IN every household the time comes when a knowledge of the proper care of the sick is desirable. One should not wait for the necessity to arise before acquiring this knowledge. The physician will do his part, but the care and food are as important as are his medicines. In a book of this kind there is not space completely to cover the subject of preparation of food for the sick, much less the care of the sick. It is hoped, however, that the simple instructions given in this chapter may help the inexperienced to bring comfort and health to their suffering ones. In the body of the book there will be found directions for preparing many kinds of simple dishes that are suitable for the invalid, such as simple soups, broiled meat, fish, and birds, vegetables, toasts, jellies, and simple desserts.

All the food prepared for the sick should be of the best quality, and cooked in the simplest and most careful manner. The service should be the daintiest the house affords. Let the tray be covered with a clean, well-ironed napkin, and the china, glass, and silver be clean and bright. Tea, coffee, or chocolate should be taken to the sick-room in a small pot and poured in the presence of the patient. Have the cream and sugar in a small pitcher and bowl. Serve broth or soup in a dainty bouillon cup or a pretty little bowl. Put cream or milk toast in a small dish and serve small portions on a pretty plate. Serve dry toast in a fresh napkin, and butter portions as the patient requires. Broiled meat or fish should be put on a warm plate, and another warm plate be placed over this to keep the food hot while it is being carried to the patient’s room.

A patient should not have to wait for food beyond the regular time. No one, unless he has been ill, can understand the terrible sinking feeling that comes to a weak patient if the time for his taking food is forgotten.

In caring for the sick an infinite amount of patience, sympathy, and cheerfulness is required. If one be harsh or neglectful, even once, it may mean a whole life of regret.

Cleanliness and Ventilation.

The bedding, the clothes of the patient, and the rooms must be kept absolutely sweet and clean. If it be impossible to sweep the room, all dust may be wiped from the floor with a dry cloth. If the room be carpeted,—which is a pity when one is sick,—brush it with a soft hair brush, and then wipe the carpet with a cloth wrung out of warm water. If possible, ventilate the room two or three times a day by having the wind sweep through it. Protect the patient by extra blankets, and then spread a sheet or blanket over the head board, letting it come down over the head and shoulders of the patient. One cannot realize what a restful tonic this pure air is for the patient.

Bathing.

Few things are more refreshing to a sick person than a sponge bath. It should be given morning and night. A little alcohol in the water is invigorating, and prevents the patient from taking cold. Have but little water in the sponge, and begin with the face and neck. Keep the body covered, and wash only a small part at one time. Wipe with a soft towel. At night the patient may be rubbed with alcohol, using the hand. This rubbing often insures a good night’s rest. Rubbing is beneficial at almost any time.

Refined turpentine is often very valuable in the sick-room. In cases of inflammation of the bowels, kidneys, or bladder, and of congestion of the lungs, a turpentine application often will relieve the most intense pain. Indeed, this remedy is good and safe for almost any pain that can be reached by external applications.

There are two ways of using the applications. When the turpentine is to remain on the patient for a long time, mix it with lard, and spread the mixture on flannel. Lay this on the seat of pain. It may be kept on for several hours. Use a tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine to half a pint of lard. If the pain be intense, two or three tablespoonfuls of turpentine may be used.

Another method is to wring flannel out of hot water, sprinkle the turpentine on this, and lay the flannel on the seat of pain. Cover with a dry flannel, and upon this lay a soft towel. Use a teaspoonful of turpentine for a surface about a foot square. In case of great pain even more turpentine may be required. Few patients can endure this hot application more than twenty minutes or half an hour. When the flannel is removed cover the inflamed part with a piece of soft linen.

If the pain come from gas in the stomach or bowels, put eight or ten drops of spirits of turpentine on a lump of sugar and let the patient eat this. Turpentine is very good to give in this way whenever there is bloating of the bowels from an accumulation of gas.

To Relieve Neuralgia.

