Notes on nursing : what it is, and what it is not.

  • Nightingale, Florence, 1820-1910.
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes on nursing : what it is, and what it is not. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material is part of the Elmer Belt Florence Nightingale collection. The original may be consulted at University of California Libraries.

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    observing nurse does 7iot; do ; she neither physics herself nor others. And to cultivate in things pertainiug to health observation and expe- rience in women who are mothers, governesses or nurses, is just the way to do away with amateur physicking, and if the doctors did but know it, to make the nurses obedient to them,—helps to tliem instead of hindrances. Such education in women would indeed diminish the doctor's work—but no one really believes that doctors wish that there should be more illness, in order to have more work. What patho- (2.) It ip of'ton said bj women, that they cannot know anything of logy teaches, the laws of health, or what to do to preserve their children's health. What obser- because thev can know nothing,- ot Pathology, or cannot dissect, teaches. What —^ conluf^ion of iddMS which it is hard to attempt to disentangle, medicine does. Pathology teaches tiie harm that disease has done. But it teaches What nature nothing more. We know nothing of the principle of health, the hlone does. fjositive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothiug but observation and experience will teach us the ways to maintain or to bring back the state of health. It is often thought that medicine is the curative process. It is no such thing ; medicine is the surgery of functions, as surgery proper is that of limbs and organs. Neither can do anything but remove obstruc- tions ; neither can cure ; nature alone cures. Surgery removes the paratively harmless aperient pill. The lady came to me and complained that it did not suit her half so well. If women will take or give physic, by far the safest plan is to send for '' the doctor every time—for I have known ladies who both gave and took physiC;, who Avould not take the pains to learn the names of the commonest medicines, and confounded, e. //., colocynth with coichicum. This is playing with sharp edged tools with a vengeance. There are excellent women who will write to London to their physician that there is much sickness in their neighbourhood in the country, and ask for some prescription from him, Avhich they used to like themselves, and then give it to all their friends and to all their poorer neighbours who will take it. Now, instead of giving medicine, of which you cannot possibly know the exact and proper ap- plication, nor all its consequences, would it not be better if you were to persuade and help your poorer neighbours to remove the dung-hill from before the door, to put in a window which opens, or an Arnott's ventilator, or to cleanse and lime-wash the cottages ] Of these things the benefits are sure. The benefits of the inexpe- rienced administration ot medicines are by no means so sure. Homoeopathy has introduced one essential amelioration in the practice of physic by amateur females ; for its rules are excellent, its physicking compara- tively harmless—the globule is the one grain of folly which appears to be neces- sary to make any good thing acceptable. Let then Avomen, if they will give medi- cine, give homoeopathic medicine. It won't do any harm. An almost universal eiTor among women is the supposition that everybody viust have the bowels opened once in every twenty-four hours or must fly imme- diately to aperients. The reverse is the conclusion of experience. This is a doctor's subject, and I will not enter more into it; but will simply repeat, do not go on taking or giving to your children your abominable courses of aperients, without calling in the doctor. It is very seldom indeed, that by choosing your diet, you cannot regulate 3'our own bowels; and every woman may watch herself to know what kind of diet will do this; I have known deficiency of meat produce constipation, quite as often as deficiency of vegetables; baker's bread much oftener than either. Home made brown bread will oftener cure it than anything else.