A Few Suggestions on Pneumonia
By EDITH E. BRUCE
One of the most fatal diseases with which we have to contend is pneumonia. There are three kinds, or forms, of pneumonia,—lobar, croupous, and bronchial,—but we will simply speak of the disease as pneumonia. It is an acute infectious disease characterized by an inflammation of the lungs, and usually ends with a crisis. There are three stages of the disease: in the first twelve to forty-eight hours the lung is engorged, or filled with blood. We then have the red hepatization, or second stage, where the air-cells become filled up, and the lung looks like the liver. The third stage, or gray hepatization, is where the lung is turning back to its natural color. General symptoms: Cough, pain in the lung, fever, chills, difficult breathing, rapid pulse, weakness, nausea, and sometimes delirium. Meningitis, pericarditis, and abscesses on the lung are very frequent complications. The right lobe is usually affected first, and the patient will prefer lying on the affected side. Pneumonia is more common in cities than in the country, and more cases occur among males than females, probably due to more exposure in outdoor work. It is usually caused by cold, and after one has had an attack, he is more susceptible to it. Death usually occurs from heart failure, the heart not being able to force the blood through the lungs; hence a very important thing is to relieve the heart as much as possible, and this may be done by treatment. Let us remember that medicine can not do very much for pneumonia; so much depends upon the nurse. With no disease is prompt and constant care more needed than in this. One of the most important things to do is to keep the extremities warm; this will dilate the blood-vessels, and assist the heart in its work by taking the blood away from the congested lung. This is best done by a hot hip and leg pack every three or four hours. Heat should also be applied to the arms at the same time, with cold compress to the chest and cold on the head. With all hot treatments cold should be applied to the head. Fomentations to the lung for ten or fifteen minutes every three hours should be given, followed by a chest pack between. Give the patient plenty of water to drink, and above all, plenty of fresh air. Keep the bowels open by means of the enema, and keep the patient well nourished. A light, nutritious diet should be given. Remember the patient is having a battle for life, and do not excite him by allowing any one in the room except the one who is to care for him, and keep him very quiet. Keep the room a steady, even temperature, from sixty-five to seventy degrees. As in other cases, keep the room clean and neat, with plenty of sunlight. Cloths used in expectoration should be burned. Do not allow the patient to rise up, as the heart is very weak, and heart failure might result from the exertion. The mitten friction and cold towel rub are excellent tonic treatments, and they are best preceded by a hot foot-bath or fomentation.