I know bottles were made of glass, but what was IV tubing made of before the invention and widespread use of plastics?
What other common devices used in heathcare (latex gloves, syringes, needles, pulse-ox machines, anesthesia equipment) have changed since World War II and The Korean War?
I know most people here were nota round then, but I thought some folks might know from stories of family and friends.
I have been watching M*A*S*H and it has really got me thinking of nursing in the last half century.
They still do IV's under the skin. Its a technique called Dermoclysis. The only reason I know about it is that we have one resident in our facility who receives treatment this way for dehydration. Her veins collapse so completely there's no other way to pump her back up. Thank God for a 20yr nurse who taught this newbie how to do it.
My mother was a nurse in the 1940's. When she was a student nurse, they were taught also by the doctors. The hospital would have floors that had 40 patients and her an another student nurse would be in charge of it. They only had 2 antibiotics, sulfa and penicillin. In the nursery, the nurse would make up all the baby's formula in very sterile conditions. When the new baby came, there wasn't a first bath, the baby would would be wiped down with olive oil. New mothers stayed for a week. Nurses would have an inspection before their shift. This was to make sure their uniform, shoes, hair, etc. was just right. Everyone wore their caps. No ICU's, there was private duty nursing.
IV's were sometimes just given under the skin, not in a vein. I'm glad of our times!!!!
They still do IV's under the skin. Its a technique called Dermoclysis. The only reason I know about it is that we have one resident in our facility who receives treatment this way for dehydration. Her veins collapse so completely there's no other way to pump her back up. Thank God for a 20yr nurse who taught this newbie how to do it.
Gonna show my age here....and NO I am not THAT old.
Syringes were glass and easy to sterilize. Needles WERE used again after sterilization.. In fact, I have the gold needles my father-in-law used in his practice. IV tubing was rubber. OR gowns were cloth and well as the masks and booties.
No pulse ox machines for routine use. Drop mask anesthesia with ether. DeeLee suction for newborn was using the mouth to suck the mucous in the trap. I could go on and on and on and on.
when I was precepting in NICU.... I had an experienced veteran of 28 yrs to precept me... she told me how back in the day all the nurses would moisturize their hands with vernix!!!! she said it was the best... they all thought it was like gold...... I cant believe how times have changed!!!
Actually HYPOdermoclysis or clysis for short. Huge amounts of fluids infused just under the surface. Wouldn't have been IV (no V involved).
Bedpan washers and fish kettles. Long narrow pans that the needles stuck through gauze squares and the glass syringes were sterilized in by boiling over a bunsen burner or hotplate.
Suction by hooking one end of tubing to the water faucet and turning on the water to create a vacuum.
Rubber gloves being washed, talcum powdered and put into muslin cloth pockets to be sterilized.
Mama stayed in the hospital 2 weeks when I was born. She wasn't allowed on her feet for a week. I stayed one week with my first baby because my temp never went below 99.
We had to take the patient in a wheelchair to the EKG department for one. No bedside machines.
The ER had 4 beds and one doctor and 2 nurses. This was in a fairly big city. Ambulances were heorifices with the windows uncovered.
Days charted in blue, afternoons in green and nights in red.
Meds were hand written on little 2x2 cards and put in cubbyholes according to patient and time. Meds were poured from huge stock bottles. 1000 digitalis etc.
Caps were worn in the newborn nursery so the parents would know there were nurses there.
Labor induction.....no pit drip. Wait and watch and finally a week or so the doc might rupture membranes to speed it up.
I had a patient who has been a quad for over 25 years and he said that he used to have metal foley bags...said they were a pain because they would rust:rolleyes: Had an 80 something year old patient that was an RN trained in the 40's. She quit in the 50's because she got married. She said that if you worked when you were married back then it meant that your husband didn't make enough money to support you, which was an embarrassment. She never worked again after 1955.
We ran metal bedpans and emesis basins through a dishwasher dedicated for that purpose (of course it was a "since night shift has nothing else to do job")
FYI about glass syringes- not every 5cc plunger will fit every 5cc barrel, LOL you have to sort through them sometimes to find a match.
Limited visiting hours for parents- and no McDonald house- you didn't live nearby, the nurses will call you when your child is ready to go home (wait, we still have parents like that)
"Playing" with the little mercury balls when a thermometer broke. They were fun! That explains a lot about me:p
Syringe feeding the elderly (and how those mashed potatoes could fly if you got an air posket on the 60cc syr!)
MAST trousers and rotating tourniquest for trauma
Being taught to hyperventilate the ambu bag during a code
Pouring noisy ice into croup tents...oh wait...that was last winter...when do we get replacement technology for that??