When one is suffering from neuralgia in the head, put him in a warm bed. Make a brick very hot and cover it with several thicknesses of flannel. Fold a coarse, thick cloth and place it on the pillow. Lay the brick on this and wet thoroughly with rum. Rest the most painful part of the head or face on the brick, and throw a blanket over the patient, covering the head. Keep covered in this way until the pain ceases. When the blanket is removed, wipe the moisture from the head, face, and neck; then bathe in alcohol or rum, to prevent taking cold.

Another remedy is to make salt very hot by stirring it over the fire in a frying-pan; then pour it into a bag, which should be securely tied. Have the patient lie down, and cover him well. Place the bag of hot salt on that part of the head or face where the pain is located. The salt will retain the heat a long time. This method is much easier than the first, but it will not relieve one so quickly nor so thoroughly.

To Keep Cracked Ice.

It often happens that a patient is obliged to take a great deal of cracked ice. In such a case make a bag of rather thin flannel, and cut a small hole in the bottom. Have a long tape run in the hem at the top. Hang this bag in a large pitcher, fastening it at the top with the tape. Fill the bag with cracked ice, and cover the pitcher with several thicknesses of flannel.

To Break Ice in a Sick Room.

Place the piece of ice on a napkin and press a large pin or needle firmly into it. It will break off smoothly at this point. If ice be scarce, it is best to put it in the flannel bag in one large piece and chip it off as required.

Mutton Broth.

See that the meat is perfectly sweet. Cut off all the fat; then cut the lean meat in pieces and put it in a stewpan with the bones and cold water. Place the stewpan on the stove; and when the broth begins to boil, skim it and set back where it will just bubble. Put the barley in another stewpan with a pint of cold water, and place on the fire. Cook for one hour; then pour off the water, and, after putting the barley with the broth, cook for three hours longer. Add the salt, and strain the broth; or, if the patient can bear it, remove the bones and serve the meat and barley in the broth.

Chicken Broth.

Free the fowl from fat and skin, and cut in small pieces, breaking the bones. Wash the meat, and, putting it in a stewpan with the cold water, place it on the fire. When the broth begins to boil, skim it carefully. Draw the stewpan back to a cooler part of the range, where the broth will only bubble for three hours. Add the salt, and strain.

A tablespoonful of rice, tapioca, or sago may be cooked in this broth, if it be thought best for the patient.

Clam Broth.

Get a dozen clams in the shell, and wash them in several waters; then soak them for an hour in a pan of cold water. On taking them from the water, put them in a stewpan and set on the fire. Add a gill of water, and, covering the stewpan, cook for fifteen minutes. Pour the liquor through a fine strainer. Taste to see if salt enough. It may be too salt; in which case add a little boiling water to the broth.

The suet must be from the kidneys; sweet, and free from all tough membrane. Shred it very fine, and put it in the double-boiler with the cinnamon and milk; reserving, however, one gill of the milk. Cook for one hour, then strain. Return the strained liquid to the double-boiler, and place on the fire. Mix the flour and cold milk to a smooth paste, and stir into the hot mixture. Add the salt, and cook for ten minutes. Give the patient as much of this as he will willingly take; say, half a pint every four or five hours. Keep the patient warm and quiet. This is a particularly good remedy in severe cases of bowel and stomach trouble, being nourishing and soothing.

Oysters Roasted in the Shell.

Get ten or a dozen good oysters in the shell. Wash the shells, and place them in an old baking-pan. Put the pan into a hot oven, keeping it there until the shells begin to open. Remove the upper shells and place the under ones, containing the oysters, on a large plate. Serve at once. The oysters should be seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper.

Steamed Oysters.

Put eight or ten large oysters in a little fancy dish or saucer, and place in the steamer. Cook for about five minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and butter, and serve at once with hot toast.

Oyster Roast.

Have a slice of crisp toast in a little dish. Put half a pint of oysters in a saucepan, and set on the fire. When they boil, skim them, and season with salt, pepper, and butter. Pour the oysters and liquor on the toast and serve at once.

Beef Tea.

