American Red Cross Text-Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick, Isabel McIsaac [speed reading book TXT] 📗

Fig. 15.—Changing a Patient from One Bed to Another. (From Pope "Home Care of the Sick," American School of Home Economics, Chicago.)

If the beds differ greatly in height and indeed in most cases, it is better to carry the patient from one bed to the other. At least two people are needed; one alone should never attempt to carry anyone heavier than a small child. One method for lifting is as follows: Let two bearers, A and B stand on the same side of the bed. If the patient is to be moved into the right side of the fresh bed let both bearers stand on the right side of the occupied bed; if he is to go into the left side of the fresh bed, let them both stand on the left side of the occupied bed. Let A place one arm under the patient's shoulders and her other under the small of his back, while B places one arm under his hips and the other just below his knees. Draw the patient to the edge of the bed, instruct him to place his arms about the shoulders of A and to hold the body rigid, and then lift together at a given signal, keeping his weight well up on the chests of the bearers.

Whenever a patient must be turned, lifted, carried, or moved in any way, let him know beforehand just what you intend to do so that he may not be startled, and also that he may coöperate if possible. Grasp him firmly but gently, avoid pinching the skin, and move him steadily and smoothly, avoiding jerks and false starts. Do not attempt alone more than your strength is amply sufficient to accomplish, and endeavor at all times to handle the sick with the utmost gentleness and consideration.

EXERCISES Describe a bedstead and mattress suitable for a sick person's use, and tell why they are to be preferred. How should the bedstead be cared for? the mattress? the pillows? How should a mattress and pillows be protected? Describe in detail the bed covers that are desirable for use in sickness. Name the results that a good method of bedmaking aims to secure. Describe the method of making an unoccupied bed. How should one change the pillows of a helpless patient? Describe the way in which you would lift and turn a patient in bed. Describe the method of changing sheets and remaking a bed while the patient is in it. Why are beds and bedmaking considered so important in the care of the sick? FOR FURTHER READING Notes on Nursing—Florence Nightingale, Pages 79-84.

CHAPTER VII

BATHS AND BATHING

Bathing is necessary in sickness no less than in health. It stimulates and equalizes the circulation, is soothing in feverish conditions, is refreshing to most people, and by affording a certain amount of exercise it lessens the fatigue of lying in bed. Moreover, without frequent bathing it is impossible to keep the skin in good condition, since scales of dead skin, oily matter, and solid substances left by perspiration collect on the surface of the body when a person is lying still in bed as well as when he is leading an active life. The common belief that sick people are likely to catch cold from bathing is quite unfounded; every patient, unless his condition is such that the doctor orders otherwise, should have one complete cleansing bath each day. In addition to the regular cleansing bath other kinds are often prescribed as medical treatment.

CLEANSING BATHS

A tub bath if allowed by a patient's condition, is the most satisfactory kind, but special precautions must be taken to guard her from fatigue and chill. The bath room and everything to be used should be made ready before she leaves her bed. Necessary clothing and toilet articles should be collected and arranged conveniently, a chair covered with a blanket and also a bath mat should be placed beside the tub, and the temperature of the bath room should be regulated so that it is about 70° F., or a little lower if the room is likely to become overheated as the bath proceeds. The bath water should be drawn last. Its temperature, tested by a thermometer, should be between 96° and 100° at the beginning, and may be increased if desirable.

If the patient is weak, wash and dry her face, neck, and ears, and if necessary cut the finger and toe nails before she leaves the bed, in any case before she enters the tub. As soon as the patient has left the bed, strip it and leave it to air; then assist her into the bath room and help her carefully into the tub. Do not allow her to stay in the water more than ten minutes at most, and stop the bath at once if she shows the slightest sign of faintness, dizziness, exhaustion, difficult breathing, marked change of color, or other unusual symptom. Indeed, if the patient is weak or her reaction to the bath uncertain, as when she takes her first tub bath after an illness, someone should always be within call to help the attendant in case of need. A faint, heavy patient in a bath tub is an impossible load for one person to handle.

While the patient is in the tub, soap her well, brush her finger and toe nails, rinse, and rub her to stimulate the circulation. Then help her from the tub, seat her in the chair, draw the blanket closely about her from neck to feet, dry her with warm towels, exposing the body as little as possible, and, if she is to return to bed, put on a fresh night gown, and wrapper and slippers. Next place the lower sheet, the draw sheet, and one pillow on the bed as quickly as possible, help the patient into bed, keeping her well covered with a blanket, and finish making the bed. If she seems chilly, give a hot water bag and hot drink and leave the blanket next her in place. After the patient has been made comfortable, clean the tub and put the bath room in order.

Even patients supposedly able to take tub baths without assistance should not lock the bath room door nor be left alone a long time.