Proper Surroundings should be striven for. The patient should be kept tranquil in mind and body, free from disturbing worries and assured of the possibility of recovery with proper care.
Diet should be adequate without being too abundant; stuffing the patient is no longer considered necessary, in fact it is believed that forcing the eating of large quantities of eggs, etc., defeats its own ends, upsetting the digestion and causing a disgust for food almost impossible to overcome.
Gastro-intestinal Disturbances are apt to develop as the disease progresses. These are treated as in other conditions so complicated, except that the period of starvation must necessarily be limited on account of the metabolic waste already taking place from the disease itself.
PNEUMONIA
The Lungs, as in pulmonary tuberculosis, are the seat of infection and are temporarily hampered in their work of excretion.
The Kidneys bear the brunt of the extra work caused by the impairment of the lungs, consequently all unnecessary work must be spared these organs if they are to be prevented from being overtaxed.
Nephritis is one of the complications apt to develop when the kidneys are not sufficiently strong to carry on their own work and that generally done by the lungs.
The Heart.—Cardiac symptoms are also likely to develop during attacks of pneumonia and make the disease one to be dreaded and guarded against.
The Diet.—The dietetic treatment in pneumonia is like that used in acute infectious diseases, fevers in general, fluids constituting the form of diet and milk the chief food, as long as there is an elevation of temperature.