The prevention of choleraic diarrhoea, and lead poisoning ; Things to be remembered for health's sake ; and How to bring up children / by John Pitney Aston.

  • Aston, John Pitney.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The prevention of choleraic diarrhoea, and lead poisoning ; Things to be remembered for health's sake ; and How to bring up children / by John Pitney Aston. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED FOR HEALTH’S SAKE. THE DWELLING. Never choose a House simply because it looks nice. See that it is dry in cellar, walls and cup- boards, that it is well lighted with free circulation of air all round it, and no foul out-premises adjoining. Be sure the cellar drain, if any, goes into an open area, and is disconnected from all sewers. See that the House is properly drained and have the drains, w.c., waste and fall pipes all examined and tested by the Sanitary Inspector. All sink, bath and lavatory waste pipes should have CO bend or syphon traps beyond the inlet and be disconnected from the drains by an outlet discharging into the open air, and going thence into trapped and self-cleansing gullies. W.C. soil pipes should be outside the House, go of uniform size well up above the eaves, and rain fall pipes should never act as drain ventilators by going direct into the drain, but should be disconnected like the. sink and bath wastes. Do not occupy a House with open midden ashpit. If there is no w.c. or dry earth closet, have the Privy with a window, the ash- pit of small size, covered in, concreted at bottom and sides and with air-inlet and ventilating shaft. Do not have Privy and Ashpit close to the dwelling. See that your Ashpit is frequently emptied, and that it is kept dry by keeping out all rain and slops, and do not allow kitchen refuse to be thrown into it. Burn all animal and vegetable house waste on the kitchen fire. Never throw slops or old tea leaves, &c., out on the street, back yard, or road. See that your sinks, drains, and gulleys do not get blocked or foul. Flush all these once a week in Winter and daily in Summer by throwing a pail full of water down them. Do not create nuisances for your neighbours. Get water from the Town’s supply even if it costs more, but see that there are no lead cisterns (except for the w.c.) or long lengths of lead pipes. The w.c. water supply pipe should come separately from the mains. Failing Public Baths every House should have a bath room. Never fill the kettle from a hot water tap, and draw off from the kitchen tap a gallon or so of water first thing in the morning, and use this for washing, &c. To test water for lead put a tiny crystal of bi- chromate of potash in a tumbler of water from the tap. If after it is dissolved the water goes at all cloudy, milky, or opaque there is lead in it. If there is no lead the water will be of clear golden tint. Animal charcoal filters remove lead, but are apt to get foul and require frequent cleaning and renewal. Filtered water soon goes bad and so must be drunk while fresh. Empty all bedroom slops first thing after breakfast, and have the bedroom blinds drawn up, windows thrown well open, and the bed-clothes turned down, and do not make the bed for some hours. Limewash cellar, larder, and out-premises twice a year, and keep your House clean and well ventilated throughout, from garret to basement. Let sunlight flood the dwelling. Preserve health rather than carpets and furniture. THE SICK ROOM. A constant supply of fresh air is highly essential in a sick room, but should be admitted without exposing the Patient to a draught. To flush the bedroom open the window, and put extra clothes over the Patient while it is open. The strictest cleanliness is required in the sick room. Bemove all liquid and solid excreta and unused food or soiled utensils at once. Never keep invalid’s food in the sick room. Avoid making noises and never whisper in the sick room. Never tell people they do not look well. In infectious disease put Patient in isolated room, and remove carpets, bed and window curtains, drapery, books and unnecessary furniture, and empty all drawers. Keep a sheet wet with disinfectant both inside and outside the door. Dis- infect in boiling water all food utensils before they leave the room, and do not go among other people with the same outer dress as that worn inside the sick room. Wash your hands in disinfectant before you leave the room. Put disinfectant in all receptacles for excreta before being used by the Patient. Use non-poisonous disinfectants. Double the quantity of ventilation is required in infectious cases. Notify immediately to the Medical Officer of Health any outbreaks in your Household of Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, Measles, Chicken Pox or Small Pox, Whooping Cough, Mumps, Erysipelas, Typhoid Fever, Cholera, or Choleraic Diarrhoea, and of Childbed Fever. While infectious disease is in the House keep your children from both Sunday and Day School, and do not let them mix with other children until a Doctor certifies your family free from contagion, and the House has been disinfected and cleansed. Bemember that the expectoration of Consumption is infectious, and that when it dries it infects the air and walls as a fine deadly dust. Burn, therefore, all expectoration from consump- tives, and after death, fumigate, re-paper, and cleanse as after scarlet fever. Disinfect by boiling or by steam disinfectors, all infected articles from * infectious cases. Bemove soiled linen, &c., promptly, and keep the Patient clean. Learn to make a poultice, a basin of gruel, to take a Patient’s temperature, how to give an injection, and dress a wound or sore. When people faint, lay them at once flat down, loose collars and dress, and give them fresh air. In bleeding of the nose raise the hands above the head, in rupture of varicose veins raise the limb above the level of the body, and in bleeding from wounds or the gums apply pressure by pads of cotton 'wool or lint. PERSONAL HABITS. Personal cleanliness is most essential to health. The skin throws off poisonous matters, and if neglected gets loaded with dirt and germs. Have a warm or Turkish bath at least once a week. If baths give you cold, rub the body down all over daily with a dry rough or bath towel, uncovering only one part of the body at a time. Those whose work makes the skin dirty require baths oftener. Wash the hands before each meal, and always attend to the nails, as they harbour dirt and disease germs. Cleanse the mouth and teeth after each meal, or at least night and morning. Keep your mouth shut except for laughing, talking or singing. Change the underclothing frequently, and do not sleep in that worn by day. Never sleep in bedrooms with windows and doors closed, and fireplace or chimney made up. Mica- flap ventilators should be in all chimney breasts, and all bedrooms should have air bricks in their walls and air outlets. Avoid intemperate habits, excess.in eating, in drinking, or in pleasure. Cultivate active habits, good temper, an obliging and cheerful dis- position. Change damp clothes as soon as possible.