Nursing the sick / by J. Halliday Croom.

  • John Halliday Croom
Date:
[between 1800 and 1899?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Nursing the sick / by J. Halliday Croom. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    large piece of coarse flannel, the coarser the better as it retains the heat longer, (a piece of old blanket or scouring flannel makes the best fomentation), a towel, and a basin. Now lay the towel over the basin in the way I show you, fold up the flannel and lay it on the towel. Now see that the water is boiling and pour it over the flannel. Then wring it in the towel as dry as you possibly can. Cover over with the mackintosh or cotton wool, and fasten it on with a flannel bandage. If you want to apply dry heat, heat salt, sand, or bran over the fire or in the oven, put it in a flannel bag and it will retain the heat for a long time. Hot bricks wrapped in flannel are very useful. You are frequently enough required to apply cold to jthe head. To do so take one fold of cotton or linen rag, soak it in cold water, the colder the better, squeeze dry and apply it as rapidly as possible. Do not take a large piece of cloth folded several times, and keep squeezing it in your hand till it is quite hot and then put on. One fold of cloth, the thinner the better, dipped often in the cold water and rapidly applied gives great relief in headaches, for example. If you can procure ice put a piece in the water. Ice is some- times ordered to be kept constantly on the head; to keep it from melting, wrap it up in flannel, or put it in sawdust, and in a cool place. To break ice, do it in this way with a needle. Ice- bags can be bought for three or four shillings, or it may be put in a bladder and applied to the part, or a bag may be made of gutta percha and chloroform. By putting a little chloroform along the edges and folding them over, you can make a very useful bag for ice; the ice should be broken in small jueces before being put in the bag, and be removed as soon as it melts. Nourishment is the third great factor of life, and food plays a most important part in the treatment of all illnesses, more especially fevers. The nurse must devote much of her attention to the subject of diet. You must observe carefully your patient’s appetite, and attend carefully to the quantity of food and the effects of it. Give the nourishment regularly and at short intervals if the patient cannot take much at a time. Let me
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