Those who have gone through a well-appointed hospital, gain an idea of what the word means, which even the best and most care- fully-kept private house never dreams of carrying out, the chances for recovery in a good hospital being for this very reason far greater than at home. Next to general comes personal cleanliness, and this is one of the most difficult points. The poor mother, who very likely bathes but once a week, perhaps not as often, cannot understand why a daily sponging is necessary. The rich one, who may know its uses in health, is in terror lest sickness be increased by a chill, and so one of the surest means of relief remains untried. There is hardly an illness in which the skin is not more or less disordered, the secretions sometimes being actually poisonous, and generally offensive. It is a slow poison, but a very sure one, and clothing left day after day, saturated with perspiration, or skin clogged in the same way, mean very often death, and always a delayed and enfeebled recovery. The feeling of relief and comfort after a sponging may be regarded as a " notion," when it is really a proof that " the vital powers have been relieved by removing something that was oppressing them." 158 THE hearthstone; or, life at home. The great danger lies in exposing too large a surface at once, and thus causing a chill. It is possible to give a thorough cleansing, yet avoid this altogether. A large towel or extra folded sheet should be under the patient to prevent the bed or clothing from being wet, and the sponge can be passed under the bed-covering, a bath in this way being easily accomplished after a little practice. Even in hot weather it will be wisest not to leave the patients uncovered, but to draw a sheet over them, and thus prevent any possibility of a chill. Where special forms of bathing are required, the doctor should give his instructions, but in all ordinary cases a sponging with tepid water and plenty of soap will answer every purpose. In dysentery or acute diarrhoea, the skin is hard and harsh, and the greatest relief is experienced in using soap profusely, castile or palm-oil being the best varieties. Where there is great weakness and exhaustion, a hot towel should be used in drying the skin. Beds and bedding are an important question. We have discarded in great degree the old-fashioned feather bed, and also the curtains and valances of the last generation. The bed in sickness should be as free from all drapery, or anything that can hold contagion or effluvias, as it is possible to have it. It should stand out from the wall, so that the nurse can have access to every side. It should be low, to save as much exertion as possible, if the patient can get up and down at all, and, if practicable, it is best to have an iron one, such as is used in hospitals and is considered essential in real nursing. Such a bed with good springs and covered with a thin hair mattress is more comfortable by far than the ordinary one with an under mat- tress, or perhaps a feather bed, which can never be quite even and free from a sense of lumpiness. The best authorities agree in pro- nouncing a hard bed to be unnecessary, and injurious as a very soft one. A wide- one is supposed to afford the patient most refreshment, as he can move over to a fresh side ; but where it is practicable, a fresh bed is a better method.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Those who have gone through a well-appointed hospital, gain an idea of what the word means, which even the best and most carefully-kept private house never dreams of carrying out, the chances for recovery in a good hospital being for this very reason far greater than at home. Next to general comes personal cleanliness, and this is one of the most difficult points. The poor mother, who very likely bathes but once a week, perhaps not as often, cannot understand why a daily sponging is necessary. The rich one, who may know its uses in health, is in terror lest sickness be increased by a chill, and so one of the surest means of relief remains untried. There is hardly an illness in which the skin is not more or less disordered, the secretions sometimes being actually poisonous, and generally offensive. It is a slow poison, but a very sure one, and clothing left day after day, saturated with perspiration, or skin clogged in the same way, mean very often death, and always a delayed and enfeebled recovery. The feeling of relief and comfort after a sponging may be regarded as a " notion," when it is really a proof that " the vital powers have been relieved by removing something that was oppressing them." 158 THE hearthstone; or, life at home. The great danger lies in exposing too large a surface at once, and thus causing a chill. It is possible to give a thorough cleansing, yet avoid this altogether. A large towel or extra folded sheet should be under the patient to prevent the bed or clothing from being wet, and the sponge can be passed under the bed-covering, a bath in this way being easily accomplished after a little practice. Even in hot weather it will be wisest not to leave the patients uncovered, but to draw a sheet over them, and thus prevent any possibility of a chill. Where special forms of bathing are required, the doctor should give his instructions, but in all ordinary cases a sponging with tepid water and plenty of soap will answer every purpose. In dysentery or acute diarrhoea, the skin is hard and harsh, and the greatest relief is experienced in using soap profusely, castile or palm-oil being the best varieties. Where there is great weakness and exhaustion, a hot towel should be used in drying the skin. Beds and bedding are an important question. We have discarded in great degree the old-fashioned feather bed, and also the curtains and valances of the last generation. The bed in sickness should be as free from all drapery, or anything that can hold contagion or effluvias, as it is possible to have it. It should stand out from the wall, so that the nurse can have access to every side. It should be low, to save as much exertion as possible, if the patient can get up and down at all, and, if practicable, it is best to have an iron one, such as is used in hospitals and is considered essential in real nursing. Such a bed with good springs and covered with a thin hair mattress is more comfortable by far than the ordinary one with an under mattress, or perhaps a feather bed, which can never be quite even and free from a sense of lumpiness. The best authorities agree in pronouncing a hard bed to be unnecessary, and injurious as a very soft one. A wide- one is supposed to afford the patient most refreshment, as he can move over to a fresh side ; but where it is practicable, a fresh bed is a better method.

The hearthstone; or, Life at home