Disinfection of the Sick-Room.
By Sel.
In the sick-room no disinfectant can take the place of free ventilation and cleanliness. It is an axiom in sanitary science that it is impracticable to disinfect an occupied apartment, for the reason that disease germs are not destroyed by the presence in the atmosphere of any known disinfectant in respirable quantity. Bad odors may be neutralized; but this does not constitute disinfection in the sense in which the term is here used. These bad odors are, for the most part, an indication of want of cleanliness or of proper ventilation; and it is better to turn contaminated air out of the window, or up the chimney, than to attempt to purify it by the use of volatile chemical agents, such as carbolic acid, chlorine, etc., which are all more or less offensive to the sick, and are useless so far as disinfection—properly so called—is concerned.