Care of Female Patients
SPECIAL CAKE OF FEMALE PATIENTS.—During illness, even when the menstruation ordinarily is normal, there is often an aggravation of the symptoms of the illness during men¬struation. Depression is common and the appetite is usually less keen or further reduced if it has been deficient. If the appetite is diminished or finicky, reduce the diet and give mainly the blood-cleansing and alkalinizing vegetables and fruits. If the bowels are not functioning normally (and most likely they will not be), give neutral enemas daily. There need be no omission of the daily general bath; but if this has been at any temperature other than neutral or tepid, or barely below the body temperature, it would be better to give it at one of these temperatures. The hot or the cold or decidedly cool bath during menstruation in bedfast illness may cause chilling or other more or less disagreeable symptoms.
The patient should be kept quiet and free from worry. Glare from windows or lights should be especially prevented at this time and the patient should not be permitted to do much reading. If it does not have any tendency to produce headaches, a little reading may be permitted. But since read¬ing takes energy it is not advisable for a bedfast patient, unless chronically ill, to do any appreciable amount of it; else there will be retardation of progress. During convalescence the amount of reading permitted may increase according to the gain being made.