Put in a large-mouthed bottle one pound of beef, free of fat, and chopped fine. Add to it half a pint of cold water, and let the mixture stand for an hour. At the end of that time place the bottle in a saucepan of cold water. Place the pan on the fire, and heat the water slowly almost to the boiling point, without letting it boil. Cook the beef for two hours; then strain, and season with salt.

The thick sediment which falls to the bottom when the tea has stood awhile is the most nutritious part, yet many people serve only the clear and poorer part to the patient. It is to keep this sediment (the albuminoids) in a soft, digestible condition, that care is taken not to let the water which surrounds the bottle boil. Great heat hardens the albuminoids.

If a patient take a great deal of beef tea, the flavor may be changed occasionally by putting a piece of stick cinnamon about an inch square into the bottle with the meat and water.

Beef Tea, No. 2.

Put into a bowl a pound of beef, free of fat, and chopped fine. Add half a pint of cold water, and stir well. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for four hours. When the tea is to be given to the patient, strain into a saucepan the quantity required. Season it with salt, and place the saucepan on the fire. Stir constantly until the tea becomes hot, but do not let it boil.

This tea has a peculiarly bright flavor, and affords a pleasant change from that made by long steeping in hot water.

Use a piece of round or flank steak about an inch thick. Broil it for eight minutes; then put it on a warm plate and, after cutting it in small pieces, press in the lemon squeezer. Season with a little salt. This may be fed to the patient; or a little bread may be soaked in it; or add a little hot water, and you have beef tea.

Round Steak.

When you cannot get a tender, juicy steak, or when the patient’s power of mastication is not good, a nutritious and digestible steak can be prepared from the round of beef. Lay a thin slice of round steak on a board. Scrape one surface with a sharp knife until there is nothing left on that side but the tough fibres; then turn the meat over, and scrape the other side in like manner. When the tender meat is scraped off, put it in a small dish. Press this into a square, having it about half an inch thick. Rub the bars of a double-broiler with a little butter, and lay the steak between them. Broil over clear coals for five minutes; then place on a warm dish, spread a little butter on the steak, season with salt, and serve at once.

Raw Beef Sandwiches.

Scrape some beef in the manner described for preparing round steak. Season it generously with salt. After cutting four slices of stale bread as thin as a wafer, spread the beef on two of the slices, and lay the other slices on top, pressing them down carefully. Cut them into pieces about an inch square. Arrange these tastefully on a fringed napkin or in a pretty little dish.

After reserving half a gill of the milk, put the remainder in the double-boiler and set on the fire. Mix the flour with the cold milk, and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for half an hour. Add the salt; then strain and serve.

Oatmeal Gruel.

Have the water boiling in a stewpan. Stir rapidly, and sprinkle the oatmeal into it, stirring all the while. Cover, and set back where it will cook gently for two hours. At the end of that time add the salt, and serve. This gruel may be strained or not, as may be best for the patient. A part of the gruel may be poured into a cup and a few spoonfuls of milk or cream be added to it.

If the gruel be liked thick, use four tablespoonfuls of oatmeal.

Indian Meal Gruel.

Put the boiling water in a saucepan and set on the fire. Mix the flour and meal with the cold water, and stir into the boiling water. Boil gently for two hours. Add the salt, and strain; then serve. A little cream may be added to the gruel when it is served.

Reserve four tablespoonfuls of milk and put the remainder on to boil. Mix the arrowroot with the cold milk, and stir into the boiling milk. Add the salt, and cook for ten minutes.

Cracker Gruel.

Put the cracker crumbs in a saucepan and pour the boiling water upon them, stirring all the time. Place the saucepan on the fire and stir the mixture until it boils. Add the milk and salt, and continue stirring until the gruel boils again. Serve at once.

For some tastes half a teaspoonful of butter is an agreeable addition.

Milk Punch.

Mix these ingredients and serve at once; or give the punch a froth by pouring the mixture from one bowl to another, holding the bowl high as the liquid is poured from it.

Egg Tea.

