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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    the sling should support the whole of the forearm, including the elbow. The only exception to this would be a fracture of the upper part of the arm, in which case the pushing up of the elbow would have a tendency to displace the fracture, and it is better to employ a narrow sling for the wrist or hand only. , j it. To support the foot the sling should be placed round the neck. For slinging up the arm or foot in a recumbent posi- tion, webbing should be attached at intervals to the cradle, ^yhich is placed over the injured limb to relieve the pressure of the bedclothes. With regard to the varying height at which it should be slung up, the nurse should carefully note how the surgeon places the limb when he slings it up in the first instance, and endeavour to keep it in the same position. These cradles look best painted white. The sort known as Bloxam's cradle is the most comfortable for slinging up fractures. It enables the patient to change his position in bed without risk of displacing the fracture. A three-cornered bandage can be used advantageously as a sling, and it can also be adapted with excellent effect to most purposes for which ordinary bandages are applied. This is called the Esmarch bandage, from the name of the inventor. Nurses must get taught practically the various methods in which it can be applied. I strongly recommend nurses to avoid prac- Bandaging. ^.^.^^ bandaging on lay figures and blocks as far as possible, if they wish to become good bandagers. It is better to practise on each other, or on long-suffering friends, as often as they can. The sensation—if one may so speak— of handling stiff, unyielding material, however well modelled to the shape of a limb, is so different to the comparatively elastic touch of living muscle, that my observation in this matter has led me to the conclusion that practising bandaging solely on lay figures is not only undesirable but harmful. At