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Aspect of the Sick-room 21 LECTURE II The Sick-room Aspect Furniture Light Temperature of the Ward for ordinary and operation Cases Ventilation Mechanism of Respiration Its Uses Composition of Air Changes produced by Respiration in the Air and Blood Ammonia in Air Nitrogen Experiments for Testing purity of Air Importance of Ventilation Methods for procuring it Lavatories The Bed Draw Sheets Changing Bed-clothes Cleanliness of Patients Administration of Medicines Feeding of Patients. The sick room, or ward, when a choice can be made, should always have a south, south - west, or west aspect. It should always be light and cheerful, spacious and lofty; the windows should be made to open both at the top and the bottom; and not much furniture should be permitted to remain in the room, particularly if the disease be infectious. Bear in mind that woollen articles, from the roughness of their texture, hold smells much longer than cotton or linen ones; therefore, never allow woollen curtains in a sick room. It is far better to be without curtains at all; but if the room looks cheerless and bare, curtains made of muslin or linen are the best, as they are easily washed. For the same reason, woollen-covered sofas and chairs should always be expelled, cane- bottomed, or plain wooden ones, being far preferable. In some cases, the carpet may be retained; but it iaalways safer to remove it, a strip only being placed down the centre of the room, and another by the side of the bed. Light should be moderated, according to the feelings of the patient. It must, however, be constantly excluded in cases of inflammation of the brain or eye. As a rule, it is never tolerated in acute diseases; whilst inchronic ones, it is both pleasing and refreshing. Direct sunlight is, in some cas...