The ideal bed is single, made of iron or brass, and provided with woven wire springs and a hair mattress.  Feather-beds are always objectionable in the sick-room for many and obvious reasons.  The proper making of a sick-bed, with the forethought and skill demanded in certain diseases, is of great importance and an art learned only after long experience.  The same principle obtains in all that concerns the lifting and the moving of the sick.

Sick people take great comfort in the use of fresh linen and fresh pillows.  Two sets should be used, letting one be aired while the other is in use.  In making changes the fresh linen should be thoroughly aired and warmed and everything in readiness before the patient is disturbed.

386.  Rules for Sick-room.  Do not deceive sick people.  Tell what is proper or safe to be told, promptly and plainly.  If a physician is employed, carry out his orders to the very letter, as long as he visits you.  Make on a slip of paper a note of his directions.  Make a brief record of exactly what to do, the precise time of giving medicines, etc.  This should always be done in serious cases, and by night watchers.  Then there is no guesswork.  You have the record before you for easy reference.  All such things are valuable helps to the doctor.

Whatever must be said in the sick-room, say it openly and aloud.  How often a sudden turn in bed, or a quick glance of inquiry, shows that whispering is doing harm!  If the patient is in his right mind, answer his questions plainly and squarely.  It may not be best to tell all the truth, but nothing is gained in trying to avoid a straightforward reply.

Noises that are liable to disturb the patient, in other parts of the house than the sick-room, should be avoided.  Sounds of a startling character, especially those not easily explained, as the rattling or slamming of distant blinds and doors, are always irritating to the sick.

Always attract the attention of a patient before addressing him, otherwise he may be startled and a nervous spell be induced.  The same hint applies equally to leaning or sitting upon the sick-bed, or running against furniture in moving about the sick-room.

387.  Rest of Mind and Body.  The great importance of rest for the sick is not so generally recognized as its value warrants.  If it is worry and not work that breaks down the mental and physical health of the well, how much more important is it that the minds and bodies of the sick should be kept at rest, free from worry and excitement!  Hence the skilled nurse does her best to aid in restoring the sick to a condition of health by securing for her patient complete rest both of mind and body.  To this end, she skillfully removes all minor causes of alarm, irritation, or worry.  There are numberless ways in which this may be done of which space does not allow even mention.  Details apparently trifling, as noiseless shoes, quietness, wearing garments that do not rustle, use of small pillows of different sizes, and countless other small things that make up the refinement of modern nursing, play an important part in building up the impaired tissues of the sick.