of the more common poisons and their antidotes attached to the First Aid Kit, but do not trust to the memory. If a Girl Scout does not know, and if the patient's lips are not stained or burned, give an emetic.
Bandages
Bandages form the most convenient way of keeping dressings on wounds and for making pressure when necessary. They are also used to correct some deformities, but you will not need to concern yourselves with the latter, as this is in the province of doctors.
There are three varieties of bandages which you will need to use and with which you should be familiar: the roller, triangular and four-tailed. The materials used for bandages are absorbent gauze, muslins or flannels. The kind you will use most will be gauze and muslin. The gauze is best to use in dressing wounds because it is pliable and absorbent, and muslin, if you may choose, in applying pressure, because it is firm. In an emergency there will usually be little chance to choose. Anything at hand, as underclothing, sheets, blankets, etc., may be torn into strips or triangles and used. Have the material which is used clean if possible.
The width of the roller bandage depends on the part of the body to be bandaged, from one inch for the little finger to four inches for the body. They can be rolled very well by hand with a little practice, and every Girl Scout should learn to do this or to improvise a bandage roller by running a very stiff wire through a small wooden box and then bending one end on the outside of the box like a handle.
A bandage must be rolled sufficiently tight so that the center will not fall out. By folding one end back and forth a few times to make a core, and then laying the bandaging over one's knees lengthwise of the thigh with the core uppermost, it can be rolled quite tightly and answer every purpose for emergencies.
Learn to put on all bandages smoothly and securely, but not too tightly.
Triangular Bandages—These bandages have advantages for first aid work. They can be quickly made, easily applied and are not apt to be put on too tightly even by a beginner.
The size of the piece of cloth varies with the part to be bandaged. Take a square piece of cloth (it should not be less than 34 to 38 inches), fold it diagonally from corner to corner and cut across the fold, making two bandages.
The bandage may be applied unfolded or folded into a narrow strip, called cravat bandage.
To fold the cravat bandage, the point of the triangle is brought to the middle of the diagonal side and the bandage folded lengthwise to the desired width.
The cravat bandage is convenient to use in bandaging the hand, foot, head, eyes, throat and jaw; for tying on splints; for tying around the limb in case of snake bite, and in making a tourniquet.
Always tie the bandage with a square knot to prevent slipping. Care must be used in applying the triangular bandage to have it smooth and firm, folding the loose ends into pleats evenly.
Bandage for Hand—For wound of the palm, lay cravat in straight line, place palm across it at the middle. Fold ends over the back of hand, carry around wrist and tie. Reverse the order for injury to the back of the hand.
To cover entire hand, unfold cravat, lay flat with point of triangle beyond the fingers. Fold the point of the bandage over the fingers, cross the ends, and pass around wrist and tie at the back.
Bandage for Foot—Place foot on the smooth triangle with the point extending beyond the toes several inches. Fold the point back over the instep, cross the ends, carry around the ankle and tie.
Bandage for the Head—The bandage may be used flat or as a cravat, according to the nature of the injury and the part to be bandaged.
For a cap bandage, fold over the edge of the diagonal edge, place on the head with the folded edge just above the eyes; pleat the edges hanging down over the ears into small folds so that the bandage lies smoothly; carry the ends around the head; cross at the back, and tie in a square knot in front. The cravat bandage may be used to hold on small dressings where the whole head does not need to be covered.
For the eyes, jaw and throat the triangular bandage is used by folding smoothly into a cravat and tying securely over the part to be covered.
Arm Sling.—The triangular bandage makes the best arm sling to support the forearm or for supporting injuries to the elbow or shoulder.
An arm sling is firmer and more satisfactory if the triangle is double; that is, simply fold over the square diagonally, but do not cut it along the fold. An arm sling will need to be about a yard square before folding.
To adjust the arm sling, put one end over the shoulder on the uninjured side; slip the point of the triangle under the injured arm, so that it will extend beyond the elbow a few inches; then take the end of the bandage over the arm, carry around the back of the neck on the injured side, meeting the other end; and tie securely. To prevent slipping, pin the point of the bandage around the arm just above the elbow.
A temporary sling can be made by pinning the sleeve of the injured arm to the dress or coat in such a way as to support the arm.
The Four-tailed Bandage—This bandage is useful for bandaging the head, and especially in fracture of the jaw. Use a piece of cloth about six or eight inches wide and a yard long. Cut each end into two equal parts, leaving about three or four inches in the middle uncut.
When the bandage is applied, the split ends are crossed so that they may be tied over different parts of the head and thus hold the bandage more securely in place. For instance, in the jaw bandage the uncut middle part is placed over and under the chin, the ends crossed, and two ends tied at the back of the neck and two over the top of the head.
Roller Bandages—Roller bandages are a little more difficult to put on so that they will stay on, and at the same time be smooth and have a uniform pressure on the part of the body bandaged. This last point is most important.
Rules for applying roller bandages:
1. Lay external surface of bandage against the part to be bandaged, holding the roll in the right hand, unless you are left-handed, unrolling it as a roll of carpet unrolls to show you a pattern in the shops.
2. Hold the loose end with the left hand and catch it with two or three turns of the bandage before beginning to put on the bandage. Never have more than four or five inches of the bandage unrolled at once.
3. Be careful to have the same pressure from every turn of the bandage. This is most important if the bandage is to stay on and be comfortable and not interfere with the circulation of the blood. Judgment of the pressure is only acquired by practice, and therefore you should practice enough to acquire this before the real emergency happens.
4. Do not bandage too tightly. Blueness of the skin above or below the bandage always means the bandage must be loosened. Remember in applying a bandage immediately after an injury that considerable swelling may occur later, and apply your bandage more loosely than if bandaging after the swelling has gone down. Always loosen a bandage that is tight enough to cause pain or blueness.
5. Bandage from below upward. That is, from the tip of a finger or toe toward the hand or foot. From the hand or foot toward the shoulder or groin. This is in the general direction of the return of the circulation.
6. Bandage over a splint and not under it.
7. Bandage arms, legs, fingers, etc., in the position the patient is to keep the part in when the bandaging is completed. For instance, bend the elbow to a right angle before putting on the arm bandage. This will be more comfortable for the patient, allowing him to carry the arm easily in a sling and also permit him to use the hand to some extent if the nature of the injury will permit. In bandaging a leg both above and below the knee, the bandage must be put on with a view to the necessary bending of the knee in walking and sitting, if the patient is expected to use the leg.
8. Never apply a wet bandage, as you cannot judge of just how much pressure will be exerted when the bandage dries, because of the shrinkage of cloth with drying; much greater in some cloth than in others.
Kinds of roller bandages:
1. Circular for parts uniform in size, as the body.
2. Spiral for conical surfaces, as fingers or toes.
3. Reverse for more conical surfaces, as arms and legs.
Circular Bandages—Any part of the body which is of uniform size may be covered with a circular bandage. Each turn covers about two-thirds of the previous turn. This holds each turn firmly and prevents slipping and exposing the dressing or wound underneath. Bandage in general direction of the return of the blood to the heart. Fasten the bandage with a strip of adhesive plaster or safety pin. If there is possibility of restlessness or much activity on the part of the patient, it is best to run several narrow strips of adhesive plaster along the whole width of the bandage when finished to prevent possible slipping of the turns of the bandage when the muscles move under it with the activity of the patient. This is especially true of a body bandage.
Spiral Bandage—A conical part, if not too conical, may be covered with a spiral bandage. Each turn ascends at a slight angle, with one edge of the bandage a little tighter than the other. In putting on this kind of bandage it is necessary to learn to have the tight edges all of a uniform pressure and each turn overlap the turn below in such a way that these tight edges make the uniform pressure without regard to the upper edge underneath, which is covered in each turn by the tighter edge of the turn above it.
Reverse Bandages—The reverse bandage is a modification of the spiral one, in order to cover the gapping between spirals which occurs when the surface is very conical, as, for instance, on the leg.
In putting on this bandage the loose end is caught by two or three turns first as in other bandages. Then start to make a spiral turn, but at the mid point of the front of the part being bandaged place the thumb of the left hand, and fold the bandage down so that it lies smoothly and continue the turn around to that same point. Repeat the process with each turn. (See illustration.) Each turn covers two-thirds of the one below in order to hold firmly. The pressure must be uniform when the bandage is finished. Fasten the ends as described under circular bandages, or divide the end of the bandage into two parts for several inches—long enough to wind around the part bandaged. Tie a single knot at the base to prevent further dividing, and wrap the ends around the part in different directions; tie in a hard knot to hold firmly.
Bandaging Fingers and Toes—In bandaging fingers and toes it is usually best to bandage the whole of the injured member. Cover the end of the finger, for instance, by passing the end of the half inch or one inch bandage several times the whole length of the finger, over the end and to the base of the other side. Hold this in place with one hand, start the spiral at the end of the finger, and bandage smoothly toward the hand. The spiral or the reverse spiral may be used.
Bandaging Two or More Fingers or Toes—It is sometimes necessary to bandage two or more fingers, for instance, at once, as in case of a burn, where it is necessary always to have the burned fingers separated while healing to prevent the raw places from growing together.
Pass a finger bandage twice around the wrist and pass obliquely to the base of the thumb. Carry to the end of the thumb and bandage as described above. When the thumb is bandaged, carry the bandage back to the wrist; pass around the wrist in one or two circular turns, and carry the bandage to the first finger and bandage as before. Repeat this until all the fingers are bandaged. Carry the bandage back to the wrist, after the last finger you wish to bandage is done; make one or two turns around the wrist and fasten.
In bandaging the foot, carry the bandage to the ankle to make secure and hold in place.
Bandaging Arms and Legs—The reverse spiral is usually best for bandaging these, because of the conical shape. Practice alone can teach you to put this on smoothly, firmly, not too tightly, and at the same time quickly. A reverse bandage will not stay in place on the leg of the person walking around unless pinned in many places or stuck by sizing in the cloth (which has been wet), plaster, etc. Only a figure eight caught over the top of the calf, in each alternate loop, will do so.
The Figure Eight Bandage—The figure eight is a modification of the spiral used in bandaging over joints in such a way as to permit some motion and at the same time keep the bandage firm and in place.
The bandage is carried first below and then above the joint; then below and then above, the turns overlapping the usual two-thirds of the width of the bandage, leaving the joint free until the last. Then it may be covered with two or three circular turns of the bandage. This admits of considerable motion without disturbing the bandage to any extent.
