General nursing / by Eva C.E. Lückes.

  • Lückes, Eva C. E. (Charlotte Ellis), 1854-1919.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: General nursing / by Eva C.E. Lückes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    slip. Three or four pieces of strapping are wound round the leg at intervals to keep the extension strapping m position an°l the lowest of these pieces should be placed immediately above the ankle joint. A practical illustration xs, howe.^i, better than a verbal description. The strapping must be put on in such a way as to prevent wrinkles, and every care taken to avoid pressure sores. This point needs a great deal of attention, and nurses must always see carefully whether anything is wrong if the patient complains of pam m this respect. A little piece of wool under the heel, or between the loose part of the strapping, may often save a great deal ot suffering. It is a good plan to cut a small hole in the loose part of the strapping for extension which comes over the ankle to relieve all chance of pressure or friction there. Small pieces of lint should be neatly wound round the foot to pre- vent all avoidable discomfort. Infinite pains must be taken to make every arrangement possible for the patient not to suffer any unnecessary inconvenience, nor to run any risk of the treatment of extension having to be given up in con- sequence of external sores. The weight must not be put on until the strapping has had time to adhere firmly. A domette bandage should be put over the strapping. When the exten- sion has been applied, a nurse must lift the weights carefully before giving the patient the bed-pan. Once again let me repeat that a nurse must never ignore a patient's complaints of a splint or a piece of strapping being too tight. The sores which come in consequence are often difficult to heal. Nurses and probationers working in a hospital should take care that the sister knows at once of the complaint that she may attend to it. Nothing the surgeon has applied must be altered without orders to do so. After the application of plaster of Paris and other bandages of the same description, swelling is apt to take place. The nurse must notice if the part below the bandage swells or becomes