COOKERY FOR THE SICK. Arrowroot.-Take a small table-spoonful of arrowroot, mix or blend it smoothly in two table-spoonfuls of cold water. Then add half a pint of boiling water, and stir it until it thickens; add sugar. A little wine will render it more agreeable. Water Gruel.—Rub a table-spoonful of oaten meal smooth in a little cold water, add this to a pint of boiling water (on the fire), stir gently for a quarter of an hour. Let it settle; pour off from dregs, and add a little salt and butter. Barley Water.-Wash a handful of barley, and simmer in three pints of water. A little lemon peel will flavour it. Beef Tea.-Take one pound of rump steak, mince it fine, and mix it with one pint of cold water; place by the fire to heat very slowly. It may stand two or three hours before it is allowed to simmer, then boil for fifteen minutes, skim and serve. Good in fever and debility. Egg Flip.-Beat up the raw yolk of two eggs, add half a pint of milk. Nourishing and useful in fever. Lemonade. Half a lemon squeezed into a pint of warm water; sweeten and allow to cool. Or, one ounce of lime juice instead of the lemon. WATER. In all localities where the quality of the water is suspicious, condensed water should, if possible, be used for drinking and cooking purposes. When this is not feasible, the water should be carefully filtered and boiled. Two barrels, one inside the other, having a space of four to six inches clear all round between them, filled with layers of sand, gravel, and charcoal, form an excellent filter. The inside one, without a bottom, rests on three stones placed in layers of sand, charcoal, and coarse gravel; the water, flowing or being poured into the space between the two barrels, and having thus to force its way through the substances into the inner barrel, becomes purified. The water should be drawn off by means of a pipe, running through the outer into the inner barrel. Animal charcoal is the best. When, after a time, it ceases to act, it should be removed and well dried. It can then be used again with advantage. It is impossible to use too much of it. The popular French plan of purifying turbid water (alunage de l'eau) simply consists in the addition of a small quantity of alum. It clears the water very rapidly, but merely converts the lime carbonate into sulphate which remains in solution. DISINFECTION. The terms infectious and contagious (catching) applied to a disease signify that it is communicable from the sick to the healthy. The following are the principal infectious diseases :- Continued fevers-typhus, typhoid, relapsing, and yellow fevers; diphtheria, erysipelas, whooping-cough, and cholera. Disinfectants are materials used for the purpose of purifying the air, water, soil, etc., by removing or rendering inert certain noxious substances. The most common patent disinfectants are: Condy's fluid, Burnett's fluid, Ledoyen's fluid, Dougall's powders, Sirel's compounds. Rules for Disinfecting an Unoccupied Room. 1. Close every door and window, and stop up every opening or crevice with old rags or tow. 2. Fumigate by any of the following methods :— (1) By Chlorine.-Place a few saucers in different parts of the room. containing a mixture of one part of common salt, one part of black oxide of manganese, and two parts of oil of vitriol. (2) By Iodine. Place two drachms of iodine in a metal cup or vessel, and place a lamp or burning candle underneath it till it evaporates. (3) By Sulphurous Acid.-Burn sulphur in saucers. (4) By Nitrous Acid Fumes.-Place several cups into saucers or basins containing hot water, and inside the cups put two ounces of nitrate of potash and one ounce of sulphuric acid. (5) By Carbolic Acid.-Place some pure carbolic acid in shallow vessels Pound the room. 3. Furniture and floors to be well washed or scrubbed with a solution of chloride of lime; the latter may be sprinkled with the powdered chloride of lime or Dougall's powder. 4. Papers to be stripped from the walls, and the walls and ceilings to be white-washed. 5. All clothing to be disinfected by washing, boiling, baking in an oven, or exposure to the sun or before a fire, if a disinfecting establishment is not available. 6. Curtains and carpets are best disinfected by exposure to a heat of from 200° to 400° Fahr. 7. In extreme cases, destroy by fire all clothing, bedding, carpets, etc. Rules for Disinfecting an Occupied Room. 1. Maintain a proper state of ventilation by doors, windows, and outer openings. 2. Keep up a good fire in the room. 3. Use Condy's fluid, Burnett's fluid, or solutions of chloride of lime for utensils in room, closets, etc. 4. Disinfect all clothing, linen, etc., before it leaves the room, as laid down in following rule 8, for preventing spread of diseases. 5. Fumigate room cautiously with either chlorinated lime or carbolic acid, placed in saucers in different parts of the room. Be careful not to use gases or vapours too freely, as they are liable to cause inconvenience to the patient, by irritation of the lungs or air-passages. Rules for the Prevention of the Spread of Infectious Diseases. 1. Decide as to sending the patient to a hospital or treating the case in the house. 2. If a case for the hospital, apply for a special conveyance, and do not under any circumstances employ a public carriage. 3. After the removal of the infected person, fumigate and disinfect rooms occupied (vide foregoing instructions for disinfecting unoccupied rooms). 4. If a case for treatment at home, clear the house as far as possible of all inmates except the attendants on the sick, and secure the services of a trained nurse. 5. Remove carpets, curtains, and all superfluous furniture. 6. If small-pox, vaccinate every one in any way exposed to infection. 7. Allow as much fresh air as possible without creating draughts, and keep a good fire burning day and night in the room. 8. Use disinfectant solutions in all utensils and slop-pails. Place soiled clothes and linen in a disinfectant solution before they are taken from the room. 9. Open doors or windows are to be curtained with sheets kept moist with carbolic acid and water. 10. Drains, sinks, and closets to be flushed at least once a day with disinfectants. 11. Every room that has been occupied by an infected person should be thoroughly purified before it is re-occupied. 12. During convalescence patients should have tepid or warm baths, medicated with some suitable disinfectant, such as Condy's fluid or carbolic acid. This is very useful in cases of scarlet fever. |