The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English / or, Medicine Simplified, 54th ed., One Million, Six Hundred / and Fifty Thousand

by Ray Vaughn Pierce

Warmth is essential to the well-being of the patient, and it is necessary that a proper temperature be maintained in the room. Except in very warm weather, a little fire should be kept in the room, and at the same time fresh air should be admitted from without, and a uniform temperature thus preserved. This arrangement is especially necessary in localities where great variations in temperature are experienced during the day and night.

The normal temperature of the body ranges from 98° to 99° Fahr. The minimum occurs from 2 to 6 A.M.; the maximum, from 1 to 6 P.M. The deviation of a few degrees from this standard indicates disease, and the greater the deviation, the greater is its severity. During the early stages of acute diseases, the animal heat is generally increased, and should be allayed by bathing, and cooling or acidulated drinks. In the latter stages, the temperature becomes diminished and the condition of the system is favorable to congestions, which are most likely to occur between the hours of 2 and 6 A.M., when the vital powers are lowest. The patient then becomes feeble, his extremities grow cold, and he has what is termed a "sinking spell," and perhaps dies. It is during these hours that additional covering, the application of hot bricks to the feet, and bottles of hot water to the limbs and body, friction upon the surface, stimulating drinks, and increased vigilance on the part of the nurse will often save the patient's life. But, unfortunately, at these hours the nurse is apt to get sleepy and inattentive, the demands of the patient go unheeded, and a sacrifice of life is the result.

Persons suffering from chronic diseases, or those in feeble health, should preserve their vital energies by dressing warmly, by wearing flannels next to the skin, and by carefully protecting the feet from cold and moisture.

Cleanliness cannot be too thoroughly impressed upon the minds of those who have the care of the sick. Filthiness is productive of disease and favorable to its development. Bathing at least once a day, with pure, soft water and toilet-soap, is strongly urged, and as this is designed for cleanliness, the temperature of the bath should be made agreeable to the patient.

The Clothing and Bedding of the Patient in acute diseases, should be changed frequently and thoroughly aired, if not washed. As soon as removed, these articles should be taken from the room, replaced by others well aired and warmed. The hands and face of the patient should be bathed frequently, the hair combed, the teeth brushed, the nails cleaned, the lips moistened, and everything about him kept clean and tidy. These observances, although in themselves trifling, promote comfort and cheerfulness, and contribute largely to the recovery of the sick. All excretions from the patient should be buried, and not committed to privies to communicate disease to those who frequent them.

The Diet contains a very important relation to health. During the process of acute disease, the appetite is generally much impaired, if not entirely absent. It should then be the study of the nurse to devise such articles of nourishment as will be acceptable to the patient and suitable to the condition. The food should be light, nutritious, and easy of digestion.

Each individual disease requires a diet adapted to its peculiarities. Those of an inflammatory character require an unstimulating diet, as gruel, barley-water, toast, etc. An exhausted or enfeebled condition of the brain, unattended by irritability, demands a stimulating diet, as beef, eggs, fish, Graham bread, oysters, etc. In wasting diseases, in which the temperature of the system is low, beef, fatty substances, rich milk, sweet cream, and other carbonaceous articles of diet are recommended. In the various forms of chronic ailments, the diet must be varied according to the nature of the disease and the peculiarities of the patient. Deranged digestion is generally an accompaniment of chronic disease. A return to normal digestion should be encouraged by selecting appropriate articles of food, paying due regard to its quantity and quality, as well as to the manner and time of eating. The appearance of food, and the manner in which it is offered, have much to do with its acceptance, or rejection by the patient. Let the nourishment be presented in a nice, clean dish, of a size and shape appropriate to the quantity. More food than can be eaten by the patient should not be placed before him at one time, since a great quantity excites disgust and loathing. In taking nourishment, drink, or medicine, the patient, if feeble, should not be obliged to change his position.

Milk is one of the most important foods in fevers and acute diseases attended with great prostration, and in which the digestive powers are enfeebled. It contains within itself all the elements of nutrition.

Beef Tea furnishes an excellent nourishment for the sick, but there are few, even among professional nurses who know how to properly prepare it. We give three good recipes. One method is to chip up lean beef, put it in a porcelain or tin saucepan, cover it with cold water, and bring it up to just below the boiling point, at which temperature retain it for ten minutes, then season and serve. Another method is similar to the foregoing, with this difference, that the juices of the meat are squeezed through a piece of muslin or crash, making the tea richer. Another way, which we consider preferable to either of the above, is to take lean beef, cut it into fine bits, put them in a tightly covered vessel, which is placed in a kettle of water kept boiling. Thus the whole strength of the juice will be obtained from the meat without losing any of its properties. It can be seasoned to the taste, and reduced with water to suit the needs of the patient.

Sleep is "Nature's grand restorer, a balm to all mankind; the best comforter of that sad heart whom fortune's spite assails." It is necessary in health, and doubly so in sickness. During sleep, the vital energies recuperate, the forces are less rapidly expended, and the strength increases. It is the great source of rest and refreshment. Often a day's rest in bed, free from the cares and anxieties of an active life, is sufficient to ward off the approach of disease. If quiet and rest are essential to recuperation in health, their necessity in disease must be apparent. Life frequently depends on tranquility and repose, and the least noise or confusion disturbs the sufferer and diminishes the chances of recovery. Nothing annoys sick or nervous persons more than whispering and the rustling of newspapers. If conversation be necessary, let the tones be modified, but never whisper. In sickness, when the vital forces are low, the more natural rest and sleep the patient obtains, the greater is the prospect for recovery. As a rule, a patient should never be awakened when sleeping quietly, not even to take medicine, unless in extreme cases. If the patient does not sleep, the cause should be ascertained and the appropriate remedies employed; if it arise from rush of blood to the head, cooling lotions should be applied, and warmth to the feet; if, from restlessness or general irritability, a sponge bath, followed by friction should be administered; if the wakefulness is due to noise or confusion, quiet is the remedy. When these means fail, anodynes, or nervines, should be employed. Lying on the side instead of on the back should be practiced. Patients afflicted with chronic diseases, on rising, should take a cold bath, dry the surface quickly with a coarse towel, followed by friction with the hand. Great benefit may be derived by following these suggestions when the nature of the disease is not such as to forbid it.