The National Red Cross and Girl Scout Instruction in First Aid
By special arrangement with the National Red Cross, it is possible for a Girl Scout completing satisfactorily the requirements for the First Aid Proficiency Badge to secure with slight additional work the Red Cross certificate in First Aid. Or the course may be taken entirely under Red Cross auspices, though arranged by Scout officials, in which case the Scout may receive both the Proficiency Badge and the Red Cross certificate. The conditions of this co-operation between the Girl Scouts and the National Red Cross are as follows:
Classes are to be organized with not less than four or more than twenty-five in a class. The best size is ten to fifteen. Scouts must be at least sixteen years of age to be admitted to these classes.
The instructor must be a physician appointed by the Chairman of the First Aid Committee of the local Chapter of the Red Cross. He or she may be supplied upon request by the Chapter, or chosen by the class and the name submitted to the Chapter for appointment.
The Red Cross class roll must be sent in to the local Chapter early in the course.
A Secretary to handle the records should be chosen, and where the class is made up of Scouts, the officials should be preferably a Scout Captain or Scout Official.
The examiner must be a physician appointed by the local Red Cross Chapter and is preferably some one other than the instructor, but this is not necessary. Like the instructor, the examiner may be supplied by the Chapter or chosen by the class.
The Red Cross examination roll, which may be obtained from the Chapter, should be used in giving examinations and then returned to the Chapter, who will issue the certificates. Follow the directions on the roll carefully.
If a Scout holds a First Aid Proficiency Badge she may complete the course in seven and one-half hours. If she does not hold a Proficiency Badge in First Aid then fifteen hours will be required. A Girl Scout holding a Proficiency Badge in First Aid and taking a school course held under Red Cross auspices which she passes with a mark of at least seventy-five per cent, can, when the school principal certifies to this, get the Red Cross certificate without further examination by applying to the local Red Cross Chapter.
Advanced Courses
Advanced courses are open to those who have the Red Cross certificate. There must be an interval of at least six months after the elementary course before an advanced course can be taken, and the same interval between repetitions of it. The course of instruction is seven and one-half hours, mainly practical demonstrations. A Red Cross medal is given on completion of this course. Each time it is repeated, up to three times, a bar (engraved with year) is given to be added to the medal.
Fees
A fee of fifty cents is required for the elementary course. The local Red Cross Chapter has the right to reduce this fee.
The fee for the advanced course is one dollar, which covers the cost of certificate, examination and medal. The fee for bar and engraving is fifty cents. These fees cannot be reduced.
These fees cover the cost to the Red Cross of postage, certificates, medals, bars, and so forth, but do not cover that of instructor, examiner, or classroom supplies, which the Red Cross requires the class to take care of.
Information
Where there is no local Girl Scout organization refer to the local Red Cross Chapter; or if there is none, either to the Girl Scout National Headquarters, 189 Lexington Avenue, New York, N. Y., or to the Department of First Aid, American Red Cross National Headquarters, Washington, D. C.
4. THE HOME NURSE
The Girl Scout who has earned the Home Nurse Badge may be of great help where there is illness. But, she should remember that only such people as doctors and trained nurses who have knowledge and skill gained by special training and thorough practice are fitted to care properly for those who are very ill.
If the Scout with the badge keeps her head and shows herself steady, reliable and willing, when called upon for help in illness or emergencies, she proves herself a true Scout who is living up to the Scout motto of "BE PREPARED."
To earn the badge she should know:
How to keep the sick room clean and comfortable.
How to make a bed properly.
How to prepare for and help a sick person in taking a bath.
How to make a sick person comfortable in bed, changing position, etc.
How to take temperature, pulse and respiration.
How to prepare and serve simple, nourishing food for the sick.
How to feed a helpless person.
How to prepare and use simple remedies for slight ailments.
How to occupy and amuse the sick.
When helping about the sick, the Scout should wear a wash dress or an apron which covers her dress. She should be very neat and clean. She should wash her hands frequently, always before her own meals, and after coming into contact with the sick person and after handling utensils, dishes, linen, etc., used in the sick room. Great cleanliness is necessary not only for her own protection but to prevent illness spreading.
She should move quickly and quietly, but without bustle or hurry, taking care not to let things fall, not to bump against the furniture, not to jar the bed, not to slam doors, in fact not to make any unnecessary noises, as sick people are not only disturbed but may be made worse by noises and confusion. If a door is squeaky the hinges should be oiled. Too much talking, loud talking and whispering are to be avoided. Only cheerful and pleasant subjects should be talked of, never illnesses either that of the patient nor of others.
The best nursing aims not only to bring relief and comfort to those already sick, but to guard against spreading sickness.
We know, now, that many diseases are spread by means of germs which are carried from person to person by various means, such as air, water, milk, and other food; discharges from the mouth, nose, bowels, bladder, wounds; clothing; the hands; the breath, and so forth.
It has been found that great heat, intense cold, sunshine and some powerful drugs called disinfectants kill germs. Germs thrive and multiply in dirt, dampness and darkness. That is why it is important to have fresh air, sunshine and cleanliness in order to keep well, and to help in curing those who get sick.
The Room, Its Order and Arrangement
The hangings and furniture of a sick room should be of a kind that can be washed and easily kept clean. Plain wooden furniture is better than upholstered furniture which collects and holds the dust. If there is a rocking chair it should be for the use of the sick person only. Seeing and hearing other people rock may be very disturbing.
If carpets are movable, so much the better, as they can be taken out to be cleaned.
The room should be bright and attractive. Sick people like flowers and pretty things, but the flowers should not have a strong perfume, and there should not be too many ornaments around to collect dust and to take up too much room. Flowers should be taken out of the room every night and the water changed before being returned to the room in the morning. Never have faded flowers around.
The room should be kept neat—a place for everything and everything in its place.
Neatness and attractiveness are not only pleasing to the sick person and those who come into the room but may really make the sick person feel better.
Medicines should not be kept in sight. All dishes and utensils not in use should be taken away and should be washed immediately after use.
Ventilating and Lighting the Room
The room of a sick person should be so situated that it will get plenty of sunlight and be easily aired. A room that has two or more windows can be better ventilated than a room with only one. When there is only one window, it should be opened both top and bottom. If there is not a screen, one can be made by hanging a shawl or a blanket over a clothes horse or a high-backed chair, or over a line stretched across the lower part of the window. A fire place or a stove keeps the air circulating—the air being constantly drawn up the chimney—and so helps in ventilating a room.
When "airing" the room great care must be taken to keep the sick person free from draughts.
Unless special orders have been given to the contrary there should be plenty of sunshine let in. The eyes of the sick person should be protected from the glare by a screen.
If possible there should be a thermometer in the room. The proper heat is between 65 and 70 degrees. If the temperature of the room is as high as 70 degrees and the sick person is cold, it is better to give her a hot water bag and to put on more covers than to shut the windows, thus keeping out the fresh air. Cool air acts as a tonic for the sick.
Cleaning the Room
The carpet should be gone over every day to remove the surface dust. Use the carpet sweeper, being careful not to knock the furniture nor to jar the bed. Raise as little dust and make as little noise as possible. Torn-up wet paper scattered on a small part of the carpet at a time and lightly brushed up into a dustpan with a whisk broom, or a broom, cleans the carpet very well without raising dust.
If the carpet cannot be taken out to be swept or beaten but requires thorough sweeping, an umbrella with a sheet over it may be hoisted over the head of the sick person to keep the dust from her nose and nostrils. The bare parts of the floor should be gone over with a damp duster or a damp mop.
The dusting should be done with a damp or oiled duster also, so that the dust may not be scattered. A basin of soapy water should be at hand and the duster washed in it frequently while dusting, so that the dust collected on it from one surface will not be carried to another. While dusting special attention should be paid to the doorknobs and that part of the door around them.
When the dusting is finished the dusters should be thoroughly washed and scalded and hung out of doors to dry.
The Bed
A metal bedstead is better than a wooden one, as wood holds odors and moisture, and is apt to have more cracks and crevices for germs or bugs to lodge in. It should be white, for then it shows when it needs cleaning and bed bugs keep away from white surfaces which show them up easily.
If possible, have the bed in a part of the room, where the drafts will not strike the patient every time a door or window is opened, and where the light does not shine in the eyes. If it can be placed so that the patient can see from the window so much the better.
To Make an Unoccupied Bed
Remove pillows and bedclothes, one at a time, being careful not to let corners drag on the floor, and put to air. Turn the mattress over from end to end one day, and from side to side next day. If the patient does not have to return to bed at once leave to air for at least half an hour.
An old blanket, old spread or a quilted pad, spread over the mattress not only protects the mattress but prevents the sheets from wearing out, and may make the bed more comfortable. These should be kept clean.
The bed for a sick person is frequently made with a rubber sheet and a draw sheet. The draw sheet is so called because its proper use is to be drawn through under the patient without greatly disturbing her and give her a cool fresh place to lie on. Therefore it should be long enough to tuck in sufficiently under one side to allow of this being done. An ordinary sheet folded in two from top to bottom and placed with folded edge toward the head of the bed may be used. It should entirely cover the rubber sheet, which is usually put on between the bottom and the draw sheet.
When the mattress is sufficiently aired, put on the protective covering. Over this spread the lower sheet so that the middle fold of the sheet lies up and down the centre of the mattress from head to foot. Keep perfectly straight. The sheet should be long enough to have at least fourteen inches over at ends and sides to tuck in. Tuck ends under mattress at head and foot drawing tightly so that it will be smooth and firm. Now tuck under at one side, folding neatly at corners, so that they will be mitred when finished. If there is no rubber nor draw sheet to put on, go to the other side of the bed and tuck in firmly at corners. Then, pulling the middle of the sheet very tightly with one hand, push the mattress with the other and tuck the sheet under. This under sheet should be very smooth without a wrinkle in it. If it is not long enough to tuck in well at both head and foot, leave plenty at the head to tuck in securely and tuck in at the sides tightly rather than risk having it come loose at the head. Be sure, however, that the mattress is entirely covered.
When Rubber and Draw Sheets Are Used
Before going around to the other side, lay the rubber sheet over the bed, so that the top edge will be well above where the lower edge of the pillow will come. Put the draw sheet over it. Tuck both well under the mattress on that side. Then, go to the other side and tuck in the corners of the lower sheet as directed, then stretching draw, rubber, and under sheet very tightly, tuck in separately.