Beat the white of the egg to a stiff dry froth, and beat the sugar into it. Next add the yolk of the egg, and beat well. Pour the hot milk or water on this, and serve. If you choose, a little nutmeg or wine may be added to the mixture.

Eggnog.

Eggnog is made the same as egg tea, using cold milk and a tablespoonful of brandy, wine, or rum.

Rice Water.

Wash the rice and put with the water in a saucepan. Place on the fire and cook for thirty-five minutes. Strain the liquid, and season with the salt.

Half water and half milk may be used in this drink, if you prefer.

Apple Water.

Bake three tart apples in rather a quick oven until they are tender. Sprinkle one tablespoonful of sugar over them, and return to the oven until the sugar becomes browned. Crush the apples, and pour a pint of boiling water upon them. Let them stand for fifty minutes; then strain and cool the water.

Barley Water.

Wash the barley, and put it on the fire in a stewpan, with one pint of cold water. Cook for one hour. Pour off the water and rinse the barley. Add the pint and a half of cold water, and cook for two hours longer. Season with the salt, and strain. If lemon be good for the patient, add a tablespoonful of juice to the strained liquid, and sweeten with two lumps of sugar.

Crust Coffee.

Dry some crusts of bread in the oven; then toast them until dark brown. Break up these crusts, and measure out half a pint. Put these in a bowl, and pour a pint and a half of boiling water upon them. Cover the bowl for ten minutes, then strain the coffee. This may be served hot or cold.

Wine Whey.

Put half a pint of sweet milk into a double-boiler, and when it boils add a gill of sherry. Stir well, and let it cook until the curd and whey separate. If the wine be quite sour, the milk will separate at once; sometimes it is so sweet that an extra quantity is required to curdle the milk. If there be any objection to the use of more wine in a case like this, add a teaspoonful of vinegar. Pour the liquid through a fine strainer.

Moss Lemonade.

Put the farina in a bowl or pitcher, and pour the boiling water on it. Stir well, and steep for an hour. Add the salt, sugar, and lemon, and strain. This is an excellent drink when a cold has settled on the lungs. Serve hot or cold.

Should there be any reason why the patient cannot take lemon, use some other flavor.

Put all the ingredients in a bowl for two hours. At the end of that time place the bowl in a saucepan of boiling water, and cook, stirring frequently, until all the ingredients are dissolved. Strain, and set away to harden. The bowl must be kept covered all the time the jelly is soaking and cooking.

This jelly is to be used when the patient finds it difficult to swallow either liquid or solid food. A small piece of it, placed in the mouth, melts slowly, and is swallowed unconsciously. The sugar may be omitted, and a gill of port and a gill of beef juice be used; the beef juice to be added when the jelly is taken from the fire. Other stimulants may be substituted for port.

Senna Prunes.

Steep the senna in the water, where it will keep hot for two hours; then strain the water. Wash the stewpan, and put into it the senna water and the prunes, well washed. Cover, and place the stewpan on a part of the range where the contents will just simmer. Cook until the prunes have absorbed all the water; then put them in a jar, and use as required. This is a mild and pleasant remedy for constipation. The prunes are delicious, and will keep for months. They are convenient to take when travelling.

Put into a goblet of cold water one teaspoonful of tincture of muriate of iron, and one heaped teaspoonful of chlorate of potash. Gargle the throat with this. It will do no harm if a small quantity of the liquid be unintentionally swallowed.

Camphorated Oil.

Put into a large bottle four ounces of olive oil and four of spirits of camphor, and shake well. When there is pain in the chest or lungs rub with the camphorated oil. This is excellent to use in case of sprains or bruises.

For a Cold in the Head.

Mix together in a large bottle four ounces of ammonia and four of camphor. A cologne bottle with a glass stopper is the best for this preparation. When there are symptoms of a cold in the head inhale this mixture frequently.

Lime Water.

Put about four ounces of quicklime in a bowl, and pour upon it two quarts of cold water. Stir the mixture well, and cover. Let this stand for four or live hours. At the end of that time pour off the clear liquid and bottle it. Throw away the sediment.