Mother's Remedies Part 168

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 r.e.c.t.u.m. For children it should be placed in the r.e.c.t.u.m 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 r.e.c.t.u.m 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 r.e.c.t.u.m, 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.

DIET

FOODS AND DRINKS FOR THE SICK ROOM.

DIET.--The importance of diet and its relation to the needs of the system in disease can hardly be overrated. One should not only know what kind of food to give, but how much and how often it should be given to get the best result. Food should be given in small quant.i.ties in acute diseases and at regular intervals. It will digest better. The food should never be left in the sick room after a patient has finished with it. This applies to all kinds of food, but especially to milk, for it absorbs impurities from the air more readily than any other kind of food. How often do we see milk standing in a sick room and uncovered; how often is it placed in an ice box uncovered. I have often wondered how such people could eat some foods I have seen prepared for them in such a careless way and with no attempt to make it appear tempting to their poor appet.i.te. Foods should be given just as regularly as medicines, when so ordered, especially in long wasting diseases like typhoid fever.

The kind of food.--Under each disease directions for the kind of food, time, and quant.i.ty have been given. In diseases like typhoid fever, special care must be given. It is better in that disease to give too little than too much food and the proper kind of food must be given. I shall never forget the death of a minister in my childhood days. I was about four years old. This minister was loved by everyone and when he died of typhoid fever, everyone was grieved and shocked and they could not understand why G.o.d should take such a useful man away. It made a great impression upon me. I found out more about the "why" afterwards. This minister was in the convalescent stage and very hungry. He wanted a genuine boiled dinner. That is bad enough for a well man. The doctor forbade it, but the family gave him the dinner and the result, of course, was fatal. It could not be otherwise. We often blame G.o.d for our own sins.

Many people are killed by kind friends. I have seen it more than once.

Peanuts, popcorn, and candy have caused many convulsions in children and some deaths.

It is generally allowable to give a little liquid food every two hours in acute diseases. It should be given at regular intervals in the conscious or unconscious patients, especially in long continued diseases.

[644 MOTHERS' REMEDIES ]

LIQUID DIET.

1. Cream soups; tomato, pea, corn, celery, rice, spinach, asparagus, potato.

2. Gruels; oatmeal, cornmeal, cream of wheat, flour gluten (for diabetes).

How to Alb.u.minize Fruit Juices.--Into a cup of lemonade, orangeade, grape juice, etc., put white of an egg slightly beaten, mix thoroughly, strain and serve.

The following may or may not be alb.u.minized.

3. Fruit juices; lemonade, orangeade, unfermented grape juice, currant, berry juice.

4. Milk; peptonized milk, alb.u.minized, b.u.t.termilk, malted milk, and milk porridge.

5. Stimulating drinks; tea, coffee, cocoa.

6. Broths; beef broth, mutton broth, chicken broth, bouillon, consomme, oyster broth, clam broth, oyster soup, clam soup, beef tea, and beef juice.

7. Eggs; raw eggs and egg-nog.

8. Cooling and nourishing drinks; oatmeal water, rice water, barley water and toast water. Ices and ice cream may be included in the liquid diet list.

SOFT DIET.--This diet includes everything in the liquid diet list, and the following additional foods:

1. Bread: soft bread; dry toast; milk, water or cream toast, brown bread (after the first day on soft diet).

2. Eggs: poached, soft-boiled and shirred.

3. Cereals: all cooked for some hours; cornmeal, oatmeal rice, sago, wheaten grits and cream of wheat.

4. Desserts: junket, custards, milk puddings, rice, thoroughly cooked, tapioca, jellies, baked and stewed apples, prunes whipped and stewed, ices and ice cream.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 645]

CONVALESCENT DIET.--This includes everything in the liquid and soft diet lists and the following in addition:--

1. Breads: wheat, rye, Boston brown and graham bread and biscuits.