Next spread the upper sheet, wrong side up, leaving as much at the head to turn back over the blankets as you left in the under sheet to tuck in. Have the middle fold over that of the lower sheet. Spread the blankets so that their upper edges will be even with the upper edge of the mattress. If the blankets are not long enough to reach as far up as they should, and yet tuck under firmly at the foot, place the lower one as directed, and the upper one so that there will be enough to tuck under at the foot, and hold the others in place. Tuck in all at once the foot and lower corners, mitring the corners as you did those of the lower sheet. Pull and straighten the sheet at the top and turn back smoothly over the blankets. If the bed is not to be occupied right away, tuck in both sides, stretching well so that it will have a smooth surface. Put on the spread, having the top edge even with the top of the covers. Tuck in neatly at foot and lower corners, letting the sides hang. Shake and beat the pillows thoroughly, make smooth and even, and put in place.
To Change the Under Sheet When the Patient Is in Bed
Loosen the bedclothes, without jarring the bed. Take off covers one at a time, until only one blanket and sheet remain. (If the patient feels cold, leave as many blankets as necessary to keep her warm.) Holding blankets with one hand or having patient hold it by the top, draw off the upper sheet, being careful not to uncover the patient. Remove the pillows. Have the patient as near the side of the bed as is safe, on her side, and facing the side on which she is lying. Roll the under sheets on the side of the bed close to the patient's back, making them as flat as possible. Pleat about half of the fresh under sheet lengthwise, and place close to the soiled sheets. Tuck in the other half, at the head, foot and side, draw the rubber sheet back over this fresh sheet, arrange the fresh draw sheet in place, tuck both in at that side and roll the free part close up to the patient's back. Now lift the patient's feet over the roll of fresh and soiled linen to the freshly made part, then have her roll her body over that side. Going to the other side of the bed, remove all the soiled linen and tuck the fresh sheets in, pulling tightly, being sure that there are no wrinkles under the patient. All the time keep the patient well covered. Now, spread the upper sheet and blankets over the covering the patient has had on while the lower sheets were being changed and, having the patient hold the coverings you have just put on, draw off the others, just as you took off the top sheet at first. Finish making the bed as you would an unoccupied one.
If the Bed Is to Be Occupied at Once
If the bed is to be occupied at once the coverings should be tucked in only at foot, corners and one side, then turned back diagonally from the head to foot.
The bed clothes should never be drawn too tightly over a person in bed, or they may irritate the skin, especially at the knees and toes. Bed sores may be started in this way. Perhaps the commonest cause of bedsores is from wrinkles in the under sheets. If the spread is heavy it should not be used over a patient. Use a sheet instead to protect the blankets.
Bathing
Bathing is more important for the sick than for the well. It not only keeps the skin clean and in condition to do its work, but it is soothing to the nerves, makes the sick person rest better and is refreshing.
If the room is the right temperature and the bath is carefully taken there is no danger of a sick person taking cold. On the other hand bathing helps to keep people in condition to avoid taking colds. (See Red Cross Text Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick, page 156.)
When a patient is very sick or helpless, the bath should be given by someone who is able to do it deftly and quickly, with the least exertion to the patient.
Very often, however, a person in bed is quite able to bathe herself, with a little help, if the necessary things are brought to her.
To Prepare For a Bath in Bed
Have the room warm and free from draughts. A good temperature is 70 degrees. An old person or a baby may have it warmer.
Bring into the room everything needed. This will include:
An extra blanket to wrap around the sick person.
Two wash cloths—one for the face and another for the rest of the body.
Soap—Ivory or castile are good.
Pitcher of good hot water, and slop jar.
Alcohol and toilet powder if you have it.
Nail file and scissors.
Comb and brush.
Clean bed linen and nightgown. In cold weather these may be hung near the fire or radiator to warm.
A basin of water of a temperature that the sick person finds comfortable.
When everything is ready the Scout can help by loosening the bedclothes, arranging the extra blanket, removing the nightgown, and in holding the basin and towels, in changing the water or in any way that will make the bath easier for the sick person, perhaps washing the feet and back, being careful to keep all the rest of the body covered and warm, and in protecting the bed by bath towels spread under the part being washed. When doing this the wash cloth should not be so wet that it will drip and wet the bed. It should be held so that the corners do not touch against the bedclothes. There should not be too much soap used as it makes the skin feel sticky. Every part should be rinsed and dried thoroughly. Warm towels are a great help in this.
When the bath is finished alcohol or witch hazel may be used to rub the parts where there is most pressure as the back, shoulder blades, hips, buttocks, elbows, knees and ankles. This not only gives comfort but it prevents bedsores.
If a sick person gets a bath, so that it does not disturb nor tire her nor make her chilly she will usually enjoy it. By getting everything ready, by helping where needed, and by clearing up nicely the Girl Scout may make the bath a pleasure instead of something to be dreaded.
Sometimes sick people are able to go to the bathroom to take their own baths, if everything is gotten ready for them beforehand, so that they will not get tired doing so. People who are not well should never be allowed to lock themselves in the bathroom alone.
Getting Ready a Tub Bath
The bathroom should be well aired but warm. The water in the bath tub helps to warm it up. A bath towel or bath mat should be spread beside the tub on the floor and a chair with a blanket and a bath towel on it for the person to sit on while she is drying herself. The water should be about 105 degrees or a temperature that the person finds comfortable. Always let a patient try it herself with her hand and arm before getting in. Five to ten minutes is long enough to stay in the water. The towels should be within easy reach and the bathrobe, night gown and slippers placed ready to put on.
The bed should be put to air and left as long as possible, but if the patient has to get back in it immediately after her bath, it should be made—care being taken that it is warm enough. If necessary put in hot water bags and spread a blanket over the under sheet to wrap around her if she needs it. People chill easily after a bath if they are exposed to sudden cold.
Foot Baths
Foot baths are often used in the home as remedies for colds, headaches, sleeplessness and to give relief at the monthly period.
If there is not a regular foot tub a pail that is large enough to put the foot in is better than a basin as it lets the water come up around the ankles. A person may sit in a chair or on the side of the bed. Have tub about half full of water and at first of a heat that feels comfortable, putting more hot water in from time to time, until it is as hot as it can be stood. When adding hot water the feet should be away from the part of the tub where the water is poured in, and it should be added slowly to prevent possibility of burning. A person getting a foot bath should be kept very warm. Wrap a blanket around the knees so that the legs will be protected front and back. After fifteen or twenty minutes the feet should be removed from the water and dried without rubbing. They should be kept well covered for an hour or more. No one should go out immediately after a foot bath.
If mustard is to be added, mix it first in a cup and mix it gradually so that it does not lump. Two tablespoonfuls of mustard to a foot bath is about enough.
Changing of position, and supporting different parts of the body, give both rest and comfort to anyone in bed. This may be done by turning a patient and by the proper arrangement of pillows and other supports.
To turn a patient toward you place one hand over her shoulder and the other hand over her hip and draw toward you. Bend her knees, go to the other side of the bed, put both hands under her hips and draw toward you. Place a pillow lengthwise at her back, from her shoulder to waist for support.
A pillow, placed under or between the knees, often gives much relief and comfort. Small air pillows that can be placed under or against the small of the back relieve strain and rest the muscles. Anyone lying on her back will be rested by arranging pillows lengthwise at the sides to support arms. Rubber rings and air cushions are also used to relieve pressure and give support. They should always be covered, using towel or pillow case, if they have not their own fitted covers.
Rings of any size may be made of cotton wound with bandage. These are frequently needed under the heels, particularly for a patient lying on her back.
Sitting Up in Bed
When a patient is allowed to sit up in bed and a bed-rest is not available a straight chair placed bottom-up behind the patient makes a good support for the pillows. If there is no other support, at least six pillows are needed to make a patient comfortable. The pillows should be so arranged that the head is not thrown forward and that there is proper support for the back, and the arms.
Raising a Patient Who Has Slipped Down in Bed
Have the patient draw up the knees until the soles of the feet are firmly on the bed. Place your right arm under the far shoulder in such a way that the patient's head rests in your bent elbow. Place the left arm under the thighs. Hold your back stiff. Have the patient clasp her hands around your waist. Lift without jerking. When two persons are doing the lifting, one should stand on either side of the bed. The person on the left side of the bed should place the right arm as though she were doing the lifting alone. Place the other arm under the small of the patient's back.
The person on the right side will place her left arm beside her companion's, and her right arm under the thighs. If able, the patient may place a hand on the shoulder of each lifter.
Lift in unison without jerking.
A pillow rolled in a sheet, placed under the body and tied to the head or sides of the bed will prevent slipping down in bed.
It is usually better to shake up and rearrange the pillows after raising the patient as the moving disarranges them somewhat.
To Change the Pillows
Slip the right arm under the shoulders in such a way that the neck and head are supported in your bent elbow; with the left hand gently draw out one pillow at a time, from above. In replacing, stand the pillows on the side at the head of the bed, lift the shoulders, and grasping the pillow by the middle draw down under the patient's head.
Another way is to have the patient near one side of the bed and lifting in the same way draw the pillows one at a time away from you. In replacing put the fresh pillows on the far side and again lifting the head pull them toward you.
The pillow should support the neck and shoulders. A small down or hair pillow placed under the back of the neck from time to time, rests and supports.
To Change the Nightgown
The nightgown should be loose enough to change easily. If there is an opening in the front, this may be made larger or the gown may be split up the back.
These openings may be sewn up again without in any way damaging the gown.
Have the gown well drawn up around the shoulders and neck.
Slip one hand through the arm hole of the gown, and bend the patient's arm. With the other hand draw off the sleeve.
Draw the hand through the corresponding sleeve of the fresh gown and lifting the head just as for changing the pillow, slip the soiled and fresh gown over the head at the same time. Pull away the soiled gown. Put your hand through the sleeve and draw the patient's hand through, then raising again draw the gown down under the back and hips.
Combing the Hair
The hair should be combed at least once a day. If this is done from the very beginning of an illness it will not get badly tangled.
Spread a towel over the pillow. Have the patient turn head on one side so that the back of the head is exposed. Part the hair in the middle from the forehead to the nape of the neck. Comb only a small strand at a time. If there are tangles, comb from ends toward the scalp. Avoid pulling by twisting the strand around the finger and holding loosely between the comb and the scalp. When the hair on one side has been combed, braid it, having the top of the braid near the ear. Do the other side the same way. If very much tangled a little oil or alcohol rubbed in makes it easier to comb.
Wash the comb and brush in soap and water once a week.
Wash the hands after combing the hair.
Be careful in removing the towel not to scatter the loose hairs and dandruff it may hold.
Getting Patient Up in Chair
If possible have a chair with arms.
Place beside the bed.
Put cushions on seat and fresh pillow at back.
Throw a blanket over all corner-wise, to wrap around the patient when she sits down.
While in bed put on stockings, slippers, bath robe (and underdrawers or flannel petticoat in winter).
Have the patient sit up in bed, and help her to swing her feet over the edge.
