Bed-making for Different Cases
Bed-making for Different Cases.—We will now consider the making of beds for the different cases which come under the nurse’s care. In private practice the supply of bed-linen may be very limited, and for this reason it would be well first to put on the under sheet, then the protector, which may be of rubber, ordinary table oilcloth, or newspapers, then the draw-sheet; by so doing the under sheet will be kept clean much longer.
Medical and Surgical Beds.—A medical and a surgical bed is made with an under sheet, a protector, a draw-sheet, and the usual upper clothing. If the bed is to be prepared for a patient with a broken limb, a wide board, table-leaf, or small strips of board (slats) or an ironing board must be placed across the middle of the bed, under the mattress, to make the bed firm and prevent sagging.
Obstetric Bed.—An obstetric bed is made with an under sheet, a protector, and a draw-sheet, then over these a second protector and sheet; this is called a “temporary” bed, which, after delivery, is easily removed, and the patient lies on a clean bed; both beds during labor must be pinned securely to the mattress at each corner, the protectors also being pinned at their four corners. If the bed is a large double bed, then one side of it should be prepared, or the lower part of one side. After delivery the patient is lifted to the other side, or to the upper part of the bed, whichever has been prepared. Here the writer again warns the nurse not to use old comforters or blankets, unless positively sure they are clean; if there is any doubt about it, then give way to the doubt by not using them.
Cross-bed.—A cross-bed is very often used for gynecologic examinations and minor operations: the pillows are arranged across the bed in the middle, which arrangement brings the hips of the patient to the edge of the bed; across the mattress under the sheet is slipped a table-leaf or board, which will, to a certain extent, take the place of the examining table; the patient lies upon a hard surface, thus preventing the body sinking into the bed. A sheet and a blanket are the upper coverings.
Divided Bed.—Some surgeons like the upper bed-clothing divided for abdominal cases. For this form of bed there are needed two sheets and two single blankets, which are doubled, placed over the patient, and meet in the centre, the sheets first, then the blankets. The upper clothing is thus divided into two distinct halves; the bed-spread being put on as usual. When the dressing is to be done, the spread is thrown back and the sheets and blankets parted, so that unnecessary exposure of the patient is guarded against.
Water-bed and Air-bed.—Water-beds and air-beds are used in cases of long illness, in cases in which bed-sores are present or in which there is a tendency to their formation, and in cases in which there is much moisture. The water-bed is placed on the bed-springs, which should be covered with rubber sheeting, a comforter, or paper, to prevent rusting, and the bed filled with water (at a temperature of about 100° F.) by means of a funnel and pitcher. To empty a water-bed, it is laid in a slanting position until all the water has run out; it is then rolled up and laid away. India rubber, if unused for any length of time, becomes hard and is apt to break; for this reason the bed should be filled every six weeks or oftener and the water allowed to remain in it three or four hours. The air-bed is filled with air by means of a pair of bellows or an air-pump; after filling, it is made up in the usual way. Care must be taken that these beds are not pricked with pins, or they will collapse.
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