White of two Eggs
Peptonized Milk 2 ounces or 1/4 of a cup
The whole amount should never exceed four ounces. The addition of salt
aids the absorption of the egg. Brandy, and whisky are very irritating and
should be given only every other time.
The fresh raw milk can be used, if it is impossible to have it peptonized.
After a nutritive enemata the patient should lie quietly on his back for
twenty or thirty minutes.
[NURSING DEPARTMENT 641]
Turpentine enemata for distention may be given according to the following
formula:
Mucilage of Acacia 1/2 ounce
Spirits of Turpentine 10 drops
This should be administered high up in the bowel.
Astringent Enemata. To check diarrhea.--They should be given slowly and
injected high up, and they should be retained as long as possible.
Starch and Laudanum.--Boil the starch as if to be used in the laundry and
dilute with luke-warm water, until it is thin enough to pass through a
tube. Take of this three ounces. This can be given alone in mild cases;
but if there is much pain and straining add ten to fifteen drops of
laudanum to the starch water or thirty to forty drops of paregoric. This
dose is for an adult.
Stimulating Enemata. 1. Black coffee.--One-half to one pint of strong
coffee, injected as hot as possible. It should be strained before using.
This is frequently given in poison cases.
2. Salt Enemata.--Two teaspoonfuls to one quart of hot water is mildly
stimulating; one-half to one ounce of brandy or whisky may be added.
DOUCHES.--By this term is generally meant a jet of fluid directed with a
certain amount of force upon a limited external or internal surface, for
cleansing, stimulating purposes and to relieve inflammation. Three common
douches are the ear (aural), the vaginal and the rectal.
The Vaginal Douche. For cleansing.--A one per cent solution of carbolic
acid is often used in one to three quarts of water.
To allay inflammation.--A hot solution of the temperature of 105 degrees
to 115 degrees is given, and three or six quarts may be used. Allow the
stream to flow before the nozzle is inserted so as to have the warm
temperature instead of cold at the start, and the nozzle should be
introduced up towards the posterior vaginal wall. The fountain syringe bag
should not be raised more than six to twelve inches above the patient who
is lying down with her hips raised on pillows and her knees drawn up.
Medicines can be used in all the douches.
Rectal douche.--This is to relieve piles and reduce inflammation. Hot or
cold as needed. A rectal tube or fountain syringe is used.
Ear (aural) douche.--This is used for earache and inflammation. Salt or
boric acid is generally used in the warm water. It should be allowed to
flow in slowly and gently.
How to use a bed pan.--When you are placing the pan, you should slip one
hand under the buttocks and then place the flat end of the pan under the
buttocks. It should always be warm. Raise the patient in the same way
before attempting to remove it. Do not pull it out.
[642 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
TEMPERATURE (Fever).--A thermometer is necessary in taking the
temperature. They can be bought for from fifty cents up. The temperature
is taken by putting the thermometer under the tongue, in the arm-pit and
in the rectum. For children it should be placed in the rectum or in the
arm-pit or groin. Allow it to remain from two to five minutes. This
depends upon the time limit of the thermometer. The normal temperature is
98-6/10 degrees F. This varies, some people are normal at times at 99 or
98 degrees. The temperature in the arm-pit is lower by 3/10 of a degree,
but that in the rectum is 1/2 degree higher than that taken in the mouth.
The normal point on the thermometer is marked by an arrow. The mercury in
the tube must always be down to that at its highest point, before the
thermometer is placed and the highest point the mercury goes indicates the
height of the temperature (fever). If you take it in the rectum, that
should be free from feces. Oil the thermometer and gently insert it into
the bowel for one and one-half inches and hold the stem.
Under the Tongue.--Place the point under the tongue and instruct the
patient to close his lips over the thermometer. He can also hold the stem
with his fingers, It should never be taken here right after a cold drink.
Unconscious patients may bite through the instrument, so care must be
taken with them.
Arm-pit.--Wipe the part thoroughly dry and place the point directly in the
arm-pit. Then place the elbow against the body and the hand on the chest
pointing to the opposite shoulder. When ready to take it out move the arm
away from the body and take the thermometer away gently for it sticks
sometimes and you will cause pain if you draw it away quickly. The
instrument should be cleansed in tepid mild salt solution.
PULSE.--Average in men, sixty to seventy. In women, sixty-five to eighty.
Children ninety to one hundred to one hundred and twenty. Different
authors vary. In men it is generally seventy to seventy-two. In women
seventy-two to seventy-five.
It is better taken sitting. It is faster when walking, slower when lying
down. I always take the pulse in the left arm unless there is a deformity
there. I use my right hand with the third finger toward the elbow. By
using the first three fingers you can find out different things about the
pulse. Some people are very nervous and such an one will make your arm
ache when feeling the pulse. The pulse should be regular, even beats, in
health. Sometimes you can feel it best on the temple or on the neck.
RESPIRATION (Breathing).--In an adult the average is eighteen per minute.
In a child the average is twenty to twenty-four. Respiration is the act of
taking in (inspiration), and giving out (expiration) air by the lungs.
THE TONGUE.--This is coated in dyspepsia and fevers,--some healthy persons
always have a coated tongue.
[NURSING DEPARTMENT 643]
In Ulcers of the stomach there is no coating.
In high fevers, the tongue may also be red and cracked as well as coated
in some parts.
A dark brown or blackish coating indicates a serious condition in acute
diseases.
Strawberry tongue is seen in Scarlet Fever.
Cankered tongue and month may be due to local conditions, or to stomach,
liver and bowel disorders.
In Peritonitis the tongue is generally dry and red (beefy).
Cholera Infantum.--At first coated, then dry and reddish.
Constipation.--Tongue is generally coated.
Biliousness.--Yellowish dirty coating.