Stand in front of her, and have her place her hands on your shoulders. Place your hands under her armpits, and let her slip off the bed with her feet firmly on the floor. Turn and let her sit down slowly.
Place a stool for her feet.
Place the chair so that she will be out of drafts and so that the light does not shine directly into her face.
When patients become restless and nervous they may often be made more comfortable by rearranging the bed clothes, by fanning, by changing position, by rubbing the back and legs, by putting hot water bags at the feet, back and neck, or small of back. In summer try very cold water instead of hot water in the bags. Cold compresses may be applied to the back of the neck, the spine, the forehead, or wherever they may give comfort. A foot bath, a hot or cool sponging will not only quiet restlessness but will often make a patient sleepy. In using any wet application be sure not to get the pillows or bed clothes wet. Continued rubbing at the back of the neck or stroking of the forehead gently is soothing and quieting.
Temperature, Pulse, Respiration
The temperature of the average person in health is 98.6° Fahrenheit. This is called the normal temperature.
A temperature below 98.0 degrees is said to be sub-normal. A healthy person may have a sub-normal temperature in the early morning. People with a continuous low temperature, say around 97 (this is often the case with old people and those who are recovering from illness) need careful attention. If in bed, they should be kept warmly covered and supplied with hot water bags. If up, they should be warmly clothed, and protected from drafts, and sudden changes of temperature. Usually, in the early morning before daylight, the temperature is at the lowest. That is why it is important to watch sick people and babies and to put an extra cover over them at that time.
Any temperature above 100 degrees, if it continues, is serious. A temperature above 101 degrees is a fairly high one, and 103 degrees or above is very high.
The temperature is taken with a clinical thermometer placed in the mouth or in the armpit. For babies, and people who might break the thermometer if it were placed in the mouth, place the thermometer in the armpit. Temperatures of babies and very ill people are taken in rectum, but the Girl Scout should not attempt this. Always wash the thermometer in cold water before using. Wash in cold water and disinfect by wiping off with alcohol or ether after using. Hot water will break it. When the thermometer is being used every day it may be kept in disinfectant. Never lay down a thermometer that has been used until after it has been washed and disinfected.
To Take the Temperature in the Mouth
Cleanse the thermometer.
Shake down so that the mercury is below 96 degrees.
Place the thermometer with bulb under tongue. Lips must be closed while holding it.
Hold two or three minutes, in this position.
Be sure that nothing hot or cold has been in the mouth for at least five minutes before taking temperature.
To Take Temperature in the Armpits
Wipe out armpit.
Insert the thermometer.
Place arm across the chest so that the thermometer is held securely. It should remain so for four or five minutes.
Pulse
The pulse may be counted on the thumb side of the inside of the wrist, at the temples, the ankles, and other parts of the body where the arteries are near the surface.
The pulse shows the number of times per minute which the heart beats or pumps.
A normal pulse rate for a man is around 72, for a woman 80, for a child 90, and for a baby 100 beats.
A very rapid or a very slow pulse shows that there is something wrong that should be reported. It takes a good deal of practice to learn to count the pulse.
Place two or three fingers on the beating artery, just touching firmly enough to feel the beats, and count for a half minute, then multiply by two to find the number of beats per minute. Be sure that the patient's hand is in a comfortable position while counting.
Respiration
Respiration is another word for breathing. An average normal person when sitting or lying still, breathes from twelve to twenty times per minute, and when moving about 24 times. We all know that quick moving makes quick breathing.
Respiration above 40 or below 8 is a danger sign. If the respiration is very fast, or difficult, or wheezy, or in any way very unusual, we can tell it at a glance. People who are breathing hard are frequently relieved by being propped up in bed.
To count the respiration. It is better to do this without the person's knowledge. It may be counted by watching the rise and fall of the chest or of the shoulders. Another way is to hold the person's hand as though taking the pulse, having her rest her hand and forearm lightly on the chest and count the rise and fall.
Dishes
Dishes used by patients with any of the contagious diseases, and this includes colds and sore throats, should be kept separate, and washed separately from the family dishes. They should be scalded after washing and have special dish cloths. Using separate utensils, and a separate room for the sick person are two of the surest ways to prevent the spread of the disease.
In such diseases as measles, scarlet fever, colds, mumps, influenza, dishes should be boiled every day. Put them in a large kettle in cold water and let them come to a boil. Even the thinnest glass will not break if treated in this way. Let the dishes stay in the water until cool enough to handle.
Dish cloths and dish mops should be thoroughly washed in good hot water and soap, and put in the sun to dry. They should be boiled regularly.
If it is necessary to disinfect linen put it all in a bag and leave in cold water to soak for some hours before putting it on to boil. Put a little washing soda in the water. After boiling hard for fifteen or twenty minutes it may be washed with the other garments.
Stains should be washed out before putting linen in the wash.
Utensils and Their Care
All utensils should be kept clean and ready for instant use. The bedpan should always be warmed before being used. Running warm water in and on it is usually the easiest way to do this. It should be thoroughly dried on the outside so that it will not wet the bed. It is a good plan to have a piece of rubber sheet or several thicknesses of old newspapers covered with a bath towel to put under the bedpan in bed. When carrying away, keep covered. Use cold water first, and after washing with soapy water, rinse and dry before putting away.
Basins in constant use, especially if they are used to hold disinfectant, need to be well scoured with sapolio from time to time. Nothing is more shiftless looking than a dark rim of dirt or stain around a basin.
Hot water bags should be emptied when not in use and hung upside down. The stoppers should be kept fastened to them.
Ice caps should be dried inside and out and stuffed with cotton or tissue paper to keep the sides from sticking together.
Hot and Cold Applications
Hot applications are used to relieve pain, to supply heat, and to bring down temperature. Both moist and dry heat are used. Hot water bags, metal heaters, electric pads, hot flannels are the commonest forms of dry heat. Fomentations, poultices, and baths are the simplest forms of moist heat.
In applying heat, one should be ever on the watch to avoid burning a patient. The skin of babies, children, old people, and of those who have been ill a long time, is very easily burned. Again, the same heat that is easily tolerated by one person, may burn another.
Hot water bags or their substitute, electric pads or metal heaters should always be wrapped in towels or have their own coverings. Never fill a hot water bag more than two-thirds full. The water should not be hot enough to scald a patient if the bag should spring a leak. Before putting in the cork, expel the air by twisting the upper part between the neck and the level of the water before putting in the cork. Be sure to cork tightly. If the bag is to be where the patient will bear the weight, put in a very little water and renew from time to time. Where there is no hot water bag, stone bottles may be used, or bags of salt or sand may be heated in the oven. The practice of using ordinary glass bottles is an unsafe one, as the corks are not always to be depended on to stay tight and the glass breaks easily. When bags of salt or sand are used the coverings should be thick enough to prevent the particles from sifting through. Pieces of flannel the right size may in some cases supply all the heat that is necessary. They should be covered with another flannel to keep in the warmth.
To make a mustard plaster. Have ready a piece of old muslin (a piece of an old nightgown will do) two inches wide and two inches longer than twice the length of the poultice required. On one end of it, with a margin of an inch on three sides, place a piece of oiled paper or shelf paper or a piece of clean paper bag, the size you wish the poultice to be. Mix one tablespoonful of mustard with 8 tablespoonfuls of flour, before wetting. Have water about as hot as the hand can stand. Do not use boiling water. Stir the water into the mustard and flour gradually so that it will not lump. Make the paste stiff enough to spread thinly on the paper, about a quarter of an inch thick. Turn the margins of the cloth over the paste. Fold the long end over so that all the paste is covered and tuck the end under the turned-in edges of the sides. Fold it and take it to the patient in a hot towel or between hot plates. The skin where it is to be placed should be oiled. Test the heat by holding it against the back of your own hand. Put on slowly and leave for two minutes. Watch and remove sooner if the skin becomes reddened or if it is uncomfortable. After removing wipe away the moisture from the skin and cover with a soft piece of muslin, and place a piece of flannel over that. A blister after a mustard paste shows very careless nursing. Never let a patient go to sleep with a mustard plaster on.
ADMINISTERING AN INHALATION
Fomentations or stupes are pieces of flannel wrung out of very hot water and placed on the skin. They should be two or three times as large as the part to be treated, and should be applied as hot as the patient can bear them, without burning the skin. Have two sets, so that one set will be ready to put on when the other is taken off. The stupes should be wrung as dry as possible and as they must be very hot to do any good, a fomentation wringer is a great protection for the hands. One may be made by putting halves of a broom handle through the ends of a short roller towel in the middle of which the fomentation has been placed. By twisting the sticks in the opposite direction the fomentation can be wrung very dry. Take it to the bed in the wringer and do not open until ready to place on the skin, as it will lose its heat very quickly. Put a little oil or vaseline on the skin and apply the fomentation gradually. Cover with a dry flannel and put wadding over that. A piece of oiled skin or oiled paper between the wadding and the dry flannel helps to keep in the heat and moisture. Hold in place with a towel or binder pinned tightly.
Cold is applied by means of ice bags and by cold compresses. In filling an ice bag the ice should be in small pieces, and the bag not too full. Expel the air as from a hot water bag. Cover with a towel or a cover for the purpose. Never put the rubber near the skin, it may freeze if so left. Besides, the cover absorbs the moisture that collects on the outside as the ice melts.
Cold compresses are a common remedy for headache. Old handkerchiefs are excellent for this purpose. Fold in frayed edges, two or three thicknesses will be heavy enough, and have two, large enough to cover the forehead. Wring one out of ice water so that it will not drip, and put on the forehead. Keep the other on a piece of ice and change the two applications frequently. When applied to the neck a dry cloth should be placed outside to protect the pillow or the patient's clothing. Cold compresses for inflamed eyes should be of one thickness only, and a little larger than the eye. Have a number and change very often. Use a separate compress for each eye. If there is a discharge a compress should not be used a second time. The discarded compresses should be collected in a paper bag or wrapped in newspapers and burned.
When cold compresses are applied to the head there should be a hot water bag at the feet.
Gargles, sprays, and inhalations are often ordered for sore throats and colds.
Salt or soda added to water in the proportion of a teaspoonful to a pint makes an excellent gargle.
A very cold gargle or one as hot as can be held without burning is better than a tepid one.
Do not go out in the cold air directly after using a hot gargle.
Use at least six separate mouthfuls each time you gargle, and hold long enough at the back of the throat for the gargle to reach every part.
A spray should not be used for the nose without a special order from the doctor. The liquid sometimes gets into the passage leading to the ear and causes earache.
