Nursing Hx:Share Oldtime Ineffective tx's? - page 9

My 90 year old neighbor told me about when her kids were born, she had to stay in bed for a week and the nurses bathed her and she had to wear a girdle!!!
And they would tape a penny on the baby's umbilicus so he would have an "inny" How'd that work out for ya's??!!:roll :roll

I remember having to wash real sheepskins and then brush them with a wire brush for hours to get out all the knots before putting them under a patient. No such thing as chux in those days and
it always was inevitable as soon as you put a sheepskin you worked hours on under the patient, they had an accident.

and yes, I remember sharpening needles, glass IV bottles, gomco's, glass thermometers soaking in alcohol, spinning a glass rod in a tube filled with urine to read a specific gravity, dropping urine onto a blue tablet ( I think it was for sugar content) , betadine and sugar for decubs, etc. 8 hour shifts. ice water lavages, triple H enemas, standing at attention when a doctor came into a nurse's station. betadine douches, etc.

Only doctors were allowed to take BP's then. Nurses didn't even own a stethoscope.

Wow, really making me feel old today! This was only 25 yrs ago.

Speaking of glass thermometers, I remember one time when I was in the army I got the bright idea to shake all the thermometers down at once. I put them all in a flannel sock-like thingy we used to cover up ice packs and started shaking them vigorously. The bottom ripped out of the cloth bags and thermometers flew everywhere!!!! Can you imagine the dose of mercury I was exposed to? Maybe that is what's wrong with me

I got in a lot of trouble with the wardmaster as I was a young soldier then. Never tried it again.

Pappy