Special Points for the nurse to remember are the necessity for an early recognition of unfavorable symptoms—of instructing the patient upon leaving her care in the need for keeping the size of the meals small;—of the danger of indulging in alcoholic or other stimulating beverages;—of eating highly spiced foods, or of eating anything which may cause gastro-intestinal disorders.
She should emphasize the need for regular examination of the urine and the value of rest and freedom from nervous excitement, and the need of living in the sunshine as much as possible.
The nurse should study the diet list and become familiar with the foods allowed and those to be avoided. The tables show the foods which are rich in salts and proteins. She should likewise understand and be able to make the simple test for albumen in the urine and the method of collecting the urine for the test made in the laboratory.
PROBLEMS
(a) Outline a salt-poor diet for patient in which the fluids are limited to 1500 c.c. per day.
(b) Formulate a diet for child of ten years with nephritis following scarlet fever.
(c) Write a diet order, using a salt-free diet.
FOOTNOTES:
[114] Fisher’s Solution.
| Sodium carbonate (pure crystals) | 14 |
| Sodium chloride | 10 |
| Water | 1000 |