"Tylenol X grains"
Measuring capillary tubes to determine hematocrit
draw sheets
Yup, no oximetry...I forgot the portable monitor for one of my sickie resp kids recently and was pleases to realize I didn't care to much...I didn't really need it, although it's good to be able to backup your judgement with concrete numbers.
Specializes in PUBLIC HEALTH,ICU, MED SURG, ADMINISTRAT.
Oh the memories!! I relate to all of them Been Nursing for 42 years! We had a surgeon in the 60's that still used a bunson burner to sterilize the guaze and tape when he changed dressings. Stryker frames, what fun they were.Psych was my first speciality (after3 mo in training) very very scarey when you are 18 yo. But we made it through and came out as a good nurse able to deal with almost anything. Thanks for the memories!
Oh the memories!! I relate to all of them Been Nursing for 42 years! We had a surgeon in the 60's that still used a bunson burner to sterilize the guaze and tape when he changed dressings. Stryker frames, what fun they were.Psych was my first speciality (after3 mo in training) very very scarey when you are 18 yo. But we made it through and came out as a good nurse able to deal with almost anything. Thanks for the memories!
I remember having to take down the curtains separating patients beds, in order to wash them. And having to wipe down and clean the beds. And the wonders of a Circle Electric bed
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I know bottles were made of glass, but what was IV tubing made of before the invention and widespread use of plastics?
What other common devices used in heathcare (latex gloves, syringes, needles, pulse-ox machines, anesthesia equipment) have changed since World War II and The Korean War?
I know most people here were nota round then, but I thought some folks might know from stories of family and friends.
I have been watching M*A*S*H and it has really got me thinking of nursing in the last half century.
You will be an awsome nurse!! I remember metal bedpans and urinals that hurt when thrown at 3 am. We washed out the red rubber NGT to re use as that was "clean" not "sterile". Gloves were minimal as they made the patient feel "alienated" and "contagious" We never used gloves for any thing but "sterile technique" The intra-aortic ballon pump was a huge green machine that we kept plugged in because they said we had to!! We would rather "count the ggts" than trust that funny machine that did nothing but alarm. We watched acute Mi's have pain and give sublingual nitro with morphine and hope they were alive in the AM. We saw every arrythmia known to man depending on where the Mi was. Open hearts were kept intubated for 3 weeks to allow the "heart and lungs to rest" Chest tubes were three bottles on the floor. We wore white hose white dresses and perfect nurses caps!! We used methylene blue in EVERY tube feed to be sure they did not asparate, so what if their urine was alittle bluish! Ventricular aneurysms were common and they turned someone blue from the nipple line up. Rotating tourniquets were first line for Pulmonary Edema/CHF. I remember the first time I hung IV nitro...we thought if we dropped it it would explode!! No ICU/CCU was without a roll of tin foil as Nipride needed to be protected from light...all the way to the site!! Amphotericin B was the horror antibiotic of the living dead and Levophed was leave them dead levophed!!
You did not tell the patient about anything just that the "doctor ordered it" and does anyone remember the doctor's smoking at the nurses station or putting their ciggaretts out in the ash tray in the paitents room????? Iv's were glass tubing was rubber. It was grains, drams, minims ande nothing was by weight. I remember a cardioligist who at the bedside of a coding patient insisted on mouth to mouth!!!! Being the only "real way" to ventilate someone. We had no clue as to the full ramifications of our actions as the "doctor said so" The code cart was a nightmare as were the Vents they resembled high powered generators to power New York! I remember Bretolol being flown in from Chicago for a lady in "torsades de point" what is torsades I asked!! IV subq was common in dehydrated Pedi. Glass syringes and multidose bottles for narcs. If they moved restrain them if they detox start an alcohol gtt. Ashot and a beer at hs was a common order. We chased more mercury therm. than I can count heck we smoked at the desk!!! By the way..in nursing school my future sci-fi paper was on the "ventricular assist device and the jarvik artificial heart.... for hust a few boston
I was in Cuba in 1999 and went to a rural health center to observe - they were soaking glass syringes w/needles still attached in dishes of alcohol to sterilize. On the other hand, they have some of the best neurosurgeons in the world for foreigners who can pay in hard currency. Glad to see that embargo's working out, but that's a whole nother thread...
Try reading the book "Nurse" by Peggy Anderson sometime - it's from the 70s, I believe, and she talks about not using gloves to clean ostomy sites so the pt wouldn't feel bad. Wow.
rbnNurse
16 Posts
They still do IV's under the skin. Its a technique called Dermoclysis. The only reason I know about it is that we have one resident in our facility who receives treatment this way for dehydration. Her veins collapse so completely there's no other way to pump her back up. Thank God for a 20yr nurse who taught this newbie how to do it.