Always wipe the nozzle of the atomizer before using. It should be cleaned after each use and boiled, if another patient is to use it. Always boil the nozzle and clean out the bottle when the atomizer is to be put away. Keep it in a box where dust will not reach it.
Inhalations are useful to relieve difficult breathing and for loss of voice or hoarseness. Fill a pitcher, bowl, or basin, two-thirds full of boiling water. Wrap with a towel to prevent burning if it should touch a patient. Usually drugs such as peppermint spirits, oil of eucalyptus, or tincture of benzoin, in dose of a teaspoonful to the hot water contained in the receptacle, is enough. If no drug is at hand, the steam itself may be depended upon to do some good. Pin one end of a bath towel around the face below the eyes and spread the other over the pitcher inhaling the steam as it rises. It may not be possible to induce a child to do this, in which case make a tent of an open umbrella with a sheet thrown over it at the head of the bed, leaving the front a little open. Place the pitcher so that the child will get the steam and hold the pitcher carefully all the time. Do not let the pitcher touch the patient.
Another means of inhalation is to hold a funnel, made of a piece of folded paper in the nose of a kettle of very hot water, near the patient so that the steam can be inhaled. Be very careful not to scald the patient. After a steam inhalation one should not go out in the cold air nor have the windows opened for an hour or more.
Common Medicines and Other Remedies
It is a very safe rule never to take medicines oneself without a doctor's orders. Above all, never advise others, even when you know from experience that certain medicines have helped yourself and others. Medicines should be taken upon prescription from the physician, should be measured accurately, and given at the exact hour ordered.
Read carefully the label or box from which you take the medicine before and after opening or uncorking, and read the name again when putting back in its place. Many people have been poisoned by not reading the label. Have all glasses and spoons, etc., thoroughly cleansed before and after using.
Accuracy, attention, cleanliness, regularity should be watchwords.
In giving either food or medicine, the following measures are helpful:
| 1 | teaspoonful measures 50 grains. |
| 2 | teaspoonfuls make 1 dessertspoonful. |
| 2 | dessertspoonfuls make 1 tablespoonful. |
| 2 | tablespoonfuls make 1 ounce. |
| 8 | ounces make 1 cupful or glassful. |
| 16 | ounces make one pint, or pound. |
| (This applies to either liquid or dry measure.) |
In giving pills, capsules, tablets give a drink of water first to moisten the tongue and throat. This helps them to slip down more easily.
If there is danger of a pill or tablet choking the patient, crush the pill or tablet between two spoons.
When medicines are taken by spoon, the spoon should be licked by the patient in order to get the full amount.
Nearly all medicines should be mixed with water, and should be followed with a drink of water unless orders are given to the contrary.
Keep all medicines tightly corked.
Buy medicines only in small quantities, as most of them lose their strength in time.
In buying vaseline or cold cream it is better to have it in a tube than in jars. Being opened and dipped into constantly soon makes the contents of a jar unclean.
Common Remedies
Such remedies as the following are to be found in many homes.
Castor oil, clove oil, vaseline, baking soda (this is the same thing as bicarbonate of soda or saleratus), salt, lime water, alcohol, camphorated oil, spirits of camphor, flaxseed, aromatic spirits of ammonia. Do not confuse this latter remedy with ammonia water used for cleansing things.
Castor oil should be taken in these doses:
| Baby: 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls. |
| Older children: 1 tablespoonful. |
| Adult: 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls. |
There are many ways of taking castor oil. Heat the glass or spoon, put in some orange or lemon juice, then the oil, then more juice. Open the mouth wide and put the oil far back. Have more juice at hand to swallow immediately after. Chilling the mouth by holding a piece of ice in it for a few minutes also helps to disguise the taste. A couple of tablespoonfuls of lemon or orange juice with a quarter of a teaspoonful of soda mixed thoroughly with the oil will make it effervesce so that it is not unpleasant to take.
If the dose is vomited, wait a little while, then give another. Do not give directly before nor directly after a meal.
Olive oil is often taken in doses of one or two teaspoonfuls after meals to regulate the bowels or to help people gain weight or when the appetite is small. It is also used to rub into the skin of under-nourished babies and to rub sick people, especially if the skin is very dry. After rubbing with oil always wipe the skin with a towel.
Vaseline is used to grease sore and chafed parts. A little may be inserted into the nostrils for a cold. Camphorated vaseline is especially good for this. In case of an irritating cough that keeps a child from sleeping, a little plain pure vaseline may be put in the mouth, and it will be found very soothing.
Vaseline is also used to grease such utensils as nozzles and to put on the parts to which poultices or fomentations are to be applied.
Soda may be used for burns (moisten and apply as a paste), as a gargle (one teaspoonful to a pint of water), as an enema (the same proportion), for colds (a teaspoonful in a quart of water to be taken internally in the course of each day), and in bilious attacks, water with this amount of soda may be given. Also to get a person to vomit, in which case the water should be slightly warm.
Salt may be used as a gargle in the same way as soda, and even mixed with soda, also for enemas. Coarse salt, when heated and put into bags, may be used when there is no hot water bag.
Lime water is used in mixing the baby's milk and is put in the milk for sick people when they cannot take full strength milk. The usual proportion is two tablespoons of lime water to a half glass of milk, which makes about 1 part of lime water to 3 parts of milk.
Alcohol may be used to disinfect the more delicate utensils as the thermometer. Most alcohol now obtainable is wood alcohol or denaturated; that is, mixed with powerful poisons, so that it should never touch the mouth. Never place a bottle of alcohol near a flame. If it is ever necessary to use an alcohol lamp, use the solid alcohol. It is much safer.
Camphorated oil is often used to rub the chest and neck with in case of colds. It should be warmed and rubbed in thoroughly. Protect the bedclothes and the patient's clothes with towels. After rubbing, wipe and cover the part with a flannel, to prevent chill.
Spirits of camphor or aromatic spirits of ammonia, a few drops on a handkerchief or piece of cotton, held five or six inches from the nose, relieves faintness. Inhaling the camphor in this way will often make it easier to breathe through the nose in case of a head cold. Fifteen drops of aromatic spirits of ammonia in a tablespoonful of water may be given to anyone recovering from a faint or to relieve nausea.
Flaxseed tea is an old-fashioned remedy for coughs. Pour a quart of boiling water over two tablespoonfuls of flaxseed and let it simmer for two or three hours, or until reduced to about a pint of tea. Strain through a fine strainer several times so that it will not be stringy, flavor with lemon, and add honey or sugar. Put in a covered jar, and take a teaspoonful at a time to relieve irritation in the throat.
The Daily Clean-Out.—People, sick or well, should have a bowel movement once or twice a day. Taking medicine for this purpose is a very bad habit. If healthy people have the proper exercise and food, and drink plenty of good water, medicine is not necessary. Eating coarse grained food, as bran muffins, corn meal porridge, fruits, and vegetables, drinking plenty of water, exercising in the open air, and having a regular time for going to the lavatory (immediately after breakfast and the last thing at night before retiring are suggested times) are habits that are usually sufficient to keep the bowels in good order.
If the waste matter is not carried off by the bowel movements, the body will in time become poisoned by the decayed substance in the intestines, and illness follows. Many headaches, "tired feelings," "blues," and even appendicitis may be caused by constipation.
People who are sick and therefore deprived of taking exercise to help in keeping their bowels regular, need to have very special attention paid to their diet and to have plenty of drinking water always at hand. Also they should have bedpan or whatever other attention they need regularly, and when asked for, immediately.
Chill, if due to exposure, may be treated by giving a warm bath or a foot bath, and putting to bed between warm blankets and with hot water bags. Rub briskly under the covers and give a warm drink such as tea, coffee, milk, etc.
Some Common Ills and Their Treatment
When a chill is not merely due to being cold, give the same treatment except the rubbing, take the temperature, and if there is fever, send for the doctor, as it may be the beginning of an illness.
Colds or cramps, or pain in the bowels may be caused by constipation, by gas, by undigested food, by the monthly period or more serious causes. Apply heat (hot water bag or fomentation), sip hot water in which is a little baking soda (one-half teaspoonful to a cup), or a few drops of peppermint. Try a hot foot bath. Lie down and keep very quiet with a hot water bag at feet. If pain continues, except in the case of the monthly illness, empty the stomach either by putting the finger down the throat or by drinking warm water and soda until vomiting starts. Take an enema or a dose of castor oil. If the pain still continues, send for a doctor.
Convulsions. Send for a doctor at once. Loosen all clothing, undress if possible. Watch and prevent patient from hurting herself. Do not try to restrain. Try to force a spoonhandle wound with a bandage between the teeth, to prevent biting of tongue. Keep lying down with head slightly raised. As soon as possible, administer enema or dose of castor oil. Put ice bag on head and hot water bottle to feet. Keep warm. A child may be put into a warm bath and held until convulsions subside. Keep very quiet and handle as little as possible when the convulsion is over, as handling may cause a repetition of the twitching.
Croup. Give steam inhalation. Keep a kettle of very warm water in the room. If this is not possible, fill the bathroom with steam by turning on the hot water, and take the patient there. Put hot fomentations to neck, chest, and abdomen. Send for doctor, who will usually order medicine to make the child vomit, which brings some relief.
Earache. Use hot applications against the ear. A heated glass or a cup in which there is a cloth wrung in very hot water, held against the ear may be found very comforting. Never put drops nor anything else into the ear canal. Either send for the doctor or take the patient to him, as there may be a developing abscess which needs to be opened.
Fever. Patient should go to bed in a well ventilated room and keep quiet. The bowels should move freely and plenty of water be taken. Bathing the hands, face and neck or rubbing with alcohol gives relief, especially if there is restlessness. Only liquid food should be given, and even that should not be urged.
Headaches. The commonest causes of frequent headaches are eye-strain and indigestion. The cure is being fitted with glasses and taking a proper diet. Rest and quiet, careful eating, cold compresses to the head, a hot water bag to the feet, or a foot bath will usually relieve an ordinary headache. Sometimes, as when there is constipation, a dose of castor oil is necessary. An enema will often give instant relief. Never take headache medicines unless a doctor has specially ordered it. These medicines may contain powerful poisons. The danger of taking them is that while for the time being they may relieve the headache, the cause of the headache remains, and the headache returns unless the cause, such as eye-strain or indigestion, is removed.
Hiccoughs can be usually stopped by drinking a glass of water in sips while holding the breath. They are usually caused by eating too fast or by some form of indigestion.
Colds, Their Prevention and Care
Everybody knows that colds are "catching." People who are over-tired or under-fed, who stay too much in either under-heated or over-heated rooms, or who do not bathe regularly, or who do not get exercise enough in the open air, are those most likely to catch cold.
