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59
Personal precautions to be taken by Consumptives.
In coughing, do not cough into another person's face, and be careful
when coughing to hold before your mouth a paper square, a piece of rag,
or a handkerchief, which can be burnt, or boiled in the morning or evening,
together with the satchel or pocket in which these articles are carried.
Whether used to shield the cough or not, the hands should be washed before
every meal.
The phlegm or spit must not be swallowed, for two reasons : firstly,
because it may set up the disease in the bowels, and secondly because, whether
it sets up disease or not, it will infect the stools and render it necessary to take
special precautions to disinfect them.
In spitting, do not spit upon the floor, side wall, or other surface of the
interior of any room, hall, conveyance, or other enclosed or covered place;
but, when indoors, spit into a bowl, and when out of doors, into a widemouthed
bottle or pocket spittoon, or into a street gulley. The bowl or bottle
must contain some liquid to prevent the spit drying, and be properly covered
or corked.
The paper, rag, or handkerchief, and the satchel or pocket mentioned
above to be used in coughing, may also be used for wiping the mouth,
and—if the bowl or bottle is not at hand at the moment—also for receiving
the phlegm, provided that it is not allowed to get dry and that as soon
as possible it is burnt or boiled.
The contents of the bowl or bottle should twice daily either be cast into
a bright fire or down a water closet or be buried in the earth. The bowl
with the cover off, or the bottle with the cork out should then be boiled in
water for five or ten minutes and thoroughly cleansed, and the cover or
cork should be similarly treated at the same time.
In kissing, a consumptive should not kiss or be kissed on the lips, and it
is safer for all persons, whether consumptive or not, to kiss and be kissed on
the cheek.
In eating, table articles, such as knives, forks, spoons, drinking vessels,
and table napkins, after use by a consumptive, should be carefully washed
in boiling water, and it is safest to reserve a set of such articles for his
special use. All persons before handling food should wash their hands.
In washing, a consumptive should have a separate towel for his special
use in the same manner as he should have a separate table napkin and a
separate handkerchief.
In working, a consumptive should graduate his bodily work according
to his condition, and carry it on either in the open air or in a room fully open
to the air.
In sleeping, a consumptive should not sleep with another person, but
should occupy a separate bed, and best of all, should have a separate bedroom
where open-air treatment can be carried on—the windows beiDg open day and
night—with advantage to himself and his family.