ague feeling that someone else is coming or something further is to be
done for them. Consequently last of all ask the patient if she wants
anything more; if not, say good-night, go out and stay out, at least
until she has had a chance to go to sleep. She is thus helped to realize
that nothing further is likely to happen, and that it is time to go to
sleep.

Toward morning the patient grows weaker. More bed covers will probably
be needed, and they may often be added without waking her. Night at the
best is a dreary time for the sick. Pain and weariness and
discouragement are less bearable in the darkness; nervous fears and
morbid fancies defy control. Never is kindness more needed or more
appreciated than it is by those who lie awake and watch for the morning.

EXERCISES

1. Name all the causes, direct and indirect, of pressure sores.

2. Why are pressure sores generally more serious than injuries of equal
extent to the skin of a well person?

3. Where are pressure sores most likely to occur and what are their
symptoms?

4. What measures should be employed to prevent pressure sores?

5. Describe ways to support a person lying down in bed.

6. Describe ways to support a person sitting up in bed.

7. How may the weight of the bedclothes be removed from any particular
part of the body?

8. How should a bedpan be cared for?

9. Describe in detail a day's routine either of yourself the last time
you were ill in bed, or of another patient personally known to you.
Could the plan of the day have been improved, and if so, in what ways?

CHAPTER IX

FEEDING THE SICK

Substances used for food are generally grouped into three classes,
called the three nutrients. The nutrients are: first, the proteids or
nitrogenous substances, which are found in meat, fish, eggs, milk,
cheese, peas, beans, etc.; second, the carbohydrates, which include
sugars and starch; and third, the fats, which are found in butter, oil,
the fat of meat, etc. In addition to the nutrients, water and certain
mineral salts are essential to life, while some indigestible material
like the fibre of vegetables is needed to give bulk and to stimulate the
action of the intestines.

The nutrients furnish the body with materials for growth, and for repair
of tissues worn out by use; they also furnish fuel substances from which
the body obtains its heat and its energy. All three nutrients can serve
as fuel, but the proteids alone can furnish mate