If you have a cold yourself, stay away from others if possible, and do all in your power to prevent others coming close to you. Cover the mouth when coughing or sneezing, use paper or old rags instead of handkerchiefs and then burn them; wash your hands before touching things others are to use, and use separate dishes, which should be kept entirely apart from the family dishes and washed separately. If such precautions are taken by the first member of the family to take cold, it would seldom spread through the family.
When people around you have colds, avoid getting close to them, gargle often, take deep breaths of fresh air whenever possible, wash your hands often and keep them away from your nose and mouth.
You do not need to be told that the handkerchief used by anyone with a cold is full of germs. It should be kept from touching other things and should never be left lying around.
If, at the first signs of a cold, a good dose of castor oil is taken, a glass of hot lemonade and a hot bath before going to bed, a cold may be "broken up," as we say. In mild weather, the windows may be left open, but if the weather is very cold it is better to air the room from another room, in order to keep an even temperature, but there should be good ventilation.
If the throat is sore, gargling and a cold compress to the neck will bring relief. If there is fever and headache, you have already been told what to do. Anyone with a cold should eat very lightly and drink plenty of water. They should be as quiet as possible and get all the rest and sleep possible.
Camphorated or plain vaseline may be put in the nostrils, and if there is a cough, plain vaseline may be taken internally—placed on the tongue at the back of the mouth. A spoonful of flaxseed tea taken as often as necessary to relieve irritation may bring relief. Inhalations are helpful in hoarseness. Never give any cough medicines except what are ordered by a doctor.
If the symptoms continue after the first night it is advisable to call a doctor, as what seems a slight cold may be the beginning of a serious illness, as measles, scarlet fever, pneumonia, etc. If there is earache, rapid breathing, great weakness or sleepiness the doctor should be called at once.
Any symptom that lasts after a cold, as pain in one part, weakness, or high temperature, needs a doctor's attention.
Food for the Sick
Food for the sick should be light and easily digested. Generally the doctor says what may be eaten. Such foods as the following are included in so-called invalid foods: Milk, milk soups, eggs, raw and soft-cooked, rennet, custards, ice creams, albumin water, well cooked cereals, gruels, broths, toasts, milk toast, jellies made with gelatine, such as lemon and wine jelly; macaroni, spaghetti, well-cooked bread (never fresh bread), tea, coffee, cocoa.
Sick people should have their meals as regularly as possible, at regular hours and promptly and attractively served. The tray, the dishes, the tray-cloth, should be spotlessly clean, and the tray should not be over-loaded with dishes or food. If it is necessary to bring all the food for a meal to the room on the tray at once in order to save steps, remove some of it, perhaps the dessert, until the patient is ready for it.
Before leaving the room to prepare the tray, arrange everything so that the patient may eat the food as soon as it is brought. As a rule it is better for the sick member of the family to have her meals served before the family sits down to the table, so that she may have her food fresh and hot, and not get tired waiting.
Try to have food that the patient likes, if possible. If she does not like what may be served her, it may be served so attractively that her appetite may be tempted.
All food should be tasted before serving. Serve hot food hot, and cold food cold.
Milk is the most nourishing of liquid foods. If it is to be heated, do not let it boil. Always take the chill off milk served to children.
Generally speaking, cooked food is better than uncooked, even fruits. Baked apples or apple sauce, for example, are safer to give the sick than raw apples.
Toast is better than bread. Toast upon which the butter has melted should not be given to a sick person. Have the toast hot, and butter each mouthful as eaten. Bread should be at least one day old before being given to a sick person. Hot breads, such as fresh rolls and biscuits, are not good foods for ill people. Fried foods should be kept from invalids and children.
The best way to prepare a potato for an invalid is to bake it. It should be served when it is light and mealy, and never after it has become soggy.
The best way of cooking meat is to broil it, having the outside well browned, and the inside soft and juicy, never dry and hard.
A Tray for Liquid and Soft Food
The tray should be large enough to hold two glasses or a cup and saucer and a glass, as well as salt or sugar. Put two spoons on the tray, and if the patient is using a tube or a feeder, put that on the tray. One of the glasses should contain fresh water. Offer a glass of water before and after the nourishment.
The tray for soft solids. Suppose the meal is to be boiled rice, or other cereal, and toast. The tray should have a fresh doilie, salt, sugar (covered), a glass of water, two teaspoons, a knife, if butter is allowed on the toast, and a small pitcher of milk or cream for the rice. Put the cereal in a deep saucer or small bowl, cover with a plate or saucer and rest on another plate. Spread a small napkin on another plate. Put the toast on it, then wrap the napkin around it to keep hot.
Sick people should have plenty of water to drink. Besides having a pitcher of fresh water and a glass where it may be easily reached, always put a glass of fresh cool water on the tray when food or medicine are brought. While ice water is bad for both sick and well people, the water should be cool enough to be agreeable and refreshing. Water that is chilled to the right temperature by being kept in the ice chest, bottled, is preferable. It should be drunk slowly and not gulped down. Water standing in the room should be kept covered at all times.
Feeding Helpless Patients
A patient is often so weak that she cannot lift her head in order to eat. In this case she would be given liquids through straws or by spoon or "feeder." Sometimes by putting a small quantity of liquid in a glass, two tablespoonfuls, a patient is enabled to drink without spilling a drop.
If necessary, slip one hand under the pillow, raise the head a little, holding the glass to the lips with the other. Anyone lying down should take food very slowly. If solid, it should be cooked, especially well, as there is danger of choking.
Tubes should be washed immediately after using. If used continuously they should be cleaned with a tube brush made for that purpose. Straws should be burned or destroyed. If feeding with a spoon, be careful that neither the food nor the spoon burns the lips or mouth. Feed slowly and a little at a time, allowing plenty of time between mouthfuls.
Occupying and Amusing the Sick
When people are recovering from an illness, or when they are what we call chronic invalids, they often enjoy and are helped by being amused or occupied. At this time a Girl Scout may be very helpful. First of all, she should be cheerful herself. Then she should be able to play two or three quiet games, such as cards, dominoes, checkers, and be able to read aloud and to tell cheerful and amusing stories. Children may often be kept quiet and happy by hearing little rhymes recited. It might be a good idea for every Girl Scout to be able to tell three short stories and three funny stories, know three conundrums and three short poems, play three quiet games of cards, play checkers, play dominoes and know three puzzles.
Excitement is always bad for sick people and they become tired easily, so they should not be read to, talked to, nor played with for too long an interval, even if they seem to wish it themselves. The Scout must always remember that these things are being done for the pleasure of the sick person, and she must be very patient, to let the games or stories be of their own choosing if they wish it, and to avoid being noisy herself.
Daily Routine
There should be a regular daily routine. Have regular hours for feeding, bathing, giving treatment and medicines, giving the bedpan, etc. Be punctual.
Usually the first thing to do in the morning is to close or open the window as necessary, and to give the patient a bedpan. Have it warm. Take temperature, pulse and respiration and record them. Bring a basin of warm water, soap, towel, etc., to wash hands and face, and a glass of water to brush teeth. Tidy the hair. Straighten up the room a little. Prepare and serve patient's breakfast. After an hour the bed bath may be taken, but a tub bath should not be taken until two hours after breakfast.
Make the bed. Clean up the room. If the patient is well enough, let her read or see visitors after this. Serve the dinner. After dinner, open the windows, lower the shades, and let the patient rest and sleep if possible for at least an hour. Sick people need more rest than well people and should have a regular hour for rest in the daytime. If they sleep, so much the better, as it has been proved that patients who take a nap during the day sleep better at night. After four o'clock give a drink of some kind of hot or cold substance, as needed or desired—broth, milk, lemonade. In the late afternoon sick people are often tired and restless. Change of position, rearrangement of the pillows or a good rub give comfort and relieve the restlessness. Diversion of some kind, nothing noisy or exciting, may serve the same purpose. It may be found wise to delay the bath until this time of day as bathing has a soothing effect.
Between supper and bedtime the sick person should be kept from excitement. This is a good time for reading aloud or allowing them to read for themselves, but a very poor time to see visitors.
Preparations for the Night. Bring in all the necessities for washing the hands and face and brushing the teeth and combing the hair, and help where needed. Change the nightgown (it is better to have a gown for the day and one for the night), brush the crumbs from the bed, make the sheet smooth, shake up the pillows and straighten out the bedclothes, having extra covers handy in case of need. Fill the hot water bag, attend to the fire, if there is one, and arrange everything in the room just as it will be needed for the night. Give a warm drink, and allow the patient to rinse the mouth (or, if wished, the brushing of the teeth may be delayed until this time). The last thing to do for the sick person is to give a good rub, paying special attention to the bony parts (lower end of spine, shoulder-blades, hips, knees, ankles). Then arrange the ventilation.
Before settling a sick person for the night, be sure that everything about the room is done, as any moving about after she is prepared to sleep may tend to disturb her and prevent her from going to sleep.
5. THE HEALTH GUARDIAN FOR GIRL SCOUTS
Has the town you live in a free swimming pool with instructors and well arranged hours for little children, older girls and boys and grown-ups? Can you step out after school and have a couple of hours on a well kept tennis court? Is there a good golf course reasonably near, with convenient trolley service? Are there plenty of playgrounds, so that the children are off the streets? And, since grounds are not enough, are there friendly young play-leaders connected with them, to get the children together and teach them all sorts of games and sports?
If none of these things are to be found, or not enough of them, wouldn't you like to have them?
"Of course I should," you reply, "but what can I do about it? I am only a girl, and I can't get all these things by just wishing for them!"
But that's just what you can do.
All these things in a town mean that the town is looking out for the health of its young people. Exercise is one of the most important means of preserving health, and most of the large cities nowadays are working hard to see that no child shall be out of reach of a good park, a good swimming pool and a good playground.
This all comes under the city government and as this is a democratic form of government, these things are all arranged by vote. That is, the citizens vote to use the public money for such things and vote for the officials who shall spend the money for them. Do you see that if you make up your mind now about the village improvements you want, you can vote for them later and get them?
Women are naturally interested in all that happens to children, and if all the women of a community should get together and vote for everything that concerned the health and happiness and good education of children, can't you see what happy days their school-days would be?
If you saw "Public Health" at the head of a chapter, you might not think it looked very interesting; but when you once get the idea that if your mother had had her say on the Public Health Board you would have had a fine skating pond with a good skate-house, last winter, and sunny, well-aired school rooms to study in, with a big gymnasium for basket ball in bad weather, you may be more interested in the merit badge for Public Health called "Health Guardian!"
