Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Manual for the Medical Staff Corps. War Office, 1885. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![Training of Orderlies. Part II. immersed in a bucket of hot water placed by the side of the patient’s bed ; one piece is taken out, and, by means of a towel, wrung out nearly dry, and it is placed as quickly as possible on the part to be fomented, and covered by a piece of waterproof sheeting ; the second piece is wrung out, and prepared to replace the first as soon as it cools. The process will be continued for the space of at least twenty minutes, unless otherwise ordered. Oil of turpentine is sometimes directed to be sprinkled over the flannel or spongio-piline each time after being wrung out. 217. Sponging is employed in febrile diseases to reduce the temperature of the body by means of evaporation. Either cold or tepid water may be used. A waterproof sheet is placed over the bed, the patient undressed and laid upon it; a large wet sponge is then rapidly passed over the different parts of the body until the temperature is sufficiently lowered by the evaporation, when the patient is put to bed and covered up. Baths. 218. Baths, when employed for the treatment of disease, maybe classified into—(a) Water Baths, (b) Vapour Baths, and (c) Hot Air Baths ; each of these again may be divided into (a) simple, and (h) medicated, when some drug is added ; and the Water Baths, as well as being simple or medicated, may be (1) local or (2) general, according as a part of the body, or the whole body is immersed. 219. The temperature of the different kinds of baths, and the time that patients should be allowed to remain in them, is shown by the accompanying table. simple (Water alone) Water v medicated (water with mustard, 1 acids, alkalis, iodine or sulphur), f f Simple (steam alone) Vapour i medicated (steam first, then either \ l calomel, iodine, or sulphur). J Hotair / simple (hot air alone) 1 medicated (iiot air first, then chlorine) Description. Tempera- ture. Time allowed for remaining in. degrees. minutes. Hot 98-105 10 Warm 92-98 20 Tepid 85-92 20 Cold { temp, of the a few air minutes Warm 92-98 20 ... j- 15-30 ... ]■ 15-30](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21931768_0067.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
