the comfort and ease of the patient.

Do not worry the sick with unnecessary questions, idle talk, or silly
gossip. It is cruel to whisper in the sick-room, for patients are always
annoyed by it. They are usually suspicious that something is wrong and
generally imagine that their condition has changed for the worse.

Symptoms of the disease should never be discussed before the patient,
especially if he is thought to be asleep. He may be only dozing, and any
such talk would then be gross cruelty. Loud talking must, of course, be
avoided. The directions of the physician must be rigidly carried out in
regard to visitors in the sick-room. This is always a matter of foremost
importance, for an hour or even a night of needed sleep and rest may be
lost from the untimely call of some thoughtless visitor. A competent
nurse, who has good sense and tact, should be able to relieve the family
of any embarrassment under such circumstances.

Do not ever allow a kerosene light with the flame turned down to remain in
the sick-room. Use the lamp with the flame carefully shaded, or in an
adjoining room, or better still, use a sperm candle for a night light.

Keep, so far as possible, the various bottles of medicine, spoons,
glasses, and so on in an adjoining room, rather than to make a formidable
array of them on a bureau or table near the sick-bed. A few simple things,
as an orange, a tiny bouquet, one or two playthings, or even a pretty
book, may well take their place.

The ideal bed is single, made of iron or brass, and provided with woven
wire springs and a hair mattress. Feather-beds are always objectionable in
the sick-room for many and obvious reasons. The proper making of a
sick-bed, with the forethought and skill demanded in certain diseases, is
of great importance and an art learned only after long experience. The
same principle obtains in all that concerns the lifting and the moving of
the sick.

Sick people take great comfort in the use of fresh linen and fresh
pillows. Two sets should be used, letting one be aired while the other is
in use. In making changes the fresh linen should be thoroughly aired and
warmed and everything in readiness before the patient is disturbed.

386. Rules for Sick-room. Do not deceive sick people. Tell what is
proper or safe to be told, promptly and plainly. If a physician is
employed, carry out his orders to the very letter, as long as he visits
you. Make on a slip of paper a note of his