How to treat sputum from tuberculous patients.—­Sputum is dangerous when it is dry.  The sputum cups should be of china or paper, so that they may be either boiled or burned.  There should be no crevices.  The cup should be kept covered and the sputum moist so that none of the germs on the sputum becoming dry may escape into the air of the room.  The china vessel should be frequently cleaned and, before the contents are thrown away, the germs must be destroyed by putting the sputum in a two per cent solution of carbonate of soda for one hour.  The paper cups and contents must be burned before the contents have time enough to become dry.  In infectious diseases, all discharges from the nose, mouth, bowels and bladder should be received in a china vessel containing carbolic acid or milk of lime.

In Diphtheria the expectoration, discharge from the nose and vomited matter should be received in paper napkins and burned at once in the room, or if this is impossible, boiled before being taken from the room.

Use the same treatment for the discharges in Scarlet fever.  Two sets of cups should be kept and boiled in the soda solution before being used.  All vessels, tubes or cups that are used for the mouth in diphtheria, syphilis, or cancer should be kept in a 1-40 solution of carbolic acid and boiled before being used by another patient.

Bed-pans used in cases of cancer, dysentery, typhoid fever and, in short, in all infectious diseases, are to be soaked in a 1-20 (five per cent) carbolic acid solution and boiled before again coming into general use.

Sheets and clothing stained with typhoid fever discharges must be washed out at once, or soaked in a disinfectant solution and steamed before being sent to the laundry.  Also the bedding and clothing in any infectious or malignant disease should always be put to soak, at once, in a 1-20 (five per cent) carbolic acid solution, or else steamed or boiled before being brought again into general use.

The urine needs the same attention as the bowel discharges in typhoid fever.

Coughing in diphtheria, lung tuberculosis, scarlet fever, etc., sets free infectious germs.  These may be received in the person of the attendant, or on the bedding and furniture.  Care should be taken when attending such cases.

[628 Mothers’ remedies]

Care of the mouth and teeth.—­A weak solution of borax or listerine is very good.  One-half ounce of listerine to a glass of water to be used by the patient as often as he desires to rinse his mouth.  Lemon juice in solution is very good.  For cracks in the mouth, vaselin or cold cream is good.  A few drops of oil of peppermint can be added, or oil of wintergreen.

For spongy and sore gums.—­A few drops of tincture of myrrh added to pure water may be used.  Colorless golden seal in the same way is pleasant and successful.