Remember that Public Health is simply good housekeeping, applied to the community.
It is a subject which women are sure to take up more and more, and a Girl Scout who has given the matter a little thought and study is going to make a good citizen later on, and will be certain to have her advice asked—and taken—in the matter of making her town healthy and happy.
For instance, if the desks in the public schools are not of the right height and shape, the children are bound to suffer in their health and hygiene.
It is the business of the State to see that all public buildings, schools, theatres, factories, etc., have a certain amount of light and air to the cubic foot, because so much is necessary for health.
It is the business of the State to see that only a certain number of hours a day should constitute a day's work. This is because a certain amount of rest is a necessity for all citizens.
It is the business of the State to see that food and water can be brought into the community. Also that they be kept pure, both in transportation and after they reach the community. This includes the policing of all reservoirs and the filtering of the water; the refrigerating of meat and milk; the condemning of rotten fruit and vegetables; the collecting and disposal of all garbage and waste.
It is the business of the state to prevent spitting in public places, (one of the greatest sources of public infection); to prevent the use of common drinking utensils, towels, etc.; to insist on the isolation of contagious diseases and the placarding of the houses where they occur.
In order to carry on these great wise policies the state should offer free clinics where citizens can find out what is the matter with them and how to prevent it, and trained community nurses for the sick.
Do you see what a wonderful power an intelligent woman can be in the community she lives in? Women ought to be much better, really, in this public housekeeping than men, because most of them have had to learn to do it on a small scale, and know how necessary light, air, rest, exercise and cleanliness are.
But, you may say, as yet, I am too young to vote, anyway; what can I do?
The answer is very simple: every citizen, whether she is young or old, whether she has a vote or not, can find out the laws of the town she lives in and help to enforce them!
And the most important of these laws are those which affect the public safety and the public health. Whether there is a Public Health Commissioner or a Town Board or a Village Superintendent or only a District Nurse to appeal to, there is sure to be somebody whose business it is to listen to violation of the law.
If every troop of Girl Scouts knew the health laws of their town, and helped to get them obeyed, there would be a wonderful lessening of epidemics and a wonderful advance in the health and beauty of our towns.
If the Girl Scouts stood, all over the country, for the intelligent guardianship of the public health and recreation, they would rapidly become one of the greatest and most respected organizations in America, for this reason alone.
6. THE HEALTH WINNER
"... For since a little self-control, since a clean and elementary diet, pure water, openness of the body to sun and air, a share of honest work, and some degree of mental peace and largesse, are the simple conditions of health, and are or ought to be, accessible to everybody—
"To neglect these is sheer treason."
—Toward Democracy, by Edward Carpenter.
Five Points of Health for Girl Scouts
A cheerful Scout, a clean Scout, a helpful Scout, is a well Scout. She is the only Scout that really is prepared. She not only knows the laws of health, she lives them: she stands tall, she plays daily in the open air, she rests and sleeps at night, and conserves her energy at all times, she is careful to get the right amount of air, water, sun and food each day, and perhaps most important of all, she keeps clean.
1. Stand Tall—Every Scout should be recognized a long way off, not only by her uniform, but by her erect carriage. In sitting, the lower back should be against the back of the chair. In bending forward to read or write, bend straight from the hips. At Scout meetings practice sitting without support for the back. When "at ease" during drill, stand with feet apart and parallel and with hands hanging free. When resting, lie flat on the back without pillows. Correct posture is obtained by balancing the different parts of the body—hips, head, chest in a straight line, so that the bony framework bears the weight. The muscles and ligaments will not then be strained, and the bones will not be forced into an abnormal position. Two rules to remember are: "Stand tall" and "Keep your spine long."
2. Take Exercise—If you have watched soldiers obey commands in drill you know how quickly their joints and muscles work. The setting-up exercises given in the Handbook have been planned to preserve the power of joints and muscles, and to prevent them from becoming like rusty machines. These exercises should be taken with windows open, if not out of doors. Clothing should be light and loose, and corsets removed. These exercises are not to be considered a substitute for vigorous outdoor work or play, but only as supplementary to or when these are impossible. The day should be planned to include at least an hour and a half of vigorous activity in the open air. This will take different forms, according to the place and season, so that in the summer one may swim, row or paddle, or play tennis or any other game outdoors, and in the winter skate, coast or snowshoe. However, the best all year round exercise, and the simplest and easiest to get is walking. Five miles a day is an adequate average. Even walking alone is good exercise, but walking in a group or two and two is better, because keeping step, singing, whistling and talking and laughing together add enormously to the exhilaration of motion and of sun, wind or rain in the face.
A Girl Scout should avoid unusual exercise before, during and immediately following menstruation. However, she should remember that a reasonable amount of exercise at this time is quite normal and beneficial, except where there is an actual disorder of some sort. In this case a physician should be consulted.
3. Rest and Conserve Energy—Go to bed early and sleep from eight to eleven hours, according to age. Sleep with windows open all the year round. Rest sometime during the day, flat on the back if possible, but even five minutes sitting quietly with hands in the lap and eyes closed is better than nothing. The following table shows the number of hours of sleep that are needed at different ages:
| Age | Hours of Sleep | ||
| 10 and 11 years | 9½ | to | 11 |
| 12 and 13 years | 9 | to | 10½ |
| 14 and 15 years | 8½ | to | 10 |
| 16 and 17 years | 8 | to | 9½ |
| 18 and 19 years | 8 | to | 9 |
| 20 and over | at | least | 8 |
Save Your Eyes
The reason it is important to rest and to sleep enough is because it is while at rest that the body regains energy lost during activity, and stores it up for future work and play. There are other ways of saving energy, and one of them is by keeping the body in such good repair that like a good machine it does its work with a minimum expenditure of force and heat. This is the main reason for the setting-up exercises, or indeed for any sort of exercises. Perhaps the single best way to save energy is by saving your eyes. There is almost no work or play that does not involve the use of our eyes. If people are blind they can learn to do many things without vision, but it is infinitely harder than with it. Modern life, especially in cities, makes a constant demand on our eyes, and more than this, the demand is on one part of the eyes—the muscles concerned in near work. The best way to rest the eyes, and one which not only rests the tired parts but exercises the parts that are not used, is by doing things that will involve distant vision. Walking and looking far ahead and far away on every side rests the eyes best of all, and this is one reason why a good walk will often clear up a headache. Another way to insure distant vision is by riding backward in a car. Then as the landscape flows past you, your eye muscles relax to the position needed for distant vision. If you cannot walk or ride and are doing close work, like sewing or reading, look up and "at nothing" every once in a while.
The following are some important rules to remember in saving your eyes:
Rest your "near" eye muscles by looking at distant objects and places.
Do not work facing a light or where the rays from a light cross your field of vision directly.
Work so far as possible by indirect or reflected light.
If you must work near uncovered artificial lights, wear an eye-shade.
When sewing or writing have the light at your left, unless you are left-handed. This is to keep the shadow of your hands from the work.
Avoid a glare or light that is in streaks or bars of alternate dark and bright. Diffused, even light is best.
Have your eyes examined by a competent oculist immediately:
If you have headaches,
If the eyes sting or burn after using,
If print or other objects dance or blur,
If you must get close to your work to see it,
If near work tires your eyes or you,
If there is the slightest irritation or soreness about the lids or other parts.
How to Avoid Muscle Strain
Girls and women in attempting to live an outdoor life or indeed when trying to do many of the things numbered among the Scout activities, such as First Aid, Home Nursing and Hiking, often give themselves quite unnecessary pain and fatigue from lifting, pulling and carrying weights in the wrong way. Ability to carry and lift or move is not so much dependent upon absolute strength as it is on knowing how. The whole body, so far as it is a physical mechanism, may be thought of as a series of levers, of which the muscles, bones, and joints make up the parts and are fulcrum, power arm or weight arm as the case may be. Without going into the details of bodily structure or even knowing the names of the different bones and muscles, it is possible to learn a few simple things about the right use of these levers that will be useful at all times.
Certain parts of the body are more able to do heavy work than others, and the first thing to remember is that the upper part of the back, the shoulders and the upper arms are stronger than the lower back, the abdomen and the lower arms. Therefore, whenever you are trying to lift or move an object, see if you cannot use these stronger parts. If the arms are held away from the body when lifting, pulling, throwing or pushing, the muscles of the upper arm, the shoulders and the upper back will be brought into play. If the arms are held close to the body, the lower-arm muscles are unduly taxed and in trying to help them out, pressure is made on the abdominal and pelvic muscles, which are not fitted to bear this sort of strain. Therefore, in carrying a bag or suitcase, where this is absolutely unavoidable, try to swing the arm free from the body, so as to use the upper arm and back muscles for the weight.
Another important way to save strain is by pushing instead of pulling. It is almost impossible to push anything so hard as to injure your back or abdominal muscles. It is almost impossible, on the other hand, to pull even a relatively light weight without some strain. If you will think of how a horse in harness actually exerts his strength in drawing a wagon, you will see that what he does is to push against the straps, and it is the straps that pull the wagon. Even the strongest horse could not pull a wagon with his teeth very far, or pull something tied only to the back leg muscles. Get behind and push is the rule to remember, and never resort to pulling until you have tried every device for pushing instead.
If you must pull, try to use heavy muscles, such as leg muscles, to do it with. Often a weight may be lifted or pulled by getting the foot under or in back and using the arms only to steer with. This applies particularly to objects like trunks or bureaus.
Always take advantage of any natural leverage that you can and if you must move something heavy, do not lift it at once and attempt to carry it, but lift one end and swing or shove it and then lift the other end and shove it. If you will watch expressmen at work you will notice that they roll boxes and trunks, holding them almost on end and tipping them just enough to turn them along their shortest axis. In this way the boxes carry themselves, so far as their main weight is concerned.
Carrying a weight on the head or shoulders is another way of converting a pull into a push, and this is taken advantage of by peasant women in Europe, who often are seen carrying heavy weights to market in baskets perched on their heads, while they stride along arm-free. A knapsack strapped on to the shoulders is not only more convenient because it leaves the arms and hands free to swing naturally or use for other purposes, but because the weight is distributed and is carried by means of heavy muscles pushing up under the strap. A weight should be distributed over a set of muscles as evenly as possible, and this is the reason for suspending a knapsack from two shoulders instead of one, when possible.
