and water that has been used for cleansing the teeth and mouth may be disinfected in the same way as urine, or it may be emptied into a suitable receptacle and boiled ten minutes.
Care of the Hands.
—Disinfectants for the hands should be used in addition to scrubbing with soap and water, not as a substitute. The hands may be disinfected after scrubbing by soaking them for three minutes in one of the following solutions: alcohol 70%, carbolic acid solution
2½%, or a solution made by adding one teaspoonful of lysol or of creolin to a pint of water. These disinfectants are poisons if taken internally; the bottles must be carefully labeled and kept in a safe place. It is a good plan to wear rubber gloves when handling infective material; the gloves should afterward be boiled for ten minutes.
Care of Utensils.
—A sufficient number of dishes, spoons, tumblers, basins, etc. must be reserved for the patient's exclusive use; these utensils must be washed separately and dried with towels not used for other dishes. Mistakes frequently occur by which other persons use the patient's dishes, and in consequence his dishes should not be kept in the cupboard with other dishes; if no other safe place can be found, they had better stay in the patient's room covered with a clean cloth or napkin. The dishes should be scalded daily and at the termination of the illness they must be boiled briskly for ten minutes before they are returned to general use. Food left on the patient's tray should be burned; it should not be eaten by any one else, nor placed in the pantry or refrigerator with other food.
Care of Linen.
—A satisfactory way to disinfect towels, night gowns, bed linen, etc. is to place the articles immediately in a wash boiler filled with cold water to which a little washing soda has been added, and then to boil them in the same water for
twenty minutes; they can afterward go safely into the regular laundry. The boiling may be done once a day; articles soiled in the meantime may be left to soak in the cold water and soda.