THE HOME NURSE.

Northern Advocate, 29 October 1932, Page 4

THE HOME NURSE.

Great responsibility rests upon the .shoulders of the person in charge of a patient, no matter what the age of the sufferer may be. Many doctors tell patients that everything depends upon the nursing, and for this reason it is always wise to carry out his orders to the letter. If a doctor tells a mother that a sick child must not sit up the mother should see that the child does not dio so.

The bed should be divested of as many draperies as possible. All superfluous hangings arc genriholders and breeders, and the fewer there are about the better.

The bed should be in a position that the light does not fall directly on the eyes of the patient, as with most illnesses the eyes suffer severely and are weak and painful.

Change the pillow frequently for. a restless patient. A firm, low pillow is best in illness unless the doctor advises otherwise. Plenty of clean linen is essential, and the patient should be supplied with clean night clothes every day. When there is a great deal of sweating the body of the sufferer is refreshed by dusting with talcum powder, or by a warm sponge down (if allowed) with water containing a few drops of Eau-de-Cologne, toilet vinegar, or even plain ammonia. See that the mattress of the bed docs not get hard and lumpy. This is often a cause of distress, especially with a patient who is thin. The patient must be shifted to one side of the bed; the mattress can then be shaken and smoothed on the vacant side and the patient returned to the smooth side while the other side is treated in the same way. Clean sheets should be placed on the bed folded down the centre. The top half should then be folded again, and the patient either lifted or rolled on to the lower half of the portion of clean sheet and made, to lie there while the top half !is placed in position. In this way the ! patient is not unduly disturbed, and there is not fear of catchin a : chill by exposure.