Health and Beauty

1908

Spanish Influenza - Convalescence and After

The time of recovery from influenza is from two to seven days, except when complications develop. Do not think of getting up from bed until your temperature is running normal, morning, noon, and night. Better stay in your room for at least four days after your temperature is normal, and do not work. Remember, however, to keep your room well ventilated. And when you do begin to go out, see that you are warmly clothed, especially about the chest, the limbs, and the feet.

During convalescence, there is almost constant perspiration, and tendency toward taking cold and chilling. And here lies the danger of developing pneumonia as a secondary infection. As already stated, the consequences of such an infection are too serious and have already proved too frequent a complication for any one to take chances on getting out too early.

Keep up the good circulation of the blood. To do this, have your nurse or attendant give you each morning a quick, cold friction to the skin, using a rough mitten of mohair or similar material, dipping it in cold water, and applying it quickly to the skin, rubbing vigorously, and quickly drying the skin. This should be done in a warm room the first thing in the morning. If done properly, it will take only five min-utes of time, and give much better results than ten dollars’ worth of tonic medicines. If you are so situated that a very short alternate hot and cold spray can be given you once a day, that will be better still.

It is a great mistake to limit your food too closely after influenza. A person loses anywhere from eight to ten or more pounds during the four or five days’ attack of fever; and if the stomach activities have not been too greatly interfered with, the majority of cases are able to take care of good nourishing, food after the fever is gone.

A good dietary consists of green vegetables, fruits, good bread, properly cooked cereals, butter, cream, eggs (sparingly), buttermilk, and particularly laxative foods, which include fresh fruit, specially prunes and figs, and bran used daily in the food.

Many patients have weak digestion after influenza; and for these, we would advise a more limited dietary, taking care to exclude pastries, candies, spiced foods, fried foods, and too coaice vegetables, such as cabbage and onions. Such pa-tients should also have a hot fomentation applied to the stom-ach and the liver daily for a time.

If the nerve tone is low, with that constant ‘‘tired feeling,’’ a special building up is necessary to prevent chronic conditions from developing, such as chronic cough or chronic bronchitis. In such cases, provide good nourishment and plenty of sleep; also see that the eliminative organs of the body are functioning regularly. It may be several days or weeks be-fore normal activities can be resumed; but this should be no cause for impatience, as too much should not be demanded Of the nervous system till reserve force has been accumulated. The patient should get out in the fresh air as much as possible.

Besides the cold friction rub each morning, already ad-vised, fomentations to the spine should be given at bedtime. followed by an oil rub. In addition to this, a salt glow should be taken once or twice a week, such as is described on page 218 of “Practical Guide,” in the chapter already indicated.

This supplement bas been arranged from the following articles of recent pubIication: “Spanish Influenza,” by H. W. Miller, M. D.; “How to Escape Influ-enza, by A. B. Olsen, M. D.; “After Influenza — What?” by Mary W. Paulson, M. D.; “How to Keep from Getting Influenza” and “What to Do if You Have Influenza,” by the National Conference of Army, Navy, and Civilian Doctors.