Sr. Mathilde Coskery

Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
Emmitsburg, Maryland

The first comprehensive document on nursing was written by a Catholic sister who based the information on her own first-hand experience. Born in 1799, Sr. Mathilde Coskery wrote Advices on Care of the Sick in the mid-1800s. It is a no-nonsense, practical guide for nurses, with heavy emphasis on cleanliness. Included is information on caring for alcoholics and the insane.

"The office of 'nurse'," wrote Sr. Mathilde, "is one of awful responsibility if its duties be properly considered; for on the faithful discharge of them, will the life of a fellow being, in very many instance, almost exclusively depend."

Among Sr. Mathilde's recommendations: do not shake the bed linens because such action will spread germs; if the patient can't tolerate liquids, have him suck on a chicken bone boiled in salt water to inspire thirst; rub whiskey on the patient's body as a disinfectant.

She suggests: "do not laugh at" alcoholics "or suffer others to treat them with contempt, though this should be the hundredth time he has been brought to yr. care."

Some excerpts:

"In fever, the face, hands, arms & feet should be often wiped with whiskey, bay rum or weak spirits of camphor. If he is in his senses & strong enough to use a mouth-wash, let it be by his bed, to rinse his mouth often with, & his tongue may be scraped with a thin whale-bone to prevent it from becoming coated. . . .

"If the illness has been long, it helps them to move to another room once or twice. . . but should they become house-sick for the room they had left, let them return to it, this indulgence will help them. . . . Every reasonable gratification is an important means of recovery . . . . Do not let them wait for their remedies, nourishment, drink or other comforts, for by this delay, besides the harm you may do the body, you irritate & discourage them."

Sr. Mathilde nursed soldiers at Antietam, Gettysburg, and at other Civil War battle sites.