Notes on nursing : what it is, and what it is not.

  • Florence Nightingale
Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes on nursing : what it is, and what it is not. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material is part of the Elmer Belt Florence Nightingale collection. The original may be consulted at University of California Libraries.

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    Note.—One word about pillows. Every weak patient, be his illness what it may, suffers more or less from difficulty in breathing. To take the weight of the body off the poor chest, which is hardly up to its work as it is, ought therefore to be the object of the nurse in arranging his pillows. Now what does she do and what are the consequences? She piles the pil- lows one a-top of the other like a wall of bricks. The head is thrown upon the chest. And the shoulders are pushed for- ward, so as not to allow the lungs room to expand. The pil- lows, in fact, lean upon the patient, not the patient upon the pillows. It is impossible to give a rule for this, because it must vary with the figure of the patient. And tall patients suffer much more than short ones, because of the drag of the long limbs upon the waist. But the object is to support, with the pillows, the back telow the breathing apparatus, to allow the shoulders room to fall back, and to support the head, with- out throwing it forward. The suffering of dying patients is immensely increased bj'- neglect of these points. And many an invalid, too weak to drag about his pillows himself, slips his book or anything at hand behind the lower part of his back to support it. IX. LIGHT. tiaUoSh ^^ ^^ ^^® unqualified result of all my experience with health and j^]^q ^{q^ that second only to their need of fresh air is recovery. ' ^ *' their need of light; that, after a close room, what hurts them most is a dark room. And that it is not only light but direct sun-light they want. I had rather have the power of carrying my patient about after the sun, ac- cording to the aspect of the rooms, if circumstances per- mit, than let him linger in a room when the sun is off. People think the effect is upon the spirits only. This is by no means the case. The sun is not only a painter but a sculptor. You admit that he does the photograph. Without going into any scientific exposition we must ad- mit that light has quite as real and tangible effects upon