The lifting of the patient must he done with as little strain as possible for both patient and nurse. The patient must never be grasped from above with bent fingers, but only from below with the hands perfectly flat. An injured or tender spot must not be touched. The lifting should be done firmly, yet tenderly. If the patient is to be lifted entirely out of bed, he should pu his arms about the nurse's neck if able to do so. The nurse should then place one arm under the small of the patient's back and the other under his knees, and raise him as high as possible. If the patient he very weak, an assistant should support his head and limbs. An adult patient who is seriously ill should always be lifted by several persons, who should act simultaneously upon a word of command. If the patient's head is to be raised, it should be done by placing the forearm carefully under the pillow, and raising the latter together with the head.
When lifting an affected limb, both hands should he extended and placed under it. When raising the upper part of the body, the nurse should take hold from in front and above, with both hands flat behind the neck and the back, and support the patient in a half-sitting posture. In the meantime an assistant may arrange the bed, wash the patient's back, etc. Bedridden patients should be lifted frequently while the nurse looks after bed-sores in the small of the back, or places bedpans. cushions, etc. The proper holds in such cases are shown in Fig. 372. How two persons should join their hands under the patient's back when lifting him can be seen in Fig. 373. Many patients may be able to raise themselves with the aid of special arrangements /see Fig. 374). Fig. 375 shows the assistance rendered in laying down a patient who has been lifted.
The removal of a patient from one bed to another, even if he should be very heavy, can, with some dexterity, be accomplished even by nurses who are not physically strong. They must, however, avoid taking hold
under the patient's armpits or under the knee-joints (see Fig. 376), and they must not stoop forward. The correct method of carrying a patient is shown in Fig. 377. This method affords security to the patient, and makes the task easier for the nurse. When moving a patient in a sitting position, the simplest method is to carry him in a chair (see Fig. 378).
When the sheet is to be changed, and only one nurse is available, she should roll up the clean sheet from both sides, and then, after removing the soiled sheet, place the clean one under the patient's back, whereafter it may be stretched to both sides by lifting first the patient's trunk and then his legs (see Fig. 379).
It is often very important to place a single limb in a correct position. The affected arm of a bedridden person rests best upon a bolster loosely stuffed with cut straw. If the physician has ordered an elevated position, the arm or leg should be placed as shown in Fig. 380. In this instance hard and wedge-shaped bolsters are used.
Patients who are seriously ill should see as few visitors as possible. They are rarely able to do any good, and often do harm by exciting the patient. Friends frequently talk too much, and scare the patient by remarking upon his appearance, by criticising the treatment, and by relating accounts of similar cases that took an unfavourable course, etc. Near relations often show their grief conspicuously or become annoying by excessive tenderness. Such conduct is obviously inconsistent with the rest necessary to the patient.
When a patient is fairly convalescent, and begins to acquire strength, it is better that he should not be absoltitely idle, but divert himself with some simple occupation. The reading of carefully chosen books, which will entertain without exciting, is-often a valuable pastime.