. Personal hygiene and home nursing : a practical text for girls and women for home and school use. diseasecan be gained by watching itseffects on these fundamentalprocesses of the body. It isnecessary, therefore, in almostall cases of illness, to take thetemperature and count the pulseand respiration, and the amateurnurse must understand just howthis is done. Taking the temperature. Fortaking the temperature, we usewhat we call the clinical ther-mometer. This thermometer ismade slender and small, so thatthe temperature can be takenunder the tongue and in otherparts of the body. Before usingth
. Personal hygiene and home nursing : a practical text for girls and women for home and school use. diseasecan be gained by watching itseffects on these fundamentalprocesses of the body. It isnecessary, therefore, in almostall cases of illness, to take thetemperature and count the pulseand respiration, and the amateurnurse must understand just howthis is done. Taking the temperature. Fortaking the temperature, we usewhat we call the clinical ther-mometer. This thermometer ismade slender and small, so thatthe temperature can be takenunder the tongue and in otherparts of the body. Before usingthe thermometer, we must makesure that the mercury in it isproperly settled; for when the mercury is once up in a clinical thermometer, it will not come downof itself as it does in an ordinary thermometer. The best way toshake the mercury down is to take hold of the upper end of thethermometer and give it a quick, jerking swing. The tempera-ture is registered in from one to five minutes, depending upon theplace in which it is usual places for taking the temperature are (i) under the 99. Fig. 43. Shaking down a clinicalthermometer. loo Personal Hygiene and Home Nursing tongue, the tongue being held well down and the lips closed; (2)under the arm, in the groin, or in some fold of the body; or (3), inthe case of infants or delirious patients, in the rectum. In takingthe temperature in the mouth, which is the most usual way, wemust be careful to see that the mouth is not too dry and that thepatient has not just taken either hot or cold fluids. If the mouthis dry or hot, it is well to rinse it out and wait for ten minutesbefore inserting the thermometer. In taking the temperatureunder the arm, we must be sure that the armpit is dry and thatthe thermometer lies between the folds of the skin, not touchingthe garment, and also that the arm is placed close against theside of the body. In taking it in the rectum, the thermometershould be oiled; and, of course, a thermometer kept
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecthygiene, bookyear1919