Finally, in doing any sort of lifting or pulling, if the muscles that are to be used are contracted before grasping the weight they will be able to do their work with far less effort. Try lifting a small weight like a book in two ways—first, have your hand and fingers relaxed and limp when you grasp it, and see how heavy it seems and how hard it is to contract your muscles properly while lifting it. Then drop the book and go at it again, this time anticipating its weight and contracting your hand and finger muscles before grasping it. See how easily it comes up. Try this same thing with heavier weights, and learn always to contract the muscle before taking the load. In carrying a weight for any distance it is well to shift it from one arm to another, always preparing the muscles by contracting them before the weight is assumed.
Using the muscles so as to take advantage of their lever-like qualities in the best way, contracting them before loading, and pushing instead of pulling, go to make up what is sometimes called "getting a purchase."
4. Supply Daily Need for Air, Sun, Water and Food—Besides exercise and rest there are other controllable factors upon which health depends. These are air, heat and light of the sun, water and food. To grow and work properly the body needs plenty of each of these.
Air—If you cannot work or play outdoors you can still bring out of doors in by opening your windows at frequent intervals. You will find that work goes better, and that you do not tire so easily if you make it a rule to open the windows and doors and move about the room for five minutes every hour or two. Sleep with windows open or out-of-doors. Camp and hike as often as possible. Work in the garden. Play out-of-door games.
Heat—The proper temperature of the body is between 98 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit. Human life depends upon the maintenance of this temperature at all times, and very slight changes either up or down interfere seriously with all the other life processes. The main source of heat is from food consumed, or really burned, in the body. Artificial heating in houses helps conserve the body heat, as does clothing. But clothes and shelter may make you overheated, which is nearly as bad as being cold; they may also shut out fresh air. Clothes should not be too heavy nor too tight. Shoes should have soles straight on the inner side, and be broad enough to allow the toes full play, and have low heels. Shoes that are comfortable to hike in are apt to be the best for all the time wear.
At night the clothes worn during the day should be aired and dried thoroughly. This will help much in maintaining the right body temperature, because clothes become damp from wearing, and dampness uses up body heat.
Sunlight—Sunlight is one of the best health bringers known. Little children—and grown people, too—suffering from the most serious forms of tuberculosis, that of the bones, get well if they are kept in the sunlight. In one of the finest hospitals for children in the world, in Switzerland, the main treatment is to have the children play outdoors without clothes in the sunlight, and they do this even when there is heavy winter snow on the ground. Human beings droop and die without the sun, just as plants do, though it takes longer to kill them. It is a gloomy person who does not feel happier in the sun, and a happy and cheerful person is generally healthy. So get into the sun whenever you can. Walk on the sunny side of the street, and open your windows to the sun whenever you can. However, in hot climates and in the warmest summer days, remember that the sun can injure as well as help, and do not expose the head or body unnecessarily.
Water—As about three-quarters of our body weight is water, the solid portions of bone, muscle, and so forth, constituting only one-quarter, and as considerable water is given off each day by evaporation from skin and lungs and with excreta, the loss must be made up. In addition to the water taken with meals and contained in the food a Girl Scout should drink at least six tumblers of water daily. This is a quart and a half. One glass should be taken on arising and before breakfast, two between breakfast and lunch, two between lunch and dinner, and one before going to bed. Be sure the water is pure, and boil any water the purity of which is doubted in the slightest. Water kept cool in the ice chest, or in a jar with a moist cover, is better than ice water, both because cool water actually quenches thirst more easily, being more readily absorbed than ice cold water, and because it is difficult to control the purity of ice.
Food—Food should be clean and kept clean. Growing girls can tell whether they are eating enough of the right sort of food, and if they are getting the best out of it, by seeing whether they are up to the right weight for their height and age. A chart is given at the end of this section showing the standard weight for each height at each age. The following are good rules to follow in making your daily food habits:
Do not eat between meals.
Eat slowly and chew food thoroughly.
Eat freely of coarse cereals and breads.
Eat meat only once a day.
Have green vegetables, salad or fruit every day.
Drink as much milk as possible, but no coffee or tea.
If you do not have at least one bowel movement a day it is a sign of constipation, which means the accumulation of waste material from food in the intestine. Exercise, especially walking, eating coarse vegetables, coarse breads and coarse cereals, and fruit, and drinking enough water will help the bowels to move properly. Constipation is not only an unclean habit of the body, but it is dangerous, because the waste matter decays and poison is carried all over the body. Headaches, indigestion, bad breath and chronic fatigue are some of the results.
5. Keep Clean—A Girl Scout should be sure that the air, water and food that she allows to enter her body are clean. Be sure that they are pure when they reach her, and keep them so by keeping her body, clothes and room clean with the help of sun, soap and water. You have probably heard of germs, microbes and bacteria. These are names for the same organisms, which are tiny forms of plant life unseen by the eye, and of which our unaided senses give us no knowledge. They exist everywhere and in many forms. Most of them are harmless to human life, and many of them are useful, as, for example, one that grows on the roots of peas and beans and helps the plants to extract nitrogen from the air. Some bacteria, however, are harmful, and these are known as disease germs, as they are active in producing diseases, especially those diseases which we know as contagious. The dangerous germs nearly all live in dust and dirt and in dark places. When we clean house and dispose of waste material and bring air and sunlight into dark and dirty places we are doing more than removing unpleasant sights and smells, we are destroying the breeding places of disease.
Every girl wants a clear skin. Proper food, water and exercise give this; but it is also necessary to keep the surface clean by taking a hot bath with soap at least twice a week, and a cold or tepid sponge and rubdown the other days. Besides the loose dirt which comes on the body from the outside, perspiration and oil come from the inside through the skin pores, and when accumulated give a disagreeable odor. Special attention is needed to guard against this odor, particularly under the armpits, and soap and water should be used daily. A hot bath is relaxing and opens the pores. A cold bath is stimulating and closes the pores. A hot bath is best taken at night, or if taken in the morning, follow by a cool sponge or shower. Do not take a cold plunge bath unless advised to do so by a physician.
Always wash the hands immediately before handling or preparing food and before eating. Always wash hands after going to the bathroom. Keep nails short, and clean with nail brush each time the hands are washed and with orange stick when necessary.
During menstruation it is particularly important to keep the body and clothes scrupulously clean, by bathing or washing with plenty of water.
Hair—Air and a good brushing every day will keep the hair in good condition. It should be washed once in two weeks. Wash with hot soapsuds and rinse thoroughly, using first hot, then cooler, and finally cold water. Keep the hair brush clean by washing in cold water and soap and a little ammonia at least once a week. The brush should be dried in the sun, not by artificial heat.
Ears—Keep the outer surfaces of the ears clean, but leave the inner part alone. Do not poke for wax or put oil in the ear.
Feet—Bathe the feet in hot water at night, when tired. In the morning bathe with cold water after hot, to harden them for walking. Keep the toenails clean, and cut evenly.
Teeth—Next to a fresh, sweet skin the most beautiful feature of a truly beautiful woman is her teeth. The basis of beautiful teeth is a clean mouth. Teeth should be brushed at least twice a day. The best times are after breakfast and the last thing before going to bed. A brush with medium soft bristles should be used. Clean a new brush thoroughly with soap and water and soak in cold water to set the bristles. A toothbrush should be cleansed and aired and if possible sunned every day. Never use a brush that has begun to lose its bristles, or which has become caked or yellow. Paste or powder that is not gritty should be used. Always brush away from the gums; that is, brush the upper teeth down, and the lower teeth up. Clean the roof of the mouth and the tongue.
It is a good plan to have the teeth examined at least every six months. Then any repairs or cleaning that may be needed can be easily attended to and much future pain, trouble and expense saved.
Eyes—Wash eyes carefully for "sleepers" in the morning. Bathing with alternate hot and cold will rest and strengthen the muscles.
General Safeguards—Do not use public towels or drinking cups.
Do not use towels, handkerchiefs or other toilet articles or glasses or cups or table utensils used by others.
Avoid sneezing or coughing into another person's face.
Measurements
Every Girl Scout should know her measurements, including her height, her weight, her waist measure, her chest girth and her chest expansion. Not only are these things convenient to know when ordering uniforms and buying clothes, but any physical director, gymnasium teacher or doctor can tell her if these are in good proportion for her age and general development and advise her as to how she may go about to improve them if they need it.
The accompanying table (given in the last section of the Health Record) shows the right height and weight for girls at different ages. The way to consult it is as follows:
First, find your height by measuring yourself without shoes against a wall. The best way to do is to have someone lay a ruler on top of your head so that it extends to the wall and touches it at right angles. Then the place should be marked and the distance measured with a yard stick or tape. Count a half inch as the next highest inch; thus if you measure 59-1/2 inches call this 60. If you measure 59-1/4 count it as an even 59. Stand with heels against the wall, and head high: "Stand Tall."
Second, find your weight with only indoor clothes on. Take the weight to the nearest pound, counting as before a half pound or three-quarters as the next highest and disregard the amounts less than one-half.
Then take your card and look along the top row for the age to which you are nearest, counting six months past one year mark as the next year. Thus, if you are within six months of being 13, count yourself 13.
Then look at the left-hand upright row of figures and find your height in inches.
Then with a rule or paper find the corresponding number of pounds for your height and age.
You will see that a girl may be any number of inches tall within wide limits, but her weight must correspond to her height rather than simply to her age.
A girl should be within ten per cent of the proper weight for her age and height. If you find that you are underweight, do not be frightened or discouraged, as it is quite easy to get up to normal by following the health rules, particularly those relating to food, water and sleep. Drink as much milk as possible, and eat fresh vegetables and don't spoil your appetite by eating too many sweets or nibbling between meals. If you find that after a month you are still more than ten per cent underweight, then ask your parents if you can see the doctor or consult the school physician.
A Health Record Chart for Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts who are working for "The Health Winner" badge should keep an account of their progress for three months, and a good way to do it is to have a Health Chart to fill out daily and bring the record for each week to their Captain, at troop meeting. The chart given below is suggested as a model, and copies will be obtainable from National Headquarters, but troops can make up their own.
Every Scout is naturally a Health Crusader, and she can use the blanks provided by the National Modern Health Crusade if she so desires.
In this case the first two points can be combined, which relate to washing hands and face, and an additional point inserted in place of the second, to the effect that "I ate no sweets, candy, cake or ice cream between meals today."
THE GIRL SCOUT'S HEALTH RECORD
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RECORD FOR WHOLE PERIOD 1. Posture at beginning: 2. Posture at end: 3. Total distance walked 4. At least three shampoos 5. Any colds during period? 6. Constipation during period? 7. Answered correctly the following questions: 8. Height in inches at beginning of period |
PREPARED BY DR. THOMAS D. WOOD About what a Girl should gain each month
shoes andin only the usual indoor clothes. Used by courtesy of the Child Health Organization, 156 FifthAvenue, New York City. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||